Other ageing backpackers have observed that the ground is a lot harder than it was twenty years ago but a phenomenon still new to me is how come it’s impossible to pack for even a short trip, without my bag weighing more than I do. I went around the world with a 35lb pack and spent two weeks hiking coast to coast across England with one weighing even less. Yet nowadays, no matter how much I stick to the Therouxian philosophy of “simplify”, it seems that my pack weighs more every time.
Of course, when backpacking in Britain it isn’t necessary to pack the volume of food and water that are required for basic survival here. There’s usually a store, or a café or a pub within a few miles so why bother? But even so, one would think that as the cost of my backpacking gear has increased over the years, the weight would have gone down, not up and it’s a mystery to me how my pack can be so heavy before I even put the food and water in.
Even though I was only planning on covering the first 70 miles of the Colorado Trail on this expedition; that would still require me to carry five days worth of food, along with a good supply of water in addition to my (surprisingly heavy) water filter to replenish the stocks. I have to say, the thought didn’t appeal.
So it was an inspired moment when I hit on the idea of making the first stage simply a day hike. The first few days of the trail aren’t all that far from my home so it just was just a case of Dear Wife and I getting up ridiculously and dropping Angus the Toyota at the end of the first day’s trail, before heading for Denver in the Subaru where she dropped me at the start. I could then simply walk back to the car, and drive home to a shower and a fridge full of beer. Not only would I not have to carry my backpack for a whole day, I could afford to put less in it, and it was with a smug smile I shouldered my lightweight day pack and walked past the behemoth bag squatting by the door.
With age comes wisdom, and I’m certainly due some.
This is going to be a piece of cake.
1 comment:
Have a wonderful hike Andrew.Good idea to start off with day hikes.
Maybe we dont know how to simplify anymore.
20 years ago, had any one even thought of water filters. When your bottle was getting empty, you merely found a creek to refill. The amizing thig is, we all survived despite injesting whatever pathogens were living in that water!
Have fun.
Post a Comment