[SSGGeezer]

Only 35 pounds? That sounds pretty good if I was willing to hump it out into the woods.

[bertwert]

Just for fun, I took a picture of the main pieces of gear from the backpack. I set them all from longest to shortest next to the shortest item (a 50ct box of hefty basics snack bags for size reference). When all was said and done, I also borrowed the bathroom scale and loaded all gear into/on pack and added extra weight to simulate full water bottles, etc... Final maximum pack weight (full load, nothing left behind) will be around 35.3 lbs, roughly the same as my walkaround pack + camera bag. Weight isn't going to be an issue. Unlike my walkaround that I carry on one shoulder, and the camera bag carried by hand, the external frame pack will distribute the weight on my hips and both shoulders. Sorry about the backpack picture... my cell camera hates the led lighting from my ceiling fan.

Did you take food into account... it's heavy stuff...

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

If I'm at the state park I can just go drive to a nearby restaurant... but camping for a single night I can get by with dry foods that you can reconstitute. A pack of hotdogs and a small soft cooler with icepack wouldn't weigh much either.

Did you take food into account... it's heavy stuff...

[robtcorl]

This is like how we used to do it - six in the Ford wagon, tents in the back, Coleman stuff, canoe on the roof.

I'm cured now, but a few years back I was big into collecting vintage Coleman lanterns.
Here's just a very few:

[Just1MoreDave]

Wow. Tiny ones too! My dad solemnly gave me the one on the left. I don't quite remember the magic lighting ritual.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Not hard... they really haven't changed much over the years. If mantles are needed, just buy some, install then match light to prep. Once mantles are installed and prepped you fill the fuel reservoir with coleman fuel or equivalent, let it sit for a while to build vapor in reservoir, then use pump mechanism to add pressure/prime the lantern. When that is done, you flip the lever to appropriate setting for ignition with the chimney/globe raised. Match light the mantles, close up the chimney/globe, and gradually increase flow using dial/knob to desired luminance.

The fuel based lanterns are nice because they're economical, but they're a pain in the butt and transporting the liquid fuel is a real pain. The propane lanterns are much more convenient, and have ignition switches like a propane grill to light them. The downside to the propane models is that you never really know how much is left in the bottle, and on cold enough nights they're hard to get lit and they'll frost over (sometimes the self sealing valves will freeze open and you have to use some form of tool to press it in to unstick it). The other downside to propane models is risk of fireball/explosion if you don't get them lit right away (in this scenario, I recommend shutting off the gas flow for a minute or so to let the built up gas dissipate before attempting again).

Wow. Tiny ones too! My dad solemnly gave me the one on the left. I don't quite remember the magic lighting ritual.

[robtcorl]

Wow. Tiny ones too!

Those are key chain lights using a button battery.
The hissing sound of a liquid fueled Coleman lantern is ingrained in my, and I'm sure many others, memory.
trivia, the Coleman lantern has been around since 1914.
OP, sorry to be getting a little off the main topic here.

[normhead]

Did you take food into account... it's heavy stuff...

Get a dehydrater Bert. Although as Knock can attest, sometimes dehydrated Chick Pea Curry can make small tent unbearable.

You do your cooking before you go, dehydrate everything and just soak, heat and eat.

[bertwert]

Get a dehydrater Bert. Although as Knock can attest, sometimes dehydrated Chick Pea Curry can make small tent unbearable.

You do your cooking before you go, dehydrate everything and just soak, heat and eat.

Oh, I do that... just letting the OP know that food isn't weightless

[normhead]

Our earliest camping for the year is ice out. It looks like it might be late this year. One year we left in April. This is our ninth year, that's the only year the ice was out early enough to get on the water with boats.

From last May. Maybe next month I''ll post June camping pictures.








When the ice is off the water, we head out, usually a day or two later, It's good to get out one before the bugs get bad. It's about a 2 well window. Bugs are almost always in the air by May 25th.

I haven't been back packing since I went up into Little Yoho 30 years ago with my kids. If you don't have a lot of good canoe routes where you live, I guess back packing is the next best thing. Although carrying everything all the time leads to a serious lack of comfort items. I carry 70 pounds and a canoe, but usually not for more than 20 minutes. And we often make two trips. For the last ten years I've been dependant on a good air mat to get a good night's sleep. You can get away with a lot less when you're younger.

[bertwert]

I haven't been back packing since I went up into Little Yoho 30 years ago with my kids.

That would be where I went first back packing, not quite 30 years ago

[normhead]

That would be where I went first back packing, not quite 30 years ago

I'm sure you would have gone 30 years ago, but you was an egg.

I took my then brand new Pentax Program plus, up that mountain, and thought of ditching it more than once. Somewhere I have a photo of a very small in the image Laughing Horse falls, taken from the Iceline Trail. I should scan the pictures from that trip. I still have the light weight Optimus stove from that trip, but it hasn't been used in years. It seem stupidly big and heavy now. And most of the time in AP I cook on open fires, which are not even legal in Yoho. What kind of camping is that?

Get them started young. My grand daughter doing the morning eggs. That's good old Canadian Bacon (back Bacon) on the right side,

[bertwert]

I took my then brand new Pentax Program plus, up that mountain, and thought of ditching it more than once.

Weren't that fond of it?
'Oops, dropped my camera and it's broken, think I need a more solid one - thinking LX'

[normhead]

Weren't that fond of it?
'Oops, dropped my camera and it's broken, think I need a more solid one - thinking LX'

Loved the camera, but I took a Tamron Adaptal 35-300 and my kids were 13 and 11, so I was carrying stuff for them, all their food, all the pot kit, stove etc. And that mountain is like a 30º angle for 4 km, all up hill.

[bertwert]

Loved the camera, but I took a Tamron Adaptal 35-300 and my kids were 13 and 11, so I was carrying stuff for them, all their food, all the pot kit, stove etc. And that mountain is like a 30º angle for 4 km, all up hill.

I see.