A few years ago, I decided that for my birthday I would like to do a hike-in camping trip with some of my friends. While I had done a few trips like this with friends before, this one was set to be a little bit bigger and more ambitious, and would require a little bit more planning on my part about what I was going to take. My friends and I made a packing list based on what we thought we needed, and then set out to acquire anything we were missing. Since that time I have done a number of similar trips with friends, my most recent one being in Waterton National Park. The stuff that I carry has evolved a bit over time as I bought better items, and found out through a bit of trial and error what worked and what didn't. Even though I've packed basically the same kinds of things for most of my trips, there is still a bit of thought that goes into the packing process before we venture out on a new trail. Today I thought I would share this thought process, and maybe help you in your own preparations, or even encourage you to try this type of camping yourself if you haven't yet.
I try to take a functional approach to packing; that is, I try to predict what it is I'm going to be doing throughout a typical day, and then determine what items I will need for each task. These 'tasks' include things like sleeping, eating, hiking, going to the bathroom, etc. Any additional activities that I'm planning which may require special equipment will be identified here as well (For example, I'd like to do a climbing trip sometime in the future, which would require things like rope, a harness, climbing shoes, etc.) The things you need to complete each task will vary with environmental conditions and available facilities, so they will change from one trip to another, which is why this process has to be repeated before every outing.
Sleeping
One of the first things that people naturally think about when going camping is their accommodations. There are lots of different ways to sleep out in the bush, depending on the area and time of year. The most popular item which most people take is probably a tent. Tents are popular for a reason - they are very versatile. Most modern tents are completely self supporting so there is no need to tie off to any trees, and a number of tents can even be put up without putting a single peg in the ground. This means that you can put up a tent pretty much anywhere. At the very least, every tent will give you some protection from mosquitoes and other insects, the sun, and the rain. The level of protection obviously varies from one tent to another as some are designed primarily for warm weather use and consist of nothing more than mesh sides with a solid top, whereas others are built for an arctic environment and stand up well to high winds and blowing snow.
I suggest using a tent with a full span integral fly. No matter how good the weather forecast looks when you leave, there is always a chance that the skies will open up while you are snuggled for the night, and waking up soaked is not a pleasant experience. Choosing the proper size of tent is important as well. An extremely large tent will be much heavier than necessary, and will not warm up very well from body heat (important in winter camping!) whereas an extremely small tent will have the very obvious problem of not being able to fit you and your camp partners inside. If you are planning a short trip in nice weather, you can size a tent for one more person than is actually going to be sleeping in it (i.e. three man tent for two people) as this gives you room to move about and keep your gear in it, but for longer trips where weight is more important I would recommend using the smallest tent that fits the campers, and leaving the gear outside.
There are other options available besides tents, however, and do have some advantages in certain situations. I've done a number of trips where a tarp strung up between the trees provided the weather protection. This is good for warmer days where you don't need the insulating properties of a tent, as it is generally lighter and provides better ventilation. The drawbacks of this are the need for trees to tie off to, and the lack of mosquito protection.
Another item that I've used fairly regularly is a bivouac bag (bivvy sack). This is basically a large waterproof sack (modern ones are made of goretex and are breathable as well as waterproof) which goes around your sleeping bag. If you have a fairly large one, you can crawl all the way inside of it and draw the end almost closed in cooler weather, and it acts as a one man tent with no supports. Aside from being very lightweight, it also takes virtually no time to set up or take down. Not having a tent can be a bit disconcerting to some people at first, as it makes you feel more exposed. Tents provide some sense of security as you are somewhat "indoors" but I think that it is a false sense. A tent would not really stop a hungry animal if it really wanted in.
Whichever method you choose for shelter, you will generally still want something to sleep on and to cover yourself with for extra warmth. There is a wide variety of sleeping bags available for all temperature ranges, although light blankets can work as well (especially when sharing the bed space with a significant other). Down filled sleeping bags are nice for almost any weather, as they are light, compress easily, and keep a lot of heat it even when they are damp. In cooler weather it is important to keep your body off the ground, so some sort of sleeping pad is advisable. The big rubber air mattresses that people use for car camping are usually no good for hike-in trips as they are heavy, so most people use something like a foam pad or a Thermarest. While I do find Thermarests quite comfortable and light, I've found them to be a bit fragile at times - a needle from a tree or a small spark from the fire is sometimes enough to make a small whole which causes the air to leak down overnight, causing you to wake up in the middle of the night on cold, hard ground. Currently I am using a hard foam pad which folds up into four pieces, and turns into a camp chair.
To be continued...
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