Well, as this is my first post I figure I should at least say hello.

*waves and offers coffee*

For many years I have pretty much spent all my free time doing things with or for my kids. Well, they are all grown now, and I'm looking at getting back to some of the things I enjoyed as a kid. Obviously backpacking is one of those things, or I wouldn't be here.

I have been looking at putting together a set of gear while I also work on getting myself into shape to do some backpacking. One thing I have noticed as I have been doing this is that the rule of thumb for gear seem to be:

"Lightweight, good quality, inexpensive.... pick two"

That gives me a challenge. What if I find that its not for me? The last time I went was over 30 years ago as a teenager with some friends. I really don't want to invest a pile of money before I know I'll stick with it, and yet inexpensive gear seems to be either horrible quality or weigh a ton.

For instance when I dug around for what I already had available one thing I found was a little 7X7 dome tent I already had with my car camping stuff (looks new, probably used a time or two when the kids brought friends along). That would definitely work, but even without the bag or pegs its weighing in at about 5lb.

that seems to be nearly double what I'm seeing others say they are carrying. Heck at this rate I'll end up with a 30lb pack just for a weekend trip.

Anyhow, I just figured I'd say Hi as I'll be hanging out here while I work towards getting back out there. I know that what gear I bring with is less important than the fun I will (hopefully) have.