So, I began working on an exhaustive list of anything I thought I might ever need in my wildest dreams so as not to be caught without. To start, I just began listing things on an Excel spreadsheet, beginning with the obvious - pack, sleeping bag, tent, stove, cookwear, etc., I soon found that as the list grew, it needed to be separated into categories, such as Main Items, Camp Kitchen, Clothing, Sanitation/Hygiene, Hydration, and Sundries. In addition to my own list, I reviewed a number of lists I found on the internet (including REI's, though theirs is less thorough than others) and added new items to my list, which then got me thinking about other things that I might need, and so on and so on. And, I got a lot of information from my work colleague Dave Miller, who is an experienced backpacker - more about him in the next post.
As I did my research, I learned that there are several approaches to gear that one carries into the wilderness. Traditional standard weight/size gear is still the most popular, though this stuff is still much lighter and more efficient than your father's traditional gear. A fairly recent trend (since the late '90s) toward Lightweight, UltraLight, and even minimalist Backpacking has driven manufacturers to design lighter, multi-purpose (and more expensive) equipment, and some enthusiasts to pack fewer items, taking only what they absolutely need and doubling up on function wherever possible.
If you are interested to read more, a few resources on backpacking light are:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/index.html
http://www.backpacking.net/
http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/
http://lightbackpacking.com/
For minimalist backpacking, Ray Jardine seems to be a legendary pioneer (though he doesn't consider himself a minimalist), having hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail with his wife in just over 3 months with as little as 8 lbs of gear. You can read more about his ideas here:
http://adventuresportsjournal.com/content/?p=380
http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Backpack-Kit/index.htm
Clearly I do not fall into the Minimalist, UltraLight or Backpacking Light categories, as my list is now approaching 150 items. This is more than I could ever hope to carry on a single trip, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna get caught out there with something I wish I had, so I have the ability to pick and chose what comes along, depending upon the trip. And many of those items on the list are tiny and insignificant (rubber bands, safety pins, etc.) that don't really count against pack weight and space, so the 150 isn't really as bad as it sounds. Quite the opposite of one Ultralighter I read about whose advice went so far as cutting the labels off shirts. I mean, c'mon, really?
Another reason I don't qualify as a lightweight backpacker is that I simply can't afford it. I've found that the good lightweight equipment generally carries a price tag of at least 2-3 times more than conventional gear, and sometimes even more - essentially, the less it weighs, the more it costs. If I enjoy backpacking as much as I anticipate I will, I can gradually replace items with lighter counterparts as finances allow. Still, it seems that for most trips under a week, even with my current gear, I should be at no more than 40 lbs.
Below is a link to my list along with a poor jpeg copy. I don't yet own everything on the list (and probably won't ever) and I won't everything I have with me on each trip, but didn't want to forget about anything. And, though it might seem like there are some odd things to be bringing on a backpacking trip (such as pillow and pillowcase), they are really just placeholders to remind me to bring something that can be used for that function - in the case of pillows, maybe a stuff sack that I can put some clothes and my down jacket in.
Next post - what equipment I actually got, and why.
Dennis' Backpacking List
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