Originally Posted By: hikermor
Little or no margin for the unexpected or unusual. But he does have experience, which can compensate to a degree. He seems to stick to the established backpacker interstates, e.g. the Appalachian Trail. In wilder country some adjustments might be a good idea. I notice no FAK, a very bad idea, in my opinion. If you don't need it, someone you encounter will.


You have to understand that he is hiking, not focused on survival in an unplanned emergency. He is traveling through known territory and is very familiar with the terrain, conditions, and how both he and his gear function. He seems to be spending most trips well below the tree line and in fairly close proximity to developed areas. It is increasingly difficult to find a trail that isn't a five mile hike to civilization if your familiar with the area and know which way to go. The ability to move fast and cover ground rapidly unburdened by excess gear and the relative closeness of settlements is highly conducive to self-rescue.

It is also likely that he is so used to being near the edge, and unburdened by a gewgaw for every situation, that he will hike out of the situation before he sees it as an emergency rather than need rescue.

I think you greatly underestimating how various pieces of gear change your odds. A FAK is, the vast majority of them in the vast majority of serious situations, useless. Mostly the bandaids get used. I have and usually do carry one, depends on the situation, but it has to be noted that the bandanna and tape and other gear he has can work quite well in the majority of situations. Most camping injuries are minor cuts and burns (far fewer of the later if you don't have a fire), minor discomforts that aren't going to kill you, like most diarrhea and sunburn, or so serious that you really would be far smarter to call for help instead of playing doctor. About the only thing in your FAK that can't be easily improvised are the drugs and those, in small quantities, are unlikely to violate his pack light philosophy. Four Imodium, a half dozen Ibuprofen and a half dozen Benadryl don't weigh much.

I would add a mini-Bic and a tiny knife to his list, he does mention them, but I realize that a fire isn't often even an amenity when hiking and once your gear has been fine tuned over many weeks of heavy use the knife isn't going to get much use. I tend to want to tinker and make stuff in and around camp and both the lighter and knife would earn their keep just keeping me entertained.

But, as I started, you have to keep in mind this is not a survival situation for him like camping is for so many. This is his environment. He is like a fish at sea.