Jack
A wonderful commentary on ultra light backpacking. The real problem with ultra light is everybody in the crew has to be doing it to make it work. Philmont doesn't issue and most units do not have ultra light gear. You can be vigilent with what your folks bring with them to Philmont. Packing heavy unfortunately for most units is a way of life. I have included a section on packing light from the Philmont Advisor's Guide, an 84-page unofficial publication with lots of stuff from lots of rangers and experienced advisors. The Guide is available as a MS Word document for a $10 donation to our Venturing crew. E-mail me directly if you are interested.
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"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 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 crew gear 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 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 headband; synthetic long underwear top can keep you warm in the campsite and serve as sleep shirt)
· avoid gadgets (such as Leatherman, hydration systems, heavy camp stools)
· sharing (one set of toothpaste or Camp Suds bottle per tent)
· 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!)
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 who might 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."
Cooper Wright
Associate Advisor, Crew 1519
Co-author of the Philmont Advisor's Guide
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Received on Tue Jun 3 11:14:16 2003
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