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UL positive feedback system


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  • #2058329
    Diane “Piper” Soini
    BPL Member

    @sbhikes

    Locale: Santa Barbara

    This summer I hiked in Glacier. The ranger sets your itinerary. We had a few days where we only hiked 7 or 8 miles, one where we hiked 3 miles and one where we hiked 1/2 mile. We also had some 14-15 mile days and one 20+ mile day. It was great! You CAN hike a nice 7 mile day with an ultralight kit and find it enjoyable. We picked lots of berries, swam in lakes, lolled around telling stories, cooked and ate, got late starts, sat at the top of the passes for hours since we had no rush, played music, showed off our gear and took naps.

    #2058335
    Jake D
    BPL Member

    @jakedatc

    Locale: Bristol,RI

    Which is a fine way to hike Piper. People who are against longer miles forget that it is a CHOICE. It's not like because i have only 20lbs in the pack I'm forced to go further. I tend to walk quickly and have good endurance so it just happens for me, especially solo.

    on the Long Trail I would pass 2-4 shelters per day and could choose to stay at any of them. a few days I chose to stop earlier and hang out. a few days I got to where i had planned and went huh.. lets go one more.

    #2072598
    Glenn S
    Member

    @glenn64

    Locale: Snowhere, MN

    Truth be told, this isn't just a UL BPL phenomena, it's true throughout all life. The more crap you collect, whether in your pack, your garage, or your soul, the higher the price and the more it takes to maintain, clean, store and worry about. Less truly is more. Well, invoking proper moderation and balance of course.

    However, I tend to see it more of a reversal of the negative feedback syndrome of western consumerism, rather than a positive loop. But that's just semantics ;-)

    #2072607
    Jennifer Mitol
    Spectator

    @jenmitol

    Locale: In my dreams....

    What's interesting is that I found BPL while I was purging the crap from my life. I had found a blog called "100 things" and it was a challenge to live with only 100 things. A plate? That's 1. A fork? That's 2….

    I so felt like my "living metabolism" was so high I couldn't keep feeding the beast. I made a lot of money, but all of it went to bills and the price of simply living. Mortgage, assessment, car payment, insurance, student loans, parking tickets (Chicago!!)…I didn't seem to have anything left for ME and other random things. So I sold my car and commuted by bike. Cable…gone. Mortgage? Sold my condo. My beloved floor-to-ceiling bookshelves? Bought an e reader.

    This lead me to BPL…and I saw the light!!!!!

    I started culling my gear..not so much in a sense of weight, which of course superficially it is, but also simply needing to keep track of less stuff.

    I want to live small, with a small footprint, and this translates perfectly to the OP's point about a positive feedback loop. It is now part of my whole life and it's so very freeing.

    #2072615
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Many religions teach anti materialism. You can be owned by your possessions and putting the material things before people, or God as the religions are trying to teach.

    Materialism can take from the environment and foster abusive labor practices. A negative feedback loop indeed!

    There have been some recent articles on the spread of obesity in the world and one scientist noted that food is available everywhere we go, even the hardware store! And the food is usually sugar, fat and salt.

    In the same vein, we are surrounded with cheap material goods. Our Big Box stores end up feeding 50,000 square foot thrift stores full of the junk that didn't make people happy. It's all so weird!

    The stringent analysis of gear to get UL feels very materialistic and I've called it hypermaterialism, but there is a leap between all the weighing and spreadsheets and getting the lightest gear and then buying a horde of UL gear. Shed as you go or suffer the consequences.

    Sometimes we feel like gear freaks, but compare your UL kit to a full blown car camping kit. My whole setup is smaller than a cooler! As with UL gear allowing lighter shoes, UL gear on a road trip allows a smaller car. Keep applying the principle and you can have a smaller house, allowing more time to go UL hiking :)

    #2072641
    Dena Kelley
    BPL Member

    @eagleriverdee

    Locale: Eagle River, Alaska

    For me, the main positive is that going lighter has made going possible, period. With a wonky back, bad knees, and damaged feet, carrying the old 50-60 lb pack wasn't an option for me. I'm not a long distance hiker- 10 miles in a day is plenty for me. But I do like to get out. Dropping my full load-out to 25-30 lbs has made a huge difference in my ability to get out. Note I said "lighter" – I've adopted the UL practices that work for me, but kept some of the heavier items that make my trip more enjoyable to me. I'm still fine tuning my kit. This year I will get the dog carrying her own food and blanket, and that should lighten my load up a bit.

    #2072741
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "I want to live small, with a small footprint, and this translates perfectly to the OP's point about a positive feedback loop. It is now part of my whole life and it's so very freeing."

