"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting."George Orwell
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Exercise Personalities: What's Your Type?
Exercise. You know how it goes. You have an epiphany and make up your mind that this time you are going to stick with an exercise program. The first week goes great...so does the second. Then the third week blues kick in and by week 4 that motivation you ...
Five Ways to Fit Fitness Into Your Life
It is extremely important to select an exercise program that will be well-suited to your lifestyle. If you have to drive 25 miles in rush hour traffic to the nearest pool, a swimming routine might not be your first pick. Find an exercise program that you ...
Great Glen Trails Voted Best Nordic Area in New England
Pinkham Notch, NH - Just two years after fire destroyed their first popular base lodge, a nationwide poll conducted over the past ski season has declared the "new" Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center in Pinkham Notch New Hampshire the best in New England and ...
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I was in the Weminuche Wilderness Area when the snow came. It was my second day out of Silverton, where the locals told me it rains or snows every day in August. I made a note to myself to do some research next time. Then I made a note to myself to find the trail. I was lost again.
Lightweight Backpacking
I came to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado to try my new gear. I used a tarp shelter, and a light down sleeping bag. The first rainy night I stayed dry. A good start, but now above the trees, I was lost in rolling tundra, unable to find the trail under several inches of snow. I had my ultralight rainsuit on, though, and I was fine.
It was beautiful, with mountains appearing all around at every break in the weather. Eventually I found myself on the map. The sun came out, and there were white mountain tops rising out of the green forests everywhere. Mountain goats played on the cliffs with me.
The fourth morning, I was on my way up Mount Eolus. In Colorado you can go up 14,000-foot mountains without climbing gear. They call them "Walk-ups," but some require more than hiking. The "catwalk" on Eolus, for example, is easy, but only if it's easy for you to walk a three-foot-wide edge, with a drop to your death on either side. I made it to the top.
Sunlight Peak, a couple hours later, required a leap across a thousand foot drop to reach the summit. At least it was an easy jump. Chased off by a thunderstorm, I
didn't get to go up nearby Windom Peak.
There were no roads, but the next day I found the Silverton-Durango line, and flagged down the train to Silverton. I bought food and headed out for three more days of rainy hiking. Lightning chased me at 13,000 feet, I slept in an old ghost town building, climbed three more "fourteeners," and I'd do it all again in a second. Backpacking in Colorado is spectacular, and going lightweight made it even more so.
Why Lightweight?
I carried my backpack easily up mountains, with better balance. One day I hiked 22 miles and bagged three fourteeners. I went 110 miles in seven days, without one blister. That's what running shoes and a 12 to 16 pound packweight does for you.
Staying dry was as much technique as it was good equipment. It rained every day, and I was under a tarp, in a one-pound sleeping bag, but I stayed dry and warm. I found lightweight backpacking to be safer than hiking with a heavy load, contrary to what many say.
This first lightweight backpacking trip was years ago. When I remember running up those mountains, I know I'll never go back to a heavy load.
About the author:
Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His advice and stories can be found at http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com
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