Packing for backpacking

My sister wanted to return to backpacking and told me that as she looked around for a list, she found two types: ultra-lightweight nuts who thought you didn't need to eat while trekking over the miles and over-loaded nuts who thought nothing of 60 pounds for a weekend.  Nothing for the sensible person who just wants to take a turn in the wilderness, hopefully without too many bug bites at the end.  We want to be comfortable in the backcountry, and that includes being able to move our legs when we get there, so no 60 pound packs, and a full stomach, so no dropping off the food as unnecessary weight (or living off Cliff bars, for that matter).

So here is my list, of sorts. I don't actually have a list.  Having a list means one day I'll try to wing it from memory and I will forget something.  Whatever it is, it'll be a very important something.  Besides, the list changes with the conditions.  Instead I have a philosophy based around what is required to live.  There are four essentials: air, shelter, water, food.  I'll keep shelter to the end, since it's most complicated.

Air

Without oxygen, we can die in a matter of minutes.  Luckily, the air around us seems to be about 20% oxygen, so this is very easy to supply.¹  If you are going anywhere where you actually need to pack your air, you need a proper list that gets triple checked, and this isn't it.

Water

Without water, we can die in a matter of days.  Unfortunately, water is very heavy so it is generally not practical to carry all that you will need for a hike, especially if going for more than three days, and even that is pushing it.  Fortunately, there is usually a supply of it somewhere along the way.  You do need to be aware that streams marked on your handy USGS topo may not run year round, so do what you can to know the water situation in the place you are going.  Then you can start planning how much water should be on hand along each leg of a trip.

Now comes the philosophy part of this.  Think about water and what you need to have it with you.  You need containers.  Specifically, you need enough containers to hold the largest amount of water you need between any two reliable sources along your way.

Well, that was easy.  But wait, keep thinking about it, it's a little more complicated than that.  The water generally is not be safe to drink.  Even spring sources may be contaminated.  So you also need a treatment system for your water.  I have a filter and a tiny bottle of portable aqua in the first aid kit.  Hey, we sucked too many tiny fishes into one filter and ended up boiling it for one trip; we hadn't tested one filter before leaving and found the water came out yellow and were stuck with iodine.

1. water bottles or other containers
2. water filter or other purification

Food

Without food, we can die in a matter of weeks.  That doesn't sound so bad, but the goal is to enjoy ourselves and we're using energy, so we don't really want to go without.  Think about food and what you need to stay happy.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks are all needed.  Think about how much you need and try to pack about that much.  Some people find themselves really not hungry while hiking, and some become ravenous.  I've heard the rule of thumb that there should be about 1 pound of (dry!) food per day, which seems in the ballpark if a little much for my own consumption.  Safety demands a little extra in case something goes awry, which is where the extra snacks come in.

Mornings are cold and dinners are traditionally warm, so a stove may be desired.  I've gone on short trips without, but I find that dried out food gets old quickly and anything else is either too heavy for extended trips or requires cooking to become the lovely, moisture filled goodness that is proper, energy giving food.  So dishes and a stove get packed.²  Also, it's a backup water purification method.

And then there are the bears.  Or the legendary mice on the AT (or so I've heard).  Or the ants.  Or the other animals you'd rather didn't get hold of all that food you've worked so hard to bring with you.  Hanging has done well for me, even though I've never had that nearly mythical tree that allows hanging 12 feet up, 10 feet down and 8 feet out from anything.  I had trouble with ants the one time I didn't hang it.  I also encountered a bear the next day, just the other side of a ridge from LA.³

1. breakfasting foods
2. lunching foods
3. dinner foods
4. energy snacks
5. stove and fuel
6. matches
7. pot of appropriate size (should only need one) and potholder if needed
8. some small scrubber
9. spoon (all else is luxury)
10. Sierra cup (anything more is luxury)
11. knife if needed

Shelter

Without shelter, we can die in a matter of hours.  It's really that important.  Insufficient shelter combined with insufficient water is especially bad.  But what does this even mean to you packing?  Well, think about what you need shelter from.  The elements: sun, wind, rain, cold, heat.  Think about both day and nighttime conditions.  What weather is likely where you are going?  What weather is possible?  This last becomes more important the longer you are going out for since the weatherman isn't going to give you very reliable information a week in advance.

Shelter from sun (and heat) are things like hats, sunglasses⁴, sunscreen⁵.  Chapstick!  Actually wear these things too.  Regular clothing comes in here too.  For clothing, try to remember you probably only need one of it.  Are you going sliding down rocks you're willing to call water slides today?  If not, then you probably won't rip your shorts.  Are you going to find a nice bath along the way?  If not, then you probably won't be smelling any better with a fresh shirt.

Shelter from cold means more clothing, but also those things you will need at night: sleeping bag and mat.  The mat is very important since the underside of a sleeping bag really isn't doing much while it's squished by your body weight and that ground seems to be hungry for warmth, ready to suck every bit of it out of you.  It's also a bit softer for a little bit more comfort.  Whatever clothing you bring, make sure it layers and understand how it works with your other stuff (rain gear should fit over it and may compliment or replace it).  If wind is a problem, be sure you can deal with it.  Remember all of your body needs to be warm, even the bits at the end like fingers and head.

Shelter from rain, and weather in general, will vary by the time of year and place.  I can't be bothered for those times of the year when the average rainfall is a rounding error, but all my stuff can take a little water and still work.⁶  Tents are nice even if it won't rain (bugs) and especially nice if it will.

