Overland Track - Pack Weight Mega-Survey Thread

[Finnigan]

Three of us did an 8 day OLT in winter last year,
My brother in law carried 25 kgs. including snow shoes and camera canon 7d with 1 lens only
My sister carried 15 kgs including snow shoes
My self carried 28 kgs including snow shoes , 8 days food for all 3, emergency tent huba buba,(next time take smaller emerg. tent)
Had the best time, this is the best walk in the world, would do it again tomorrow,

[bumpingbill]

Wow. Are emergency tents encouraged for winter walking?

[north-north-west]

You should always carry a tent on a Tozzie (or alpine) overnighter, regardless of the presence of huts, and especially so on such a popular route as the OT.
There's no guarantee of there being room in huts, given the number of walkers out there, plus the weather can be so changeable that it's easy to be caught by it well short of shelter. Carrying a tent can be the difference between survival and death.

[bumpingbill]

I'm aware you should always carry a tent.

I assumed "emergency tent" meant an extra tent, in case one of the main tents was damaged. A backup tent, if you will.

[north-north-west]

Seems excessive. Nor is it anything I've heard of people doing. A bivy bag as a back-up, perhaps, but no more than that.
It's not like it's technical diving; two of everything is carrying caution a bit too far.

[RonK]

Seems excessive. Nor is it anything I've heard of people doing. A bivy bag as a back-up, perhaps, but no more than that.
It's not like it's technical diving; two of everything is carrying caution a bit too far.

Yes, does seem excessive. For my last OT, during spring (October), for emergency shelter I took a WE Overhang tarp and a few pegs to make a tent using my trekking poles, and a plastic body bag. Oh, and a space blanket in my first aid kit. I reckoned that would be adequate if the weather turned and I had to spend a night on the trail.

If that wasn't enough to survive, at least I'd already be in the bag.

[Tortoise]

First OLT = first overnighter.
9 days of food for 8 days of walking with side trips.
2 people, equally clueless
Me (about 50kg at the time): unwisely carried 20kg in an old (even for back then) pack that was more cuboid than anything else. My centre of gravity was a few steps behind me. Knee problems, badly burnt foot on Day 2, but absolutely hooked!

2nd time:
6 days' food for 6 days' walking
6 people - shared a 2 person tent which was 3.4kg iirc
Me (about 55 kg at the time): faired better (though still foolishly) with a 23 kg pack that included a fair bit of camera gear, and some seriously yummy food. Had an absolute ball, with great weather, snow and excellent company.

3rd time:
6 days, 3 people
Me (about 60kg - do you detect a theme here?): faired much better starting with about 18kg. Less camera gear, a few lighter bits and pieces.

If there's a next time it will hopefully look something like this:
7 days with bigger side trips
Me (about 52kg ) with about 12 kg.

[tigercat]

Great progression Tortoise!

[Tortoise]

Thanks tc. Got a bit to go still, but it's within cooee I reckon.

[RonK]

If there's a next time it will hopefully look something like this:
7 days with bigger side trips
Me (about 52kg ) with about 12 kg.

hehe - well they do say Tortoise are slow...
Solo on my second crossing and it only took me three OLT's to get there with my load...

[Tortoise]

If there's a next time it will hopefully look something like this:
7 days with bigger side trips
Me (about 52kg ) with about 12 kg.

hehe - well they do say Tortoise are slow...
Solo on my second crossing and it only took me three OLT's to get there with my load...

Touché, RonK! I'd been toying with going lighter for a good while. But the clincher was when I found myself turned turtle (so to speak) with a 20+kg pack, and a friend picked it up and said, "Tortoise, you have to do something about this weight!"

Actually I forgot to put in the unknown number of people i my last post but I do enjoy some solo trips, and it only took 32 years of bushwalking to get there.

[RonK]

If there's a next time it will hopefully look something like this:
7 days with bigger side trips
Me (about 52kg ) with about 12 kg.

hehe - well they do say Tortoise are slow...
Solo on my second crossing and it only took me three OLT's to get there with my load...

Touché, RonK! I'd been toying with going lighter for a good while. But the clincher was when I found myself turned turtle (so to speak) with a 20+kg pack, and a friend picked it up and said, "Tortoise, you have to do something about this weight!"

Actually I forgot to put in the unknown number of people i my last post but I do enjoy some solo trips, and it only took 32 years of bushwalking to get there.

Hehe - well I've been around long enough to have been taught by my parents to buy gear that would last a lifetime.

Almost too late I realised the lifetime of my gear was likely to be greater than my own.

But not soon enough unfortunately to save my knees.

[Selbbin]

If there's a next time it will hopefully look something like this:
7 days with bigger side trips
Me (about 52kg ) with about 12 kg.

I'm sure you'll be able to get there. I'm leaving in a few days for my 5th, so gathered similar experience, and my weight including 6 days food, camera gear, tent, and everything else I need as a solo walker brings my total to 12.2kg.

[Trundlers]

7 days as we walked out via Echo Point. Tented all but 2 nights. We had about 18kg inc 2 litres each of water. Our other 2 walking companions had about 22kg (lots of camera gear) and 25kg each.

[bigwallclimber]

There were two of us, One new person to hiking and me the more experienced.

Packed with weight in mind to ensure an easy walk.

Partner = 65kg,
Pack weight - 14kg.
Me = 80kg,
Pack weight - 17kg.

Carried 9 days food, completed in 7 days via echo point, all nights in tents.
We had 2 litres of water per person each day at the start.

We will go lighter next time with a different tent with more space.