Prep and Pack - What's Your Method?

[Retired Member southey]

• How do you pack? (What goes inside and what stays out)

everything inside, though if i took my foam matt i would go out side,

• What would your sleeping gear consist of? (mats, bags, etc)

this time of year, arctic bag, bivvi bag, tent or tarp, 3\4 thermarest or 3\4 issu foam pad

• Food and water (How much and what types (of food))?

a days food would be trail mix(dried nuts, friuts, chocy buttons, alpen) breakfast pre mixed muesli, sugar and salt, tea ration pack main meals, + dried meat

• What would be your packing order?

from the bottom up of main bag, water proof pack liner, sleeping bag in bivvi bag, spare clothes in dry bag, thermerest, warm kit in dry bag, water proofs either in dry bag or folded to stay dry, then shelter on top, 1 ltr water
side pouch1 toilet kit, wash kit, stove fuel, stove, 1ltr water , side pouch 2 food, cook pot, brew kit, 1ltr water, front pouch 1ltr water, metal cup, milbank bag
pouch under lid, bin bags, large poly bag in alu sak, 30m cord , extra wound dressings x 2, map case(maps, compass, protractor, ruler, notebook, route cards) distress marker
top pouch head torch, fak, spare and repair bag(batteries, sewing kit, roll of harry black,) note book,, 2x pencils, pen,

• Pitching (Would you move each day or stay put for a couple at a time)?

depends on the trip, if in a nice spot why not go for a circular trundle for the day,

• Clothing (types and how much spare)?

one set on, comfy walking trews, base layer merino what ever, mid (in bergan if warm or walking) outer a wind stopper type top,, socks for me are my usual issue Arctic woollens, hat with a brim(not leather) tilly or boonie, gloves in wind stopper pocket light weight wind stopper gloves,

a couple of spare pants and socks in the bergan with a spare base layer, the rest can be dried or repaired,


does any of that make sense I would replen water either from streams or friendly taps, food from shops,

 

[OurJud]

Thanks, southy, it does make sense, although I'm struggling to imagine how you get all that in your kit. I use a 60l and I can't see that amount of gear fitting in.

What I am finding is that because this is a bushcraft forum, naturally the responses are geared towards that. All the replies have been very helpful, but I think maybe this might have been better asked in a camping forum.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Not at all chap, it really doesn't take a lot of space, this is all walking kit for me the one thing I would change is the sleeping bag when I can afford an as warm but smaller and lighter bag. From spring on I use. Buffalo 4s outer which is smaller. I carry this for hiking or camping, I add tools only I thought I would use them.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Thanks, southy, it does make sense, although I'm struggling to imagine how you get all that in your kit. I use a 60l and I can't see that amount of gear fitting in.

What I am finding is that because this is a bushcraft forum, naturally the responses are geared towards that. All the replies have been very helpful, but I think maybe this might have been better asked in a camping forum.

Southey uses an army bergen with pouches so he has 120 litres to play with..

No, you've asked at the right place, many, if not most of us are campers & I think you've had camping & not bushcraft advice..........though I'm still a little worried about the questions you're asking......after all, you don't ask how to fly a fighter jet on a forum a week before taking the controls. (Sorry that's not a very good analogy)


Have you got your sleep mat sorted yet ?

 

[blacktimberwolf]

The OP did say he's not daft!

Absolutely..............anyone who's planning to go hiking & wild camping in the lakes in late November for several days, alone & with limited experience & kit, doesn't know what clothes to pack, food to take or even how to pack a rucksack, can never be called daft.

 

[widu13]

Absolutely..............anyone who's planning to go hiking & wild camping in the lakes in late November for several days, alone & with limited experience & kit, doesn't know what clothes to pack, food to take or even how to pack a rucksack, can never be called daft.

Play nice

 

[Shewie]

Lots of kit and Lakeland trips on my blog

 

[Bodge]

Hi Jud, I see you are from Manchester, Try to get to a local meet to test your kit and see other peoples set ups etc. You can simulate solo wilding in a safe place and reflect on your mistakes and packing in safety. Once you are confident with your kit and skills do your trip with one of the fine people you have met at the meets and enjoy a bit of company with a like minded person.
Hope this helps.

 

[Big Stu 12]

Southey uses an army bergen with pouches so he has 120 litres to play with..

