This is a topic I have already touched upon: walk under an heavy pack.
In past week I was with my family in the Dolomites, a part of Italian mountains (Alps) in north est, where we did daily walks.
My wife and my daughter carried a light pack with flace, wind/rain proof jacket, a spare t-shirt, hat and bandana. My son brought flace, jacket, spare t-shirt, hat, bandana, 3 liters of water, poncho, radio and shared with his mother the lunch weight, approx 8 kg (pack included).
And I? I brought what shown in the picture above:
- spare t-shirt, flace, jacket, hat and large cap;
- first aid kit (camo pouch), boo boo care kit (grey pouch), sam splint roll, CPR mask, anti-ticks electric device, tourniquet at handy access;
- radio, gps, compass, printed map;
- 3 liters camelback, US canteen with tin, stove with examina, tea, sugar, cooking nuts, saline supplements;
- tarp, pegs, cord (big camo puch), large plastic sheet;
- essential/survival kit (bandocoot Helikon-tex waist pouch)
- Multi tool, knife, saw.
Nothing was attached outside the rucksack, I don’t like walk with gear ouside.
My Crossfire DG3 weighed approx 16 kg. Why so much weight ?
Some days we walked high enough to find the snow, with cold wind and rain (luckily one day only).
All time we start walk along a path I think my family have to enjoy the experience, the landscape, walking without feel pain for the backpack weigh and be able to go over an emergency situation without stress…or feeling the minum stress as possible. The last part of the previous sentence is my goal, my duty.
When started rain we were near the hike end, but what if we hat do walk other two or three hours under heavy rain? When temperature fall down and also in summer can go under 10 or 5 Celsius degrees?
In that case I would have set up a shelter using tarp, pegs and cord. We all would have change wet t-shirt, wear our flace and jacktes, wrapping up us in emergency blankets. I would have prepared a hot drink and we would have waited the rain finish. Easy. In the worst scenario we would have pass a night in the shelter, in that case I’had head lamp, candels, etc….
But what if I would have had not that gear?
My family love walk with me in the wild, my duty is allow them to enjoy it make it safe.