    Okay, that's it. When are we getting married? Or do we actually have to meet first…..

    #2072744
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Jennifer wrote, "What's interesting is that I found BPL while I was purging the crap from my life. I had found a blog called "100 things" and it was a challenge to live with only 100 things. A plate? That's 1. A fork? That's 2…."

    That is like my one meter cube concept, where you get a one meter cube and all your belongings need to fit inside. I like the number version!

    #2072751
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    "Okay, that's it. When are we getting married? Or do we actually have to meet first…"

    I think it's definitively time you two get a room, but big enough for Mark too. :)

    #2072752
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    "OK, let's meet today's bachelors… actually our only bachelor. Bachelor number two was apparently last seen under arrest at REI after rioting and screaming "10D my @$$! I know my fabric!" Bachelor number three called in sick… something about his hiking partner "stink-palming his GORP" and now he's down with a stomach bug.

    (ahem)

    "Bachelor number one enjoys hammocking, wood stoving, single malting, has a Nobel peace prize in profanity arts, has a restraining order (under review) from an unnamed national park for (air quotes) allegedly fighting a bear over a Lara bar. He's nearly twice retired, a loving dog owner, been known to call other innocent campers who were minding their own business at the GGG a female genital, and is soon to relocate into a luxurious camper van in pursuit of a dirt bag lifestyle…"

    "Bachelorette… please ask Bachelor One your first question."

    (nervous giggle) "Bachelor one… if you and I were hiking the CDT in whiteout conditions and my last Chicken and Rice Mountain House Meal was stolen by a grizzly bear… would you share your dinner with me?"

    "%$#@ *!&^@@ #&%$$@ maybe but only if &+#@$## <#$?*! egg salad."

    #2072848
    Jennifer Mitol
    Spectator

    @jenmitol

    Locale: In my dreams....

    Officiated by either Nick G or -BG-
    Takes place somewhere in the Sierra (because here on BPL nothing else exists…)
    I will register at ZPacks and MLD. Just so you guys can plan you know……

    I think my entire wedding party could be made up by the entirety of the ladies who visit here.

    Shall I have my dress made of cuben????

    #2072853
    Steven Paris
    BPL Member

    @saparisor

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Always a bridesmaid . . .

    #2072854
    d k
    BPL Member

    @dkramalc

    Ooh, absolutely… and it should be minimalist in style, short (so as not to be too heavy), and no extras like lace, perhaps a few tie-out loops for multipurposing, but on second thought that will probably only encourage Doug…

    But if the wedding party is gonna wear cuben, can I be a bridesmaid?

    #2072863
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Could have the ceremony atop Wedding Cake in the Trinity Alps.

    #2072868
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "Could have the ceremony atop Wedding Cake in the Trinity Alps."

    That would mean an October wedding. I always liked autumn…

    #2072873
    David W.
    BPL Member

    @davidpcvsamoa

    Locale: East Bay, CA

    I would be honored to attend and read some of Doug's poetry.

    #2072882
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Sounds like we have a trip planned.

    See. This thread works.

    #2072884
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "See. This thread works."

    I'm sure she'll be okay with my philosophy. I hope she's okay with my technique…..

    #2072886
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I am an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and would be honored to officiate. My formal wear will consist of base layer, Houdini, REI Sahara pants and Sunday Afternoons Adventure hat.

    DEARLY BELOVED, WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY….

    #2072888
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    "I hope she's okay with my technique.."

    Is that what you call it?

    #2072893
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "Is that what you call it?"

    That's what Mike Damone called it, and I learned everything I know from him….

    #2073663
    Bill Segraves
    BPL Member

    @sbill9000-2

    Thanks, Bas, for starting such an interesting thread. I'm not sure I buy all the feedback loops. Lightening my footwear and lightening my backpack doesn't necessarily enable me to lighten other things, at least not directly, and it's not at all clear to me that having a light system leads to an energy surplus, but it's all thought-provoking, especially the broader implications raised by Jen's re-start of the convo. For me, personally, the answers depend very much on whether UL comes from less stuff or from lighter stuff. Backpacking UL through carrying less stuff is consonant with the smaller footprint. Getting lighter by going for lighter stuff feels like it pushes me the other direction. Don't get me wrong – I like carrying a lighter pack. But there was something simple and nice about packing a bag, albeit a heavier bag, with the things I already had around the house.

    Cheers,

    Bill S.

    #2073673
    Daniel Pittman
    Spectator

    @pitsy

    Locale: Central Texas

    "That's what Mike Damone called it, and I learned everything I know from him…."

    This is what you like, Jen?

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