Week Long Hike Wilderness Backpack - Detailed Packing List

Week Long Hike Wilderness Backpack - Detailed Packing List

Watch the full video here:  

In this post we want to share what we take with us for a week long hike. As we figured that it is quite different from our usual long trip packing list because we take less stuff. And hopefully it will be helpful for some of you planning your week hikes. Our packing list is more suitable for wilderness trips and being autonomous but you can always make it work for you taking less food supplies.

What do you take for a week long trips?

A chair and real food, and a dog. 

Some things are the same. My first aid kit is small and what stove i take depends on the trip, Most of the time for 3 season my pack with food is about 28 pounds...easy weekend trip local i might take fresh food instead of dehydrated food or grains and such.

Most of my trips have me camping at tree line, and require more warmth from my clothing and sleep bag.  It very often gets down to freezing up there, even in the summer.  I don't like to sleep in the clothes I hike in, so carry top and bottoms in addition to socks for sleepwear.  My trips at lower altitude are usually desert trips in the winter, which also frequently gets well below freezing at night, thus also require warmer gear on these venues. 

Most of my mountain trips require a bear canister (which doubles as a stool, or tub for washing clothes.  I carry a bulk water storage container to reduce trips to the stream or lake, in order to reduce the wear and tear on the shoreline ecology.  I carry the two-step chlorine water treatment pills instead of a filter, as they are significantly lighter.  Besides, I have seen filters fail because they were clogged with frozen water in colder temps.

I did not see any mention of rain gear.  What do you do when stuck in a protracted storm?  Also consider a back up lighter; they do get lost or broken on occasion.  Argh!  You did not mention sun glasses either; UV rays are more powerful higher up, a primary reason people from mountain societies have a high incidence of cataracts in their later years.  Lastly I did not notice mention of toilet paper or cat hole spade; what do you do when nature calls?  And what about coffee?!!!

Otherwise the difference between my kit and the items listed in your review is mostly one of preferences.   A digital camera  is my only tech.  I carry more camp comforts (e.g. a little whiskey, more chocolate, some "luxury" food items such as fresh oranges, chilies, garlic, salami, and more chocolate).  Actually my food often weighs north of 1kg/day.  Seems impractical, but the luxury of a fresh orange eight or nine days into a hike is heaven!  I like to eat good...  I also like to use daytime light for touring, so I cook at night, and find hanging out at camp more enjoyable with a decent camp light (in addition to a personal flash light).  Perhaps the most used item of my kit is a sun/rain parasol.  It provides cool shade on hot sunny days, affords opening up rain gear for better ventilation, and facilitates dry entry into one's tent in the midst of a downpour.

Ed

whomeworry said:

Most of my trips have me camping at tree line, and require more warmth from my clothing and sleep bag.  It very often gets down to freezing up there, even in the summer.  I don't like to sleep in the clothes I hike in, so carry top and bottoms in addition to socks for sleepwear.  My trips at lower altitude are usually desert trips in the winter, which also frequently gets well below freezing at night, thus also require warmer gear on these venues. 

Most of my mountain trips require a bear canister (which doubles as a stool, or tub for washing clothes.  I carry a bulk water storage container to reduce trips to the stream or lake, in order to reduce the wear and tear on the shoreline ecology.  I carry the two-step chlorine water treatment pills instead of a filter, as they are significantly lighter.  Besides, I have seen filters fail because they were clogged with frozen water in colder temps.

I did not see any mention of rain gear.  What do you do when stuck in a protracted storm?  Also consider a back up lighter; they do get lost or broken on occasion.  Argh!  You did not mention sun glasses either; UV rays are more powerful higher up, a primary reason people from mountain societies have a high incidence of cataracts in their later years.  Lastly I did not notice mention of toilet paper or cat hole spade; what do you do when nature calls?  And what about coffee?!!!

Otherwise the difference between my kit and the items listed in your review is mostly one of preferences.   A digital camera  is my only tech.  I carry more camp comforts (e.g. a little whiskey, more chocolate, some "luxury" food items such as fresh oranges, chilies, garlic, salami, and more chocolate).  Actually my food often weighs north of 1kg/day.  Seems impractical, but the luxury of a fresh orange eight or nine days into a hike is heaven!  I like to eat good...  I also like to use daytime light for touring, so I cook at night, and find hanging out at camp more enjoyable with a decent camp light (in addition to a personal flash light).  Perhaps the most used item of my kit is a sun/rain parasol.  It provides cool shade on hot sunny days, affords opening up rain gear for better ventilation, and facilitates dry entry into one's tent in the midst of a downpour.

Ed

 Ed what your umbrella brand..I know out west they hike more with them because of desert etc...

denis daly said:

 Ed what your umbrella brand..I know out west they hike more with them because of desert etc...

