Backpacking?
 

Who's been on an extended backpacking trip? How many nights did you go, what gear did you find useful?

Backpacking?
 

Hello Heart/All



RON L here = SERESURPLUS


Well, thats a tough one? Out like with the Military, I was gone for 18 Month in Iraq and Afganistan? On the Civ Side, I've Hiked a Lot of the Oregon Trail from Calif to Wash State and I carried a lite, yet, usefull set of items:

1. CFP-90 Main Pack

2. Gortex Sleeping bag and Bivy cover

3. Several canteens 1 QT to 5 QT

4. Sierra Zip stove, Uses Fuel Bars or Pine cones to heat and burn items i needed!

5. Leatherman Wave Tool/Case

6. K-bar Combat Utility Knife/Sheath

7. Wetzel 2 man Bivy tent, with poles and rain fly

8. MRE meals as well as Mountain House Meal packs

9. OD Green Water proof match case and strike anywhere matches

10. Small set of 8X20 Bynoculars

11. Sets of Shorts and T shirt tops as well as U/W and socks

12. Browning HI power 9MM pistol with 6 spare loaded mags

13. Large sheet of thick Plastic for better rain coverage

14. Guardian water filter and prefilter

Thats about it! I used to stay out from 4-7 days and would buy more food and re-fill water along the way! It's a spartan load, but still rough on the shoulders

Can Not Let This One By !
 

In the mid seventies,the major steel produceing industry went down in the Ohio and Pennsylvania areas.Found myself with way to much time on my hands. Had already had some serious pack adventures,now I was un-caged.My longest trip was 10 weeks.I have had many extended trips,from 2 weeks to 5 weeks, from the Rockies to the Everglades,High-Peaks to the Seirras on skis and snow shoes to rock climing shoes to combat sandles.Alot of what you need depends on geography.
1-I carry two shelters.A gortex bivy and a two man tent.I like the space.
Pick a tent with an awning or vestibule,I like the veiw and ventilation even in bad weather.Also ,a 10x8 nylon tarp.Cook space.Double wall tents stay drier.mine NORTH-FACE-2 man mountain hut.-EARLY-WINTERS bivy.
2- Synthetic seeping bag .Synthetics are bulkier,but they stay drier.
Once ski touring,had an expensive down bag totaly fail.Synthetic ever since.
3-plenty of birthday candles.they,er light-weight,shed lite,and start a stuborn camp-fire.I also stick BIC lighters every-where.
4-compass and altimeter.both are good for navigation and weather forcasting.
5-A good efficient single burner multi-fuel stove.I have MRS.
6-Most of the other things were already mentioned in the thread above.
7-Geography and season will determine many things,you do,nt need to carry water surrounded by snow but you must cache in arid areas.diet will also be determined climate.lots of water intake in arid or fridgid.
8- experience is the best teacher.Start out close to home ,Try all kinds of weather and gear.My first extended winter trip was a total bummer.By
my 5-th attemp.I was totally comfortable,it,s become my favorite time of year.
9- \The most important thing is your feet.Stay drie and comfortable!!!!!!!!!:cool:

I've been on month long treks. Really, I stuck to the standard sort of stuff, tent, sleeping bag, tarp, hammock, food, gas, stove, water, compass/altimeter/maps, fishing pole and tackle, TP and garden trowel, spare clothes.

Note, no gun, no bullets, no signal flares, no smoke grenades. There is nothing in the back country that is a big enough threat to need that crap.

I don't know, I think it depends are where you plan to hike. I live in FL and camp in the nearby Ocala National Forrest which have plenty of black bear. They usually don't bother you unless someone's practicing poor food storage techniques. I always pack a gun more for the two legged threats. Ocala is full of very weird "woods people", not to mention the seasonal "Rainbow people" that love to stay in Ocala every year. If you've never dealt with a Rainbow person, you're in for a treat, talk about out of touch with reality.

Backpacker's candle lantern- weighs about 2 oz. A VERY small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol- when changing sox, spritz feet, wipe, wait 60 seconds, clean dry feet. Foot powder, bug juice. Lightweight garden trowel-sanitation, covering fire, rain ditch around tent, etc. Aluminum foil (off the roll, folded flat) for anything from reflecting heat, cooking, hat to ward off alien radio waves, etc. Ranger rag bandanna. I use a soft 2 liter canteen- half full, great pillow. PUR backpacker's water filter- nowadays, most of my trips are Appalachian Trail, plenty of water, but may not be safe to drink.

Yeah we deal with the Rainbow Family a lot here in Northern Cali, but usually, they're too lazy to actually walk anywhere, so you don't really have to deal with them in the back country. Bears are an issue, and I've seen hundreds of them, but never had to do anything more than maintain eye contact and slowly walk away while talking to them. We have mountain lions around here, which is what scares me, but if they're going to attack you, which is very rare, you'd be hurting before you could even bring a rifle into play.

Yeah, the rainbows are a pain in our rear. We get several hundred every winter. About 8 years ago, I pulled over a van full of rainbows. The driver had a suspended license (surprise, surprise) As the rainbows filed out of the van, the smell of body funk and urine was very intense. They all tried to convince us of several conspricay theories and then stood in a circle singing Coombiya *spelled wrong*. At this point, the fellow that was previously passed out stumbled out of the van and began urinating in the Auto Zone parking lot. I arrested the driver and of course the passengers didn't have anyone to pick them up, so they walked away towards the forrest carrying the keg of beer they had. I didn't even attempt to search the rancid van.
Here in FL, we have the Florida panther which is almost extinct. I wish the black bears would do their job and run the rainbow people off!:D

There's no catch all answer to this question. The longer you are planning to be out, the better you will want to be equipped. But in so doing you can really end up carrying WAY too much gear.

It is also important to know what type of climate you are in and also your objectives i.e. climbing a mountain, reaching a certain mile marker or destination, or just existing for a couple of weeks.

You'll always want a knife of multi tool.
Something to start fires with such as a lighter, matches, flint and steel
Plastic water bottle (with microbe filter)
Any type of clothes that wick away water (sweat) NEVER cotton.
Sturdy but COMFORTABLE shoes. Don't wear heavy duty hiking boots unless you are hiking through extreme terrain with a heavy pack. You won't need them and they are very uncomfortable. Protect your feet and they'll protect you.
A bivy setup is infinitely better than trying to pack a tent... that is unless you are bringing your lady. Obvious reasons.
No matter how hard core you are, always bring a mat of some sort. The self inflating mats are my favorite because they are light and uber cushy. The mat also served to protect your body from heat loss from laying on the ground.

I've done nearly all of my hiking in the NW Cascade and Olympic ranges. I am interested in doing more high plains and desert treks one day.

It's a shame that you didn't have a butt load of Tasers.