The Big Three

They call 'em the "Big Three" - your tent, your pack, and your sleeping bag.  They are the largest individual items you carry, and typically the heaviest.  When you are weighing things out to the ounce of what you carry on your back, these three are where there can be real gains by going lightweight.

Deuter Backpack

There's also an saying: "The more you travel, the less you need to pack."  Here's the problem, I want to travel the Trail lightweight, but I haven't done a whole heck of a lot of backpacking.  So, that means that I 'should' be taking a 2 person tent (so I'm not claustrophobic, and have room for my gear), with a bath-tub floor (to keep out heavy rain) which is completely enclosed with mesh to keep out the bugs, and a great rainfly.  That should cover every situation.  I currently own a really nice tent - an REI QuarterDome (2 person).  It actually is considered a lightweight tent - at just over 4 pounds with everything included.  But, it's way to big for what I need or really want to carry on my back.

I realize it's less than 100 days til we leave, and I should probably have my shelter figured out.  But I don't.  Here's what I'm leaning towards... (A) a ground cloth - big enough to put my sleeping pad on, plus (B) a bug bivy - a bivy is a "bag" that goes around your sleeping bag - this will keep the insects at bay (it's just mesh), plus (C) a rainfly.  I'm going to use my trekking poles to pitch my rainfly, and my rainfly will also be my rainponcho that I can wear hiking (and over my pack).  All together, I will cut down about half the fabric I would need to stuff in my pack, and I'll save about 2 pounds.

Check out my rainfly - I think it's cool:  Six Moons Gatewood Cape 

Of course, in a heavy rain or driving wind, my shelter may not be enough due to my lack of experience.  I may end up with rivulets running over my ground cloth and soaking my bag.  Or my bug bivy may blow away from under my rainfly (it doesn't reach the ground - for ventilation purposes - cuts down on condensation, which is smart) since it won't be staked down.  I don't know.  It'll be a learning curve.

Now, before you think I'm absolutely crazy for not taking a proper tent with me.  I'm not one of those crazy ultralight hikers who drill holes in their toothbrushes or forgoes a warmer sleeping bag just to save a few ounces.

My pack is a "light" pack, but certainly not ultralight.  My sleeping bag is probably considered "midweight" because I wasn't going to spend the money on goose-down to save the weight (that, and synthetic holds up better if it does get damp - which it will on the Trail.  My hiking buds have really cool sleeping bags that have waterproof down.  I decided not to spend the money on that, but they will probably sleep better than me at times!).  So don't worry, I am not just all willy nilly getting rid of things out of my pack.  But when all of your earthly possessions (plus 7 pounds of water and 5 days of food) need to total under 30 pounds, one really does start thinking about drilling holes.  Ok, ok, I admit, I did actually cut my toothbrush in half.  Maybe I am crazy.