Preparing / packing for a trip

[flatfoot]

I'm preparing / packing for my first weekend trip in a long while. I'm trying out my new pack and other new gear.

I found that my weight machine serves as a useful stand for loading the pack. I've fastened the waist and chest straps around the back of the chair. That makes the pack nice and secure for loading gear in. I've spent quite a few hours tonight deciding what to take and where to put it in the pack.

pack-weight-machine.jpg (78.51 KiB) Viewed 11287 times

I've got a reliable forgettory so I have the walking poles strapped to the pack so I don't forget them.

... that had me wondering ... what rituals does everyone else have when packing for a trip. Any tips to share?

[Son of a Beach]

I spread everything out on the couch, to make sure I've got everything before anything goes in the pack. Except for food, since there is often some of that in the fridge or freezer until the last minute. Sometimes I'll put a sticky note on the back door reminding me to pack the food that's in the fridge or freezer.

[abowen]

I have a strange ritual. I set up two large carry bags and my pack. The ritual goes something like this - in one carry bag goes what I will be wearing when I start the walk (this doesn't need to go in the pack and when I stumble out of bed at some ungodly hour I can use it to get dressed). In the other carry bag goes things that I like to have when I come off the track - a change of clothes and shoes, some food (bananas are a favourite), extra water (with maybe a beroocca tab or sustagen), wallet, etc.
Then, for the pack, I arrange all other non-food items on the bed and spread it out so that I can see at a glance that I have everything in order. Once satisfied that I have everything, I start to pack - there is a specific packing order - things I need to access easily or heavier items which need to be low down and balanced out.
Food I leave to last and always carry in one separate waterproof bag which goes near the top of the pack under the jacket and overpants. Snacks are also packed separately and placed in the top pocket or somewhere easy to grab.
Andrew

[photohiker]

I make a list, and I check it twice

Actually, I get my last list out (usually a spreadsheet) and I add and subtract items based on the new trip. When I'm happy I've covered everything off, I print it out and collect all the gear on the couch a few days before I head off. Important to do this in time to resupply items that have become lost or broken. A bit of test packing to make sure I can actually carry and fit all that clobber happens next. Final packing I usually leave until the last moment, and I double check against the list at that point.

[buggeriamold]

I just shove it in the pack the night before and hope i have everything.

I generally walk with other people, so if on the off chance i forgot somthing, it probably wouldnt be a deal breaker.

Mark

[ollster]

... that had me wondering ... what rituals does everyone else have when packing for a trip. Any tips to share?

Pack late, pack panicked, that way I'm running on adrenaline and don't end up taking useless junk.

The kit I take is essentially the same for short or long trips, I just take more/less clothes depending on season, big tent or small tent depending on sharing or not. I usually end up spending most of my packing time deciding which 66% of the food I just bought will fit into my pack, or indeed do I need that much food at all?

I do tend to lay my clothes out on the floor top to bottom so I can make sure I've got them all accounted for. Oh, and I always chuck a spare bag with clean clothes, deodorant and a towel in so that I have something nice to change into when we get back to the car. Oh, and usually some ciders in there too.

[flatfoot]

I make a list, and I check it twice

Actually, I get my last list out (usually a spreadsheet) and I add and subtract items based on the new trip. When I'm happy I've covered everything off, I print it out and collect all the gear on the couch a few days before I head off. Important to do this in time to resupply items that have become lost or broken. A bit of test packing to make sure I can actually carry and fit all that clobber happens next. Final packing I usually leave until the last moment, and I double check against the list at that point.

A variation on this ... the "Numbers" spreadsheet app on the iPad has a great tasklist/checklist template. The other night I started listing things I need. Since this is the first list I have created for an overnight walk I'm going to go through all the gear I've pulled together a check and then update checklist.

[flatfoot]

... that had me wondering ... what rituals does everyone else have when packing for a trip. Any tips to share?

Pack late, pack panicked, that way I'm running on adrenaline and don't end up taking useless junk.

If there's a specific meeting location and time being chronically punctual I usually turn up 30-60 minutes early. Gives me time to grab a decent coffee.

