I've done quite a bit of hitchhiking and travel by foot in the US, and I've also found that traveling with as little as possible is a plus. Focus on utility - not convenience - and you'll be better prepared for whatever situation you end up with.
15-20 pounds is what I average when I'm packing for "general" situations, and while it does start to feel more like 40 or 50 pounds after a while, you get used to it - and the security of knowing that every item in that 20 pounds is the opposite of frivolous far outweighs the inconvenience of the weight.
Re:Pack half of what you think you need
by lemonysnicket on Tuesday October 07, 2008 @12:33PM
(#325809)
what was your avg dist. on the longer hikes? am curious that 15-20 lbs. was heavy on the long hikes. and where'd you store the extra gear (i imagine a lot of it was weather-related)
20lbs (9kg) seems pretty light for a long hike - unless this is just baseline travel gear and you're not counting food, water, tent.
Re:Pack half of what you think you need
by rgrieselhuber on Wednesday October 08, 2008 @10:47AM
(#326578)
Right, it's not counting food, water, tent. When we were hiking / camping in NZ, we carried that additional gear and it was much heavier. I personally have a pretty light build so 20 lbs felt very heavy after awhile, even when I was in good shape.
I backpacked around the world for a year and my bag was relatively light (avg. 20 pounds) but even that was quite heavy on long hikes. I've since practiced and am now down to about 15 lbs., and I could go lighter, depending on the weather.