Pros
- You can put a lot of stuff in it.
Cons
- Your friends can put a lot of stuff in it.
- It is always either uncomfortable or painful.
- It ruins your balance.
- It makes climbing up hills tiring.
- It makes climbing down hills hard on the knees.
- It makes going over unstable ground hazardous.
- It makes going through narrow or low spaces impossible.
- It makes going along level, straight, stable, wide paths drudgery.
How to Lighten Your Load
[1] Choose a Good Pack.
A good pack is a small pack. The experienced tramper avoids the 95-litre juggernaut in favour of something smaller... a day-bag if possible. Why? Because the bigger your pack, the more junk you can put in it, and the more junk you will put in it. Even worse, your friends with smaller packs will ask you to carry some of their junk because you have room for it and they don't. Conversely, if you have the smallest pack, you can get them to carry the axe, honey, spare bananas, etc. If your pack is really small, you can even get others to carry your own personal items such as shampoo, crockery, dictionary, or pillow.
[2] Pack Carefully.
Don't take anything you don't need. Or if you must, carefully put what you don't need into someone else's pack while they are not looking.
[3] Know How to Walk.
Walk as little as possible. Take your pack off when you stop to rest, and stop frequently and for long periods of time. See ("testing the ground").
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"If only I had a smaller pack." |