I admit it. The only camping I have done until now is car camping. And when I say car camping I mean it in a big way. When my kids were younger my ex and I would take them camping and we'd end up with at least 2 car loads of stuff for 4 or 6 people (depending on if the kids took friends - and they usually did). The campsite was a smaller version of home - why leave anything behind when you can tie it to the top of the car, make one of the kids sit on it, or hold it in your lap? No wonder my husband looked at me like I was nuts the 1st time we went camping together on Memorial Weekend 4 years ago. I have to say though, he's a MUCH better packer of gear than anyone in my old life was, and he displayed marvelous patience for a man who leans towards the minimalist in events such as camping. We got EVERYTHING, including the dog, into the Jeep. Shocking! And we did have EVERYTHING . . . cast iron pans, a propane oven, a full camp kitchen, complete with sink, canopy, all the gear to set up cooking over the fire, on the stove or in the oven. Yes, we had a very well equipped campsite. This sort of camping always felt like we'd barely gotten everything set up and it was time to tear it down and go home again.
Well, now we are preparing to go camping in a much smaller way. We're doing it with baby steps, with the ultimate goal being an actual backpacking trip where we head into the hills with everything we need packed carefully into packs strapped to our backs. For this trip we have decided to head to Cape Disappointment on the SW Washington Coast. We are packing most of our stuff into day packs (we aren't taking enough to justify the full on hiking packs), with the addition of a small cooler, some skewers for the hotdogs I am insisting on having, and a few extra clothes. We are going to be gone for 2 nights, and the plan is to see my son for awhile, then spend the rest of the weekend hiking, looking at the ocean, and enjoying our time together.
Keeping in mind how short the trip is, we made lists of what we would need.
1) 30 liter day packs - 1 for each of us. These packs are great for day hikes where you wish to pack an extra set of clothes, maybe an extra pair of shoes, some snacks and water, a first aid kit, etc. I had mine stuffed to capacity. I knew that I was likely packing too much into it, but would learn what to change for the next trip out.
2) 3 person tent - yes, I know we were only 2 people, but have you seen those 2 person tents? Sardines in cans come to mind. A 3 person tent gives you a little breathing room, and allows you a small amount of space for your pack too. A good one with a rain fly is important, especially if you're camping in a drizzly area.
3) Sleeping bag and Sleeping Pad. I never realized how important the decision of what kind of sleeping bag to take on the trip would be. I've always car camped, so space wasn't an issue, nor was weight. Now that I'm looking at carrying this on my back I had a whole new world of information to sort through. Thankfully my husband has been hiking and camping in the woods for years and is a wealth of knowledge and experience. For starters we got sythentic mummy bags rated at 20 degrees. I wasn't a fan of mummy bags due to having restricted leg space, however when you're sleeping in an environment that is heated (or not) by Mother Nature, the less air space you have around your body in your sleeping bag, the less air you have to heat, and the warmer you will be. As for sleeping pad, you want something that is self-inflating so it packs up smaller, and is easier to carry. This provides comfort while you sleep, but it insulates you from the cold ground! Even if you have a sleeping bag that is rated at 0 degrees, if you are sleeping on ground that is 40 degrees, you will still be cold, but if you add a sleeping pad under you, you will have enough extra insulation between you and the ground to stay much warmer and far more comfortable.
4) Clothes and personal items for the trip. I knew I wasn't going to dirty the clothes I wore down there very much, so if necessary I could wear them home again also. That left Saturday and Sunday. I took sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt to sleep in (it gets chilly and damp at the coast even in June - especially THIS June!) When I'm camping I always sleep fully clothed. Dressing in the dark in a small tent so you can go outside to potty in the night is much more difficult than you would think. If you're trying not to wake your tent mate or knock the whole kit and kaboodle down, it's a difficult task indeed! I took hiking pants with all the extra pockets for my "stuff", 2 light t-shirts and 2 button up, lightweight overshirts, 2 pairs of AMAZING socks (see previous blog about boot shopping), my hiking boots, my tennis shows, flipflops for the shower (yes, we camped where there were showers), a hat for the sun and 1 for the rain, a light rain jacket, sports bra and necessary toiletry items. This sounds like a LOT, but honestly if you're buying lightweight, very compressable clothing, and shoving them into compression bags, you can get a LOT packed into a very small space! *Note* make sure you take NO cotton clothing on a hiking trip! Cotton fibers suck up moisture and compress down - you'll get cold, wet and miserable in no time, develop blisters and hot spots on your feet, etc. Synthetic, lightweight fabrics wick away the moisture and give you a much more comfortable trip.
5) Cooking items - a lightweight hiking stove (we are preparing for a hiking trip afterall),
a can or 2 of fuel, a 1.5 or 2 liter cooking pot with lid, 2 cups for coffee, either a coffee press or some of those indiviual filter systems for brewing coffee, a long spoon for stirring up the food, sets of lightweight flatware (ours is titanium and SO light!), 2 plates or bowls. (We just took bowls for simplicity), and a water filter (you never know if you're going to be somewhere that does not have potable water).
6) Food - Since this was a combination of a hiking trip and a light weight car camping trip we took dehydrated food, but also some hotdogs and marshmallows for an evening by the fire. Our food supplies consisted of packages of Mountain House Lasagne (think Hamburger Helper - but not as good), instant oatmeal for breakfasts, gorp (combination of nuts, fruits and candies for quick energy snacks while hiking), protein bars. We had every intention of eating only the hiking foods, but this WAS vacation and well . . . more on our food find in another episode.
We're all packed and ready to go! 2 backpacks, stuffed to their limits - check. 1 cooler filled with water, the few food items that aren't dehydrated that we are taking - check. All of our cooking, sleeping and eating supplies - check! Mom's coming to house and furbaby sit, so that's it! We're ready to go!
7) Extras - first aid supplies, mosquito repellant (the bugs at the coast were HUGE and I swear they were trying to fly away with us!), trekking poles (these really came in handy - more on that later), microfiber towels - amazing things - wring them out and they are ready to keep on drying! pocket knife - you just never know when that will come in handy! Sunscreen, hand lotion, etc. Keep in mind, if you're planning on a hiking trip you'll need everything to be small enough for efficiency packing it all into the back pack.
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