You may come across the term "Ultra-Light" in researching your trip. There are many sites and information available on Ultra-Light packing, which primarily means to reduce the total amount of weight you carry when backpacking. This weight includes your consumables (food and water) and your base weight (pack, clothes, gear, etc.). There is also some discussion on whether the weight you carry outside your pack and on your person (i.e. the clothes you wear, any cameras on your belt, and such) is to be included in your total weight. You need to decide this as you determine how much weight you need to carry. While you cannot really reduce the weight of your food much (unless you pack canned goods and steaks and eggs, along with a case of beer on all of your trips!) the thought on Ultra-Light is that the less you have to carry the less strain on your body and the more comfortable you will be on your hike. The primary place to look at reducing weight is in your gear. For gear you need to consider some basic weights for the three heavies; sleeping bag, pack and shelter. These add up quick. The next to consider is your cooking gear and extra clothes. Many people come back from trips and say they never should have carried this or that, or I sure wish I had this or that. Hind sight is pretty good to gauge from the next trip, but you need to just move forward. The main thing to consider is to not risk safety for weight! Better to have that jacket or hat you don't use than to need it out on the trail where there is no way to get it. Our trip was planned using a program called the Back Packing Weights Calculator, which can be obtained for free at: Backpacking Net. This is a handy little program if you are trying to cut weight as it shows you where you can take the most advantage of gear selection. I am sure if you get into this challenge, you will be constantly asking yourself "How much should I spend to cut ___ ounces from my weight?".

The following is a short list of links I found useful in getting up to speed on Ultra-Light Packing. I am by no means at a weight that I would consider Ultra-Light, but with a base weight near 15 lbs., I figure I got as close as I could without risking too much safety or comfort. You can go to the Gear List page to see the list of equipment and weights we took on our trip.

Have a great time planning your trip and I hope you enjoy this site!

For a detailed account of our trip please refer to the Journals section of this site!