Are you prepared to head out at the drop of a hat? Do you need a day or two to prepare? Can you go now? What is your preparedness to head into the bush?
Are you prepared to head out at the drop of a hat? Do you need a day or two to prepare? Can you go now? What is your preparedness to head into the bush?
I've always been ready to go anywhere at a drop of a hat. Years ago my buddy burst into my home and woke me up, said " get up, we're going to Massachusetts." So I got up get dressed and hopped in the car. We ended up going to a 3 day metal festival (concert), sleeping in a church parking lot each night. It was an awesome weekend.
I still can, I keep all of my backpacking gear that goes in my pack separate from the rest of my camping gear. It allows me to walk into my gear room, load the pack, and be out the door in about 5 min.
30 minutes or less not counting food and I can be out the door if it's a backpacking trip. Packs are lined up, most gear is sorted and stored ready to be loaded....
I'd need to stop at a store on the way out of town for food, but other than that I'd only need a few minutes to pack.
I keep my gear upstairs in my attic except for my tarps which stay in air conditioned rooms. Clothes are hung, quilts grouped, cooking kit on a shelf with food visible beside the kits. I've got a couple packing checklists for different seasons and length of trip on a clipboard upstairs. The checklists serve as a memory jogger. I can be ready in 5 minutes to load my pack.
What has helped me is religiously returning cleaned stuff after a trip back to my upstairs area. A lot of time I'm tired and don't want to be bothered to put stuff away but I've learned this is key to avoiding leaving something behind at the next trip.
Mentally always ready, Gear mostly ready, physically I'm a slug, It seems most my friends are married with children and all my buddies have their little buddies; Not that that is an excuse but I need to get out more, since I quit smoking and hit 40 I feel it, so this is why I got into Hammock camping and hiking to begin with. But Yes I'm pretty much ready at a moments notice, Let's go!
“ Do not correct a fool or he will hate you, correct a wise man and he will appreciate you.”
~ Bruce Lee
I probably could but I'd be pretty uncomfortable doing it. I keep my gear in different plastic storage totes. So the electronics are in one, the bug repellant has its own, the maps and navigation stuff has once, ect. I could just go through them all and grab what I need and probably be OK.
I like to sit down and kind of day dream about the trip ahead of time which generally helps me think of all the little things I want to pack.
Over the last year or so I've developed a trip planning list. This isn't a checklist of items to take in the bag so much as things to do for the trip. Lookup the declination, fill the car with gas the day before, make sure I have cash on hand, check the average temperatures for my destination, see if I need to sharpen my knife, refill the hand sanitizer. This has made trip planning so much easier.
More recently I've been adding my gear to Lighterpack.com which will give me an actual list or lists depending on the season.
The biggest issue I think I have though is that so much of my gear is stuff I'm trying out.
What kind of alcohol stove do I want?
Do I preffer freezer bag cooking, or cooking in the pot?
Do I want a speed hook or a whoopie sling or a UCR?
Do I want a platypus soft bottle or a hydration bladder with hose?
Do I want an inline filter or a gravity bag?
If I ever feel I can settle on an overall system, it will be a lot easier to pack. It will also make it easier to pin down a specific pocket to put everything on the pack when things aren't changing every time. I'll be able to develop a routine in camp. Many trips I feel like I'm putting together IKEA furniture. I have it all laid out and wonder what to do first. Don't get me wrong, the tinkering is fun, but it can make things a hassle.
I could right now because I haven't unpacked from my last trip...oops
I typically keep my backpack loaded for whatever season I'm in, minus food and UQ/TQ.
Originally Posted by sr1355
Food. That's the crux of the biskit.
I learned a long time ago not to stockpile food for camping. Just about eveything else is at hand and can go in the pack.
My problem is that somewhere in the last 45 years I reached adulthood. The whole thing came as a shock to me as I'd put that part off as long as I could.
So in addition to buying food, I need to check the work schedule, check my volunteer schedule at church, and check with the Little Colonel to see if there's anything around the house that a responsible adult should be working on.
Yah. Sux.
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