First of all, if John or Rachel of Boylston, MA are reading this, please accept my VERY sincere thanks for demo-ing some of your lightweight gear and techniques last weekend. My husband and I were up in the Whites in NH for our first backpacking trip, and he wound up with a h-e-a-v-y pack that weighed at least 35+ lbs. Mine, at 20 lbs., was also more than it should have been for the terrain, my fitness, and my experience. After crawling up the final granite rockfall before the Garfield Ridge Campsite, we collapsed gratefully onto a tent platform. Shortly thereafter, a sprightly younger couple dropped their daypacks on the neighboring platform, and with my gimlet eye, I recognized the Golite logo and the look of a lightweight pack. I had to engage this couple in conversation! When they unfurled a large tube of green silnylon, I asked, "Is that a Tarptent?" John and Rachel graciously showed us how they'd reduced their packweight and enjoyed hikes of twice the mileage we'd been doing. After hearing about the Tarptent, the sub-20 lb. packs with all the essentials, and the titanium-foil Esbit stove, my husband admitted that he had gear envy. I'm very sure that he'll never carry a circa-1991, 5 lb. oxford cloth pack fully loaded with 2 gallons of water, an 8 oz. bottle of bug spray, 5 lb. tent, 8 lbs. of food, etc. again! That next day, we spent a lot of time figuring out how we could save weight for our next trip. Hikers with knowledge of lightweight techniques can really make a difference when they share what they know. Thanks again!
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