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Where has the suffering gone??? : (


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Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion Where has the suffering gone??? : (

Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 79 total)
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  • #3565089
    Ben C
    BPL Member

    @alexdrewreed

    Locale: Kentucky

    Paul wrote: “ex-Catholic”. My wife prefers to call herself a “recovering Catholic”.

    #3565102
    Doug Wolfe
    BPL Member

    @wolfie2nd

    Now this could be the start of a whole new trolling post!!!! Hahahahaha

    #3565199
    Paul Magnanti
    BPL Member

    @paulmags

    Locale: Colorado Plateau

    Paul wrote: “ex-Catholic”. My wife prefers to call herself a “recovering Catholic”.

    I’m a lapsed Catholic. But I am Roman Catholic – there’s no way out of it. – Martin Scorsese 

    #3567557
    Diane “Piper” Soini
    BPL Member

    @sbhikes

    Locale: Santa Barbara

    I am late, late, late for this party, but I’ll just chime in to say that at some point on my long distance hike I realized adding a few more pounds so I’d have a book to read and some extra clothes to wear and protection from bugs wasn’t a hardship. In the end, I’m kind of more interested in the technique side of lightweight backpacking anyway. I like the creativity of problem solving that thinking like an ultralight hiker brings toward everything. Gear is less important to me than solving some problem with ingenuity out on the trail, and back home in regular life, too.

    #3567921
    Monte Masterson
    BPL Member

    @septimius

    Locale: Southern Indiana

    In defense of the OP, I think nearly everyone who’s attempted to go ultralight  has suffered at some point. With me it was packing a sleeping bag that wasn’t warm enough. “travel light freeze at night” as a traditional backpacker once told me

    Another example is when I tried to get by with a torso length Ridgerest ccf pad. I found that supplementing it with an 8 oz NeoAir X-Lite short (and then placing the Ridgerest under  my legs and feet) was well worth it. I really do feel better when I get sleep.

    Maybe a good thread would be “Suffering I’ve endured whilst trying to go ultralight”

     

    #3567926
    Jeff McWilliams
    BPL Member

    @jjmcwill

    Locale: Midwest

    Suffering I’ve endured whilst trying to go ultralight”

    That sounds like a great idea!

     

    #3567943
    Diane “Piper” Soini
    BPL Member

    @sbhikes

    Locale: Santa Barbara

    I’ve suffered through many cold nights with heavy gear though. It seems that suffering cold nights is unavoidable. But thanks to all the great light gear there is now, I bring two sleeping bags with me now and suffer carrying an extra pound during the day but luxuriate at night with the ability to find the perfect configuration of my two bags for toasty slumber.

    #3567971
    Lester Moore
    BPL Member

    @satori

    Locale: Olympic Peninsula, WA

    It’s all a matter of perspective, but backpacking has never felt like suffering to me, just mildly inconvenient, uncomfortable or annoying on occasion. And those occasions can be minimized by picking different gear and accepting variable base weights based on anticipated conditions for each trip. If you want obligatory suffering, then take up alpinism and winter mountaineering.

    #3568008
    AK Granola
    BPL Member

    @granolagirlak

    If backpacking has never seemed like suffering to you, try taking along an unwilling teenager, and get into nasty conditions. First, with your teen, experience a chilly wet night, with maximum condensation. The next morning, there’s no breakfast, only bars, because the wind is picking up and you’re in an exposed area and need to get moving quickly (actually this particular trail has no areas that are not exposed, 100% above treeline). So  you march on and a heavy fog sets in, slowing progress between cairns. When you get to a trail shelter to hopefully cook a hot meal, the rooftop water catchment system has a dead animal in it; teenagers don’t like that. After a hot meal, and a short blessed respite, you march on into high wind that makes it hard to stand up, much less walk, the rain turns to snow, there are umpteen switchbacks down into a marsh, and then back up again… it goes on and on. Actually the hike itself isn’t hard, just hard when you’re motivating someone else up the switchbacks.

    I don’t know who suffered more, me or my kid. At one point we got separated from the rest of the group, in thick fog, and had a meltdown. Cold, wet, 40 and blowing wind, and sitting still. We were only another 1/2 mile from a shelter on the map, where the rest of the party likely was, but had no communication with them. Staying put would have been very unwise. I resorted to physical violence  – hit kid once or twice with a hiking pole – to get him moving again, and within the hour we were inside, wrapped in an emergency blanket, and using mutual body heat and hot tea to recover. I am not normally abusive, just when survival depends on it. Plus I tried bribery first, “I’ll buy you an entire large pizza all for yourself.”

