DETAILS

I'm new to the world of solo backpacking. I've had a lot to learn. 

In the past all of my backpacking experiences have been with friends and family - I haven't had to be responsible for much above showing up with the gear and most of the food I'd need to stay alive for a few days on the trail.  

 

But because this trip is all on me, the longest on record and solo, I've had to dig pretty deep to learn and to prepare efficiently and thoroughly for every aspect of it. 

It's all in the details. 

I've had to be hyper-focused on those details (which doesn't come naturally to me) and Ive had to over-organize and over-reorganize (which does come naturally to me) the 'stuff' that'll make my life work safely and frustration-free while I'm out on the trail for 10+ days.  

I've learned a lot.

At the base of it I've learned there’s an important and fairly obvious truism that relates to the overall ethos of backpacking. It's this: the fewer things you have, the fewer things you have to keep track of.

To be successful at backpacking it takes Systems Management. A banal term which should probably be reserved for the board room I know, but it's what keeps the backpacker safe, moving efficiently and out of potential danger. There are no short-cuts here. We're talking about: sleep systems, shelter systems, cook systems, insulation systems, navigation systems, hydration systems, nutrition systems, communication systems, emergency systems... all of which (and more I'm sure) whittle down to the hiker making the absolute and very best choices of gear that will be packed into a pack so consistently the hiker can find, without hassle, the exact thing needed in the pitch dark in a moment's time. In my case this collection is packed in a 50L Osprey Renn women's backpack. Here's the link for this pack: backpackhttps://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/renn-50-RENN50.html. 

With these tenets in mind, I started researching, purchasing and putting ALL of the valuable pieces of information of the above named systems-puzzle for my kit together and laying them out in organized, and often in a heaped, fashion on the floor of our 3rd floor guest room in January (!). Was that a little or a lot obsessive? Probably a lot, but it was a part of this new-to-me process I couldn't afford to pass up. I have solid, well tested and reviewed gear, It's gear I'm comfortable with, confident in and knowledgeable about. I have what will make the perfect kit for an intentional, efficient and safe first solo backpacking trip.

You can copy and paste the link below to view my SHT Gear List for 2023, (I don't have hyperlinks for anything on it). The list has been categorized into the following sections:

• The Big Four (with a few additional subgroup items)
• Utility
• Cook Kit
• Water
• Clothing
• Food
• Health 7 Hygiene
• Misc

I've weighed everything I'll be carrying down to the ounce and I'm clear on what my pack weight will be. Looks like I won't be going ultralight backpacker on this trip 😂; my pack isn't 10# or less. My baseweight will be about 27# and with consumables of food and water it'll come in at about 32# to start off.

There is still so much more to learn.

More on my preparation in the next post...

SHT 2023 Gear List https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s3LGG24KnwbJIA0-NxCvGL1vLNvTpZDy-_-vX2mR60Y/edit#gid=0