I spent a fair part of the day weighing my gear, then went through and pulled the weights for my base summer hiking weight, both pack and worn.

My base pack weight is 10 pounds! Woot! I am officially ultralight!

Worn weight is 4 1/4 pounds.

The big changes this year were a lighter pack (Osprey Exxos 46) and a lighter shelter (Zpacks Hexamid).

This community has been a big help in identifying options and learning what to keep and what to leave at home. thanks for the help!

Edited by grampa on 05/25/2010 23:27:56 MDT.

Good job!

It's a great feeling, isn't it? Congratulations!

is 10 lbs the magic number ? I didn't know where the line was.

I'm at 9.72 lb before bear cannister
but
11.46 lb including my Bearikade Scout.

Do I still qualify :-)

I really have no idea if 10 lbs is actually the magic number - but when I started my trek last year to ultralightness that seemed to be the point at which folks seemed to call themselves ultralight backpackers.

All I really know is that I'm enjoying the trails a heck of a lot more than when I carried 45-50 lb packs.

So far I've avoided bear canisters, largely by staying away from places they are required. I got a Ursak with liner, which I sometimes carry, w/ or w/o liner, depending on perceived level of bear threat. Usually I use a lightweight PCT hanging bag, which is in the base weight.

Mike C! in Lighten Up! refers to 10lbs as UL. Now you just have 5 more lbs to drop and you will be SUL (a.k.a. Pscyholite)

http://books.google.com/books?id=hjkBK1Npi0wC&lpg=PP1&dq=mike%20clelland&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false

Well, if Mike C! says it, it must be official!!!

Who listens to a guy who has moss on his butt?:P

"All I really know is that I'm enjoying the trails a heck of a lot more than when I carried 45-50 lb packs."

And that is all that matters. 11, 10, 5, 4 lbs it really isn't that important.

Well, as everyone knows, 42 is the magic number. The units, however, are left as an exercise to the reader.

:)