 My current parasol is a Six Moons Design.  I previously also had one from Golite, until it got misplaced after a trip.  Golite went out of business, then came back, but its product line is now limited to apparel.  The Golite and Six Moons umbrellas are identical in design, save for the foam butt on the handle end.  I think they from the same manufacturer.  I am sure there is a backstory to this "coincidence, if you get my drift.

Ed

Angelina and Dima - thanks for posting these. Nice way to start a conversation, you're both definitely earnest about the subject matter, and I appreciate that these seem 'real,' no overly slick production values.

You didn't mention rain gear...but it appears you're both wearing a wind or rain shell in the video.

I have never thought to bring an electric razor, though I use one regularly. I let the beard grow. I would hope yours holds a charge for one week without having to plug it it.

i have a small camp pillow - little foam blocks, easy to compact. I sleep better with it than I do with a fleece rolled up into a stuff sack.

I tend to go with a slightly more robust after-hiking shoe than flip flops, willing to trade a little more weight for a little more stability for walking around in the mornings and evenings. plus, i like having the flexibility to wear the camp shoe with a pair of socks.  (I have some injinji socks with individual toes, but I prefer regular socks).  

I currently prefer hiking with a reservoir & tube for water unless it's winter, with an empty liter bottle for purification (i use a filter/pump to put water into the bottle, there's a good interface that screws onto the top, then i pour into the reservoir - currently favoring a hydropak). do you use tablets to purify? i didn't see a pump/filter in the video.  

I bring a lot of different gear for winter hiking, but i suppose that's a topic for another day and another video.  

whomeworry said:

Most of my trips have me camping at tree line, and require more warmth from my clothing and sleep bag.  It very often gets down to freezing up there, even in the summer.  I don't like to sleep in the clothes I hike in, so carry top and bottoms in addition to socks for sleepwear.  My trips at lower altitude are usually desert trips in the winter, which also frequently gets well below freezing at night, thus also require warmer gear on these venues. 

Most of my mountain trips require a bear canister (which doubles as a stool, or tub for washing clothes.  I carry a bulk water storage container to reduce trips to the stream or lake, in order to reduce the wear and tear on the shoreline ecology.  I carry the two-step chlorine water treatment pills instead of a filter, as they are significantly lighter.  Besides, I have seen filters fail because they were clogged with frozen water in colder temps.

I did not see any mention of rain gear.  What do you do when stuck in a protracted storm?  Also consider a back up lighter; they do get lost or broken on occasion.  Argh!  You did not mention sun glasses either; UV rays are more powerful higher up, a primary reason people from mountain societies have a high incidence of cataracts in their later years.  Lastly I did not notice mention of toilet paper or cat hole spade; what do you do when nature calls?  And what about coffee?!!!

Otherwise the difference between my kit and the items listed in your review is mostly one of preferences.   A digital camera  is my only tech.  I carry more camp comforts (e.g. a little whiskey, more chocolate, some "luxury" food items such as fresh oranges, chilies, garlic, salami, and more chocolate).  Actually my food often weighs north of 1kg/day.  Seems impractical, but the luxury of a fresh orange eight or nine days into a hike is heaven!  I like to eat good...  I also like to use daytime light for touring, so I cook at night, and find hanging out at camp more enjoyable with a decent camp light (in addition to a personal flash light).  Perhaps the most used item of my kit is a sun/rain parasol.  It provides cool shade on hot sunny days, affords opening up rain gear for better ventilation, and facilitates dry entry into one's tent in the midst of a downpour.

Ed

Thanks, Ed, as always for such a detailed answer. In relation to rain gear we do carry our simple plastic raincoats as well as our jackets that were on us in the video. Guess we just forgot to mention some basic items that may seem obvious but very important. Sunglasses are always with us too. We use the wet wipes for toilet purposes. And we are not really a coffee lovers, sometimes we can drink a bit of tea.

Love the luxury foo items, we try to bring with us some fresh fruit and veggies also, chocolate of course. There's just nothing better than eating well on the trail especially when you burn so much calories and get hungry very fast. Have never used the sun parasol but we would have preffered to use it in Toscanian summer.

leadbelly2550 said:

Angelina and Dima - thanks for posting these. Nice way to start a conversation, you're both definitely earnest about the subject matter, and I appreciate that these seem 'real,' no overly slick production values.

You didn't mention rain gear...but it appears you're both wearing a wind or rain shell in the video.

I have never thought to bring an electric razor, though I use one regularly. I let the beard grow. I would hope yours holds a charge for one week without having to plug it it.

i have a small camp pillow - little foam blocks, easy to compact. I sleep better with it than I do with a fleece rolled up into a stuff sack.

I tend to go with a slightly more robust after-hiking shoe than flip flops, willing to trade a little more weight for a little more stability for walking around in the mornings and evenings. plus, i like having the flexibility to wear the camp shoe with a pair of socks.  (I have some injinji socks with individual toes, but I prefer regular socks).  

