Yeah, I remember reading most of that stuff. I also read a lot of the books by Joseph Altsheller about Indians and colonial woodsmen. I also liked Cache Lake Country and the books by Calvin Rustrum.

First pack I ever owned was a German Army rucksack. It came to the U.S. with one of my uncles as a war souvenir complete with blood stains. I used it on my first backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada in 1946. The first NEW pack I owned was a Trapper Nelson packboard made of wood and canvas with no waist belt; I had it rigged for use with a trumpline. I never really liked the Trapper Nelson so I continued to use the German rucksack until it literally wore out in about 1960. I replaced it with a Bergans and then later with a Kelty. I used that Wermaht rucksack on my solo of the John Muir Trail in 1954 as part of what was, for those days, a lightweight pack. IIRC, the pack I carried on the JMT back then weighed a bit over 15 pounds not counting food and water (close to another 30 pounds). I'm planning a reprise of the Muir trail this coming summer and my pack will probably not weigh much less than the one I carried over 50 years ago. I'll probably be warmer, dryer and less mosquito bitten though. Should be better fed also; I almost starved to death on my first trip. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />