Took 11 miles on the PCT to realize my pack straps were twisted

Was dying near Tahoe with shoulder pain after 3 days, felt like a rookie. Stopped at a creek and a thru-hiker just stared at me, said 'your load lifters are like doing the worm', fixed it in 10 seconds. Anyone else discover a basic setup mistake way too late into a trip?

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the_robin1mo ago

Wait, does that mean I've been wandering around like a broken transformer this whole time? I feel your pain, man. I did a 40 mile section in Oregon last summer and spent two whole days blaming my aging hips and my ancient pack for the screaming knots in my shoulders. Turns out my sternum strap was riding up around my collarbone and my hip belt was sitting about an inch too high, so basically the pack was doing all the work my legs should've been doing. A guy at a resupply took one look and said my pack looked like it was trying to give me a piggyback ride while I was wearing it backwards. Fixed it in under a minute and I felt like a complete idiot, but also like I'd just discovered fire. Now I do a little strap check before I even leave the parking lot, and I still mess it up half the time.

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