Just a few additional notes on backpacking. Appropriate fit of the backpack is critical. But it from a store that has the expertise to see that it is fitted to you properly. If you are wearing it for the first time, a fifty pound load will be burdensome, although experienced packers carry loads like that routinely. Most prefer to keep the weight somewhat lower. There are several forums devoted entirely to the subject of light weight backpacking.

The important thing is that disaster day is not the best day to shift modes and adapt some procedure with which you are not familiar.