I will say, out west here there are lots of trails to great places to see and to camp, often they form a loop so you don't have to cover the same ground twice. If you only go in a mile, you can certainly beat the crowd and you should be able to carry about anything. Most of the weekend trips I take are on the 10-15 mile range so I can enjoy the countryside more and enjoy camping out with what I can comfortably carry. I would never hike without a map, compass, knife and water. In Arizona we usually have to carry water for the entire trip, just isn't much water available in some areas.
Loops are great, aren't they?
Actually, this jogs my memory. One of the reasons I'll do 10+ miles/day with a full pack is that we
do have
some water here in California. A lot of the time, I will plan my hikes around known water points with camp sites. If the next camp site with a water point is 14 miles, guess how far I'll probably plan to go that day?
On a quick overnighter (come in on a Friday after work, exit Saturday afternoon), I can carry all the water I need, but if I'm going out for the full weekend or a three day weekend, no way. I've got to find some water or I'll be staggering. It's often hot and dry here (not quite AZ, but hot and dry enough), and consuming 1.5 gallons per day
just for drinking is commonplace. Then add in hygiene, cooking, and dish washing, and you're up to at least two gallons a day in hot weather. 2 gallons = 16+lbs/day. 3 days = 48+ lbs
of just water. Add in at least 20 lbs of gear, and I'm pushing 70 lbs. There's no way I can carry that for even one day, let alone 3.
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