But, as Toby Horst had said, they were a little more into comfort and light packs than they had been at twenty. From the dufflebags unloaded off their mule, I saw them extract cans of corned beef. Over where the other group was camping, I saw Ginger putting together a stove, attaching it to a big propane cylinder, about two feet high and 14 inches in diameter. All in all, they made my camp outfit seem incredibly small and light, though it was heavy enough on my back. Then I met Dwight.
Most backpackers train by running or cycling.
Dwight lifts weights at Gold's Gym. He was doing the whole trail, south to north, without resupplying. But he wasn't carrying freeze dried meals and moving quickly. He was stopping for day climbs, and he carried cans of tuna and jars of spices. He cooked huge, complicated, one-pot meals in an ancient, blackened pot he had found ten years ago at Reds Meadows.