Sometimes frugality is not wise. The rest of our gear was possibly as poorly chosen as our packs. Heavy dishes, food, clothing and sleeping bags made our pack weight about twice what it should have been. Our second problem was that we chose one of the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River on which to hike. We were two young men in pretty good physical shape.
Physical shape has far less to do with backpacking than mental shape does.
You have to have the ability to tell your body that the pain you are feeling doesn't hurt. We did not know this, or could not do this. My wife dropped us off at the trailhead and we headed down the hill. It was on a five mile afternoon, but we still struggled almost instantly. We met a fisherman who told us there was a mother bear with cubs in the area.