I currently prefer hiking with a reservoir & tube for water unless it's winter, with an empty liter bottle for purification (i use a filter/pump to put water into the bottle, there's a good interface that screws onto the top, then i pour into the reservoir - currently favoring a hydropak). do you use tablets to purify? i didn't see a pump/filter in the video.  

I bring a lot of different gear for winter hiking, but i suppose that's a topic for another day and another video.  

Thank you, glad that you appreciate our posts and videos. 

Yeah, of course we bring our raincoats and waterproof jackets with us.

Electric razor is about personal preference, totally not a necessary item. And it is quite nice and can hold at least for a week or even more depends on how many times you got to use it.

Pillow is a must for us too, after hiking without it several first times we realized it wasn´t worth it.

Sure the flip flops are not robust enough, that´s true, we use them primarily for taking shower. But for going around they don´t serve very well. Do you have some type of sandals for that?

For filtering water we use our Sawyer Mini and pretty happy with it, we believe we had to mention it in the video.

We are not experienced winter hikers still, so there´s lot to learn.

for camp sandals. if i bring injinji toe socks, the Bedrock Cairn (they have a toe post like flip flops but are very light). for a light regular sock, Keen Solr is pretty light. heavier socks work better with a chaco z1. 

winter, i have tended recently to use the removable insulated liner from my mountaineering boots to walk around, but i have also used puffy booties. 

leadbelly2550 said:

for camp sandals. if i bring injinji toe socks, the Bedrock Cairn (they have a toe post like flip flops but are very light). for a light regular sock, Keen Solr is pretty light. heavier socks work better with a chaco z1. 

winter, i have tended recently to use the removable insulated liner from my mountaineering boots to walk around, but i have also used puffy booties. 

 Thanks for all the suggestions, sandals maybe our next upgrade for the trail.

What is missing from this video that would make it a LOT more enjoyable and informative?

Instead of a "take-it-out-of-the-pack" video let's see an actual campsite.

i.e "Deploy" the gear: set up the tent, put the mattress and sleeping bag inside, actually use the stove and cook some food. 

In other words let us see your gear in use. 

300winmag said:

What is missing from this video that would make it a LOT more enjoyable and informative?

Instead of a "take-it-out-of-the-pack" video let's see an actual campsite.

i.e "Deploy" the gear: set up the tent, put the mattress and sleeping bag inside, actually use the stove and cook some food. 

In other words let us see your gear in use. 

 As a hiker who makes videos on trail this made me laugh a bit. You are correct, that would make a nice way to present a gear inventory of course. What made me laugh was the idea of rolling into camp at the end of the day, setting up camera(s) and recording the camp making process.

I'm sure that would work for your more photogenic YT stars, but nobody wants to see me transitioning from trail thrashed to campsite chic heh. It is usually an hour or more after arrival and long after I've set up camp and changed clothes before I'm ready to think about pulling out the cameras.

LoneStranger said:

300winmag said:

What is missing from this video that would make it a LOT more enjoyable and informative?

Instead of a "take-it-out-of-the-pack" video let's see an actual campsite.

i.e "Deploy" the gear: set up the tent, put the mattress and sleeping bag inside, actually use the stove and cook some food. 

In other words let us see your gear in use. 

 As a hiker who makes videos on trail this made me laugh a bit. You are correct, that would make a nice way to present a gear inventory of course. What made me laugh was the idea of rolling into camp at the end of the day, setting up camera(s) and recording the camp making process.

I'm sure that would work for your more photogenic YT stars, but nobody wants to see me transitioning from trail thrashed to campsite chic heh. It is usually an hour or more after arrival and long after I've set up camp and changed clothes before I'm ready to think about pulling out the cameras.

Hah, right, to shoot real on the trail "deployment" of gear is almost impossible, you just don't have time to do that. The only way to show it is to make a normal camping routine off trail when you have time and powers to shoot it.

Some wrong gear makes you in struggle, I leave my old flashlight and add new headlamp and small flashlight, Both makes reliable source to getting lights. I'm enjoying my new added headlamp, and smallest flashlight also taking place in EDC. I gets best reviews before taking it. and now its on my hand.

Breaking down your meals. Writing down the # of calories really helps. 

Paul Lapierre said:

Breaking down your meals. Writing down the # of calories really helps. 

 

I never thought to write the  # of calories per meal i dehydrate,,,Thank you for the tip
 

Paul Lapierre said:

"..Writing down the # of calories really helps." 

Paul, what is your target daily caloric number?
If I attempted to pack according to caloric volumes, I would be very discouraged, because most, myself included, do not pack enough calories for our trips.  The general rule of thumb in trekking circles is 2 pounds/day of dehydrated foods for warm weather trips; 2 1/2 - 3 pounds for cold trips. Yet even if augmented with calorie dense items like nuts, oils, and butter, the ration by weight rule of thumb falls short of the calories burned in the course of a day on the trail.  I'll lose 1/2 pound a day on a long summer hike, and almost 1 pounds a day on winter ski treks.  This is typical among trekkers.

Ed

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