Back in high school, I remember hiking with freinds in Yosemite.Our footware of choice were Vans skater shoes.I carried an old kelty pack(super tioga) on one trip.That pack weighed in at just under 80lbs.I weighed about 130-140lbs at the time.Our menu consisted of frozen steaks,frozen burger,fresh eggs.Most of our equipment was geared towards car camping.Full size laterns,cast iron skillets,blue enamel dishes.It was crazy.Racheria Fall,7-8 miles,was like a death hike.I remember on the way back out, guys leaving brand new equipment on the trail,for lack of wanting to carry that much weight.
Yeh, those were the good ole days.We obviously knew nothing about backpacking back then.I can honestly say that I've grown to love packing more every time I go.We must've looked like fools to educated hikers,but you live and you learn.