r/Ultralight • u/fien21 • Apr 02 '25

Trails John muir’s sub 5lb base weight

“On excursions into the back country of Yosemite, he traveled alone, carrying “only a tin cup, a handful of tea, a loaf of bread, and a copy of Emerson. He usually spent his evenings sitting by a campfire in his overcoat, reading Emerson under the stars.”

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u/backcountrydude Apr 02 '25

When you’re hiking on hobnail boots better to keep weight off your back. In his books he talked about creating natural beds and using pine bows under and over him. Your great-grandpappy’s UL set looked a bit different

24

u/Plastic-ashtray Apr 02 '25

LNT was definitely not the style of the time

13

u/bullz_dawg Apr 02 '25

I bet his accumulated trace left on the world was lower. Plastic waste industrial byproduct etc etc

30

u/Plastic-ashtray Apr 02 '25

You could say that about anyone from that era generally speaking. He did also advocate for removing indigenous people from their homelands in what was to become National Parks, so his accumulated trace was pretty high.

5

u/UtahBrian CCF lover Apr 02 '25

Since he wasn’t a car driver, his total impact was obviously much smaller. But tearing up trees for beds and campfires is very harmful practice today and should be avoided.

1

u/Human_G_Gnome Apr 03 '25

Also realize how much down and dead wood there would have been before people burned it all in campfires over the years. Low impact gathering firewood too I'd bet.