I don't really have any interest in going back to the "old ways"; I prefer the comfort I can take with me now.

When I started in 1946, my gear was built around a war surplus German army rucksack that was too big for me, the liner for a U.S. Army arctic sleeping bag, a GI poncho for shelter, a sweater and a tin can with a wire bale for cooking over fires. I slept on my Army surplus clothes (those that I wasn't wearing -- the bag liner was a 45 degree item at best) and just suffered the mosquitoes. With this as my basic kit, I backpacked in the Sierras and San Gabriel mountains for eight years including one through hike of the JMT. It wasn't until I started earning a bit more money that I was able to upgrade my gear, starting with a better sleeping bag. I got cold, wet, and cold and wet a lot in those years and I was always hungry. But I did learn a lot.

Would I give up my warm, dry, lightweight gear? Only if I had to.