    The rain, wind, hunger, fog, snow, cold, and etc. would not have deterred me, although I might have just hiked the rest of the way out. But add a teenager… borrow one if you need to in order to experience some real suffering. And yes, I do love my kids! That was our last backpacking trip together…

    #3568030
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    UltraLight was never a real “suffering” problem for me. 35-40 years ago I was moving in that direction from my family kit (30lb for a family of four.) Simply exchanging my old two pound pack for a 1pound pack, changing from two 2person “pup” tents(about 5 pounds in total) to a larger 1.5pound tarp. And exchanging my old 3-4 pound down sleeping bags (canvas outer) to a light bag 1-2pounds for each was a super help. And minimizing extra clothing (no longer worried about the kids peeing the bed) got me to something less than 20pounds. After I dropped all the extra gear (because the kids had grown into teenagers) my base weight was around 12pounds.

    Further refinements in gear and technique got me down to about 4 pounds and my wife down to about 3.5 pounds. Our total was Ultralight! Then I added back stuff because of durability and simple lack of available SUL gear…the GG G5 died and I couldn’t replace it, my 7.5oz down vest died and I replaced it with a 12oz down sweater, two people can use an alky stove but the SVEA was far easier/faster to use, got tired of spending 15min making stakes all the time so I added 8 shepherds hooks, added the old Sven saw back for good firewood instead of relying on breakable branches, added a neoair medium instead of the short CCF pad, and so on.) Suffering was never in my cards, but we did spend a couple cold nights down to about 15F with UL 40F bags. You needed everything on. Not suffering cold, but cold enough you didn’t want to get out of the bed to dig a kitty hole through frozen ground with a hiking pole! But real suffering? Nope, not for me.

    #3568048
    Eric B
    BPL Member

    @eb

    Karen, some months ago I recognized a photo you posted as Chena Dome . This time you’ve painted a picture in words and I’m guessing Pinnell Mountain. Amirite?

    #3568052
    Kevin B
    Spectator

    @newmexikev

    Locale: Western New Mexico, USA

    I think the OP is right.  Other than the BMWO guys each spring, and the rare trip-report from epic hikes like Buck Nelson’s recent arctic hike/float this site seems pretty soft in recent years. Heck I’ve turned forty and don’t get after as much either.

    Type 3 fun shouldn’t be overlooked and dismissed as much as it’s seems to be in the responses in this thread. Imho

    #3568054
    MJ H
    BPL Member

    @mjh

    I’m a lapsed Catholic. But I am Roman Catholic – there’s no way out of it. – Martin Scorsese

    It’s a holiday of obligation today. Just saying.

    #3569758
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    Recently I purchased a cool Oakley “coyote tan” ball cap with Velcro square on the front. To that Velcro I attached a Velcro-backed patch that reads, “EMBRACE THE SUCK“.

    I wear it when I do a once or twice weekly hard or long hike. It inspires me to be mindful of Ma Nature during painful moments so that I can forget “The Suck” and smell the flowers, also known as “Getting in touch with my feminine side”. (Yin and Yang, ya know.)

     

     

    #3569814
    Rawhide .
    BPL Member

    @rawhide

    Locale: Central Coast of California

    I jumped on BPL in 2010, and it was mind-altering :) Loved it. Still do. I was pretty broke then, scouring the Gear Swap multiple times a day to find inexpensive kit pieces, and making do with what I had/could afford. I’ve been able to add lighter pieces of gear since, as I’ve dialed in my hiking style & comfort zones. I think what’s so great about backpacking is that everyone’s so different. I’m pretty light, usually, but depending on the hike I may go heavier…and then there’s the camera equipment. I can’t skimp there!

    This Summer I’ll be hiking the length of Ireland (approx 650 Miles tip to tip) and my buddy will be joining me for the first 5 days. Our packs are going to differ dramatically. I haven’t added up my base weight yet, but my sleep system comes in at 42 oz (with an inflatable pillow lol), and I’m sure that will be what his sleeping bag will weigh, but…we’ll still put in the same mileage each day and he may catch a little of the UL fever. We’ll keep weight down by not needing to carry more than a pound or so of food at any given time, thanks to pubs & towns along the way. But for me, keeping my base weight down is strictly to make room for carrying camera gear :)

    #3572486
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    AMEN! “JCH”,

    I hear you and have preached this idea of backpacking comfort for years on BPL and Trailwise. Go as light as possible while being comfortable. Hence my backpacks all have frames and padded hip belts, for example.

    My UL gear:

    -> Osprey EXOS pack (light but also very comfortable, even overloaded to 40 lbs.)

    -> REI FLASH Insulated 3 season air mattress is 15 oz. (Sooo comfortable and warm in spring and fall.)

    -> overstuffed WM Megalite bag (good to 20 F. W/o long johns)

    -> Tarptent Moment DW

    None are the very lightest options but all very reasonably light and comfortable.

    Durability is another factor that figures in the weight arena. My 1 lb. eVent parka is not even UL but it IS durable and doubles as a wind shirt.

    Maybe with this new TNF Nanospun WPB laminate things will get even lighter and better performing. Like hunting tech, backpacking technology is radically changing how we enjoy the outdoors. In both areas technology advances are truly amazing compared even to just 20 years ago.

