Lessons Learned at Philmont

Hey Guys,

I've been meaning to send you these shots for a while now. I helped take a group of Scouts to Philmont Scout Ranch this past summer and loved my GG trekking poles. Stout and super light. I bought a MP+ before the trip but got guilted into taking my big Kelty by a leader with more Philmont treks under his belt because he said I wouldn't have enough room for all the food. Bad decision. Iran into a crew all carrying their MP+ packs and had a bad case of the "why did I listen to him" anyway. I think that was the crew I saw on your splash page awhile back. The good news was, my conversion over the last few years into an ultralight mindset had my gear kit so trimmed that I ended up with empty space galore in the pack and my max weight on a full food and water load day was just at 35 pounds (7 of that the pack). Lesson fully learned there. We are planning our trek for 2014 now and my goal is to get the whole Troop transitioned by then into light is right and more fun to boot. My MP+ is all I have used since then and my youngest son is loving the Gorilla he got last year. Now my oldest is saving for a GG pack to complete our family conversion. Thanks for helping me to lighten my load!

–Kirk Swann

We would love to publish your ultralight gear story Please consider contacting us for further details.