PREPARING – PART 5
Thu, Feb 18, 2016 Pack backpack inside: section of work-out pad for Theo against back of pack and, from bottom to top, down booties; quilt for Theo; 32̊ down sleeping bag; Thermarest ProLite Regular, tapered, somewhat self-inflating sleeping pad; stove pot with homemade Coke-can alcohol stove, matches, steel/flint lighter, bic lighter, spoon, and windshield all in a sleeve; green down jacket; mittens; fleece hat; fleece balaclava; goggles (which would be sent back); yellow nylon day pack for suppers; blue nylon sack for lunches; some other bag for breakfasts; crocks (didn’t start with because winter but would need them and would be sent in time); back outside pouch: first aid; head lamp (would move to belt pouch); small mesh zip bag of miscellaneous repair stuff (duct tape; safety pins; zip ties; small travel sewing kit; 2 extra AAA batteries (to release the full electronics bag); a couple of extra ziplock bags and some other stuff); green electronics bag (bluetooth keyboard; phone charger battery; vinyl wire to hold tablet); toiletries and meds; chamois (don’t leave home without one!); left long pouch: Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent in three orange bags with stakes and poles (replaced by ZPacks Duplex in Marion, Virginia); right long pouch (“wet” things): pack rain cover in bottom; then rain pants and rain jacket; Platypus Gravity Water Filter and Chystal Light; camel reservoir pouch: Ziplock bag of miscellaneous papers and Galaxy S2 Tablet (the lightest one I could find); side mesh pouches: snacks; miscellaneous; clothes removed; top pouch: snacks; lunch; miscellaneous; garbage bag (pack out everything and then some).
Bandana: My Osprey pack has a waist belt and a chest belt each of which are super adjustable; I hung my bandana over the chest belt and got multiple uses out of it: blow my nose; wipe away sweat; wipe hands; clean spill (occasionally) – I used the chamois for pots and pans and spills moistly because it is super absorbent.
Theo’s saddlebags: vitamins; pain meds (never used); home-made cable leash (made rope leash on the trail with section of bear-bag rope and clip from small rechargeable LED flashlight); long rope for bear-bag hanging and miscellaneous; pack of 4 thick rubber soled booties for snow, gravel, rocks; a pair of Yaktrax which replaced the microspikes that lacked a heel spike causing me to fall on Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks one icy November; a 2-liter Platypus water bag and one large and one small Gatorade water bottles. All these items were divvied up between each pouch of the saddlebags in a way that would maintain equilibrium.
Clothes: Merrell ankle-high boots; thin, nylon liner sock (no blisters); Smartwool (or Darn Tough) outer socks; lined winter pants; long-sleeved merino wool shirt (does not scratch as a first layer); 1-3 wicking layers above; fleece vest; light down jacket; heavier down jacket; gloves (separates fingers to freeze individually but allows manual dexterity) and mittens (best for warmth); fleece hat (lost somewhere; finished using balaclava as hat).
Left Pant Pocket: 1/8th of David “AWOL” Miller’s NOBO (northbound) 224-page Guide (who wants to carry the entire Guide?); cell phone / camera (Samsung, Galaxy 6 took 16mp photos with excellent color and detail on zooming while viewing, not shooting); Lower: small, single-bulb, rechargeable (USB) flashlight; Swiss Army card; compass; small nail clipper.
Right Pant Pocket: long-shanked spoon; tiny stuff sack of miscellaneous stuff (rubber bands, paper clips, string, small finds); notes; tissues; Lower: knife and pen clipped to top; trash (mine and others’).
Left Back Pocket: a plastic phone battery bag ideal for debit card; driver’s license; service dog card; $20-40 in cash; alternative location: zipped pocket bottom right.
Right Back Pocket: more notes and tissues or napkins.
Know where everything is. Have a place for everything and put everything, when not in use, it its place. If not, then how many pockets, pouches and pack or saddlebag locations are you willing to hunt through to find that tooth pick, pen, spoon, rubber band, compass, flashlight or headlamp? Everything: in immediate use or in its place!