I've hunted wilderness areas in CO since 1982 & the parking lot is over 7000 feet in elevation & just goes up from there, all the way to 14000 feet if you so desire. I routinely hunt in the 10000 feet range & I've never had a rifle that weighed, when fully loaded under 11 lbs. I've been backpack hunting since the mid 1990's & am using my third different rifle & it seems every time I change rifles, the weight goes up. This past October I hunted that same wilderness, with a backpack & my third different rifle weighed north of 15 lbs. But I might add, I'm young, agile, & spry, I'll turn 64 this April. Wah, wah, wah, everyone or most everyone complains about too heavy, need the next great thing in lightweight equipment. My loaded pack for 1-2 weeks of hunting, not including my rifle, weighs over 80 lbs. Loose some weight & do more exercising, as some one else mentioned. Nuff said, keep your powder dry.