dirt bagging – PMags.com https://pmags.com Practical advice and musings on the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, ski touring, and camping. Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:59:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://pmags.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-fav-ico-160x160.jpg dirt bagging – PMags.com https://pmags.com 32 32 81463906 Gear pick of the year 2014 – Scraps of blue foam https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-scraps-of-blue-foam https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-scraps-of-blue-foam#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2014 02:01:44 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=6659 Gear pick of the year 2014 – Scraps of blue foam

My gear pick of the year for 2014: Scraps left over from a blue foam pad! Read More ...

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]]> https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-scraps-of-blue-foam/feed 3 6659 Dirt Bagging – A minimalist gear philsophy https://pmags.com/dirt-bagging https://pmags.com/dirt-bagging#comments Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:50:06 +0000 http://pmags2.jzapin.com/?p=1373 Dirt Bagging – A minimalist gear philsophy

A version of this document has appeared in Yogi’s PCT Handbook and on various hiking boards. It  is also  in the current  edition of the Colorado Trail Guidebook.  My overview of lightweight backpacking.

 

One sunny, summer day in Maine, I summited Katahdin. I had climbed one of the most majestic mountains in the East and I had finished a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. It was memorable day and one I look back on fondly. A week or so later, my knees were in pain. I was 24 years old and I was hobbling up and down  stairs like a senior citizen.  It would take almost a month for my body to truly recover.

Why was I in so much discomfort at such a young age?  I was muscular, fit and in terrific shape. Yet, I had trouble walking up a simple flight of stairs.  Why?

Benefits of Lightening Up

Many people say the Appalachian Trail (AT) is perhaps more physically demanding than the other long distance hiking trails. 

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