This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I receive a small percentage of any sales made from the links, but I am not otherwise compensated for my opinions.
I have been wanting to do a series about camping and backpacking, but it's such a huge subject I had trouble figuring out how to start. But fall is in the air, and that makes me think of all the things I love about camping, so I've decided to just break it down into very small steps and tackle it a little at a time. That's how we learned, so that's how I tell it.
First, I'll give you a little background. Brian and I have been backpacking seriously, either together or separately, for about ten years.
.JPG)
We'd each done a little before then, but we really started to get serious about it when we got married. Our first couple of trips were disasters. We packed way too much stuff, brought all the wrong gear, froze at nights, and came home early and exhausted.
But for some reason, we kept at it. We bought book after book, read magazines, joined online forums, and gradually, we got better at it. We went on practice hikes to test our packing techniques. We planned for weeks before each overnight trip to make sure we did it better than the last time. We talked about it day and night for months. We went alone. We brought friends. We learned.
We're now at a place where we are pretty confident in our abilities, although we are always learning and trying out new things. Personally, I have come from being completely useless to being confident that if you put me in the woods alone with a pack, I could survive just fine for days. That's a huge improvement!
.jpg) |
| That's me being totally hardcore right there. |
Of course, we don't get to go as much as we used to because we have Cricket. Now we are learning a completely different kind of camping, which I'm sure I'll get to later. For the moment, though, I am going to cover some of the basics of backpacking with just adults.
Packing is probably the most important part of backpacking, because it determines how well you will do everything else. You have to get all the gear you need, make sure it doesn't break your back, and pack it in such a way that it is comfortable to hike with. Our packs typically weight between 15 to 25 pounds before water. (As a contrast, our packs on our first trip weighed over 50 pounds--each!)
.JPG)
You need to make a master list of what you are going to take in your pack. Forgetting something is not an option when you're a day's hike or more from the nearest road. This is not something you can just throw together on a whim. As you think through your list, try to stick mostly with items that have multiple purposes, or that can be shared when possible. No sense doubling up on weight.
I'm going to talk you through our master list, one section at a time.
Travel
□ Walking
Sticks
□ Rain
gear
□ Map
□ Compass
□ Camel Back Water Carrier
□ Camel Back Water Carrier
Most of these are pretty basic. One important one is the walking stick or hiking pole.
.jpg) |
| Using hiking sticks to set up a tarp for a rain cover. |
1st Aid
□ 1st
aid kit
□ ACE
bandage
□ Moleskin
□ Meds
(check levels)
Tent Gear
□ Hammock
□ Blanket
□ Sheets
□ Tarp
□ Mosquito
Net
.JPG) |
| Me in my awesome hammock-burrito. |
.jpg) |
| Me sleeping in my hammock-burrito covered in mosquito net. |
Brian is hardcore and doesn't seem to mind bugs on his face.
Hygiene
□ Trowel
□ Toothbrushes
□ Tooth
Paste (travel size)
□ Floss
□ TP
□ Garbage
bags
□ Wet
wipes
□ Camp
towels
□ Hand
sanitizer
□ Contacts
□ Glasses
□ Wash
cloth
Kitchen
□ Cookware
□ Water
purifier
□ Soap
□ Sporknives
□ Ziplocks
□ Matches/lighters
□ Water
carriers
□ Stove
Light My Fire sells awesome sporknives that have everything you need for cooking and eating all in one utensil.
.jpg)
That means typically carrying matches, a lighter, and a fire steel kit. Water carriers include my Nalgene and Brian's army canteen. I always bring a few extra Ziplocks, too, for packing out trash or as an emergency water carrier.
Our stove is just a tiny little contraption that screws onto a canister of fuel so you can set a pot on it.
Misc.
□ Duct
tape
□ Flashlights
□ Gloves
□ Bug
Spray
□ Pocket
knives
□ Bungees/zip-ties
□ Rope
□ Whistle
□ Sewing
Kit
□ Safety
pins
□ Book
 |
| Pictured: Brian's gloves, doing all of the above. |
Clothes
□ 2
shirts each
□ 2
pants each
□ Underwear
□ Socks
□ Boots
□ Hats
□ Bandannas
□ Camp
shoes
□ Hair
Bands
□ Long
sleeve shirts
.jpg)
We usually take one pair of hiking clothes and one pair of camp clothes. That way, your hiking clothes are dirty and covered with bug spray, and you can hang out at camp in clothes that are cleaner and more comfortable. We also change into camp shoes because it gives your feet a break from your hiking boots, it's easier on the campsite, and they are easier to slip on and off. Also, zip-off pants/shorts are a great space and weight saver.
10 Pc. Kit
□ Folding
saw
□ Fire
steel
□ Poncho
□ Rope
□ Bandana
□ Multi-tool
□ Knife
□ Gloves
□ Notepad
□ Cook
set
What kind of things do you pack when you go hiking? Anything different than what's on this list?
