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INTRODUCTION (Revisiting the Art of Ultralight)

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INTRODUCTION (Revisiting the Art of Ultralight) Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp Copyright © 2011 Ryan Jordan | ryanjordan.com WELCOME & INTRODUCTION (Revisiting the Art of Ultralight) Preface A long time ago I wrote an article called the "Art of Ultralight". It was a very short little thing, an ultralight manifesto if you will, designed to give newcomers to ultralight backpacking seven practical strategies for going light. The article appeared in a number of places on the web, in the GoLite 5th Anniversary Catalog, and became a cornerstone content piece at backpackinglight.com. I passed copies out at the clinics, seminars, and courses I taught, and even gave a copy to a Coors Brewing Company executive, who sat next to me on a flight from Denver to somewhere. He asked me "So, what's this ultralight thing all about?". I told him that we used a lot of Coors beer cans to make homemade alcohol stoves, and handed him a copy of the Art of Ultralight. He sat quietly reading the article while the plane took off. Once we achieved cruising altitude, he set the paper down, looked at me, and simply said, "Wow." He got it. Wow. That was my response, too, when I returned to the Dosewallips River trailhead after a 300-mile circumnavigation of the Olympic Mountains in 1989. I started that trip with a 32 pound pack (including food), completed the trek in 9 days, and arrived at the trailhead with less than 11 pounds of gear (and no food!). That was the trip that convinced me wholeheartedly that "going light" offered more possibility and potential for outrageous adventure than any other style of wilderness travel. Twenty one years after that Olympic expedition, I spent the spring and summer of 2010 training seven Boy Scouts, six of whom had never spent the night in the backcountry, about lightweight backpacking gear and techniques. In early July, those boys, aged 12-17 years old, traversed the entire length of the Beartooth Plateau with packs that averaged 14-25 pounds (including food) through snow, talus, mosquitoes, and thunderstorms - without a blister. Wow. Backpackinglight.com was founded in 2001 and was targeted mostly to engineering geeks and INTJ's like myself who were interested in the detailed field performance of lightweight gear. However, as backpackinglight.com matured and diversified our interests, so did our community. Constantly, I was (am) amazed by what people were doing with lightweight gear and techniques. The 70-something year old man that has logged 12,000 miles of hiking since he qualified for social security. The mother-of-nine and her retired husband that were taking up hiking as a retirement hobby, found the ultralight community, got addicted, and regularly travel 100 miles or more through some of the remotest wilderness areas in the world. The ten year old girl that completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. A young ivy league graduate that walked from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in only 11 months - averaging 25 miles a day for nearly 8,000 miles - even considering that he walked through the Upper Peninsula in the middle of winter! Wow. Watching normal people to epic stuff - because they have ultralight backpacking in their arsenal of tools - is one of the most satisfying parts of my job as an educator and a guide. Knowing that you can be safe, comfortable, and happy with less than ten pounds of gear on your back is perceived as borderline insanity, but when practiced, reveals a sense of freedom and engagement with wild places that's just… …Wow. So, welcome to the Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp and get ready for your own "wow" experience, kickstarting it with a review of “The Art of Ultralight” below. The Art of Ultralight, Revisited Ultralight backpacking, contrary to proclamations by Those That Carry Heavy Packs, is not practiced by that crazy fringe segment of wilderness society that derives their calories from obscure edible roots and their shelter from two twigs and a waterproof handkerchief. Well, at least, it’s not practiced only by that crazy fringe. Rather, it’s a way of backcountry travel that has permeated virtually every outdoor sport: day hiking, trail running, horse packing, packrafting, backcountry hunting and fishing, mountaineering, mountain biking, and adventure racing. The Ultralight Ethic no longer stands in the shadow of conventional backcountry theology that proclaims “more is better”. An increasing number of people, including elite Alaskan alpinists, Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, parents with children, and even aging baby boomers are entering the wilderness with an astounding level of self-awareness rooted in a simple ethic: Less is better. Lighter is better. Ultralight backpacking is not hard, nor does it discriminate against those with physical challenges. Anyone with a mind to change, and a desire to cultivate their own ultralight ethic, can do it. Here’s how. How-To: Seven Steps to Enlightenment Be sure to watch the accompanying video presentation (screencast) “Ultralight Backpacking Core Principles” which further expounds on these seven steps. 