Didn't see another place for it, so putting it here:

I'm new to the forum. 33 years old, was a boy scout growing up so have done some backpacking, but I'd absolutely say I was dragged on most of those hikes against my will. Now that I'm older, I've done an occasional trip locally. Mostly, it's still a means to an end where I'm backpacking in for a night or two on more remote areas here in North Georgia to fish for trout. My goal is to start doing 3-4 weekends a year and a week long trip out west each year with the wife. We've been doing day hikes on our annual trips and are both looking to string those out a bit. Probably looking to keep things less than 5 miles a day, after all it's about having fun, right?

I recently did an overnight and am planning a weekend trip in the next month or so into the Cohutta. I just weighed out my pack tonight at 25.4 lbs with fishing gear, food, and water. This is with cold weather gear anticipating freezing temperatures at night being a possibility, but I'm not sure if that puts me in the extra heavyweight category. I'm pretty sure I remember caring 40 lb packs in scouts. Either way, with how little I do this, probably not worth throwing dollars at ounces. We'll see how I feel after this next trip.