Re: [Philmont]: Gear

Don

Trust me on this one. My Gregory Pacific Palisades has 4 treks to Philmont.
I have found that the bigger your pack, the more junk you will carry. I am
continually amazed at the amount of nick nacks and gadgets that adults bring
into the backcountry. Magazines, like Backpacker, are filled with ads about the
latest gear you just have to have. Top that off with the Scouting tradition
of adults always bringing two or everything "just in case" and you wind up
with adults on the trail at Philmont with packs at 60 to 70 pounds. I've had
real problems with adults who for whatever reasons can't slim down their pack
weight at Philmont.

In the Philmont Advisor's Guide which you so nicely commented on, I have this
section on reducing pack weight.

"Finally, try to get your total pack weight as light as possible. Heavy
packs just sap energy and strength, make you more prone to injury, and reduce your
potential for having a good time on the trail. Both Bob Klein and Troy Hayes
are real sticklers when it comes to reducing total pack weight. Bob even
gives his crew a list of equipment with the maximum acceptable weight for each
item of personal gear. He even brings a postal scale to gear shakedowns and
weighs each item to make sure that it meets his criteria! If an item is too
heavy, it is rejected! You may think that this might be extreme, but Bob’s crews
typically leave Base Camp with water and food with packs that weigh less than
35 pounds, compared to most crews with pack in the 40 to 50 pound range.

Some advisors are still in the car camping mode when they arrive at Philmont,
bringing along that extra something “just in case”. This is a huge mistake
and the extra pounds will soon begin to affect their performance on the trail.
 The idea is to leave Base Camp, with the lightest possible pack, with the
right amount of personal and crewgear for your trek and no more. Start
eliminating ounces from your very first shakedown. A requirement for Backpacking
Merit Badge is to discuss ten ways to reduce your pack’s weight. Some ideas from
Troy Hayes and Stephen Braunlich include:
 
· small rather than large (as in flashlight, knives, etc.)
· right size (e.g., a 4 ounce bottle of sun screen instead of a 6 or 8,
a small tube of toothpaste)
· just-as-good-but-lighter (coated nylon rain gear instead of PVC,
grocery store water bottles instead of canteens)
· double duty items (bandanna can serve as a towel, handkerchief, and
neckband/headband; synthetic long underwear top can keep you warm in the
campsite and serve as sleep shirt)
· avoid gadgets (such as Leatherman, hydration systems, heavycamp
stools). However, a couple of multi-tools that have scissors for cutting moleskin
and can double for a set of hot pot tongs are worth carrying.
· sharing (one set of toothpaste or Camp Suds bottle per tent, crew
sunscreen and bug repellent)
· smart purchasing (mummy bag versus a rectangular bag)
· clothing system based on layers
· take only what you need (a cup and spoon for eating gear instead of a
cup, bowl, spoon and fork)
· eliminate dead weight (walkman radios, footballs – yes Troy Hayes has
seen one!)

· only have two knives and two compasses per crew (one for use and one
for redundancy)
· don’t take water pumps; they take longer to pump than MicroPur and
Philmont is going to make you carry the MicroPur any way.

There are a growing number of ultra-light backpackers who would have a field
day with the gear that we take to Philmont. We would have to give up our
full-length Therm-A-Rest pads, our in-camp clothes and our camp shoes! These
minimalists, however, have the experience, confidence, and physical conditioning
to compensate for any mistakes they might make in packing that we as advisors
cannot. We encourage you to work with your crews to reduce the weight that
each member will carry and believe that the equipment lists in Appendices D and E
have been tested over time and represent what you will need on the trail at
Philmont.

However, for those of you whomight be tempted to try the ultra-light method
of backpacking (on your own first and not at Philmont), an excellent resource
is Beyond Backpacking, Ray Jardine’s Guide to Lightweight Hiking, AdventureLore
Press, (800) 247-6553. While we don’t agree with everything Ray Jardine has
to offer, he does present a different way to approach gearing up. However,
many of Philmont’s established backcountry protocols rule out most of
Jardine’ssuggestions such as tarp tents, hammocks, etc."

Cooper Wright

Associate Advisor, Crew 1519

Co-author of the Philmont Advisor's Guide

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Received on Wed Jan 4 22:07:38 2006