Reduce Your “Base Weight”

The only money you need to spend is for gas to get you to the trail head. And sometimes that isn’t so much, if your hiking trail is close by. Think about it. Food? You’re going to eat anyways! Water? What does that cost? Go through the list of essentials and you will find that you already have most of it on hand. Also, if your hike is a short one in a popular area, you won’t have to take all the “just in case of emergencies” type of stuff.

During 2010, I’ve done 30+ hikes without purchasing any new clothing. I heard an interview once where the AT thru-hiker was asked “What kind of shoes do you wear?” and he answered “Whatever the store has in my size.” Since he had large feet, he didn’t have a lot of choices in what to purchase and it seems that he was still quite able to do a long through hike. I like the idea that wherever you are, you can go on a day trip into the woods, mountains, wherever. The only think you really need for hiking is your own two feet. Hey, Cody Lundin doesn’t even wear shoes!

My first hike of 2011 was Ruckel Creek. We didn’t get to our destination because of the ice, snow and cold weather, and when we turned around to come back down the hill (about 2000 ft elevation), my tennis shoes were slipping and sliding. I took a couple of spills. So I decided to purchase a new pair of hiking boots specifically for getting better traction and protection in snow and ice. I will get to try them out on Tuesday (if we can get to the Grouse vista trailhead for Silver Star)

I may have to purchase a new day pack this year, although I will improvise if necessary. There are a number of ways to haul your stuff without a fancy pack.

I have to smile when I read about getting your base pack weight down, not because weight isn’t important, but because the base weight I have to work on isn’t in my pack. Last November I was nearly 100 pounds overweight, yet still doing some decent day hikes throughout the year. It wasn’t easy hauling all that weight up and down the steep trails in the Columbia River Gorge. And I dream of doing the John Muir Trail, the Pacific Northwest Trail, or even the PCT! Looks like it will be important to get my “base weight” down.

So, I read a book called “Die Fat or Get Tough” by Steve Siebold and started to change my thiking. This is a no-holds-barred, no-punches-pulled, politically-incorrect, straight-talking book about taking responsibility for weight, making a decision to follow a diet (or, as I like to call it, a “strategic eating plan”), and sticking to your decision. I lost close to 10 pounds before I actually selected a specific diet to follow. I’m now down almost 30 pounds with the knowledge that I will, one day in the not-so-distant future, be at the weight I need to be. A close friend of mine is encouraging me, since he wants me to climb Mt Adams with him near the end of summer.