[Miss Normandy]

If you had a magic pack in which you could pack an infinite amount of gear without increasing the weight, not even by an ounce, what would you bring with you into the woods say for a week's stay? I think I would splurge on food, lots of it, and tools for gourmet preparation. No more freeze dried crap for me, no way.

[treewalker]

Aside from gourmet food and lodging, I'd also pack an entire high quality 16 track 2 inch analog recording facility, vintage amps, instruments, preamps and microphones as well as a few awesome musicians to play drums, bass, keys, and a recording engineer with neve console, computer systems to automate it all and portable silent generators to power it all. I'd also pack a jacuzzi and a bevy of groupies and a full bar. Then I'd set it all up someplace awesome like grand park on mt. rainier and spend a few weeks recording the album of a lifetime. At the end I'd have an album release party/rave with lasers and disco balls and P.A. and everything... For that I'd have to have packed the playboy mansion in my pack as well. Of course it'd all have to be zero-impact on the fragile ecosystem.

[teasethedog]

Remember your "goos", too. They're handy for blisters, bug bites, etc. It may be a good idea to bring a bottle of all-in-one soap so you can wash your socks from time to time, although you may not be able to dry them if you're hiking all the time. If you have picked a spot, though, you could let them dry while you go out, etc. I only suggest that since stiff socks are absolutely grody. As for cuisine, if you're going to pack it in for 5 days, you may not have much choice but to dry things out. You could keep things from spoiling for 1-2 days, but non-dried food will spoil real quickly out in the summer heat. Veggies keep for awhile, though, and taste great when cooked.

[Larry]

TeaseTheDog! Don't forget that MN said that weight wasn't an issue (and I'm assuming that size isn't an issue here either...wait...wait...you know what I mean...the size of the things you put in the imaginary pack aren't an issue..get your mind back on track). So...I'd bring a refrigerator for the veggies, TeaseTheDog, and a washer and dryer for the sox and stuff. And, of course, a shower with a 20 gallon hot water tank. And a generator. And a nice 21 inch TFT display to view any digital images. And, I'd pack a gourment chef with all the trimmings. I mean, let's shoot for the moon here while we have the chance, Bubba.

[Quarkk]

[polarbear-]

I think we are straying from the original intent, not that thread drift never happens, it does, but how about a little later in the thread? MN said it has to be gear, not entourages and porters. Remember that if you put alot of gear in the magic pack, you still have to deal with it all. You don't have several days to unload everything. That said, I'd bring a nice large stove as opposed to the mini-burner, a telescope (if I owned one), a raft, a large tent that you could stand up in (yes, like the kind Sears use to sell), a cooler with some good food, and maybe a guitar (if I knew how to play one).

[Larry]

[jenjen]

I'd pack an honest-to-God bed. with feather pillows and a down comforter. And a tent big enough to put it in. And a bath tub with those jacuzzi jet things (and hot running water to put in it).

[Tom]

On some hikes I wouldn't mind a chainsaw or one of those fold out ladders.

[Malachai Constant]

A weightless foldout motorcycle boat combo to allow cross cascade and loop trips and avoid parking, trail pass, and vandalism problems, baring that a portable transporter ala Star Trek.

[#19]

Michelle Pfeiffer

[Tom]

[catwoman]

Futon mattress, complete with sheets and blankets and fluffy pillows.

[Fred]

Actually, the music / musician recording gig idea isn't so far fetched: Paul Winter in the Grand Canyon

[Backpacker Joe]

I would bring the RMS Titanic along! Or, at least the head chef from El Gaucho! How about (stealing the idea from Dante) an Air Stream trailer! Or, sense this is fantasy, I would take the replicator from the USS Enterprise. NCC 1701-E. Then I'd just replicate what I needed! Beam me the F*** up Scotty! TB