how to pack a backpack

How to pack for a Camping trip

I wrote this article to share my many stupid mistakes that taught me how to pack correctly. Packing wrong can break a vacation as you will read. If you would just like to read how to pack your frame pack the right way, skip down to the section entitled “Backpacking”. Everything in between is about camping in general and the pros and cons of each type. There are many different types of camping out there and everyone has a favorite. You can camp from an RV, camp in a tent from a pickup truck, or backpack which is in my opinion, the most challenging and rewarding. There are also different combinations among these. For instance, you could go to a campsite and park on it with a vehicle allowing you to bring more gear or if you can’t park near the site and have to carry everything a few hundred feet you may have to pack lighter. Camping is one of my favorite activities and I’ve tried just about every way to do it. I’m not sure if I have a favorite because they all have their good points. Hiking is by far the most challenging, calculating, and physicially demanding. Although this can be rewarding sometimes you just want to relax. RV camping is great because you have just about everything you need including a fridge, power and your own shower. This can be a bit much though because there comes a point when it ceases to be an outdoor activity. If there is a playstation, a tv, and a computer present and it is being used frequently then your not doing much differently than you would at home. At that point, your just doing the same things in a different location on a different power source. A good compromise many family’s adopt is to camp on a site from a car. This is great because you have the car for emergencies, getting groceries if you miscalculate, a power source for blowing up rafts or air beds, and a rough weather shelter if need be. Also, if you can drive onto the campsite things are much more relaxing.

Camping from an rv

I grew up with this type of camping. My parents had a tiny trailer on a lake that was pretty much there for 40 years. We’d bring everything we needed in the car, park next to this thing and camp out of it. A great solution. No tv, video games or any bs, just a solid structure with fridge and big barbeque with a parking spot for a row boat. The utility shed was key too because everything was already there. It was quite a relaxing form of camping. All you really needed to bring was food.

Camping from a car

I recently went on one of these trips next to a river on a sandy beach. We brought tents, a screen house for cooking, a few canopies to cover picnic tables and our folding chairs. All of this came in quite handy because it rained two out of the 3 days periodically. Everything remained dry and in between showers we swam in the river, took out the canoe strapped to the roof, and played volleyball. The screen house had a table for stoves and food to keep them off the grounds and deterred the black flies. A beach would be difficult with a car, we had a kind of monster truck thing going on so sand wasn’t an issue. The guy a few spots down from us got his Cadillac stuck up to the doors after spinning his wheels up so be warned.

Backpacking

Every trip has valuable lessons to teach about preparation. Even when I go on a car trip I always bring a frame pack with bare essentials in case I have to hike to the site. Also, I like to practice packing light for when I do go backpacking. Things I could have done differently this time around were to pack less fuel for my stove (my friend had a ton of it), pack a much lighter poncho, and to use seam sealer on my ancient pack and cover it with a water proof cover. Also, it would have been helpful to have my sleeping bag which was tied to the frame inside of a trash bag along with my pillow which was tied to the top of the pack. The reason for this was because we got caught in the rain and pillow, pack, and sleeping bag were soaked, not cool.

To deter anything from getting wet in the pack itself, and to be able to find things better it’s a great idea to use 3 plastic bags inside. The bottom bag is for clothes, fuel, stove and other gear, the middle is for food, and the last bag on the top is for electronics like flashlights, Ipod, cell phone, wallet, or gps. My wallet had been in my pocket when in the rain so all my cash took a week to dry. Live and learn. A pack with exterior pockets in my opinion is also great for organization. When you get to where you camp you just take all three bags out of the pack and things are dry and easy to find. Also, to further organize and protect Ziploc bags are a huge help. I put breakfast in one, soap and cleaning kit in another, socks in another, electronic stuff DEFINITELY goes in one as well. You kind of develop your own system with it and dry is good. A first aid kit, mess kit (dishes and pans), waterproof matchbox and bugspray is also essential to bring along and it is important to put things in easy reach that you forsee needing soon or frequently. For instance, I put my flashlight and poncho in an easy to reach outer pocket. One night, I neglected to put the light back and couldn't find it in the dark. As a result, I groped around for several hours rummaging in my pack and around the tent trying to find things. To prevent this, I'm going to bring a second smaller light next time but will it tie it to the pack with a string. It will be exlusively for finding things in the pack. I also make sure I have snacks and water available because backpacking and camping will burn and ton of calories.

Snacks are something that should be carefully considered while hiking. You need to maximize the benefit of what you bring but you don't really want to over or under pack either. One of the best things you can have for a camping trip is trail mix. This is important because dried fruit provides much needed fiber and nutrition while the nuts provide natural fats that your body stores to use as a slow burning fuel. Natural fats don't make you fat, they give you a vital source of energy and are essential in sports like bodybuilding. To function properly while undergoing intense physical activity the body needs protein, the right kind of carbs, and natural fats. If done right, trail mix will provide these. Power and granola bars are great, but if its hot don't bother with any chocolate, this will just melt and make a huge mess. Meals are a very important consideration but I'm not getting into those here, there is too much to write on the topic. The best advice that I can give is not to bring canned food because its too heavy. Dehydrated foods are best because you can add water later and still get vital nutrition. For example, don't bring a can of spagettios, you can get something lighter and healthier from a sporting goods store that will provide far better nutrition and will be easier to haul. To cook it you'll need a little (and probably expensive) camping stove. Cheap stoves are heavy to pack and if you think you can cook on a fire for every meal you are sadly mistaken. To cook properly, a nice hot bed of coals needs to be achieved which can take hours. The stove will cook it all in minutes.

Another huge tip I can give is to bring NO COTTON!! Once it gets wet, it will never dry for your whole trip. Nylon shorts, socks, good tight fitting sandals with toe protection, long sleeve nylon shirts, and fleeces are all very useful as well as quick drying. I spent one trip years ago with all wet cotton clothes and it was no fun. The water came up through the bottom of my pack when I put it down and soaked into all the clothes. This was before I put everything inside in plastic bags. As I’ve said before, this can break a vacation.

The only other tip that I can think of is that its not necessary to spend a lot of money to go camping!! Sporting goods stores will get more expensive every year and lead you to believe that good camping gear will cost you an arm and a leg. The truth is that many things can be bought other places for far less. If you're not going somewhere where your going to need the ultimate in cold weather gear then its acceptable to shop around. For example, hiking packs, (what used to be a frame pack) have gotten ridiculously expensive. Most are well over a hundred dollars and thats being cheap. Many I've seen don't even have outer pockets or places to tie your sleeping bag. In essence they are expensive crap. The army surplus store has great ones for 30 bucks!!! Brand new and never used. In fact, next camping trip I'm finally buying one. My old boy scout frame pack has seen better days. Also, when buying a tent I have one word......coleman. Don't believe it??? Shop around, read the reviews and you'll have your answer. Big camping stores will push some expensive stuff but if you read the reviews online, coleman tents are rarely complained about. I wouldn't trust one in Antartica, but for a weekend get away I would. The key is the water proofing, many other brands look nicer and don't have it. You can get a decent coleman tent at Walmart for fifty bucks. Don't be afraid to shop around and read reviews online!! You'll save a lot.

Well, thats all I've got on the topic for now. There is a lot to consider so I'd urge you to look at other informational sites as well before going backpacking. Just sit down with a pen and paper to think about what you really will need logically. You can do it, you were smart enough to ready my article right? If you have doubts the guys at the camping store can help, just don't let them sell you on anything expensive you don't need.