I went on my first backpacking trip with a group of Explorer Scouts in the mid 1960s and have backpacked every year since. I am aerobically challenged and could not keep up with the group. Immediately I realized that if my pack weighed substantially less then theirs, I could hike faster. Years later I section hiked 100 miles of the John Muir Trail with one of the faster hikers of the group and was able to match his pace or even hike a little faster. His pack weighed 45 pounds and mine weighed 30, a base weight of about 16 pounds. I have been working to reduce my pack weight ever since.

BTW, I completed the JMT at the top of Mt. Whitney on my 40th birthday with these immortal words, “It’s all downhill from here”. I couldn’t imagine that more than 30 years later I would still be getting out there.