Shaving Six Ounces

I blogged before about my weight problem (my loaded pack, not my body weight so much).  My pack on a backpacking trip is so heavy, and I hope to have a couple of trips coming up this late summer and fall, one of them a fairly long one.  So I would love to find a way to take off some weight, and I recently found a way to shave six ounces.

One is by replacing my standard hiking trowel with a new digging device, the Deuce of Spades.  Why do back packers need a trowel, you ask?  Are we doing gardening in the deep woods?  No, gentle reader, not quite!  A trowel is used to dig what is, euphemistically, known as a "cat hole," which is an essential part of backwoods sanitation.

This photo shows my old trowel on the left and the Deuce of Spades on the right.  The latter is very light and tough, and weighs 4.5 ounces less than the former.  You can dig with either end, and can use the small end to put more pressure to bear when digging in compacted soil.

The other way that I shaved a tiny bit of weight is by replacing my standard fork - spoon - knife kit with a plastic "spork." It saves about an ounce, although I could - and may - just carry the metal spoon instead, depending on what is on the menu.

My pack will still weigh too much, but every little bit helps.