[Macca81]

Look at watch, realise im meant to be getting picked up in 2 hours, grab pack, rummage thru clothes and stuff into pack, spend 25 mins trying to find my cooking gear (this happens nearly every trip for some reason... its the only thing i never seem to know the whereabouts of...), grab food and push into the top of the pack, sit pack at the front door with an hour to enjoy a couple of quiet beverages...


i have a big plastic box full of my camp food that has a long shelf life, that makes the food side of things easy to grab (i should really put my cooking gear in there come to think of it...), anything that i need to buy to eat i make sure i do that about 2 days before, gives me time to mentally prepare my menu and decided if i should go and buy myself a treat
My sleeping bag is always in one of my packs anyway, usually my old one because it gets dragged away to scouting events all the time and its easier to leave in there. once i left it in my hike pack...
the pockets of both my packs are full of 'stuff' that goes with me, whether its panadine and borroca in my Scout pack to aid in recovery from the night before, or if its a headlamp and beanie in my hike pack that i really hate to forget when i arrive at camp after dark...

[eddie the eagle]

HI FF,

I use the kitchen floor.

Lay out all items needed, working off a trusty checklist refined over time - I'm sure you've got one.

Lay out food on floor so that nothing's forgotten.

Pack your pack. When the floor's empty, you haven't forgotten anything.

CHeers,

eddie

edit: Read the responses - this is something the same as Adam and Andrew B - when the couch/bed is empty, then it all must be OK

[nickL]

i have a list of all the outdoor gear i own and how much it all weighs (on a spreadsheet)

i work on the list for a while before a trip, making it specific for the trip coming up

in the list i break things down into subgroups so i see how much i am taking for different parts of the trip .eg shelter, sleep system, hydration, cooking, food....

collect everything on a table

pack it into dry bags of different colours so its easy to find when in a bag with only one pocket

trial pack it to make sure it fits in the smallest bag possible

night before i pack it and check it off the list

of course i throw in a few things that i havent got on my list just in case i need them

i usually have a total weight from my list and weigh the bag before the trip to see how close i was in my spreadsheet

i save the list so that i end up with a list for each type of trip - dry SA trip, Dry tasi trip (hopefully), wet tasi trip bike trip etc

when i get back i take out all the dry bags and check on my list to see what i brought back and if i really didnt use something

i also re-weigh the whole bag to see what i used over the trip

i weigh myself to see where all the food went

[ninjapuppet]

Nick, MAN you sure are organised!
that is actually exactly what i would like to do "in theory" but just havent gotten around to it. i did make a start, but with tents theres so many bits and pieces and i got side tracked.

I made an excel list, with catagories. then under each catagory there is a drop down list.
One problem i'm having, is that the drop down list, doesnt also drop down the weights associated with the item. (this enables auto weight calculation)
I guess i'll get some nifty IT friend to cook up some Visual Basic/ macro-full excel file to do what we need it to do, and post it here as a template.

[eddie the eagle]

I made an excel list, with catagories. then under each catagory there is a drop down list.
One problem i'm having, is that the drop down list, doesnt also drop down the weights associated with the item. (this enables auto weight calculation)

HI Ninjapuppet,

http://bushwalk.com/inventory may do it for you - thanks Nik

CHeers,

eddie

[Son of a Beach]

Thanks Eddie, I was just thinking I should post that. I used to use a spreadsheet, which was very comprehensive. It even included a variety of menu options to choose from and would automatically produce a shopping list for the ingredients.

The inventory system Eddie linked to above is essentially my effort to make this same functionality available to all using the WWW and a database instead of a spreadsheet.

Before each walk I use the inventory system to create a new walk record, edit the meal plan, etc. Then at packing time I print out the list for that walk and mentally tick off everything that I've laid out on the couch before stuffing it into my pack.

[Drifting]

Dining table for packing, because we used to have an 8 foot table. Now I used the 4 foot table and the couch. I still take too much. I need to try using a coffee table for packing, and anything that doesn't fit gets left out.

[north-north-west]

I just pack everything the night before I go to work, everything packed in a specific order so nothing gets forgotten, separate bag for walking clothes and first day's snack foods. Plus a pile of extra things 'just in case'.
Some essentials stay in the pack (1st aid kit, iPood and paper).
Some essentials stay in the camera bag (camera, lenses, GPS, compass, bandaids, headache pills).
Some essentials stay in the car (maps).

Then I can go to work, drive to wherever the walk starts, get some sleep and get up at first light the next morning. No point wasting good walking time.
And I hardly ever forget anything. Although I almost always go back to the car after the first 100m because the sunglasses/trekking pole/light gloves/whatever almost got left behind . . .

[flyfisher]

Probably a good idea to forget the sunnies. Cheaper.

FF

[north-north-west]

No I needed them on Saturday. All that snow and sunshine . . . and they survived the weekend in better shape than I did.