No, you've asked at the right place, many, if not most of us are campers & I think you've had camping & not bushcraft advice..........though I'm still a little worried about the questions you're asking......

Oh thanks for sorting that out, I was worried that what i was about to do this weekend out in the wilds was not camping, coming to think about it, i did wonder what I had been doing for the last 30 years or so, now i can sleep in the knowledge i am doing a bit of camping... Thank you for that.



Come to think of it I also use a Bergan with pouches as well.. so do most of the guys i know. some do camp lightand only use the min of kit, and very light weight gear

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Oh thanks for sorting that out, I was worried that what i was about to do this weekend out in the wilds was not camping, coming to think about it, i did wonder what I had been doing for the last 30 years or so, now i can sleep in the knowledge i am doing a bit of camping... Thank you for that.

You're welcome dear chap & if you want to learn anything about sarcasm, just let me know.

Come to think of it I also use a Bergan with pouches as well.. so do most of the guys i know. some do camp lightand only use the min of kit, and very light weight gear

And ?

 

[Big Stu 12]

And ?

just thought i add it...

 

[Dingo]

Springs, streams as you've already identified. Walk an extra 1/2 mile out of your way and ask the local farmer nicely, top up through villages, pubs, mains fed cattle troughs. We're in the UK- there's plenty about.

mmm 1/2 a mile extra walk to gain a Ltr of water in the lake district! is that 1/2 mile there and 1/2 a mile back? or maybe just 1/2 a mile.

i dont mean to be argumentative, but when someone asks for advice about solo camping for a few nights out in these kinds of locations and says they have had some bad experience, maybe a cautious approach would be appropriate, telling them to go lite and keep it down to about 14kg and your there means, unless they have attained some instant knowledge usually gained from experience or via camping/shrafting with others, and also possibly spending a considerable sum of money on kit that POSSIBLY wont do them any good at this stage, remembering they are newish to the experience.

only my opinion but unless your well attuned if you travel lite you will freeze at nite is a good start, take some time to read through the many posts and threads on here and other sites and take some pointers on where your going and what others have done/experienced in that environment.

in my experience if your wild camping in the Lakes your usually a little further away from the pubs and farms than 1/2 a mile, and if your cold, wet, hungry and thirsty it always seems a lot further.

only my opinion, no offense meant, just a little concerened about this thread.

Adam.

 

[Paul_B]

To the OP, you been having a hard time from the locals on another forum?

Enjoy your trip when you go and there is a lot to be said for self reliance and getting on with it. You shouldn't come too much of a cropper in the Lakes in November with a bit of common sense. I often bug out due to conditions, usually I have a feeling it's not my trip and head home (being local enough to do that). You can always get to a campsite if it's not your trip.

Above assumes you are the same guy I'm thinking.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

mmm 1/2 a mile extra walk to gain a Ltr of water in the lake district! is that 1/2 mile there and 1/2 a mile back? or maybe just 1/2 a mile.

i dont mean to be argumentative, but when someone asks for advice about solo camping for a few nights out in these kinds of locations and says they have had some bad experience, maybe a cautious approach would be appropriate, telling them to go lite and keep it down to about 14kg and your there means, unless they have attained some instant knowledge usually gained from experience or via camping/shrafting with others, and also possibly spending a considerable sum of money on kit that POSSIBLY wont do them any good at this stage, remembering they are newish to the experience.

only my opinion but unless your well attuned if you travel lite you will freeze at nite is a good start, take some time to read through the many posts and threads on here and other sites and take some pointers on where your going and what others have done/experienced in that environment.

in my experience if your wild camping in the Lakes your usually a little further away from the pubs and farms than 1/2 a mile, and if your cold, wet, hungry and thirsty it always seems a lot further.

only my opinion, no offense meant, just a little concerened about this thread.

Adam.

Good post & I for one agree with you & you put it in a better & less judgemental way than I was able to..

 

[Chris the Cat]

Do not get into your bag cold.
Hot drink before bed, star jumps to warm you up then straight in.
If you get in cold ,you will stay cold.
Hope this helps.
best.
Chris.

 

[Lordyosch]

I keep more or less everything inside the pack.

