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1984 at the Lost Creek trialhead near Creede, Colorado. My uncle and I packed in about 9 miles to some high country trout steams and beaver ponds for 7 days of fishing and camping. My pack was a large ALICE and was stuffed with about 75 pounds of crap. I can't believe I toted canned goods and 5 pounds of potatoes to fry with the trout we were going to catch. My uncle carried a NVA pack he used in the war on a medium ALICE. His pack was equally as heavy and he had a 6 pack of Cokes and a canned ham. I hope the two quart canteens I had strapped to the side were empty, but as young, tough and dumb as I was they were probably full. Our tent was a tarp and we slept in ponchos with liners on military pads. Travel "light" freeze at night. Damn it was fun and we caught and ate more Brookies and Cutts than you can imagine.

How the hell did anyone ever kill things with external frame packs, wood stocked rifles and no Mountain House? Inquiring minds want to know.

That's not to say technology and equipment advances are a bad thing. I wouldn't want to be out and about trying to make fire without a lighter and some sort of fire starter, or doing everything with a blacksmith forged spring steel blade.

We NOW carry 200lb of ultra-lite gear!


It's not the cast iron stove that throws me off my stride...it's the 50lb sack of potatoes!

Great picture. We did a few of those trips, I do remember the tiny cast iron pan and coleman white gas stove. Seemed crazy until we broke out the steaks, but you can't live on ramen alone.

The most phenomenal packer I ever saw was many years ago in Idaho. We were camped at a lake 8 miles back in the White Cloud Mtns. A guy came in behind us with 2 young daughters. He had their 3 sleeping bags, one of the old fashioned umbrella tents with the spider in the top, about 9x9', and a large cast iron frying pan. His pack had to have been well over 75lb.

Dang dude, besides the pack, were you skidding out logs too?

I forgot to mention I also had an Coleman single burner stove full of fuel also.

You are a poet...at least your feet know it for they are longfelllows,

Odd angle on the photo or on the photo of a photo I posted. At the time I wore a size 9.5 jungle boot.

My shoulders & back hurt just looking at that picture, lot's of large ruck memories ; - )

...and looks like your 1SG also required issued green jungle boots be dyed black, I had weird dye marks on my feet and socks for months...

The "canned ham" part cracked me up

Well played. I'f I'm gonna hump a 6-pack, coke is not the likely load.

Yours truly, getting ready for a week long winter climbing trip in the Presidential Range of NH's White Mountains. Post Christmas 1977. I was 16 years old and had just done a 2.5 mo's/650+ mile walk on the Appalachian Trail. Pic doesn't show the 6lb snowshoes. Total weight was right at 75lbs. Considering I weighed no more than 140 lbs I'd say that's a lot of weight.

We climbed the bulk of the peaks, sleeping just below timberline in -15*F temps. Had a blast...

I inherited the same crampons and have that same Ice ax in my "tool collection" wall.

Great pic!

Ha!

Salewa Crampons, and a 55 cm Forrest Mountaineering Axe. I still have the crampons, but the axe is long gone having given way to a 60 cm Chouinard axe (circa 1980) that I still have.

Will say, in my late 50's (59) packing out 75-85 lbs of elk is a lot tougher.

Looks like a Jansport D3 pack? I'm same age and still have a D2. Damn thing could hold a lot of heavy stuff:) I used it on a back pack trip a couple summers ago and sometimes use it pack out game if I can't get access to horses.

Yes, D3... the "wings" cracked from weight the first few weeks using it in July 1977 in NC. Overall, was a good pack.

I have one of the wood handle axes similar to the one in your pic... Camp-Interalp...I think they made them for REI, years ago. I have an old maybe 1930s era forged ax I'll try to get a pic of.

For alpine, am using a modern BD Raven and have some BD graphite alpine and water ice tools.

That blue ax in the pack pic was sold through REI, too and I have a steep drooping pick hammer from the same line.

Got a collection of ice screws, old school to modern.

That is cold! What bag were you using then for that?

Hauled my D3 all over Colorado in the 80’s, loved that pack and the places it took me to.

Joe, the ash handled axe above is indeed an REI Camp/Interalp model. It's a 90 cm "walking length" axe I picked up in the late 70's. I too have a BD Raven, which is incredibly light compared to the old warhorses.