The most “non lightweight” thing you’ve seen on the trail

[Phillip Asby]

I mentioned this on another thread but it occurred to me this might be a fun thread on it's own. What is the most extreme/interesting/amusing example of "non lightweight" backpacking you've witnessed (or perhaps done yourself)?

My experience is limited almost solely to Scout outings – so as you can imagine there are plenty of 85L packs with stuff hanging off them that perform almost like clown cars – I can't imagine how they fit that much stuff into even that big a pack.

I will say that several guys commitment to food is admirable – and I suppose if you split this 4 ways…. well maybe not. 4 guys packed in a 5 lb bag of Kingsford charcoal; a stansport heavy duty camp grill; 4 frozen NY strips; 4 large baked potatoes; a big tupperware bowl of salad (dressed); and a tupperware full of brownies. These weren't newbies either. It was impressive and the hike in was only about 2.5 miles, but still. The next morning they had a stainless steel 8 cup percolator to make coffee. And a fry pan – like the Coleman 9" fry pan not a top to an anodized pot. And half a dozen eggs which they used to make breakfast burritos. Weight aside I can't figure out how they hauled it all in since at least two of them were hauling in two man tents for themselves plus some troop gear (a couple big tarps, etc…). Like I said their packs were like a clown car – more and more big heavy stuff just kept coming.

At a base pack weight of about 19 pounds I am far and away the lightest person out there – my son is close behind me actually. There are a handful of scouts who lean towards light as well but I have a good bit of evangelizing to do and I'm far from UL and not in the same state as SUL guys here.

[Travis Leanna]

Big cast iron frying pan.

[Anonymous]

"Big cast iron frying pan."

Man, you got to have some muscles just to use that stuff at home, let alone backpacking.. :O

[Travis Leanna]

Seriously. When you see teenagers walking into camp looking like arthritic octogenarians, somethin' ain't right.

[J R]

A gallon jug full of water, swinging off the bottom of a super-sized pack, through an area with a stream or spring every few hundred yards.

[Benjamin Meadors]

A buddy of mine carried some seasoned firewood in a sack strapped to his already 40+ lb loaded external frame pack on one of our treks. Needless to say, he never did this again. In case you're wondering, I did tell him that this was a terrible idea.

[Miguel Arboleda]

A big cast iron cauldron, enough to feed 10, with an entire watermelon nested inside.

[Richard Cullip]

Last year I saw a group at 11,000ft in the High Sierra with a 5L mini keg of beer.

[jake.]

I've witnessed a full keg of domestic (15.5 gallons) with pump tap. Granted it was being pulled on a sled and its only 2.4 miles and 1,843' elevation to Hermit Lake on Mt Washington, NH.

[Phillip Asby]

I admire those committed to a social beverage – I guess I'm lucky that I am happy with and arguably prefer a bit of scotch and water or bourbon and water. Lighter and more bang for the grams so to speak.

[G H]

The most ridiculous overweight thing I've seen on the trail is myself :(

[David Ure]

A sack of raw potatoes attached to the back of a pack.

[Aaron Oxenrider]

Scouts are always the best for these. One kid brought canned soup for his meals for a 50 mile week on the AT.

While not weight wise, my favorite story is a kid who brought hot pockets for his meal the first night. It just never occurred to him that he had no way to keep it frozen or cook it properly. We helped him clean a rock and use that to bake it in the fire but he got ribbed pretty hard for it.

[David Thomas]

A 36-inch chainsaw in Desolation Wilderness.

Skis (this was at Point Reyes on the beach, 6 miles from the trailhead). As were:

A basketball backboard (only one, for a half-court game).

An 8-inch reflecting telescope.

A MSR-fired hot tub.

[Bradley Attaway]

Over several trips with college friends, iterations of "That's not a knife, THIS is a knife!" really got out of hand.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

My friend took his brand new SLR camera AND telephoto lens on a 5 day trip down Coyote Gulch. I warned him not to take it but he insisted.

Yeah he got great photos… but he sweared bullets carrying it and admitted it was a mistake.

(I gotta 'fess up. I carry an Olympus TG-1 which ain't a lightweight point-and-shoot but it's far from what my buddy Par was carrying.)

[Max Dilthey]

12 beers. What an idiot.

Oh wait, that was me…

[Elliott Wolin]

Ok, this may not qualify since it was canoe/kayak camping. But my friend brought two dozen ears of fresh corn, onions, tomatoes, peppers, a hunk of beef for fajitas, two dozen eggs, two pounds of bacon, a bag of fresh bagels, and I forget what else. Oh, and also a cooler with ice.

I must admit it was the best food I'd every had in the backcountry!

[Bob Gross]

A large steamer trunk full of heavy camera gear, carried between two guys.

–B.G.–

[James holden]

and you know what …

theyre probably having a more satisfying culinary experience than those BPLers eating their dehydrated meals with olive oil swished down with their chlorinated water

there are times when its worth it to bring REAL food …

each to his/her own

;)

[Mike W]

>> A large steamer trunk full of heavy camera gear, carried between two guys. <<

That sounds very familiar!

I was on a week long canoe trip that involved some substantial portages, so we tried to keep our backpacks as light as possible. We were late hitting the trail on the first day and as we carried our packs and canoe down the trail we met a guy sitting in the middle of the trail on a plywood box. We stopped and chatted with him. He had custom built a plywood food locker to fit into his canoe and I suspect it weighed 100 lbs! The guy was totally beat. His friend had walked ahead with the canoe and he was dragging the box down the trail. They had actually left the trailhead 4 hours before we had started our hike! He told me we would be jealous of their meals when we saw them in camp but of course we never saw them again.

[Justin Baker]

My hiking partner carried 15 pounds of steel reserve.

[Erik G]

I once passed a guy carrying a 20lb propane cylinder. His "backpack" was one of those beach chairs with pack straps. And he was hiking in flip flops.

[David Olsen]

Guy carried it up to said he had done it.

I carried a Rainier beer I found in the parking lot and left it in the parking lot when I got down. Wondered if it made more than one trip to the crater.

[David Thomas]

Pro-tip: just use water ice to keep lobsters cool. Dry ice asphyxiates them.

The UC Berkeley Outing club, CHAOS, has a long tradition of bring stupid things to various obscure places.

Jack-o-lanterns to the top of the Bay Bridge being one of the less legal such efforts.

Champagne for 30 people and a 3-tiered wedding cake on top of Half Dome being one of the more celebratory.

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