I have been hiking for as long as I can remember, for most of those years I have been carrying what I would consider to be a heavy backpack. Two Years ago when I hiked from Agnew Meadows to Toulumne Meadows was the last time I will ever hike with a heavy pack. I have made the transition to Ultra Light Packing and have no regrets. Packing light makes hiking fun, rewarding and sometimes easy. Well maybe not easy but certainly much easier than it would be with a heavy pack.
While on the trail we frequently passed people who would look at our packs and ask us how we were able to carry such a small load. I would generally answer by saying,”by only carrying what we absolutely needed.” It took a long time to decide what I could go without, but the idea that the hike would be easier without superfluous items made the weight cutting easy. Some days I would miss one luxury item or another but then there were days like 8-1-09 when I was glad to be carrying as little as possible.
On 8-1-09 Molly and I were feeling more tired than the days effort warranted and we ended up hiking about 2.5 miles further than we were planning. I was so exhausted this day that besides a few snaps here and there I did not take any pictures. Overall it was a pretty difficult day. Had we been carrying heavy packs we either would not have gone nearly as far or we would have been utterly exhausted by the end of the day. Going light made this day a lot easier than it would have otherwise been.
If you are backpacking with more than 35lbs I urge you to check out Backpacking Light. It is a subscription site but well worth the price. They have a wealth of knowledge contained on their pages, knowledge that was instrumental in helping me have a successful first ultra light trip.
Our Packing list can be downloaded Here. You will need Excel to read it.
8-1-09
Exhausted once more!
Today our goal was to make it to lower trinity lake…
We awoke to an amazing sunrise with a glass like Thousand Island Lake reflecting Banner Peak.. After enjoying the sunrise and capturing a few images I started preparing breakfast while Molly packed our gear. We didn’t get started hiking until 8:30 because we were cooking for four and playing host to Mom & Dad. Dad lost his wallet (yes Dad brought his WALLET on the trail) and that slowed us down too. After summiting the ridge above Garnet Lake there was an amazing view of the Sierra to the south. Farther on down the hill we talked to a father and son who were very interested in our small and light packs. The most unexpected part of the day was the super steep climb out of the Shadow Lake area. We finally made it up to Rosalie Lake where I took a quick plunge to clean up a bit. We rested for a bit and then set out for Trinity Lake. We made it to Trinity Lake without event but there was no clean water there. We had to continue on another 2.5 miles to Johnston Meadow before we could make camp. We were both exhausted and I feel like I am more tired than I should be.
Matthew Parker's photography is captivated by the challenge of catching
the beauty of creation, undestroyed by humans. Whether in distant
National Parks, urban parks or in his hometown of San Diego, Matt enjoys using the camera lens to
frame the incredible beauty around him. He seeks to capture both the
easily-overlooked beauty of subtle patterns in rocks and water
reflections, as well as the magnificent grandeur of mountain peaks and
grand vistas.
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“Only what we absolutely needed,” plus a FEW indulgences. Like extra camera lenses for you and my watercolors.