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A campsite in the Beartooth Mountains
Introduction
Going ultralight has many advantages, but it also has limitations. Lightening your pack load also requires you to change your thinking about how a trip can work. The hurdles to lightening your load - new gear, new techniques, new thinking - can seem daunting but they don't have overwhelm you. Light gear can reach its limits in the backcountry, but this need not restrict you as you gain confidence in yourself. I discuss these issues with Mike Clelland!, Carol Crooker, and Glen Van Peski in this roundtable discussion.
While there is no doubt that some trips require additional gear - a summit attempt on Mt. Denali for example - even those more extreme trips can benefit from a lightweight approach. What gear do you need to be safe? What gear are you taking to improve your enjoyment of the trip and how important is that gear to you? Are you carrying an item that only helps at the margins of safety and comfort or is it truly a must-have item? Does the nature of the trip demand this extra gear for you to get by? Some trips do, but many do not. The answers to these questions are influenced not only by the physical aspects of the trip you are planning but also by your perceptions and assumptions about the trip. Coming to sensible conclusions over time and through experience is the best way to refine your kit and lighten your load in a manner that permits you to travel safely and well while affording you the greater flexibility that comes from being able to move more easily through the wilderness.
Roundtable Participants
Ken Knight, Michigan
I've been an avid lightweight and ultralight backpacker for the past several years and a day hiker for longer than that. I travel solo and with small groups and have done so throughout the country. My primary stomping grounds though are the the midwest (including parts of Ontario, Canada) and the east coast. I have steadily lightened my load over the years and see traveling light as an ever-evolving process. What can I do without? What extra weight will I carry to make my life easier or the overall trip more enjoyable? I lighten my load to open up options even if those "options" add weight back into my kit (e.g., journaling stuff including a camera and sometimes even a tripod). With these items that some would consider superfluous my non-winter base weight is still around 10 to 12 pounds. In winter this weight goes up a handful of pounds with the additional of more insulation and changes in shelter and cooking options. If I elect to haul my winter gear in a pulk I will let the weight rise considerably.
Carol Crooker, Arizona
Carol spends about 36 days each year backpacking. She lives in Arizona and many of her trips are there, but she gets out of state several times each year, often to the western mountains. Her trips are usually three to five days long, on trail, solo, and storm free. Carol likes her comfort both on trail and in camp. She prefers to carry as light a load as possible with just enough gear and clothing to keep her warm and sleeping in semi-comfort. Her three-season base pack weight varies from 5 to 10 pounds depending on the weather and trip length, and her winter base pack weight is about 16 pounds.
Mike Clelland!, Idaho
400
I work as an illustrator for magazines and instructional books. My drawing style is decidedly cartoony - a result of reading MAD magazine as a little kid in Michigan. I lived and worked in New York City for the full decade of the 1980's, doing mostly advertising and animation. Presently, I live in rural Idaho and work as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) . This involves doing 30-day courses across North America, including Alaska, British Columbia, the North Cascades and throughout the Northern Rockies. I teach winter backcountry skiing, glacier mountaineering and rock climbing. And, I've also worked on the new Light and Fast Program at NOLS.
Glen Van Peski, California
Glen Van Peski is a native Californian who grew up in the western outdoors. Through his youthful involvement in Boy Scouts, he developed a love for being in the backcountry that continues to this day. When his oldest son joined Scouts as a pre-teen, Glen got involved again, serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop Committee Chairman, and Backpacking Program Director. Through those experiences, he became intrigued by lightweight backpacking.
Bringing to bear his degrees in Engineering and Business Management, Glen soon started sewing his own backpacks and other gear. His personal efforts gradually developed into GVP Gear, generally acknowledged as one of the first cottage manufacturers of ultralight backpacking equipment. With the recent brand change to Gossamer Gear, the company has expanded it's offerings to a full spectrum of innovative ultralight gear. Gossamer Gear products have been featured in Backpacker and National Geographic Adventure magazines.
Known for his humorous, information-packed presentations, Glen is a sought-after speaker on ultralight backpacking equipment and techniques. He has been interviewed by numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Footprints magazine. Dubbed "The Guru of Lightness" by one writer, Glen has developed a loyal following for his innovative designs, and his commitment to showing people the "way of enlightenment" for their pack weights without unduly lightening their bank accounts.
Reader Comments
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Forum Index » Editor's Roundtable » Podcast: Roundtable Discussion of the Limits of Ultralight Backpacking
( bugbomb - BPL STAFF - M)
Locale:
South Texas
Companion forum thread to:
Podcast: Roundtable Discussion of the Limits of Ultralight Backpacking
( MAYNARD76 - M)
Locale:
New England
An Article like this has been a long time comming. Since the 90's when the lightwieght backpacking movement was born,everyone was asking "how far can we take this? and still be safe?,comfortable?". With that other revolution of the 90's- the home PC and the internet, many brilliant minds from every corner of the globe set out to answer that question. We saw revolutionary new designs, concepts, techniques- forums were filled with people sharing experiences and ideas. The cottage industry was born.
