Just wanted to follow up on this thread. Got back from a 12 day backpack hunt in the Mackenzie Mountains.
I did not fail to do anything per se, but…..when we hiked out of sheep country, a good 11+ mile trek, my pack had 81# in it, and I was hurting on the last few miles. I was actually fine for the first 6-7 miles going downhill, (though I slipped and fell down plenty of times on the rocks...I had snapped one of my walking sticks the day before, so only had one)……..where I felt the most pain (my back was really hurting) was once we got to the river beds and were on (relatively) flat land. Taking that pack off at the lake and seeing that float plane come in was nothing short of glorious!
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad I suffered……not just the hike out, but we endured 5 days/nights of blizzard conditions and high winds…..if I hadn’t suffered, I wouldn’t have felt like I had earned the privilege of taking a ram.
But if I were going on this trip again, I would train with more than 40#. I am 5’10” and weigh 195#. My pack did not stay up on my hips very well with 81# in it, something I had not had issues with, with less weight. Maybe it was the pack, maybe it was me. Had I trained with more weight I might have figured this out and gotten a different pack, or at least been better prepared/stronger, and be able to go a little faster.
