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When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need. A stove is not needed because food can be consumed raw. A full tent is n

When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need. A stove is not needed because food can be consumed raw. A full tent is not needed because a basic tarp and careful site selection are enough to keep a person dry while sleeping. Toilet paper is not needed because smooth rocks, leaves and other material found on the trail can be used to wipe.

mrfusion 10y ago
Wouldnt you need a tent for mosquitos spiders and Scorpions?
- kingbirdy 10y ago
  Depends where you are and the season - bugs are less of a concern in the winter, and harmful spiders/scorpions aren't present everywhere. Plus, a can of insect repellent is still much lighter than a tent
- BarkMore 10y ago
  Most people will want some sort of netting when there's moderate to heavy pressure from biting insects. I carry a three ounce mosquito net in these situations. A full tent is not required. Insect repellent and site selection (don't sleep next to lake) handle low bug pressure situations. I don't worry about other critters where I hike in the PNW.
  - wapz 10y ago
    How light do you get your pack (minus the starting liquids).
    - BarkMore 10y ago
      Some people get down to six pounds. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHmtdtctzzc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHmtdtctzzc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggWPhMv-H4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggWPhMv-H4.
nraynaud 10y ago
I need some comfort to sleep otherwise I'm more and more tired on the trail, I get up later and later and get cranky and then I just frigging stop and go back home.
- BarkMore 10y ago
  Tarp and tent campers both sleep on the ground, usually with a sleeping pad. At this level, the comfort level is the same. There are situations where a tent will be more comfortable: a tent provides protection from the wind absent natural barriers, a tent provides a refuge from biting insects, etc. In many situations, the comfort provided by a tent is more mental than it is physical. The full enclosure of a tent provides comfort to people who worry about critters crawling over them in the night. Some people just feel more comfortable when fully enclosed. All this said, it does take more expertise to sleep comfortably with a tarp. Site selection is more important. There are several ways to pitch a tarp and the best pitch to use depends on the situation. Tarps are more fiddly to pitch.
wyclif 10y ago
The reason some experienced hikers (not talking about noobs here) carry small stoves on the AT and other trails is not because they haven't evaluated what they need. It's because "what you need" is about tradeoffs. Sure, you can consume raw food for the entirety of your hike, and some experienced hikers do this, but food aversion is a real thing. Avoiding it is worth the weight for some hikers.
- frenchy 10y ago
  You generally get more calories from cooked foods too. I suspect the raw food thing has more too do with being cheep/lazy/hard-core.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - kdbg 10y ago
    'Laziness' was a big part of my switch to stoveless. At the end of the day I never wanted to waste time boiling water/cooking food I just wanted to eat and sleep. I found myself eating cold even with a stove so I just dropped the stove. I don't know anyone that has done it just to be hard-core.
    - wyclif 10y ago
      Dropping the stove certainly does simplify things, that's the main benefit. I've tried it but I just couldn't eat cold/raw all the time, especially in cooler weather. I use one of these brass alcohol stoves, it's light and dead simple: http://brasslite.com/ http://brasslite.com/
luca_ing 10y ago
> When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need. True. There is one interesting exception though: everyone I met who traveled (not hiked per se, but lived out of a backpack), had one "luxury item". It was something that was absolutely not necessary, but they lugged it around with them anyway, because it made sense strictly for them. One dude I met had a folding camping chair. (relatively) big, awkward, weighty. But around the campfire, everyone was sitting on rocks like cavemen -- except he was enthroned on his camping chair. Before you ask: my luxury item was a discman (this dates me, I suppose :-) ), plus a few CDs. Really awkward. Susceptible to impact and moisture, requires batteries, etc etc. But I just love to get lost in rhythm and let it drive my thoughts while I'm out hiking or biking.
SnacksOnAPlane 10y ago
I hiked 400 miles of the AT and while you're technically right, I found that cooked food made me feel better, having a shelter (I hammocked) made my sleep more restful, and I couldn't trust myself not to accidentally wipe my ass with some poison plant, so I was glad I had TP.

mrfusion 10y ago

Wouldnt you need a tent for mosquitos spiders and Scorpions?

kingbirdy 10y ago
Depends where you are and the season - bugs are less of a concern in the winter, and harmful spiders/scorpions aren't present everywhere. Plus, a can of insect repellent is still much lighter than a tent
BarkMore 10y ago
Most people will want some sort of netting when there's moderate to heavy pressure from biting insects. I carry a three ounce mosquito net in these situations. A full tent is not required. Insect repellent and site selection (don't sleep next to lake) handle low bug pressure situations. I don't worry about other critters where I hike in the PNW.
- wapz 10y ago
  How light do you get your pack (minus the starting liquids).
  - BarkMore 10y ago
    Some people get down to six pounds. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHmtdtctzzc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHmtdtctzzc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggWPhMv-H4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LggWPhMv-H4.

nraynaud 10y ago

I need some comfort to sleep otherwise I'm more and more tired on the trail, I get up later and later and get cranky and then I just frigging stop and go back home.

BarkMore 10y ago
Tarp and tent campers both sleep on the ground, usually with a sleeping pad. At this level, the comfort level is the same. There are situations where a tent will be more comfortable: a tent provides protection from the wind absent natural barriers, a tent provides a refuge from biting insects, etc. In many situations, the comfort provided by a tent is more mental than it is physical. The full enclosure of a tent provides comfort to people who worry about critters crawling over them in the night. Some people just feel more comfortable when fully enclosed. All this said, it does take more expertise to sleep comfortably with a tarp. Site selection is more important. There are several ways to pitch a tarp and the best pitch to use depends on the situation. Tarps are more fiddly to pitch.

wyclif 10y ago

The reason some experienced hikers (not talking about noobs here) carry small stoves on the AT and other trails is not because they haven't evaluated what they need. It's because "what you need" is about tradeoffs. Sure, you can consume raw food for the entirety of your hike, and some experienced hikers do this, but food aversion is a real thing. Avoiding it is worth the weight for some hikers.

frenchy 10y ago
You generally get more calories from cooked foods too. I suspect the raw food thing has more too do with being cheep/lazy/hard-core.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- kdbg 10y ago
  'Laziness' was a big part of my switch to stoveless. At the end of the day I never wanted to waste time boiling water/cooking food I just wanted to eat and sleep. I found myself eating cold even with a stove so I just dropped the stove. I don't know anyone that has done it just to be hard-core.
  - wyclif 10y ago
    Dropping the stove certainly does simplify things, that's the main benefit. I've tried it but I just couldn't eat cold/raw all the time, especially in cooler weather. I use one of these brass alcohol stoves, it's light and dead simple: http://brasslite.com/ http://brasslite.com/

luca_ing 10y ago

> When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need. True. There is one interesting exception though: everyone I met who traveled (not hiked per se, but lived out of a backpack), had one "luxury item". It was something that was absolutely not necessary, but they lugged it around with them anyway, because it made sense strictly for them. One dude I met had a folding camping chair. (relatively) big, awkward, weighty. But around the campfire, everyone was sitting on rocks like cavemen -- except he was enthroned on his camping chair. Before you ask: my luxury item was a discman (this dates me, I suppose :-) ), plus a few CDs. Really awkward. Susceptible to impact and moisture, requires batteries, etc etc. But I just love to get lost in rhythm and let it drive my thoughts while I'm out hiking or biking.

SnacksOnAPlane 10y ago

I hiked 400 miles of the AT and while you're technically right, I found that cooked food made me feel better, having a shelter (I hammocked) made my sleep more restful, and I couldn't trust myself not to accidentally wipe my ass with some poison plant, so I was glad I had TP.