I backpacked for the first time in my life last year. I am in reasonably good shape for a 52 year old. My pack was 50 lbs(25%) I am 5'11", 200 lbs. I didn't expect a walk in the park, I expected the hiking to be strenuous, but it was very doable in RMNP, starting elevation 9000+ and destination 10 - 11,000feet. I will work on whittling the pack weight down this year, my personal weight is also being whittled down. I started out weighing every ounce. The friend we went with cracked me up because when I asked him how much his pack weighed he said "I am not sure, I just packed everything I thought I would need". Light weight stuff sure helps the load as does the freeze dried meals.