Gear: I got my pack!
So this week my pack finally arrived, after being detoured in the mail due to hurricane Irma, and I love it! You can see all of my base gear here. I realized when I got my pack cover in the mail the week before this that I had accidentally bought the wrong size. So I did end up finding one on a gear forum on Facebook for $10 that had only been used once. I had originally planned to go camping this weekend at Baldface Shelter in Evan's Notch. This plan was derailed by a surprise visit from thunderstorms. Welcome to New England! Without a pack cover or a plastic liner inside my pack I didn't want to risk getting my sleeping bag or down jacket wet. Instead, I decided to test out some of the gear I have anyway by packing my bag up a few different ways to see what I liked best (will do a separate post once I have my gear in order), weighing my pack (25.6 lbs with 2 days of food and water), buying some trail food, and taking an inventory of what I still would like to get.
Here's what I had packed for the weekend:
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The first aid kit will definitely be edited before I leave. I love my HydraPak and really want to bring it. But I am concerned with its many parts that something will most likely break. I may take it and just use it until it breaks! I will probably get a compression sack for my sleeping bag.
My clothes bag just contained extra clothing for sleeping in and a warm layer:
UP 3
Not pictured here: a Nike quarter zip longsleeve light weight running top; Rain coat. Also not pictured here my Chacos (post to come about why I won't leave them at home).
My cook kit, which I will be doing a separate post on later, consists of:
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I will most likely be switching out my Light My Fire Spork for a long handled spork of the metal variety. The Bic will be switched out with a Bic mini. I found that pot scraper lying around from a stoneware kit my mom had so I may replace it, we'll see. I love my pot so far, my only qualm is I can't use it over a campfire. But, there are sticks for that! I have been keeping my cook kit inside the mesh bag that the pot came in but I may ditch that later.
My food bag contained two days' worth of food. Varying slightly but they essentially looked something like this:
Food
I would like to add more starch for lunch, maybe some pita, and possibly one or two more snacks. I will also be adding some BCAAs for muscle recovery. I will not be buying nuts in shells again but these were on sale. They're hard to eat with sweaty hands and while walking. I will definitely have to experiment with calories and possibly add more.
My toiletries bag contained:
Toiletries
I will probably add more to this, but this was enough for a weekend.
In conclusion, I will definitely be changing some things up. But this is major progress!
Things I still NEED to get:
Water Filter + Dirty Water Bag
Trail Runners + Insoles
Bear Kit of some sort
Compression Sack
Head Lamp
Trekking Poles
Underwear
Waterproof Phone Case
External Battery
Summer bag liner (might buy on the trail), I sleep hot and will not need a down bag all summer.
Light Wallet
New Headphones (probably Yurbuds)
Gaiters (Dirty Girl)
Things I still WANT to get:
Butt pad
Pillow
X-Mug
Bandanas
Snow Peak Hot Lips
Things I MIGHT bring:
Kindle
small notepad, pen, mini sharpie
B12 supplements
Guthook's App (need $$)
That is all for now in the world of my progress! Keep trekking,
Rachel (trail name TBD)
Bonnie, the sleep expert, added food aficionado to her résumé:
Bonus:
