Welcome back to Just Ruck. I'm your host, Lindsay, and today we're diving into the idea of practical weight because sometimes what you plan to carry and what you end up carrying are two very different things. I'm heading out for a four day, three night backpacking trip into the loyal Sock Link Loop Trail. In Pennsylvania. It's about 30 miles with 4,000 foot of elevation gain, but we're not planning on rushing it. This trip is more about catching up with a good friend, taking it slow and enjoying long nights of camp. But with a less than ideal weather forecast and more downtime than usual. The gear list grew fast. So today I'm walking through what actually made it into the pack, what got cut, and what the final weight looked like. Because when you're out there for days, every ounce better be worth it. So here's the rundown loyal sock link. Loop is 30 mile backpacking trail in Pennsylvania, about 4,000 foot of elevation gain, and it links together parts of the loyal sock and link trails to form one big, beautiful lollipop loop through the kind of terrain that makes your legs burn and your soul breathe a little deeper. But we're giving ourselves four days, three nights. Not because we have to, but because we want to. The trip was about slowing down, catching up with family and friends, and taking the kind of long, lazy camp breaks that you never get when you're racing the daylight hours. Now I'm not going to get into the full trail report just yet. That is coming up in the next episode. So today we're gonna focus on the pack. What I thought I'd bring and what I actually ended up stuffing in there, and how practical weight plays role into trips like this. Okay, I wanna talk about base weight. When you're on a pack trip, your base weight should look like this. At its core, it needs the essentials. Your shelter. A sleep system, clothing, layers, water, sanitation, medical and everything you need to eat food, camp stove, blah, blah, blah. And that's it. It sounds so simple. And now if you're into ultralight backpacking, you can get all this dialed down into about 10 pounds or less. Some people even walk around with sub seven pound setups and like smug little grins on their faces to match. But let's be honest, that is so not me. All right? I am not trying to win the ultra light Olympics. I like sleeping well. I like being warm and not having to pray to the gear gods when the weather turns. So even my best case scenario, my base weight was never gonna be feather light, but I did have a plan and one that was supposed to keep things simple and manageable. I had a goal of 25 pounds. Then I looked at the forecast and things kind of changed. Well, it all started on Ravel Realty. The weather forecast ended up being absolute chaos. One minute it called for sunny skies and highs in the seventies. The next minute it was like, huh, psych, how about lows in the thirties? You know what? I'm gonna settle in maybe at fifties at night. But nobody really knew. No weather app. Everyone conflicted. They were all changing hourly and honestly, I, I just kind of gave up. And if that wasn't enough to mess with my packing plan, rain, the only consistency this forecast had was rain every single day. And we're not talking chance of showers kind of rain. Oh heck no. It was committed multi-day soggy. So tarp flapping rain, which meant. Every single layer I brought needed to stay dry for four days, or I was gonna be cold, wet, and very, very grumpy. So there I am staring at my gear pile and wondering, am I going to freeze in my sleep? Do I need a warmer bag, more layers, a dry set for camp, extra socks for morale? That's when that reasonable base weight went right out the window and practical weight took over. Let's just say this, I am really glad I have been training with a heavy ruck lately, 40 plus pounds on my back mile after mile because this pack was not like, I personally have not been backpacking since 1998. Let me tell you what, gear has changed a lot since then, but you know what hasn't changed? The price tag on Ultra Light everything. So for this first pack trip, back into it, I went with budget gear. Budget gear saves dollars, but you know what it doesn't do, it doesn't save pounds. Then throw in the whole remote spring height in Pennsylvania factor where bear activity meant. Bear canister was strongly recommended. That thing weighed two and a half pounds empty. You had four days of food in it, and boom, there goes a quarter of my pack weight just like that. Now, before the rain decided to move in, the northeast had been dealing with brush fires, which meant open campfires were banned. And you know what that also means? No cozy fire to cook by and stove only meaning more gear, more weight. Oh yeah. Speaking of rain, wet boots for four days. Absolutely not. So camp shoes are a must, then a fresh pair of socks for each day since constant rain meant nothing was gonna dry during the day or even at night. Wet socks are a special kind of evil, and that meant my med kit also got a serious upgrade with blister Care front and center because taking care of my feet was not optional. It was survival when temps swinging wildly, maybe thirties, maybe seventies. I had to prep for frost and warmth. That meant extra layers for sleeping, for sitting around at camp, for rain, for wind, and it added up fast. Oh yeah. And then there were luxury items, a battery bank, so I could charge my phone, take photos. We even checked the weather that was lying to me constantly. And yes, I packed a camp chair because if we're gonna be hanging out at camp to catch up at the end of the day, I'm doing it with a backrest. Thank you very much. And at that point, the pack wasn't, um, ideal. It was real, real weight, real conditions based on a real plan to be comfortable and safe. All right. Drum roll please. Any guesses what that final pack weight ended up being? 40 pounds? Yeah. 40. Pounds. I set foot on that trail head with a 40 pound pack of gear, food, water strapped in my back, and I swear it just got heavier from there when Mother Nature decided to put the whole system to the test. Soaking rain check wet socks. Oh yeah, that lightweight four pound tent. Mm-hmm. Felt more like six when I packed it up, dripping wet the next morning. And I'm pretty sure my bear can absorbed moisture just outta spite. But here's the thing, I carried every ounce. I trained for it, and every piece had a purpose. It wasn't the lightest setup out there, but it, it was practical for the kind of trip we wanted safe. Cozy ready for whatever the trail and sky threw at us. So yeah, 40 pounds, soaked gear, soggy socks, and still 10 out of 10. Yeah, I'd probably do it again, because here's the truth. Practical weight isn't about showing off your spreadsheet or saving grams with titanium toothbrushes. It's about packing for real world conditions. You're heading into. The kind of trip you actually want to have? Could I have gone lighter? Sure. Would I have been happier? Probably not. I mean, I stayed warm. I stayed dry. I ate well. I sat in a chair at camp and I laughed with good friends. That's what I trained for. Not just the miles, but the experience itself. Just to put it into perspective, I recently repacked for a summer overnight, and guess what? That pack came in at 18 pounds dry. It felt so light. I didn't even bother clipping on a hip hip belt. Funny. 40 pounds in the rain will recalibrate your entire idea of light. Alright guys, here is your just rocket challenge for the week. Well, it's not quite a challenge. It's more of a question. I wanna know what is the heaviest ruck you've ever trained with? And then top that up for you backpackers out there. What is the heaviest backpack you've ever taken on a trip, and why not? Let's go the other side for my ultra lake crew that's out there. What's the lightest base weight you've had to date? Drop me a message, tag me on the podcast, shoot me an email. Really wanna hear your numbers and your stories behind them. And then next time I'm gonna be sharing the full breakdown of the loyal Sock Loop Trail highlights, gear, winds, rain fails, weather, and that 40 pound pack, was it really worth it? So now, until next time, remember, life is rocking, wonderful heavy packs, soggy socks, and all.