Packing order for me is... (50l alpine pack)

Sleeping bag at the bottom, squashed into a dry bag.
Thermarest down the back, folded not rolled.
Tent split into smaller bags to better fit in the pack, poles down the side, pegs in a gap
Any spare clothes in a small dry bag.
Food in a dry bag.
Hat, gloves, map, snacks in the lid.
Fak down the side inside, near the top.
Compass and whistle in a compass pouch on the strap

Water either in the 'hydration bladder' pitch or if a bottle on the outer pocket.

Any other bits crammed in.


If I'm going for a longer time, bigger pack 70-90L I'll use a bum bag for snacks, map, video camera etc. Other than that, as above but more!
Extra water in a 6L platypus bag under a top strap, under the lid

Also, I always have walking poles when I've got the big bag


Jay

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

 

[John Fenna]

In winter I use a metal waterbottle and if it is a very cold night I fill it with hot water and pop it in one of my spare socks to use it as a hot water bottle. A second bonus is you are guaranteed liquid water in the morning even if it has got cold enough to freeze hell over! I have had water bottles and water bladders freeze hard enough to block the valves/tops solid which makes a brew in bed in the morning very difficult to organise....

 

[jacko1066]

Does anyone find that using a pack liner an sqashing your under quilt and down quilt/sleeping deep at the bottom of your pack saves room inside instead of putting them in dry bags?

I have tried both but I'm a little worried about not putting my winter down quilt not inside its own dry bag.

Cheers
Steve

 

[rg598]

My Winter Backpacking and Bushcraft Gear (it's the same thing in my book): http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-winter-backpacking-and-bushcraft-gear.html

Some winter trips:
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/02/trip-report-echo-lake-22313-22413.html
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/02/trip-report-mt-washington-failed-solo.html
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/01/trip-report-11913-12013.html
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2012/12/trip-report-kaaterskill-high-peak.html

 

[Paul_B]

I wonder how the op got on?

As this thread has been revived I've got more advice. Provided you're not allergic to them plain peanuts are excellent food for wild camping. High in calories with a good mix of proteins, fat and carbs. I eat them in my sack then drop off to sleep. I always go to bed warm and after half an hour your digestion system is working on the peanuts creating warmth via thermogenesis. By that time you're asleep.

Morning is the coldest so get up and away asap. You can have breakie a few hours later when you've warmed up and perhaps the air temperature has risen. Packing up usually makes makes me cold, especially hands. You need to use gloveless hands to pack up which is a big issue for me due to Reynaud's.

Lakes should be OK for water but treat. I use Drinksafe filter systems without issues. Try a steripen too but this has batteries so issues there in the cold. In the depths of winter it is possible water sources are widely frozen. Mates have walked across lakeland tarns and even camped on them before now! I've seen rivers flowing under a thick layer of ice you'd need an ice axe to break through.

I hope the op had a good and safe trip. I haven't camped out in winter yet. I've tried but backed out due to conditions or events that happened during the day. I'd only consider it after 3 season camps over a few years combined with many years of experience walking in all conditions. I have both types of experience but haven't done it, only through circumstances preventing it. I believe safety first I'm afraid. Having said that, November in the lakes isn't that bad usually. October's wet and windy but ime November settles down a bit but isn't as cold as January and February.

My kit is tarp, bivvy, go lite quilt, gas stove, Ti pot, ccf and prolite mat (ccf inside bivvy and prolite mat outside). I then use clothing from winter day walking. Usually use synth smock with a synthetic body warmer too. Spare clothes consists of expedition weight helly Hansen longjohns. Spare, dry socks too, the warmest I have. I also put on my spare base layer on top. If cold conditions I wear my synthetic layers in my down quilt. The quilt is good as it allows me to wear extra layers and open it up so the down does not compress at all. Wearing bulky layers in a tight sleeping bag can reduce the bags loft making it less effective. I've done that and felt warmer by removing the extra layers. The down in a bag is much more effective than any type of clothing if fully lofted.

Just some further comments should anyone else find this thread of interest for their packing/trip inquiries.

BTW I pack everything inside my pack with down quilt in dry bag with only night clothes. Get a drybag with event end panel. It allows air to escape. This means the quilt is dry but items on top compress the air out removing bulk. Then stoves, pots, etc. Then on top is shelter with hats/gloves and spares in dry bag near top or in top pockets. Food in middle too. Mats inside against the inside of the back panel.