Tips for scales

I'm off backpacking this weekend, and it's the trial run for my new pack, a Gregory Savant.  The staff at REI was very helpful in my pack selection, which was more difficult because, as the clerk told me, "your body has a weird shape."

I'm still not really sure what that means, but it boils down to this pack being the only one in the store that worked for me, so I bought it.

I've also applied some things I learned from my last trip, conversations with other backpackers, and a book I grabbed off the clearance table at Barnes & Noble.  Key points:

• Use shoes, not boots.  This weekend I'm using a pair of Brooks Adrenaline trail runners.  I started using them for running when I lived in Oregon, and immediately realized they were magic shoes.  They actually made me look forward to running.  the pair I'm in now has been retired from running use and is just my everyday pair, because nobody in our area sells trail runners (no trails), and I couldn't get a new pair in time.  Trail runners offer better ventilation, and they dry faster than boots.
• Don't take changes of clothes.  The only reason to have extra clothes is to fill your dresser, and nobody backpacks with a dresser.  That space (and weight) can be better occupied by food.
• Take only what you will use.   Admittedly, I still have a little trouble with this one, because I'm not sure yet what I will use.  I have a couple "back-up" snacks in my bag, but I don't have an extra day's worth of food, like I did last time.  On the other hand, last time I don't think I took enough food, so I'm still carrying more food weight on this trip, but I think it will work out better for me, because I have a very clear plan of how all of it will be used.  There's some other gear I know I don't need for this trip (our shelters will have bear poles for food, so I don't need a bear bag and line), but I'm taking it anyway because I want to practice.

What's still troubling is that there are other things I know I will carry next year that will add weight.  I need to figure out ways to drop weight from my pack to accommodate those items (camera charger, rain gear, passenger).  I woke Friday just after five, and couldn't get back to sleep because my head was filled with questions about where I could drop weight from my kit.  I got out of bed and started looking at backpacking quilts online while trying to calculate for the thousandth time the weight of an alcohol stove system compared to my Jetboil.

My base weight for this trip is 18 pounds, according to our possibly-accurate bathroom scale.  If I can get that down to 12, I'd be pretty happy, but my pack is 3 pounds, 9 ounces, and my tent is about 2.5.  That only leaves me about six pounds for cooking, staying warm at night, dryish during the day, and everything else I won't eat or drink.