I have just started in lightweight camping and have been looking at the gear list (very interesting). I come from a primitive camping background so my first leightweight camping kit looks like this. I have used in Spring through early fall without much trouble.
Bedroll-
2 wool blankets sewn together for one on bottom and one to cover
Cloths-
Extra clothes are rolled in blanket
In a haversack-
corn boiler-with food inside
fire starting equipment
tolietries

I also carry a knife on my belt and other odds and ends in my pockets.

The ground is covered with pine boughs or leaves. If needed I make an temporary shelter with material already on the ground. I use a fire instead of a stove.

As I start I am just starting so suggestions of what I could change and what I can keep for lightweight camping.
Thom "Wanderer" Kendall

Thom,

i think you have most of us beat already. Your style of hiking reminds me of the "Indian Camping", as we called it, that my friends and i did as kids. Simpler. Purer. Maybe even more fun.

I'm not sure that i would advise you to change a thing. If it works for you, go with it - don't change. Only change that which is not to your liking.

There is a saying that i learned on these Forums - "Hike your own hike". You, my friend, already appear to be doing just that. I'm sure that i could learn a lot from you.

Best wishes for much success in your endeavors.

pj

Edited by pj on 11/22/2006 13:30:07 MST.

Thom,

I'm curious. What do you use for a roof over your head at night in a driving rain?

Paul

Paul,

until Thom replies, read his Post again.

i think that he gives us a hint/clue.

i only noticed it, b/c it's probably what my friends and i did when we went "Indian Camping" as kids - to cover our wool blankets in the rain we cut boughs from conifers and erected lean-to's. I know, not LNT.

Thom mentioned "The ground is covered with pine boughs or leaves. If needed I make an temporary shelter with material already on the ground. I use a fire instead of a stove."

At least Thom seems to be getting some or all of his shelter from the forest floor unlike my youthful friends and i which cut them from trees.

If I am expecting a driving rain I try to at home, hahahaha. Anyway... I try to find a place where a tree has fallen or a root overhang. I then make a leanto with boughs at the base then leaves, dirt, and other debris to fill in the cracks. If it is going to be cooler I place a fire (very small) at the front with a large log or couple for a deflector. If I have a piece of canvas with me I stretch it over the frame first. The smoke from the fire helps waterproof the canvas. Canvas is heavy, especially when waterproofed, so I only carry it when I know I will come into very unfriendly weather.