Hello again.

I have the backpacking bug. I went for a trail hike about a month ago and had vivid flashbacks from great times in my youth trudging down the trails with my pack and camping with a few friends and the great outdoors. So I am getting back into it. I have to accumulate new gear because all that I used (over 10 years ago) is gone or .. well its just gone. I am interested in the concept of backpacking light.

About myself. I'm 28 years old, live in Southern California. I am a teacher and Football coach. I'm rather large framed. 6'4" 315 lbs, but I'm in good shape (I run, swim and lift weights regularly) so carrying the weight isn't an issue I think. I see people talking about 10-20 lb loaded packs. but is that relative? does my size factor in to the "backpacking light" mentality?

I plan on starting small with some long day hikes. Working my way up to actually staying overnight and then over weekends. I have a fundamental question i suppose.I understand everyone has preferences for brands and styles.

I guess I don't really know what type of pack I should look for. Given that I'm a relative beginner in recent backpacking experiences, and wont be doing any extended trips (nothing longer than a 4 day weekend for a long time) would a smaller pack suffice? should I be looking at a larger day pack or a smaller full sized pack?

Money isn't necessarily an issue. I will eventually try for one weekend excursion a month. But again, I wont be there for a while.

Should I start with a cheap pack and then upgrade later?

Any advice would be great, I am still in the planning stages and have little experience or opinions of my own of new styles of gear and equipment.