     

     

    #3572718
    Evan G
    BPL Member

    @jidaran

    Personally, I’ve never understood camping chairs.  There’s always a rock or log that does the job fine.  How long are you actually sitting at camp anyway?  I’m usually either hiking, moving or sleeping.  If I’m on a trip that’s gonna have some real downtime at camp I’ll bring my hummingbird hammock – it’s lighter than any camping chair and far more comfortable.

    That said, UL isn’t about suffering for me.  It’s about simplifying and pushing limits, while accepting that the effort will involve discomfort at times.  But the discomfort isn’t the point, it’s just a side effect.  If you’re on a mission, it makes sense to go 100% spartan.  But if you’re just out for a fun trip, isn’t nice to have an indulgence or two?  That might be a good camera, some fresh sausage for the first night’s dinner, or maybe a camping chair.  Nothing wrong with that.

    #3572871
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Hammocks while lighter than a chair never seem usable sitting around the fire in the evening when you appreciate the chair and the relaxed down time in camp.

    Out there to enjoy yourself or suffer, push, whatever.

    Different tasks, different tools.  A chair you can lean back in trumps any rock or log.

    #3572955
    Miner
    BPL Member

    @miner

    Locale: SoCAL

    I never subscribed to overly suffering or I wouldn’t go out.  Just trading off where I’m suffering just a small bit: in camp or while hiking. I usually choose hiking since I sleep for 8-9 hours and hike for 12+ hours.  Personally, I still carry pretty much the same type of gear I did 10 years ago while comfortably under 10lbs.  Not planning on changing any time soon to go heavier.  But as a result of being mostly static in my choices, there really isn’t much to talk about until a another new revolution in lighter weight fabrics knocks a few more ounces off without giving anything up for it.

    #3572984
    MJ H
    BPL Member

    @mjh

    A chair you can lean back in trumps any rock or log.

    This is certainly true for me, though I don’t carry a chair. Maybe in the spirit of replacing things with knowledge, there could be a database with the coordinates of rocks that have the right shape to let you put down a pad and lean back like you were in a barcalounger.

    #3572985
    BCap
    BPL Member

    @bcap

    Today’s generation has missed the bus

    I can only speak for myself, but anytime I find myself saying something like this I generally try to turn inward instead of outward.  Kinda like asking ‘Why is every other person crazy?’.

    #3572996
    W I S N E R !
    Spectator

    @xnomanx

    I did a substantial portion of the reading and writing for my MA in an Alite Monarch chair while solo backpacking.  The chair was a game changer.  Yes, there’s always a rock or a log or something to improvise, but to actually settle in and read and write for hours at a time the chair made a huge difference for me.  The outdoors became my office and I’m very grateful for that.

    #3575117
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    @ Paul Wagner,

    My motto: “He who wears out the most toys wins.”

    And its corollary: “Better to wear out than rust out.”

    #3575120
    Chris K
    BPL Member

    @cmkannen-2-2

    I’m with WISNER!. I started bringing a chair to sit on while making paintings. The paintings always turned out better in the chair. I sat on whatever was around for a long time before I realized I made better work in the chair. Worth it.

    Where has all the suffering gone could lead to: What is backpacking for?

    A question with many answers, even for one person at different times in life. I think our definition of suffering changes along with everything else.

     

    #3575129
    Ryan Jordan
    Admin

    @ryan

    Locale: Central Rockies

    I’m not sure that suffering in the wilderness can be defined by bringing or not bringing a lightweight camp chair.

    This interesting podcast offers an alternative view of the what and why of suffering, it reaches for something at a much deeper level, than a pound of gear here and there.

    That said, my experience with suffering has been reflected in a few scenarios:

    * Intentionally taking as little gear as possible, out of curiosity, and suffering as a result. Usually this means being cold. It often meant less sleep, because I had to hike late or get up early and do a bunch of night hiking just to stay warm. These types of trips can be classified as “experiments”. This is the curious SULer sort of model.

    * Intentionally maximizing some physical performance metric. For me, it most often means maximizing the number of hours a day I’m moving, just to see how many miles I can bang out. Often, I bite off more than I can chew, so my trips take longer than expected, I run low or out of food, and arrive at the end pretty spent. This is the BMWO sort of model.

    * Doing everything I can to be prepared, and nature still dishes out an unexpected hand. This might involve storms and blizzards that keep you in one spot for days, terrain that was way more horrendous than expected, or a bear stealing a food bag. Maybe you have a delayed exit for a day or two or five, or run out of firestarting materials, or run out of food, or simply run out of emotional fortitude. These are the types of trips where the rubber meets the road in terms of your skills and mental toughness.

    I think all three of these (two intentional, one not), are incredibly valuable exercises for honing your tolerance for uncertainty and adversity, which (if? when?) applied to your day to day living, responding to your regular stressors, relationships, financial challenges, etc. – have the potential to make you a more relaxed human.

    But skipping a pound of comfort for the sake of just carrying a lighter pack? I’m not so sure about that.

Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 79 total)
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