Originally Posted By: samhain
Thanks,
I am not in the physical shape I want to be (hell, who is?) and can use some conditioning.

Whenever I head into the woods even for a day, I prepare to stay the night because Murphy-stuff-happens.



For the record, I'm not in the shape I'd like to be either!

Re-reading this, I'd personally still pack lighter. It's great you're prepared for an overnighter, but if it's 90+ degrees, I doubt you'll be freezing at night (even if it does rain). Now, if this were a post during the fall or winter, I'd be all about packing something heavier.

The others do have good points about the conditioning effects of the extra weight. We used to put in gallons of water for conditioning hikes in scouts (yeah, that was always fun, lugging around 35lbs of water for no reason).