@#$_&&Happy 'MuricA Birthday))(+--
- Thread starter stoney
- Start date
So, backpacking went better than I had expected, perhaps not as well as I had hoped. Just a hair under 2900 feet of vertical in 7 miles. Cripple shoulder was fine, but at the expense of my good shoulder. By mile 6 my left side of my back from my skull all the way to my ass was totally on fire and badly cramping. Given that my RH shoulder is almost an inch lower than my LH now I just could not seem to get my back adjusted right and I sure did pay for it. Return trip was a little better only in that it was pretty much all down hill and I think I had my pack adjusted better, but by the time we got back to the car my back was a wreck and I was in a pretty significant amount of pain. I do not believe I could have done a third day, even at only 6 or 7 miles. I'm hoping someone at REI, or Mountain Chalet can get my pack setup squared away or find me some sort of cripple kid adaptive pack thingy that can get me out into the wilds again without me wanting to throw myself off a cliff, because I had a great time, other than being super uncomfortable.
I say a prayer to @FSM for her EVERY night, my good man. That woman should be canonized IMNSHO.
I've been rocking a thermarest for at least 20 years. Still use it for regular old car camping, but I am going to look into an upgrade I think.
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psqueeb. check into a pack rated for 70-80 pounds. It will have the waist belt and suspension design to carry most of the load on your hips and the shoulder straps will just be there to balance the packs tilt not carry the weight..
oh and by the way i am speaking from experience. my shoulders are trashed from rock climbing. With my expedition pack I can carry 35 pounds and not feel anything on my shoulders.
@Pesqueeb Larger packs that the big box outfitters sell are typically unnecessarily heavy with tons of padding. My pack is in the lightweight category with just enough padding and a suspension system that puts the bulk of the weight on the hips. It's also half the weight of an Osprey. I have a weak back and am prone to back spasms. A massive 60 pound pack was not an option.
https://www.ula-equipment.com/product/circuit/
However this is a minimal, thru hiking style of pack and doesn't have all the features of the other packs.
https://www.ula-equipment.com/product/circuit/
However this is a minimal, thru hiking style of pack and doesn't have all the features of the other packs.
@Pesqueeb
if everything else fails...
check these guys...
alpine luddites...in colorado....do custom packs....email them with your problem...
if everything else fails...
check these guys...
alpine luddites...in colorado....do custom packs....email them with your problem...
Thanks fellas. I've been using a Mountainsmith Frostfire 2 I bought new sometime in the mid-90's. While it is indeed pretty old at this point it has most of the features of a "modern" pack, if a bit heavy compared to something newer. I've backpacked for duration's longer than a week out of this pack WAY back in my youth. Unless pack design has changed that significantly, my inclination is to believe that most of my issues this weekend are fitness/age/injury/pack fit related. I certainly need to go talk to someone about fitting, and if that falls short I'm quite intrigued by @stevew's link.