1. Reality check: weigh your stuff. Don’t have a digital scale yet? Get one. Once you weigh your old gear and add up the pounds and ounces, you’ll either be checking into the cardiac ward or making a beeline to your local outdoor shop for some lighter gear. And, yes, the cliché holds true: ounces add up to pounds, and pounds add up to discomfort on the trail. 2. Trim the fat: leave the kitchen sink at home. Camp chairs, GPS units, espresso makers, the latest Clancy novel, cellular phones – do you really need all this stuff? Whatever happened to sitting on a stump, navigating with a compass, drinking cowboy coffee, reading the fine print on a map, and enjoying a ring-free wilderness experience? You’re going into the backcountry to get away from it all, so don’t bring it all with you! At the very least, exercise some discipline when choosing your luxuries, and only allow yourself one. For me, it’s often a field guide (my favorite: Lightweight Backpacking 101, ISBN 0-9748188-0-1, 3.7 oz) and a laminated photo of my family (0.2 oz) that I can hang off my tarp in camp. Update, March 2011: I carry more electronics now, than I used to. I'm experimenting with iPhone navigation applications, satellite Smartphones for blogging and communications, and I've even been known to replace the old trusty paperback here and there with that fancy new Kindle, which holds Colin Fletcher's entire library for less than half a pound - plenty of reading for a nice long walk. 3. Plan your trip: limit your contingencies. We have been fed a steady of diet of conservative backcountry theology that has created generations of hikers that prepare for winter but only hike between July Fourth and Labor Day. Do your homework: assess your destination’s terrain, climate, weather patterns, and natural hazards. Then, plan (and pack) accordingly. Do you really need a winter parka and a four-season tent for a three-day summer walk on the Georgia A.T.? How light you should go will depend in part on your experience and skill – and you’re better safe than sorry, so don’t cut it too close. But at least grab a last minute weather report and adjust your equipment list appropriately. And practice! Backyard camping in inclement weather is a great way to fine tune your ultralight gear systems and take risks you normally wouldn’t take in the backcountry. Update, March 2011: One of my favorite trip types is that where I don't even take a map and compass. This of course is wholly against the religion of the 10 Essentials that we all grew up with, but it's not as outrageous as you think, if you simply consider the increased risk involved, and how to minimize it (e.g., hiking in familiar areas, staying on known trails, etc.). In recent years, I've also become accustomed to taking incredibly simple trips - overnighters and 24-hour trips where I know I can live without all the accoutrements of expedition trekking. Leaving after dinner, hiking a few miles, finding a nice camp to sleep at and build a fire, eating a bagel in the morning, and then walking home - you just don't need much to be safe, comfortable, and have a great time. 4. Consider function first: take the lightest possible item to do the job. Ultralight backpacking requires that you rethink your equipment list. Most backpackers think they need more than they really do. Example #1: “I need a stove”. Reality: you may only need a cup of hot water for a morning drink and evening bowl of soup. Result: a one-ounce titanium alcohol stove and an aluminum foil windscreen can save a half pound or more on a canister or white gas stove kit. Example #2: “I need a tent”. Reality: you may only need an overhead shelter for the remote possibility of a brief rain shower on a summer hike in the desert. Result: an eight ounce silnylon tarp serves this function as well as even the very lightest double-wall tents on the market, and saves you pounds to boot. Update, March 2011: During the past few years, we've seen remarkable decreases in the weights of fabrics and materials, and ultralight backpackers pushing the limits are realizing the serious limitations of these materials, especially with respect to their durability. In light of environmental, economic, sustainability considerations, we may be edging ever so slightly back to slightly heavier gear, gaining an appreciation for its longevity, and its ability to be used in contexts other than just backpacking.
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