Greetings All,
I'm from Lancaster, PA. I've spent about 18 months of my 35 years camping and backpacking. I've had the best times in the Allegheny NF and the Finger Lakes NF. Because I've been in school FT while working FT for the last 2 years, I haven't had a chance to go anywhere, but graduation is May 2013 so I'm planning now. I'm hoping to get some pointers on home made gear and gear mods to shave a few pounds off my pack weight, and also some destination recommendations.
Thanks!
scroungetech

scroungetech,

Three trails in your area: The AT itself, a bit north of you; the Horseshoe trail, which leaves the AT near Hershey and goes to Valley Forge, and the Brandywine Trail (Wilmington Trail Club) that leaves the Horseshoe Trail just South and East of you and goes to the DuPont Hagley Mills in Wilmington. There are a number of others in the general area, With the Mason-Dixon trail and the Batona trail coming quickly to mind, plus there's a Pennsylvania State Park (can't remember the name offhand) with some very nice trails that is very close to you. Took both my daughters and a whole lot of other people on their first backpack trips, using a shelter there (It may not be there any more). best, jcp

As a fellow newbie, welcome.

Experienced backpackers will tell you to start reducing weight with the "big three": shelter, sleeping bag, and pack. Unfortunately, I don't know any way to get a sleeping bag or quilt for cheap unless you just get really lucky finding a deal. However, cheap DIY shelter and pack options are very doable. One of the members on this forum, topshot, has done quite a bit of work building inexpensive, but good, tents out of plastic and tape, and other's have built on his ideas. See this, this, and this.

As far as a pack goes, there are free plans for at least one model online here. Beware though, that they say pack fit is very individual, and whichever pack you get or build has to be a good fit for you. And, the pack has to be appropriately sized for your gear. For that reason, they recommend that a pack is the last thing you buy. If, the one I linked to is a good volume and fit for you however, it could be built as specified in the plans for about $40, or less if you use cheaper (heavier) or free materials. Another member, billstephenson, has recommended used feed bags. I got some myself, and while I haven't built my pack yet, it does seem like it would make a good pack.

Back to the quilt - Depending on what kind of weather you're going to be out in, you might just have to spend a bit here. The least expensive new option I've seen is putting together the quilt kit from Ray Jardine's site. I don't have the link, but it should come up on google easily. Of course, if you're only going to be camping in warm weather, that would be overkill, and you could get away with something much less expensive, but you should plan for the coldest night you might encounter. I've got more money saving ideas; you can look at my "My Newbie Gear Log" to see what I've done so far, and I'm sure others can chime in.

EDIT: I just realized you asked about saving weight, not money, whereas my answer focuses on cost. Thankfully, a lot of the least expensive solutions are also very light.

What is cheaper?

A sleeping bag you buy one time and use for decades, OR, a cheap sleeping bag, followed by another one when the first proves to not keep you warm, followed by another one when you start to focus more on lightening up the pack because you want to go more often and it makes a significant difference? One $350 bag is cheaper than three cheap bags, and it's more comfortable.

If you buy a really good bag up front - it will have a higher resale value if you then take care of it and decide after a few years that since your doctor told you to stop backpacking or you just lose interest, I need to liquidate the gear.

I used to cheap out on stuff. The older you are when you get into it, the more important it is to get the stuff that works well and suits your needs - comfort for some of us is a bigger part of the equation. I could sleep on rocks when I was a kid. It's not going to happen now.

Welcome aboard! There are a lot of DIY projects around the internet, including the DIY forum here. You'll probably get a kick out of the Zen Stoves site. (google it, pops right up.)

Yes, of course. I'm obviously all for saving money, but that's with the understanding that what you get actually works long-term. I'm admittedly inexperienced, but the reason I mentioned the the Ray-Way quilt kit is that, from everything I've read, I understand it to be about the least expensive option that will work long-term.

The Ray Way was my second purchase.

I still have it and occasionally use it - it rides around in my trunk along with the five gallons of water when I'm driving forest service roads, just in case.

With those 2 criteria, you should head over to the MYOG forum at backpackinglight.com - lots of pushing the envelope on what can be done.