There was an "avant garde" mood in lightweight backpacking. It is now well over a decade later and new designs keep comming, but I would argue that there has been a "standardization" in LW backpacking- of gear and technique. I welcome it - others I think are a little saddend by it. So where are the limits? Well there arnt any of course, but for the layman that would be some where at SUL. "HYOH" will always be the last word, but the warm reception of Caffins article I think shows this standarization, in other words-in the 90's you could show very practical, reasonable comparisons betweeen "traditional" backpacking and a 20 lb. and below pack- It is dramatic. Compare that argument to one between a 7-10lb. base weight and a 2-5lb. base and you can see why some people just shrugg thier shoulders. No one is calling any one a "lunatic". I think people are just trying to say that not every one who is into "ultralite" backpacking does it to "push their limits" but to enjoy the outdoors and escape the ratrace. At some point to lighten your load means more expense and the narrowing of the conditions the gear is appropriate for, and the enviromental cost of what a critic could call "disposable gear". I think, dare I say it- that many people are "satisfied" with 7-10lbs. base wt. Again hike your own hike- we all go out there for our own reasons.- Thanks
Edited by MAYNARD76 on 05/02/2007 01:29:20 MDT.
( jshann )
Locale:
North Texas
Nice podcast Ken. Who sings the song at the end of the podcast? I would like to buy some of that music.
( kenknight - BPL STAFF - M)
Locale:
SE Michigan
John, I'm not surprised you missed this information. It's at the bottom of the main podcasts page. Here you go:
MUSIC "Look for Me in the Mountains" :: Lyrics - Chris Cunningham and Ryan Jordan :: Guitar, Vocals, Harmonies - Chris Cunningham :: Mandolin - Tom Murphy :: Bass - Chad Langford :: Recorded at Basecamp Productions, 7781 Nez Perce Drive, Bozeman MT 59715
( ryan - BPL STAFF - M)
Locale:
Greater Yellowstone
The song will be available for free to BPLers this summer and will be syndicated in hi-fi to our iTunes channel, in the meantime, Chris' band is at Storyhill.com and has a similar sound.
( ryan - BPL STAFF - M)
Locale:
Greater Yellowstone
Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, I was not involved in this discussion to defend myself.
My bushbuddy-baked muffin rocked.
( ericl )
Locale:
Northern Colorado
I hope that future podcasts on the subject will contain greater focus/editing, better articulated points, and specific gear. I would have found a little spirited debating refreshing as well.
For instance, on the issue of safety, while I agree that a lighter weight pack itself contains a safety factor, other important points were not mentioned.
1. The heavier the pack, the greater chance of sprained ankles, falls, etc. - followed by all the problems of dealing with injuries carrying heavy packs. Any additional first aid in a heavy pack is unlikely to fully compensate.
2. Some light gear is inherently more foolproof and thus safer than their heavier counterparts. Alcohol stoves with no moving parts are more reliable, as are foam pads as opposed to the more common air mats.
3. Longevity is sometimes offset by a much cheaper price, such as with packs. I thought the talk of the extreme fragility of lightweight equipment was quite exagerated.
After all, ultralight was pioneered by some of the longest distance hikers around, and their gear needed to hold up. While my G5 pack might need some carefull care, my just under 1 pound G4 is quite rugged, as are my tarp, alcohol stove, foam pad, sleeping bags, and titanium cookwear.
Edited by ericl on 05/05/2007 22:59:57 MDT.
( EinsteinX - M)
Locale:
The Netherlands
This week I bought an Bluetooth USB dongle so my phone and pc can exchange files. I downloaded this podcast so I could listen to it on my daily commute (how do you spell that???). The sound quality was really bad: i.e. the volume was really low eventhough I set the phone volume to max. I couldn't hear it on the bus and not even in a much quiter tram. There was also a lot of static noise.
Would it be possible to boost the volume of this podcast? Maybe on others as well, though I haven't tried these on my phone yet.
In case I get some criticism about my phone; MP3 audio files I recorded my self have a normal, audible volume, so it's not a problem of my phone.
Eins
( TomClark - M)
Locale:
East Coast
I think these podcasts are great, and enjoy listening to them. I agree on the volume complaint. I do wish we had heard more from some of the folks in thisnpodcast, it didn't seem like eveyone got equal time.
I agree that it would be nice to hear a real hashing out of some the finer points, like are bivy sacks needed since many super long distance hikers (e.g., Brian Robinson) don't use them. Let's hear some further justifications for a $100-200 piece of equipment.
( garretchristensen )
I've looked all over the website and the iTunes, and I don't see the song at the end of the podcast anywhere. Is it really available like it says it would be above?
( FatTexan - M)
Locale:
NTX
I can't find the song either.
( jshann )
Locale:
North Texas
The song was never posted.
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