AK Troutbum
WKR
Lately I've made a few hikes with my pack (DT1) carrying somewhat heavy loads (115 lbs.) and not so heavy loads (50 lbs.) and have been coming home with a sore back. The area that is bothering me is in my lumbar region, but not over the spine, rather on both sides of my spine. When I carried the 115 lb load I actually had, what felt like, bruising in that area, and definitely red marks on either side of my spine. Prior to the last month of making some backpacking trips and having these issues, the last time I used the pack was last Oct. goat hunting. I didn't have these problems last year. I don't really know what's changed. My wt. hasn't changed, I believe that I'm loading the pack correctly (heaviest stuff right down the middle of my back, close to my back, and up high, so I'm only carrying lighter stuff in the bottom of the pack ie., quilt, pad, and 26 oz. shelter. Does anyone have any ideas on what I'm doing wrong, or what I can change to alleviate the problem?