4th Year Backpacking Trip The Basics July 17-18th Depart frm Duthie Hill Building @ 8 am Our des(na(n is Rachel Lake Our gal is t learn hw t experience the utdrs unencumbered by the crutch f mdern life. Yu ll learn and use lightweight backpacking techniques t keep yur lad minimal and yur wilderness experiences maximal. Als, yu ll learn an easy system f cking that requires minimal weight, leaves n dishes t wash and keeps yu fueled up fr hiking miles. The Requirements Backpack with minimal gear fr an vernight. Fllw the gear list explicitly and yu ll be ready. Prepared freezer bag meals. Leave rm in pack fr trp gear (tent, water filter, stve, pts) Pack Check Held July 14th @ 5 pm Duthie Hill Chapel Bring all gear packed and ready t g.
Lightweight Backpacking Checklist This list is designed t prvide exactly the things yur scut will need and still keep their pack light enugh t enjy themselves. Cnsider that many packs that scuts are taking int the hills weight up t ½ their bdy weight and yu can see the need t lighten their lad. If they cart 40 lbs. f weight, dds are they will learn t see backpacking as backbreaking wrk instead f fun. Aim t have 10-15 lbs. f gear tps befre fd/water. Happily, ging lightweight is generally much cheaper than industrial backpacking gear, s save yur hard earned cash fr the sleeping bag (where cst means smething). Just because a manufacturer markets it lightweight, des nt mean it is (generally it's the ppsite). Dn t be sucked int hype r the hair-brained ideas f an REI guy wanting t sell yu a bunch f stuff yu dn t need. Trp gear and fd will be added t this list. Rule f thumb dn t bring it unless yu *really* need it. Gear Backpack (MyTrailC Packs are great) Sleeping pad (Clsed Cell Fam) * Sleeping bag (32 degree) 2 1L Empty sda bttles fr water * LED headlamp/small flashlight Cking Miscellaneus Items Small Cmpass Knife (2 blade flding) 1 Garbage Bag 2 Ziplc Bags (freezer kind) Ditty bags fr fd/lse gear Tilet Paper in Ziplc (Blue shp twels better, cut int squares) Plastic Cup Plastic Frk/Spn r Sprk * Clthes * N cttn quick-dry nyln/ply nly Shrt Sleeve Shirt Pants - cnsider zip ff mdels Wl hiking scks Trail Runners Hat Pnch/Rainwear Cld Weather Gear Lng Sleeve T Shirt Glves Fleece/Jacket Stcking Cap Safety Kit Small bttle f Purell Small Sunscreen Persnal First Aid Kit Lip Balm Signal Mirrr Whistle n a Lanyard Mini Lighter r waterprf matches Tweezers Parachute crd (50 ft) Paper and small pencil Small camp sap (Dr. Brnners) Fire-Starters
Here are sme recmmendatins fr parents t make sure they utfit their kids wisely: 1. Pack - I recmmend a My Trail C Backpack 50L r similar lightweight pack it shuld weight 1.5 lbs. r less. Larger daypacks wrk fine and limit what they can carry 2500 CI is mre than enugh. Als cnsider they wn t need an industrial pack frame if they dn t carry s much weight. Sme backpacks weight up t 6 lbs. with *nthing* in them. N, that pack in the attic with an aluminum frame isn t ging t cut it. 2. Sleeping Bag this is where yu spend the mney. Get a 25-32 degree dwn bag. Its ging t cst a bit, but yu ll save at least that nt buying all the ther stuff REI wants t sell yu. Despite what yu hear, dwn is hard t get wet and cmpresses much better than synthetic. Buy nce. 3. Sleeping Pad n need fr an expensive Thermarest r inflatable pad, just get a clsed cell fam pad. Cheap and indestructible. Cnsider cutting it dwn t their size (r even trs sized). They are yung, they dn t need the padding. 4. Water Bttles Camelback-style bladders are fine but heavy. Gd ld 1 Liter sda bttles wrk great, and weight a fractin f what expensive Nalgene are heavy and verbuilt cnsider that they weigh 6x as much fr n gain. 5. Cking Gear dn t bring anything ther than a simple pt, a plastic cup and a spn/frk/sprk. Tac Bell/Dairy Queen bth have a great lng-handled plastic spn. 6. Trial runners/running shes are fine fr supprt if they dn t carry a lt f weight. Bts are verkill they weigh a lt, have t break in and dry slwly. D nt send yur kid in ill fittin bts that will give them blisters. 