I have been interested for a while in the 20 litre challenge which is about packing all you need for a overnight trip in a 20 litre pack. Last weekend I spent Saturday night on the South Downs. My pack was an Alpkit Gourdon 20. I put my Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag inside like a pack liner. My PHD Minimus sleeping bag (340g, 8C) went in the botttom, loose. To help keep the bag clean I sleep in Rohan Ultra Silver base layer: leggings and long sleeve top. Teko merino wool socks stayed on my feet. I sleep on a Therm-a-Rest Neo-Air placed under the bivvy bag, not in it. I have a piece of polychro double glazing film I can use as a groundsheet which packs in the mat's stuff sac (not used this time).
Kitchen packs into a stuff sac: Evernew titanium lid from a 900ml pot to fry bacon in. Primus clip on windshield. Evernew titanium mug in pot cosy made of closed cell foam. Inside the pot: 100g gas cartridge, Alpkit Kraku burner, mini fire steel, lighter, medicine spoon. Folding cup and plastic box with coffee in sit on top of the mug.
First aid kit (AMK 0.5). Waterproofs: Marmot Mica jacket (packs into own pocket together with Go-Lite Reed rain pants) used as a pillow.
Possibles bag containing hand sanitiser (alcohol free), Dr Bronner soap, tooth gel all in tiny Nalgene dropper bottles, half a toothbrush, second lighter, torch with clip to attach to the brim of my hat (not used: half moon meant it never really got dark), small penknife, toilet paper and dog bags (waste was buried, paper packed out as it was too breezy to burn it).
My toilet trowel is an MSR Blizzard tent peg with closed cell foam handle/grip.
Food carried: bacon, bread rolls, pork pie and an apple. Water: 500ml in a Lucozade Sport bottle in one rucksack pocket and 600 ml in a Travel Tap filter bottle. There is a dew pond near where I slept that I could have used to replenish supplies but in the end 1100ml was sufficient.
I set off up the hill after a couple of pints in a pub at about 8:45 and was in bed an hour later. I woke at 4:30 and watched the sun rise twenty minutes later. I left my sleeping spot at 5:15 and walked a little way until I found a fallen tree that gave me somewhat set up the stove for bacon rolls and coffee and sit out of the breeze in the sun. I called in at a friend's house for a cuppa and a chat before heading back to the car, stopping for lunch (the pie and the apple) on the way.
I didn't weigh my pack because it wasn't heavy enough to cause me or my dodgy knee any bother but I had a fantastic time and will be doing a few more of these micro adventures this summer. I might swap out the gas stove for my Bushbuddy next time and prepare my finger on the hill rather than eating before I set off.
