So my short jaunt in the local National Park is this weekend. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone on here that's given advice, sold gear to me, bought the stuff I didn't want, and answered my questions.
When I went to Philmont in 2002 as a Scout I hiked most of the trip with about 50 lbs on my back. I loved it but…I knew there had to be a better way. In the last 2 years I've enjoyed reading Skurka's book and combing through info on BPL and some of your blogs. I've already lightened my dayhiking gear and it's been fun to do the same for my backpacking setup. My full load including water/food today will be just over 20 lbs – not SUL but certainly not heavy either.
I'll try to throw up a few pictures from the hike when I get back – purposely taking a nice camera so I can better capture the scenery. It's supposed to rain on me but you know it wouldn't be Mid-Atlantic hiking without that.
