Hello everyone, my name is Rich, I am new to the site but have been lurking for about a month. I am not really new to backpacking but I have gained a new found interest in light weight backpacking, I have gotten my base weight down from around 50lbs to 18lbs verified by weighing EVERY little thing (advice from this forum)! It has been exciting and eye opening realizing all of the things I carried over the years and never not once used. I spent 15 years in the infantry and gained great bushcraft and land navigation knowledge over the years. One of my goals is to walk the Colorado Trail hence the desire to learn how to go lighter. I currently backpack around 15-20 nights a year but hopefully will be able to do more now that I am medically retired from the armed forces. Well enough about me for now thank you for such a great site I look forward to learning and sharing here! Travel light and be safe
Rich

Welcome aboard

This board gives the double pleasure of learning from others and sharing what you know. Come back often and tell us what's up with you. The Colorado Trail sounds like an excellent adventure I'd love to hear about.

Welcome! Sounds as though you're doing well!

Have you found the articles on the home page of this site, left-hand column? A lot of people miss those by coming directly to the forum. It's those articles that got my base weight down first to 15 and eventually to 12 lbs (the last 3 lbs did involve more $$$, though). My total pack weight for 9 days, 24-25 lbs. instead of 50. Makes a lot of difference in hiking ease (actually in my being able to backpack at all), without sacrificing anything in the way of comfort or safety.

Feel free to ask questions and submit trip reports!