RE: [Philmont]: Pack Weight

I traded up for a bigger pack in 2004 (and loved it!). In 2002, I used the
pack I carried at Philmont in 1976, and it worked just fine. The problem
was, I looked like hobo Ed going down the trail with stuff lashed and
hanging all over the outside of my pack (tennis shoes, water bottles,
etc.). With my new bigger pack, everything fit nicely inside, which in
light of the rain/hail we had last summer, made me grateful for the extra
room. Also, the smaller packs lead to lots of stuffing and stomping of the
food at commissary stops in order to fit it all in. So, while my fellow
advisor and myself ate non-crushed food, some of our youth had crumbs for
certain meals... Hard to spread tuna when 1/2 your club crackers are
shattered....... Or eat your Hershey squirt when it had already squirted
all over the inside of the bag <g>!

Also, for advisors, one of my goals was to make sure our youth (especially
our first-timers) had a super great time, so I DID use my excess capacity
to carry crew gear that no one else could find a place for. While my pack
came in at 60+ lbs, it wasn't a problem for me (I trained hard before I
left). And when we hiked up Mt Phillips to our dry camp, it was I and the
other advisor who carried the extra water. I would have hated to dump that
chore on a kid since the hike up Phillips is bad enough. Also, some of the
excess gear was not particularly weighty (like trash, excess food, etc.),
but we needed room SOMEWHERE to carry it, so I usually volunteered. Not
that I felt I babied the youth, but just pitched in "a little bit more" in
the weight department. Part of this was in light of the fact that compared
to my 2002 crew which had several "hosses" in it, this one was coed and we
had some lighter weight youth.....

I understand the concept "build it and they will come" as it applies to
bigger packs (filling up the extra room), but irregardless of pack size,
you need to make sure that each person comes with the right gear and if
there is room left over in there pack, so be it! Better that than seeing
folks hiking down the trail holding stuff in their hands (like we saw in
2004).

Just my 2 cents.

YIS.

Mike Conkey ('76, '02 & '04)

                                                                                                           
                      "R Fisher"
                      <ghotier@texas.ne To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
                      t> <philmont@troop47.com>
                      Sent by: cc:
                      owner-philmont@tr Subject: RE: [Philmont]: Pack Weight
                      oop47.com
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                           
                      09/28/2004 05:49
                      PM
                      Please respond to
                      philmont
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                           

> When I got home, I checked and the pack weighs 9 pounds
> empty, with nothing at all in it.

Take a looooong hard look at all the doodads on your pack - things like
crampon patches, ice axe loops, lash-on points, extra compression
straps, that sort of thing. I realized some time ago, that I was
carrying a *lot* of accessories that I was never, ever going to use. So
I very carefully removed them from the bag. To my surprise, when I
weighed the pile of stuff I'd taken off, it was over half a pound!
There are still some things that I can probably do without, and may very
well find out soon ;>) Madison Avenue is wonderful about selling us
stuff we don't really need. (If I get really gung-ho, the label will go
too.)

And those big packs somehow "miraculously" seem to fill up with all the
stuff the crew can't find a place for.

Happy Trails,

Roy Fisher

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Wed Sep 29 09:15:56 2004