Fahrenheit 451, Hiker Edition

For the record, before I met up with Firestarter and Rainbow on Friday, I thought that everyone on the AT had a pack weight of 40 lbs +/- 5 lbs. Well, everyone except for the ultra lightweight folks with pack weights of 20 lbs and no spare dry socks or sleeping bags (poor miserable bastards).  However, hiking with my most current group has shown me the error of my weighs (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist). I've been hiking with 7 other people for the past 3 days, none of whom have a pack weight of over 30 lbs, making me the slowest, most exhausted, most pink cheeked, and most likely to be voted off the island hiker in the group.

Yesterday evening, in a hotel room in Daleville, Firestarter went through my entire backpack and helped me cut weight.  Down jacket and winter hat? Gone. Pair of comfy pants? No longer in my pack. Chemical handwarmers? Sent home. Rainpants? Haven't put them on in 7 weeks, except to do laundry, so time for them to go.  I agreed with all of his suggestions until he got to my AT Guide and the current book I'm reading.  Now, I've spent a lot of time and effort trying to figure out how to read out here. Before I left I bought a small tablet, but it got a fatal error two days before I left, so it stayed home (word to the wise: don't buy the cheapest electronic device on the market and expect it to work flawlessly). I downloaded books on my phone, but reading such a small screen wasn't at all pleasant.  Finally I bit the bullet and got myself a book... and finished it in two days. So I got another, and finished it in three.  So I bought a book on the factors leading up to the start of the Civil War, and started losing myself in it. Despite what my parents may say about broken bindings and dog eared pages, I was raised to love and cherish books. So when Firestarter suggested I cut my books in half, I balked. I suggested alternate plans (I'd rather give up my sleeping bag than rip up a book.)(In fact I should give up my sleeping bag because it's rated for 0 degree weather, but that's another story.). I tried to bargain (I'd carry less food if I could keep my books intact.)(Actually, I need to carry less food. There is no need to carry 8 days worth when there is a town every 4 days.). I  almost cried. And in the end, I relented.

At first the items I removed from my pack didn't feel like a lot. However, after I carried a box full of them 1.1 miles to the post office this morning I realized that all of the things I gave up needed to go and when taken in aggregate were somewhat heavy.  Hand warmers in late May? Stupid. Ditto for the down jacket and winter hat. Extra extra head lamp batteries?  Unnecessary.  Sixty four pages of a guidebook showing areas that I've already passed through? Useless.

Even though the terrain today was fairly easy, by all standards,  I was tearing up the trail. I averaged 2.8 MPH, which isn't all that impressive except that I did it for over 18 miles. And it felt great. I don't know what my pack weighs now, but I can tell you that its significantly lighter this way. And now that the second half of my Civil War book is waiting in Harper's Ferry,  I'd better continue to tear up the trail, lest I never find out what happens.