The weight of your backpack is IRRELEVANT when long distance hiking the Appalachian Trail!

It's irrelevant to me.

However, it won't be irrelevant to you once the miles and mountains add up. If your pack weight is 25lbs or less including food, fuel, and water (i.e. "wet") you can stop reading. You've made good choices about gear and spent a small fortune in the process. You'll be happy you did.

If your pack is 30 or more pounds I encourage you to continue reading.

Some people get really bent out of shape when the issue of pack weight arises. It's quite perplexing. I'm not encouraging a light pack weight to validate anything I do. Again, you can carry what you want seeing you'll be the one carrying it, not me.

I'm only trying to help you avoid a mistake many new long distance hikers make. That is buying gear without appreciating just how quickly the ounces add up to pounds, and the pounds add up to pain.

Having 30 or more pounds of gear that carries well around the store is not the same once ascending and descending thousands of feet multiple times a day on the AT. A weight that feels acceptable walking around your neighborhood will quickly become unacceptable in the mountains of the Appalachian Trail.

Let's be perfectly clear. On an extended time/distance AT hike you want the lightest pack weight you can afford. The heavier your pack the harder on your knees and the more susceptible to overall injury you become. Not to mention the mental aspect of hiking 10-12 hours trying to cover 15 to 25 miles EVERY DAY with a heavy pack can simply become too much both physically and mentally.

Am I saying you can't complete the AT with a 30 or more pound pack? Of course not. 35 pounds was considered light weight not too long ago, but by today's standards 30 or more pounds is a completely unnecessary burden.

I hike the AT for the month of June every year. In 2015 my "wet" pack weight was 30 pounds. It took 6 months for my knees to stop hurting.

In 2016 it was slightly less than 30 pounds, andI learned the joys of cho-pat knee braces. No more knee pain going forward.

In 2017 my pack was only slightly lighter than 2016.

For 2018 I've completely revamped my gear. My pack weight now sits at 18 pounds "wet" and I didn't do without for weight savings either. I simply made better (i.e. lighter) choices with gear. The difference 12 pounds makes is nothing short of miraculous. It literally feels like carrying next to nothing. For me, dragging around 30 pounds on the AT was always a burden.

Below is my lighterpack page so you can see the gear I use now.

https://lighterpack.com/r/c6v9co

The point of this article was to encourage you to think about pack weight and to make it a priority when purchasing gear.

"My pack is too light" said no one ever.

If it's any consolation, you'll figure most everything out within the first 200 miles anyway. To be honest that's part of the adventure.

If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them. Happy hiking.

Jolly Rancher