Rant: My Own Stupidity--Carrying Weights Cross-City

[Cronos]

Note to self: Don't try to carry 80 lbs in your backpack 1.5 miles from where you bought them all the way home to your apartment EVER. AGAIN.

The things I'll do to save a buck (or ten from shipping). Yeesh.

[cards2468]

Note to self: Don't try to carry 80 lbs in your backpack 1.5 miles from where you bought them all the way home to your apartment EVER. AGAIN.

The things I'll do to save a buck (or ten from shipping). Yeesh.

look at it this way, you won't have to work out today

If it makes you feel any better, my backpack weighs about 50 lbs with all my books (which I typically need to take everyday to classes) and my 1st class of the day is about a mile from my apartment. I blame school on all my chronic back and shoulder issues.

[Hungary Jack]

Good grief guys. 6 days in the backcountry on Isle Royale saw me start with a pack weighing probably around 40-45 pounds. Of course, I could have used about 5 more pounds of food on the trip, as we were hungry by day 3.

Do they make non-backpacking backpacks strong enough to haul loads like that?

[Cronos]

Good grief guys. 6 days in the backcountry on Isle Royale saw me start with a pack weighing probably around 40-45 pounds. Of course, I could have used about 5 more pounds of food on the trip, as we were hungry by day 3.

Do they make non-backpacking backpacks strong enough to haul loads like that?

Well it was centalized in two 40 pound dumbbells, not realy separated and balanced out, plus it was in a school-type backpack with ridiculously thin straps digging into my neck/shoulders. If it had been a back-pack trip-like backpack, it would have been easier.

I'm surprised the straps held, really. If it hadn't I'd have lose the weights, my books, and my laptop.

[cardsfansince82]

Two 40 lb dumbells with books and a laptop? This seems like a bad idea.

[thrill]

My first backpacking trip without my dad (who carried 3/4 of our gear), my pack weighed in at 70lbs. I ended up burning most of my clothes, selling a camp chair and giving away a couple lanterns to get down to 40.

[Hungary Jack]

My first backpacking trip without my dad (who carried 3/4 of our gear), my pack weighed in at 70lbs. I ended up burning most of my clothes, selling a camp chair and giving away a couple lanterns to get down to 40.

LOL. You should read Bill Bryson's "Walk in the Woods" to hear some more stories about pack weight.

[StatmanCrothers]

Well it was centalized in two 40 pound dumbbells, ...

vs 1 human-sized dumbbell?

[StatmanCrothers]

Carrying a load on your back and walking over distance is a deceptively difficult skill ... it seems easy at first but gets heavy pretty quickly.

I remember when i was in 7th or 8th grade, my best friend, a "city kid" from the thriving metropolis of Montgomery IN (population of a few hundred folks) was helping me with my chores on the farm after school, so we could start getting into trouble sooner, I suppose...

I had yet to hit the growth spurt that would lead me to the strapping 5' 7" frame I now boast.
So I was probably 5' 0", 100 lbs, but solid like that hick'ry stump o'er yonder in tha holler by tha crick?

Chris was a sports guy, already 5' 6" 140 lbs easy.

So there were some sows farrowing out in the second woods and I would daily carry the feed on my back and hike over hill and dale to feed 'em. I split the feed up, giving a moderate portion to Chris and leaving the rest to myself. He thought it was a joke, insisted he take at least half. I smiled, divvied up his half, and commenced to hikin'.

I easily carried my half to the destination, dropped it off, turned around and hiked back to where Chris had given up (not even half way there), took his half and finished up the job.

I recall in my high school days, easily walking distance with two 50 lb bags of feed one on top of the other.

Nowadays, we get the 3 gallon bottles of water delivered because lifting the 5 gallon bottles are tough on my herniated disk.

Because of the logistics of the disk, I can barely carry a full basket of laundry out in front of my body, but I can carry a reasonable amount in my backpack, or lift furniture with my back to it. Weight out in front torques the disk the wrong way. Ugh.

[Simbagal23]

My first backpacking trip without my dad (who carried 3/4 of our gear), my pack weighed in at 70lbs. I ended up burning most of my clothes, selling a camp chair and giving away a couple lanterns to get down to 40.

LOL. You should read Bill Bryson's "Walk in the Woods" to hear some more stories about pack weight.

I loved that book! You should also read "In a Sunburned Country"....about his visit to Australia. I love his humor.