Heck ya, his philosophy on gear and backpacking is great. I'm thankful that he was around to invent Friends (camming devices for climbing) back in the day, and his books on lightweight backpacking are great. I'm still not sure about his umbrella idea, but I've been trying to get my pack weight down below 20lbs, I've been hiking without poles and in running shoes instead of boots, and often times just take a sheet of ripstop nylon out instead of a full tent.

My brother hiked the AT a few years ago, and he did it with a 17lb pack. Of course on the AT you use all the shelters and mail your food to yourself, but it's still pretty good gear-wise.

Ray's GoLite stuff is pretty good too, you can often times find good deals on last year's stuff at Sierra Trading Post.