The well-packed backpack

How does one carry a light backpack? Here is my formula:

Pack and sleeping

Gregory Two Day pack (has a well-padded hipbelt)
Moss Starlight tent without the flysheet (I left the flysheet in the car)
no sleeping bag (Patsy carried one Marmot down bag with a coupler kit that we shared)
Ridgerest mattress

Clothes

pair of shorts, T-shirt, sun hat and both a thin and a thick pair of socks to wear whilst hiking
Danner Mountain lightweight boots
Moonstone rain jacket, pile jacket and a pair of long pants
Lifa lightweight polypropylene tops and bottoms, an extra pair of socks, wool hat and a bandana

Cooking and food

1 pint white gasoline (Ced carried the Whisperlight stove)
1 quart Margarita for the pot-luck hors d'oevres
mug and coffee filter holder
four apples, hot chocolate mix, ground coffee and coffee filters (Patsy carried the rest of the food)

Other essentials

San Jacinto Peak 7.5 min topo map and permit, Silva Ranger compass, Swiss Army "climber" knife, wallet and keys
Petzl Zoom headlamp, first aid kit, sunglasses and sunscreen
Katadyn water filter, REI water bag, a 1.5 quart water bottle, 1 oz liquid soap and a toothbrush (Patsy carried the toothpaste)

Of course, you might not be so lucky as to have Patsy and Ced along to carry the sleeping bag, food and stove. In this case you should probably save some weight by leaving the quart of Margarita home!

Richard J. Hughes