Knee pain on a solo trail: My packing wake-up call

I've noticed more solo travelers ignoring pack weight until it hurts them. On my last solo hike in Colorado, I stuffed my bag with extra clothes and food. By day two, my knees were throbbing with every step. I had to sit out a planned summit attempt and rest at a lower camp. This taught me to weigh my bag before any trip now. It's a simple fix that keeps my adventures smooth and my body happy.

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diana_grant317mo ago

Yeah, you learn that lesson fast, don't you? I wrecked my own knees on a solo trip in Utah because I packed way too much water 'just in case' - had like eight pounds of it. Could barely walk downhill by the end of the first day. Now I weigh every single thing and it makes such a crazy difference.

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colel887mo ago

Water weight is a killer, especially in dry places like Utah. Now that you weigh everything, how do you decide what's essential? For example, do you set a max weight for your pack before a trip? Or do you just go by feel after weighing each item? I'm curious about the process after the scale tells you the numbers.

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nguyen.wade7mo ago

My own knees screamed at me after carrying a huge camera lens up a mountain. Diana_grant31 is right about water weight adding up fast, that stuff is heavy. I finally bought a cheap kitchen scale to weigh my gear, it was a game changer. Leaving extra stuff behind lets me actually enjoy the hike instead of just hurting.

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