Pack weight

[Donald Schell]

Dear Elyssa,

My daughter and I carried eighteen pounds and twenty pounds respectively -
- a change of walking clothes and a long pants (skirt for her), real shirt
not walking outfit, - sandals to wear at the end of the day,
- a very light but full rain poncho
- a summer weight sleep sack that rolled up smaller than a loaf of bread
- very basic first aid kit with emphasis on foot care
- a journal (to write in)
- Swiss Army knife
- one light camera between us
- one meal that needed no preparation (dried fruit, cheese, bread, nuts, a
small box of juice)

When I started out I was carrying twenty-two pounds - I found two pounds to
mail home from Leon including two other shirts, a very good book that I
wasn't reading (washing clothes, cooking and eating, and writing in the
journal covered our end-of-day pretty completely).

To my pilgrim eye, friends who are regular California Sierra backpackers
carry a startling amount of weight, carrying all their food, a tent, a
sleeping bag adequate for real cold, and a tent, but they're typically
walking for four or five days,  I found that lightening up two or three
pounds made a surprising difference to feet and hip joints.  I think that's
the effect of walking measured in weeks and also the effect of walking part
paved (highway shoulder) portions of the Camino.

Donald



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