I tried hard to pack appropriately. I had one pair of socks for sleeping and one for being on the bike. During the day, I wore UA boxers to keep down chafe, and my night boxers went unused since my long merino wool underwear was comfortable by itself. There's an item I could have left behind! But I didn't!
Here's where my problems come up, though:
1. I brought a fleece sleeping bag liner and a thermolite silk liner. I also brought a fleece jacket that I only used at night to keep me warm. I only had to use all three one time, but when I did, I really needed them... (top of Mt. Hurricane, NH). Switching to a down bag will cost me $250, but the weight savings, space savings, and flexibility of a bag that is warm enough for all night conditions makes ultralighting in this case, expensive and pseudo-necessary. My current setup takes up 2x the weight and 3x the space as a single down bag.
Hmm....
Originally Posted by
Juha
I wonder if there are self-supported long distance swimmers?
--J
No. Swimming all day, which is what most distance swimmers do, burns 14,000 calories. While swimming, a support boat throws out high-calorie energy shakes every 45 minutes and only manages to replace about 6,000 calories. Most long-distance swimmers are limited in that after a few days, their body starts to literally eat itself.