1. sleeping bag
2. sleeping mat
3. tent or tarp, check it is all there before leaving even if you packed it last
4. long underwear
5. jacket
6. any other layers needed for the area
7. gloves
8. rain gear
9. hat
10. sunglasses
11. sunscreen
12. lip balm
13. maybe extra socks and underwear
14. bug repellent

You are already wearing

1. underwear
2. socks
3. boots
4. shirt
5. shorts/pants

Toiletries and safety

This doesn't seem to come in anywhere in the above categories, so I tend to have to just tack it on at the end, much like it is here.  These are the everyday things you need to stay healthy.  Toothbrush and sanitary things to keep the germs at bay as well as you can.  Not really toothpaste and soap, though, as those are dire pollutants that will kill off your lovely backcountry.  Hairbrush.  Think about all those bits you've got and what they need to care for them.

Some level of first aid kit is needed.  Many go for cases full of who-knows-what that gives them 2-5 pounds of safety they don't actually know how to use.  These kits are usually housed in the world's heaviest bag which keeps all that stuff, whatever it is, nicely organized.  Some of them add in a book so that, given time, you actually could use it.  But what can you really deal with?  My first aid kit is a silnylon bag with something to clean and disinfect, some Neosporin, and bandages to protect once it's all clean.  It has something to deal with blisters.  These are things I actually use.  It has iodine tablets, a space blanket, some cord, and emergency matches which I don't use.⁷  I also have a couple bandannas about the place.⁸  It's light and useful.  I can't remove your appendix, should you have the need, but then I don't actually know how so you're probably better off without me trying.

1. alcohol wipes
2. antiseptic gel/cream
3. adhesive bandages including kitchen, massive, and butterfly
4. fabric tape, which is my preferred blister handler, others like Moleskin or duct tape⁹
5. toilet paper (pack it out, do not bury this)
6. air tight trash bag
7. trowel for cat-holes (although often the back of the boot is good for digging)
8. feminine supplies (for me, anyway, YMMV)
9. hair brush and ties if you've got that much to deal with
10. tooth brush
11. bandanna or two
12. flashlight
13. map and compus

Luxuries

As I headed out on my first trip up Whitney, another group started at the same time as us that had chairs strapped to the back of their packs.  Why have you got chairs, they are so heavy?  They said, yes, they are, but we are so old and when we get there, we will need a good place to sit.  "It is our one piece of luxury."  Coming around the Rae Lakes loop, we were chatting with a fellow at the campsite at the Rae Lakes themselves.  He boasted that he had wired his pack frame with speakers, so if we saw someone dancing up the pass we would know it was him.  "It is my one piece of luxury."

There are a number of luxuries we might like to take, but we should be aware as we do that they are luxuries and limit them.  I have had a camera, sketch book, insulated mug, novel, notebook, and flavorings for water.  They make life a little more bearable, but there is a limit to what is comfortable for me to carry and it is a stark difference between comfortable and too much.  Enough luxuries also make life a little less bearable when you must carry it all on your back.

Don't bother with

1. pillow - just stuff the sleeping bag stuff sack with a jacket
2. deodorant - there is no deodorant on this Earth that can make a difference, look into silver threaded shirts instead, but it probably won't help

Footnotes

1. ^It's dropping a little as the CO₂ goes up, but that's less than the drop for climbing to higher altitudes.  I think we can safely continue to assume it's already packed.
2. ^And fuel.  How much fuel is in that canister, anyway?  If you shake it, can you tell if it'll die over the next week?  I sure can't.  So I carry a stove that uses white gas.  I can just open up the bottle and look.  It's heavier (well, not counting fuel and that heavy canister) and finicky, but I always know where I stand with it.
   
3. ^Seriously, there's bears out there.  It's bear country everywhere, and even the less experienced ones are starting to figure out humans have food.
4. ^You do not want sunburned eyeballs.  I have done this twice, both times to do with Mt. Whitney.  First time I didn't even have sunglasses and managed to get them burned on the first high pass (New Army).  Second time I accidentally put them down in lower Crabtree and couldn't find them, so once up the mountain, bam! Burn.  It's rather like pink eye.
5. ^Over Kearsarge pass without sunscreen on and a shirt with sleeves shorter than normal left me with a south side strip of skin that was red like lobster.  It's not enough to put sunscreen on after that, but you have to be out in the sun, so I was wrapping a wet bandanna around it the rest of the trip.
6. ^My dad once went out on his own on a happy hike up one of those places that gets called "Devil's Slide" in which he twisted his ankle a bit, but carried on a bit more slowly.  It started to rain, so he bedded down with his tarp and his down.  During the night, he found his site selection wanting as a flow of water wetted his down jacket and half his down sleeping bag.  In the morning it started to snow.  There's a lot to take from this episode in the spirit of learning from other's mistakes.  The one I stick with in gear selection is: no down.
7. ^This isn't actually true as I did manage to forget the matches that should have been packed with the stove once, so these got some use.
8. ^Bandannas are a most wonderful thing to have with you.  They can tie anything up, if needed.  They're great for hot pads.  There are people who swear by them and will give you a much much longer list of their wonderful uses.  Have a bandanna.
   
9. ^I tried this once.  I slapped it over the blister and then proceeded down the far side of a 12000 ft pass that the maps didn't universally agree actually had a trail, my own saying it was "not recommended for stock".  Bits of trail were there while most parts had decade old scree piles covering over them.  It was a few miles of rock hopping while this piece of duct tape moved excruciating mm by excruciating mm along my foot, pealing and resticking.  Moleskin just doesn't seem to actually do anything.  I wrap the athletic tape loose enough around the foot so two layers are at the bottom and the sock embeds itself into the sticky fabric, but at the end of the day or many days, there is no increase in the severity of foot injury.