Sounds like you are another Job. Me and my family have had very tough times. My big feet is that what’s left of my family, they are all aging and might die before everything happens. And I don’t have the heart or health to do this alone. I’ve been prepping for so long. But I can’t do it alone :’(

Cut your tent weight and get a Bivy Bag. No poles and you can store your sleeping bag in it. I always have a Bivy Bag in my packs.

I agree with ziploc bags as a good solution to keeping key things dry and organized — for example, separate each day’s clothing change items (socks, underwear, undershirt, etc.) in gallon ziploc bags by day. As you find a consistent way you like to pack you’ll be able to find items easily and pull them out without upsetting everything else in the bag. Same system works for food, and anything else you use in portions. It even gives you a bag to put trash from the meal after eating or dirty clothes in after changing without soiling other items in your pack. Gives redundancy too, as you can always consolidate bags if one fails.

That’s some powerful stuff, Church. You’re a helluva man.

As far as where the majority of the weight should go, the old school tip of packing it low, especially in an external frame pack, puts the extra leverage on one’s shoulders. That’s bad. I advise the heaviest weight in an external frame pack to be above one’s hips and close to the back. On uneven terrain (which is not optimal for an external fr pack) weight a little low. On nice, flat trails, the weight higher allows more load to your hips, and that is good. Follow? I recommend internal frame packs, and on the business of heat and sweat I advise you will suffer less with a better balanced load. My analogy is of a prize fighter on your back trying to throw you down every few steps versus a well balanced load that you can manage best.
I used to fit packs on customers at REI, and proper fit and then proper wearing of a pack is critical. You’d be surprised at the benefit of wearing the sternum strap in the right place, the hip belt at the correct angle (common error) and the load lifters at the shoulder correctly operated.
Organize your load for comfort, not convenience, if it is a heavy load. Make sense?
Proper footwear, no cotton in most climates, excellent rain gear if available. That is my advice. Best wishes.

That is so very true. I slowly purchased these bags in a variety of colors for items. they are a bit pricy at first though. I still recommend that you add a few construction grade bags in the bottom of each so that if you get a hole or it wears through then you are OK.