7. Clthing apart frm what they wear, thrw in an extra T-shirt (apprpriate fr weather) and a pair f lightweight shrts, plus an extra pair f scks and yu re gd fr all but week-lng trips. Seriusly, n need fr multiple changes f clthes. And especially frg the jeans and sweat pants as they never dry. Ply stuff nly. 8. Ftwear super imprtant. D nt send them in big bts frm the 70 s yu fund in the clset. A nice pair f trail r running shes is mre than enugh if yu re nt carrying a lt f weight. Cheap and they can use them everyday after. Blisters seriusly ruin a trip. 9. Rain gear - Outside the cld seasns, a cheap plastic pnch wrks great fr rainwear especially smething that rarely gets used in the summer. 10. Packaging Yu must cut dwn n packaging and nn-essentials. D they need a Cstc-sized bttle f sunscreen/insect repellent/purell sanitizer etc? Yu can get small bttles at REI t repackage these items t carry what they ll need. Skip tthpaste and dedrant, this isn t a fashin shw r a lab envirnment. Yu ll get dirty, deal with it. 11. It ges withut saying that MP3 players, iphnes and ther such electrnic gadgets are nt necessary r needed fr a wilderness experience. We ll take them away if we see them. Bring phnes fr the rides in/ ut but they ll be left in the truck. Seriusly, the mre yu prune frm their pack, the better they will feel at the end f the day and the mre they will enjy the experience. Our kids average 10 lbs. f extra gear they just dn t need, s be n hand t help guide them as they pack up fr that upcming trip. Please nte that they ll be asked t bring extra trp gear (pts, water filters, stves/canisters and tents) s make sure they have sme rm fr that at the trail head.
Freezer Bag Cking FBC is a simple system f prepacking fd in quart freezer bags, requiring nly biling water and a small, insulated czy t minimize fuel usage. FBC was develped by lng distance hikers wh value lightweight, minimal camp chres, better nutritin and little garbage. Hw des it wrk? When getting ready t ck yur meal, bring yur water t a bil. Pur the water int yur cup t measure, then add it t yur freezer bag. Carefully mix it up with a spn r by massaging it. After yu have mixed it well, zip up the bag tightly and insert in yur czy. Then let sit fr 5 t 15 minutes (the recipe and altitude will determine hw lng), make yurself a drink and wait fr yur meal. Once ready, stir well and eat. Here is the best part - when yu re dne, just rll up the Ziplc bag and seal it. Dne. N dishes. And n messy garbage like the expensive, cmmercial backpacking meals. T sterilize yur spn, stick it in the next meal s water as it bils. Dne. What d yu make? Its up t yu. Yu can peruse all kinds f recipes nline: http://www.trailcking.cm/recipe- hme/ Als get a galln Ziplc bag and fill it with a few snacks. Pwerbars, nuts, raisins and the like. Its gd t have at least ne desert and 2 snacks per day n the trail.
Freezer Bag Cking Czy This is an easy DIY prject. T get started yu need a rll f Fil Bubble Insulatin and a rll f Reflective Fil tape. The bubble insulatin cnsists f a layer f plyethylene bubble wrap sandwiched between tw sheets f aluminum. This stuff is easy t find at Hme Deprt r a well stcked Ace Hardware stre. 1) The first step is t cut tw pieces f the fil bubble insulatin with the same width. The stuff is very sft s cmmn husehld scissrs are fine fr this task. Next cut ne f the pieces dwn abut 4 inches. Yu want the fil bubble insulatin piece t be slightly wider than the freezer bag since yu re ging t tape them tgether t frm a pcket-like envelpe. 2) Next, stack the shrter piece f insulatin n tp f the lnger piece, and cut three lengths f reflective tape tp jin the sides and bttm tgether.
3) Apply the reflective tape t frm an insulating envelpe and cut ff any excess arund the edges. Fld the lnger piece ver the shrter piece and yu re dne. If yu want t be extra fancy, yu can als add sme velcr tape t the inside f the flap and the utside f the insulated envelpe t keep the czy clsed while yur freezer bag meal is cking. 4) Finished. Shuld fit a quart ziplck bag with aplmb.