It’s Friday afternoon and I’m meeting some friends for a weekend camp out where we plan to share some training on outdoor skills, try out some new gear to see what works well and what does not and have a relaxing weekend in the woods. It is mid November in Middle Tennessee so the clothing and gear will be adjusted for cooler weather.

My backpack for this trip is an internal frame model that I’ve had for 15 + years. It has served me well since it’s maiden voyage on a week long trip to California that included a 2-day Mount Whitney hike as well as numerous trips in the wilds of the Louisiana and Tennessee woodlands. My point with saying that is good quality gear lasts a long time and cheap China-Mart stuff will not. Buy the best that you can afford, but don’t buy cheap because if you really plan to use it in the outdoors, you will find the cheap stuff is cheap for one reason, it’s junk and you will have to buy something else in the future to replace it. For this of trip I am using is an internal frame model that holds about 3000 cubic inches of stuff on the inside.

It’s loaded with the following supplies in order to have a comfortable camping experience and my goal is to have it weigh less than 35 pounds total loaded. (yea, I’m not in as good of shape as I was in the 90’s, but I’m working on that).

Here is the basic list for a three-day trip into nature:

1. Shelter

a. 8 x 10 lightweight tarp
b. Sleeping bag and Gortex bivy cover
c. Clothing and footwear suitable for my area’s climate, time of year and terrain.
d. Hennessey hammock
e. Sleeping pad, (for insulation)

2. Water

a. 2 – One quart Nalgene water bottles, full
b. Aquamira filter straw
c. Aquamira water purification tablets
d. Katadyn Water filter

3. Food

a. Breakfast x 2
b. Lunch x 3
c. Dinner x 2, (if all goes according to plan I’ll be home for dinner).
d. Bag of homemade gorp, couple of energy bars, and some jerky for snacks.
e. Flask containing an adult beverage
f. Compact cooking set
g. Solo stove

4. Clothing

a. Broken in Hiking boots
b. 4 fresh pair of hiking socks
c. Long sleeve and short sleeve shirts, 1 each
d. 3 changes of underwear
e. Gortex jacket and pants rain suit
f. Hat
g. 2 handkerchiefs

5. Personal Hygiene kit

a. Tooth brush and tooth paste
b. Small bar of soap, hotel size
c. Wash cloth and small compact towel
d. Spare set of eye glasses / reading glasses / contact lenses & solution
e. One week supply of any daily prescription meds you may be on, in case you are away for more than 72 hours.
f. Deodorant, small travel size
g. Small tube of Vaseline
h. Small bottle of foot powder
i. Roll of toilet paper, core removed, smashed flat, in a zip lock bag
j. Bug repellant

6. Fire Kit

a. Contains multiple ways to start a fire to stay warm, cook a meal and be secure.

7. Security

a. Fixed blade knife with sheaf,
b. Gerber multi tool
c. Woodsman’s Pal.
d. No bear spray on this trip but my Glock 19, 2 extra magazines & ammo are.
e. Baofeng UV-5R radio for Communications
f. Headlamp and Surefire Flashlight with spare batteries for each

Additional included a couple of more things to make the trip safe and secure.
8. Cell phone and small solar charging panel, a GPS, extra batteries, topographical map of area & compass for navigation.
9. A basic fishing / trapping / hunting kit. (Just in case I have to stay longer than planned for).
10. Basic first aid kit with a few extras.
11. Small King James Bible
12. Basic Survival Skills knowledge. If the modern gear breaks/fails, got to have a fall back plan.

I’ll be following up with details on each list in future posts. Feel free to add your comments and suggestions below.