YosemiteBound for a 6-day backcountry trip. Present pack weight: 32.5 pounds

When and where in Yosemite?

I assume this is only packed clothing, correct? If so, what are you wearing?

You’re missing some essentials like a FAK, compass, lighter, whistle, etc. I suggest a mosquito head net too, unless you’re going very late in the season. Sunglasses. 25+ SPF lip balm. Camera (smartphone w/ camera)?

Lot’s of ways to drop some weight, but I’ll start by suggesting you simply don’t bring the following items: Water shoes 6 oz and Camelback 8 oz. Are those extra 11 oz. pants? If so, leave those out too.

Next, reduce the amount of these: x4 sock liners and x3 nylon briefs. 2 pairs of sock liners should be plenty. 1 pair of briefs should be fine, but x2 max.

Finally, these items will be inexpensive to replace with lighter alternatives: Fleece coat 18 oz, Bottle 6 oz, and Stove 7 oz. A simple 1/4 zip 100-200 weight fleece top can be found in the 8-11 oz range for under $30. Re-purpose a couple of plastic beverage bottles (Gatorade, SmartWater, Aquifina) at 2-3 oz. The Olicamp Kinetic Ultra Ti stove for $50 at 1.7 oz. should do the trick.

If you’re really looking to shed some weight your pack & sleeping bag would be next.

Have fun!

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the input. I am putting some of your suggestions into play already!

We are headed from Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulen, May Lakes, Sunrise Lakes, Little Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, and then down to Happy Isles. We start on June 11th. I have ordered the mosquito net, switched out the fleece coat for a 100 weight 1/4-zip fleece, and dropped some of the extras. I am now down to about 30 pounds with 8 pounds of food for the 5 full days. Hiked about 7 miles today with this pack at 29 pounds and with 1650′ of elevation gain and it wasn’t too bad. Two more months to train. Any tips on training?

What stove weighs 7 ounces?  A BRS-3000T at 0.9 ounces saves you 6 ounces at a cost of $16 off of Amazon and it arrives in 3 days or skip the middle man and get it off eBay straight out of China for $9-10 (but allow more time for shipping).  And 10 ounces fuel?  One person ought to be able to do 5 days easily with a 100-gram canister, <7 ounces for canister with fuel.

Whatever knife is 2 ounces can be swapped for a 0.7 ounce Victorinox Classic which has a blade, scissors(!), nail file, and tweezers.   $19-ish new.  $5 for a TSA-seized one.

A 6-ounce pot is either a very fuel-efficient HX pot (which doesn’t pencil out for one person, in the summer, for only 5 days) or is too big/heavy for a non-HX pot.  A Walmart grease pot is cheap and light.  You can get a Zelph’s Foster’s beer can, with ridges, for under $10 including shipping off of eBay.  32 grams = 1.2 ounces.

I don’t see the mini-Bic.

8 pounds food / 5 days = 1.6 pounds per day.  That’s not a lot of food.  Not when you’re hiking up and down mountains (with 30 pounds on your back!).  Totally doable, and most of us could stand to burn 1/4-1/2 pound of body fat each day.  And you won’t hit serious “hiker hunger” on a  5 day trip, so that’s all fine, IMO.  But you might find yourself Yogi’ing food from others.

4 pounds of pack is a lot.  You can’t sleep in it, it doesn’t keep you warm, and you can’t eat it.  I can understand not wanting to spend big bucks on a 1-pound pack, but could you borrow a 2-pound pack?  or even leave the pack bag behind and bring only the frame with your stuff sacks and a few Walmart/Outdoor Products dry bags (3 for $11) lashed on?

I think I just saved you 3 pounds for $30.  My work here is done.

“Yogi’ing” = “Is that a pic-a-nic basket I see?” = scrounging food from other hikers.

Hey David,
<div>Thanks for the tips. I am going to check into another backpack and look for a lighter stove. I will probably throw in a couple extra pounds of food at the end to make sure I don’t go hungry or have to beg for food!</div>
<div>Happy trails.</div>
<div>Bob</div>

Another alternative to the swiss army knife is the Gerber LST Ultralight Knife [06050]. It’s .53oz on my scale so a little lighter and also a more solid/larger blade in my opinion than a swiss army. You just don’t get the extra couple tools that you do with the swiss army.

Looks like a good knife. We had a wonderful trip. Glad we brought mosquito nets. Already looking forward to next year. We didn’t need quite as much food as we planned. Maybe we can cut another pound or two by next year.

Thanks for all the tips!