Jeff loaded up my little mp3 with some music for the trail. I rarely listen to anything, but this player has a radio I can use to get weather updates when I'm out of cell range, so I figured I might as well use it for tunes/podcasts, too.
Otherwise, I've been weighing and packing my gear. It's going to be cold and wet up in Minnesota, so I ended up adding back some clothing that I was originally going to go without. Plus, I like some of my comfort items (pillow!), so my base weight is around 16.5 pounds--more than I'd planned originally, but I'm happy with that for the start. Base weight doesn't include water, fuel, food, or other consumables, so when I add those things in, I'll never have to carry more than 30 pounds. Most of the time, I'll be between 20 and 25 pounds.
Here's my sleep system: I get cold at night, but this is a good set-up for me down to freezing. If it's colder than that, then I add my down coat and other outerwear to stay warm.
- hiking poles that double as tent poles (Black Diamond)
- the tent (ZPacks)
- a sleeping pad (Exped UL 7)
- pillow (also Exped)
- sleeping bag (15 degree Montbell)
- a waterproof stuff sack that doubles as bellows to blow up the sleeping pad.
Food and water: I'm going to have more than enough water on this trail. There's so much snow melting right now that I'm going to have very wet feet part of the time. I'll probably never need to carry more than a liter of water on this trip, but I will need to filter and/or treat the water I find.
- small gatorade bottle (goes in pocket on shoulder strap for easy access)
- 1 liter Smartwater bottle for dirty (unfiltered/untreated) water
- 32 oz gatorade bottle for clean (filtered/treated) water
- Sawyer mini filter (screws onto Smartwater bottle)
- Sawyer backwash syringe to clean out filter
- Duct tape for repairs wrapped around syringe
- Jetboil cooking system (pot, stove, fuel, dish rag)
- Extra ziplocks for food storage
Pack + Repair Kit: At a bit over 3 pounds, this pack is on the heavy side, but it was more comfortable than any of the others I tried. I added two hip pockets to the belt and two shoulder strap pockets. The pack is lined with a clear plastic bag for waterproofing, and I use a Z-lite sit pad on top to help keep water out and to keep the sit-pad handy for breaks. The pack has a few safety pins for pinning wet socks to the outside of the pack so they dry in the sun (assuming there is sun).
My small repair kit is a ziploc bag with a bit of velcro, zip ties, cordage, super glue, emergency water treatment tablets (in case my filter fails), and a couple other tiny things in case the pack or any of my other gear decides to break. After watching MacGyver growing up, I'm pretty resourceful about fixing things, so this little kit should be enough.
Safety, Electronics, etc.: This pile is bigger than I thought it might be, but I'm ok with that for now.
- InReach satellite tracker
- Pepper spray
- Road ID bracelet (has medical and emergency contact info)
- Lip Balm w/ sunscreen
- Watch (I count this as a safety device. I rarely need to know what time it is, but I use the watch to monitor my pace so I can keep track of where I am on the map and where I can get to before dark)
- Phone + waterproof pouch
- Emergency $$
- Camera pouch (camera not pictured--some people just use the phone as a camera, but I want more pics, and the phone battery drains too fast if I use it all the time)
- Camera battery recharger
- Phone recharger
- External battery (charges any of my devices)
- Headphones (mp3 not pictured here)
- Wallet
- Ziploc bags for waterproofing electronics
I like my new wallet :)
Outerwear:
- Plastic bags for feet if it's really wet for too many days in a row
- Rain kilt (we'll see how I like this...I have my rain pants in reserve in case I want to switch back)
- Rain jacket (heavy, but it works)
- Wind jacket (I love this thing)
- Down jacket (love this thing, too)
Clothes:
On the left is the outfit I'll wear basically everyday: pants, t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, underwear, socks, sports bra, gaiters (keep crap and ticks out of my shoes)
In the middle is one outfit for sleeping: wool shirt, wool tights, fuzzy socks
Under that is my extra clothes: 1 change of underwear, 1 change of socks, camp shoes
On the right is my mosquito net, fleece hat, mittens, baseball cap, and bandana
Little stuff:
Top row: passport (in case of a cool Canadian trip opportunity), journal, maps
Upper middle: stuff I hope I don't need often: bug dope, salve, anti-chaff gel/powder, earplugs
Lower left quadrant: TP, hand sanitizer, menstrual cup/tampons, pStyle (possibly my favorite piece of gear), pee rag
Lower right quadrant: daily hygiene items (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, Aleve), first aid kit
Far right row: compass/thermometer, survey tape (in case I go off trail), mini bic, mini leatherman, safety whistle, headlamp
Food: Food for 5 full days + Bear Bag + Bear Bag Kit (rope and rock bag) + spoon + extra ziplocs
That's it!
