I haven’t been backpacking since the beginning of December. The weather looks good, and I’ve cleared enough work for me to take a couple of nights away in Hercules Glades.
I won’t be able to get away until late in the day (it’s Saturday), so I’m going to have to do another night hike. This time, I’m planning to hike over six miles, with a third of it on a difficult trail, and then do some bushwhacking too. If everything goes according to plan, I should be at my destination by nine-thirty. I have the option to stop halfway if the night hiking is too slow.
The temperature is forecast to vary from the mid-twenties overnight Saturday to the mid-sixties on Monday, so I’m packing a full winter load-out plus some spring additions. Altogether, including food, water, and fuel, it weighs in at around 26 lbs.
My Electronics, Spares, and ‘Go-bag’ — The bag itself is water resistant, and I keep the contents in ditty bags to make finding things easy. Clockwise from the left, I have my headlamp, power brick and charging cables, camp light, and finally, spares, first aid, and odds and ends bag.
And, all unpacked. From the contents of my Odds and Ends bag, I’ve never had to use the fire steel, needle and thread, or the repair tape (duct tape has always got me sorted out so far).
Everything else I’ve had to dip into at one point or another. Allen keys for my camera and hiking poles, my meds — obviously. The line I use to suspend my camp light above my cooking area, the khaki strap holds my tripod onto larger trees than its Velcro straps can cope with, and the black straps fit the bag, so I can carry it around my neck or over my shoulder. It holds a lot and has proved helpful more than once.
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