Uh Oh…..”Fastpacking”!

[W I S N E R !]

The term recently came up in a thread, annoying many. A dirty little secret…I have been guilty of many "fastpacking" trips.
I'm completely ambivalent about the term; call me what you will. Maybe it's accurate in some circumstances. Maybe it's pure marketing hype in others.

I found a link to this article about the origins of the term on Anton Krupicka's blog today- it's from a late 80's issue of Ultrarunning Magazine.

I think claiming fame to coining a term is a little hard to prove, but it's a good article nonetheless.

…I'm sure Ray Jardine has claimed he invented and patented it somewhere ;)

http://www.users.qwest.net/~cirnielsen/wind88.html

[EndoftheTrail]

Not saying you, but just thinking generally that too many folks are too into labeling… HYOH. I care little about these clever (and not so clever) terms.

[Jeremy Greene]

In that context the term has merit. It bears little resemblance to leaving home the inner wall of a tent. I am curious what was in those fanny packs.

[Jeremy Greene]

.

[Jim W.]

From the linked article: "carrying some 18-24 pounds each."

In a fanny pack?

My first sighting of a trail runner was about 1983. I was on the John Muir Trail about 15 trail miles north of Whitney. Late afternoon a guy trots up wearing two fanny packs stacked up. I ask where he's camped and he says he started from the portal (25 miles away) that morning and he's headed for Onion Valley (another 30 miles) with a bivouac somewhere in between.

It sounded crazy at the time.

[Author]

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