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What’s In Your Pack?

What’s in Your Pack? Your backpack on any adventure is critical, but it does change slightly depending on what kind of adventure you’re on. That said, in any situation, it’s…

What’s in Your Pack?

Your backpack on any adventure is critical, but it does change slightly depending on what kind of adventure you’re on. That said, in any situation, it’s always better to plan for the unexpected (because the unexpected LOVES poor planning).

Let’s dive in. I’ve broken this post into sections: General Ditch Bag (split into two—home and car/work), Hiking Backpack, and Trek-In Camping Adventure. It is a long post so if you have the time read it all, if not feel free to jump to the backpack you want to fill on up!

General Ditch Bag

This is big in my family, one good day a key memory growing up that was strongly enforced on us to learn and be prepared. Now as an adult I have one in your car, and have one (maybe a few more 😊) in our home, I am working on getting on at the office as well as if I need to get out of the city and make my way back to the country but can not get to my car I have a long journey ahead of me. Now the real questions, “Have me or my family ever used it?”…that would be a big NO. But it’s better to be safe than sorry. (And honestly, if we ever do need it, I fully expect to feel very smug about being prepared.)

You never know when you’re going to need this, and it doesn’t take much to put together a solid ditch bag to keep in your basement or the back of your car, or tucked in the corner of your office.

Before we get into what goes inside, let’s talk about the type of pack. A backpack is a must, not a duffle or carry bag even though they can hold more. You need to assume that if you’re using a ditch bag, at some point you’ll be on foot. You’ll want strong straps that distribute weight across your back and something sturdy that won’t rip halfway through your “this was not in the plan” moment. There are tons of options out there, but here are a couple I recommend: https://amzn.to/4dSEd9Z  And for those who can handle a larger pack: https://amzn.to/4s81gkC

Now for what goes in your ditch bag

Hopefully you never use it, but please think about it and having one so you can be prepared and have that aha moment or smug moment when you were happy you were prepared.

Hiking Backpack

Now onto something you’ll actually use regularly….not just in case of emergency.

I LOVE my hiking backpack. It gives me a real sense of security having it with me. When we first started hiking, either with the kids or back when my husband and I were dating (and I could convince him hiking was a fun activity 😉) we didn’t bring a backpack. The hikes were short and easy.

But as we moved into more advanced hikes, I quickly learned two things:

  1. You need a backpack.
  2. You really need the right things inside it.

How did I learn this….well the kids and I had gone on our first big hike (they got bigger after that), it was 6 hours long, but was supposed to be 4….we didn’t get lost, but I certainly thought we had, but I wasn’t prepared and didn’t have a map of the trail with me, or know where I was along the trail, food was running out and the OH S*** moment was hitting me inside that we were going to have to spend the night and I didn’t bring enough to last overnight…. I didn’t know if we should turn back or keep going to make the full loop, I had no idea where I was on the trail. Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned my pack to include what I truly need and what gives me peace of mind when I’m out alone with the kids.

Each kid carries a camel pack: https://amzn.to/4uZCUwh  This way they have their own water, snacks, a knife, a bear bell, and a small first aid kit. And yes… sometimes they also carry “essential emotional survival gear” aka slime or a random toy. Is it necessary? No. Does it help morale? Absolutely. And honestly, if we ever got stuck overnight, I’d be very grateful for anything that keeps them calm and entertained, and if not it was entertainment on the car ride to the mountain.

The camel packs I chose are great because they’re compact but still have lots of pockets and straps, plus the built-in water bladder makes hiking way easier. For myself, I switch between a larger backpack: https://amzn.to/4m2YR9v and my camel pack, depending on the hike. If it’s under 5 hours, I usually go lighter, but still pack enough in case things go sideways (because they sometimes do).

I also wear a waist pack for quick-access safety items because digging through a backpack in a stressful moment is not ideal, but mostly I have this for if we come across a bear, or a person that does not have the best of intentions….

Hiking main pack

Waist pack

I hope you go on lots of hiking adventures, and if you do and you have some lessons learned and additional items you want the readers to consider, feel free to drop a comment or send me an email and ill write a blog about it!

Trek-In Camping Adventure

Now this is the one I’m just stepping into.

I haven’t done trek-in camping before, mostly because the kids were too young, and let’s be honest, it wasn’t exactly my husband’s idea of a relaxing weekend before kids either. We did do some very basic camping when we were younger… mostly because we didn’t have the budget for fancy gear (and somehow survived anyway).

But now, that’s changing.

This May, my son (and possibly my daughter) will be joining me on a trek-in camping adventure to an island, kayaks and all. So right now, I’m deep in planning mode: figuring out how to pack smart, keep things dry, and still fit everything into a manageable load.

For this kind of trip, you need a solid backpack with good weight distribution and ideally something waterproof, since chances are you’ll be dealing with water at some point.

This is the pack I’m planning to test, putting it here even though it hasn’t passed my “Tried and True Test” so it hasn’t made its way into my Product Recommendations section until it passes, but will post after that adventure and let you know if it made the cut https://amzn.to/412nZDP 

Realistically, this won’t all fit in one pack, so I’ll be splitting gear between my son and myself. (Welcome to the team, kid.)

At the end of the day, what you pack comes down to your adventure, your comfort level, and how prepared you want to be when things don’t go exactly as planned. I’ve definitely learned over time that it’s not about packing everything, it’s about packing the right things. The items that keep you safe, comfortable, and just a little more in control when nature decides to do its thing.

As I get ready for this upcoming trek-in camping trip, I know there’s still a lot to learn and probably a few mistakes I’m going to make along the way (hopefully not the kind that involve tipping a kayak…). In my next blog, I’ll talk about fire starters as I think this is a key item to not getting frustrated on an adventure or survival situation and as I prepare for the trek in camping ill be walking through how we are preparing for the trek itself so that after I can also tell you what worked, what didn’t, and everything I wish I knew before heading out.

Stay tuned…

ForestGirl003

Comments

2 responses

  1. Country Girl Avatar
    Country Girl

    Very informative.
    Very helpful that you list what you use and where to purchase.
    Sounds like you are very prepared. You should feel smug, God forbid that there is an emergency.
    Country Girl 🦋

  2. Cole P Avatar
    Cole P

    What a great article. Nice to read that others have learned as they go and hope this helps others skip that learning phase. Thanks for posting and enjoyed reading and checking out some of your recommended products.