Ten miles.

For an experienced backpacker, it doesn't sound that far. Unfortunately, this old backpacker had never done much more than five miles in one day. I had always gone backpacking for the enjoyment of the outdoors and the ability to see remote areas that aren't normally accessible.

But now I was with several hardcore outdoors folks and we were in the Sierra Nevada range at 10,000 feet. Most of my previous backpacking had been in the Ozarks in Missouri.

My legs were killing me. My knees felt like they were about to collapse.

"Why are these people hellbent on covering as many miles as possible?" I thought. "Shouldn't we take it easy and just enjoy ourselves?"

Of course, the matter wasn't helped much by the 52 pound pack on my back. My trustworthy Kelty had served me well for many years.

Inside the Kelty I had my old pup tent, a propane stove, propane tank, foldup shovel for pooping, flashlight, foldup stool for sitting, backpacking grill for campfires in case we could build any, water filter, bear canister, first aid kit, sleeping bag. Steel pot, steel plate, forks, knives, spoons. Bottle of dish soap. Bottle of hand soap. Two Nalgene water bottles. Canteen.

Ug.

After the excruciating trip, something had to be done. Through some labyrinth of networking that I can no longer remember, I ended up at the term ultralight backpacking. A term I had never heard of before, but it sounded right up my alley.

After some research into lightweight backpacking, I had several "duh" moments.

Like why was I carrying around a metal foldup poop shovel when I could be using a plastic gardening spade?

Why, if all I did was heat water with it, was I carrying around a propane TANK? How about an alcohol stove made out of a soda can? Or, failing that, a solid fuel cube stove that weighs all of 1 ounce?

A flashlight? Why not a keychain LED?

Why steel pots AND pans? Why not a single, aluminum pot that would double as a plate as well?

Why, why, oh why use a thick, heavy Nalgene bottle for water? Bottled water bottles, like Evian, weigh almost nothing.

A tent? It was a pup tent! A piece of canvas setup in a triangle formation! Why not just a canvas tarp?

And it goes even further! Why not use a backpack that has no frame, and roll up the sleep mat into a tube that becomes a makeshift frame? Duh!

The bear canister and water filter are, of course, more difficult. Water can be boiled instead of filtering, but the bear canister may be necessary in locations that require it.

Food didnt change much. I still need my trail mix, and I still eat freeze dried food packages. Freeze dried, while not great, has the advantage of being very, very light.

The only pieces of special lightweight backpacking gear I ended up buying were the backpack (the one I use is a GoLite Jam) and the sleeping bag. And of those only the sleeping bag was of any appreciable expense.

My pack weight now? 12 pounds.

At that weight, I can hardly tell I even have on a backpack.

And the outdoors have never been so enjoyable.