This post / video is all about packing and gear. The forecast is looking about the same since we last checked with a possibility for rain one of those days. So a rain jacket is going to be a vital piece of gear for this trip!
Gear Overview
I won't be going through every piece of gear in my pack. Instead, I'll just be going over the most important pieces for this specific trip. So here are the top gear items I'd like to highlight...
Rain Jacket - I'm packing my Columbia Switchback jacket for this trip. It's reasonably priced. It keeps me dry. Nothing fancy. I usually keep my rain jacket in the front mesh pocket of my pack so it's easily accessible. Sometimes I'll put it in the hydration sleeve in my pack. There, it's still accessible and not mixed up with my other gear.
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 - We need a two person tent for this trip, and the Copper Spur is my top pick for backpacking with a buddy. It's very light weight at a little over 3lbs. Since I'll have a friend along we'll be splitting the tent pieces between our two packs. I also love how roomy it is compared to other two person tents like the Fly Creek UL 2.
Bear Bag Line - My kit isn't anything spectacular. It's about 35 to 40ft of paracord line and two carabiners. I keep it all wrapped up in an old tent stake bag. Because our first camp site won't have bear cables, we'll need to set up our own line to store our food that night. Our second camp will have bear cables. But there's always a chance we may be sharing a site with other folks on the trail, so it's always a good idea to have that extra way to hang your food just in case there isn't enough room for everyone's bags on the cable.
Aegismax Sleeping Bag - Ordinariy, my go-to bag is the Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass, but 30 degree bag is definitely not necessary this time of year! The predicted forecast is between the 50s and 60s both nights, which is why I'm still bringing a down bag. The Aegismax is better suited for 50 degrees and up making it a perfect fit for this situation.
Paper Map
Contractor Bag - I'll have both of these with me so I know where I'm going, and can keep the stuff in my pack dry when it rains. Don't need much more explanation than that.
Trekking Poles - LASTLY these are going to be really helpful on those steep inclines/declines on the trail. I can also use the poles to test out the "porch" feature on the tent we're bringing.
Meals Overview
The general rule I follow is 1lb of food per person per day. I don't count calories per ounce that approach doesn't really work for me. I've learned from my own experiences about how much food I need for a three-day trip like this one. If the terrain is rougher and mileage longer I'll typically pack more snacks and a heartier dinner + dessert. If the first and last days of the trip have shorter mileage (under 8) I tend to pack less.
On this trip I'm packing two breakfasts, two dinners, and one lunch. I'll also pack a couple snacks and an emergency meal in the event that we are on the trail longer than expected on Day 3.
Here's a rough outline of our menu for the trip.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
Breakfast | @ home before the trip | Instant coffee, Cheerios, and powdered milk. | Instant coffee, Dark Chocolate & Red Berry granola, and powder milk |
Lunch | picking up on the way to the trailhead | Peanut butter & jelly on pita bread | in town after trip |
Dinner | Peak Refuel Sweet Pork & Rice (x2) | Backpackers Pantry Katmandu Curry (x1) and Three Cheese Mac & Cheese (x1) | @ home after trip |
Snacks | Quaker chewy bars, Lara bars, PRObar gummies, and Kodiak Cakes crunchy bars | (same as Day 1) | (same as Day 1) +emergency meal Peak Refuel Beef Pasta Marinara |
I hope you enjoyed this post / video. Next time we're actually going to be on the trail. Hopefully all the planning and preparation we did for this trip will pay off! Be sure to subscribe if you found this series helpful and want to see more like it in the future.
Music featured in this video: "Fountains of Burgundy" by Jahzzar and "Carry On" by The New Valleys