Good lightweight backpacking gear is expensive. We’ve been building up our gear kits for years with the goal of purchasing multi-use items that we can use for more activities. So rather than buy an expensive trekking pole tent for backpacking only, because it is super low weight and packs small, we wanted a multi-use tent that we could use for camping, overnight boating trips, overnight ATV trips, and backpacking, even if that meant compromising a little bit on size and weight.

This list may not be of interest to many of my readers, but documenting the details will help me continue to dial in our packing list for our next backpacking adventure!

Backpacks

Gregory Backpacks – We both have Gregory backpacks. I have a 60L Kalmia bag, with a women’s plus size fit. Jeff’s got a Baltoro 75L. Unintentionally, they are both very similar in colour. They have so many ways to organize your gear load, with extra zipper access along the side, access to the bottom of the pack with a zipper, extra cubbies and pockets, two waist band pouches, and straps everywhere to adjust and secure your load, and allowing you to clip things into your bag.

Jeff was having a problem keeping his bag up on his hips and felt like he didn’t have enough hip padding. I think we could have dialed this in a bit better for him, but once your hike is underway, you don’t feel like fiddling much. You just want to GO!

I was quite pleased with mine. I probably don’t need the plus size version any more, because the super long waist straps had a lot of strap hanging down, but I could easily put the load on my hips (reminded me of how a tree planting bag used to sit there!) with very little load on my shoulders. Although I do feel that I have bruised the front of my collarbones so something was still adjusted a bit wrong I think (maybe the load was leaning backwards? Actually, from looking at the photos of myself, it looks like my chest strap should have been lowered. It was too high!). At any rate, it didn’t feel heavy (after the first 5 minutes), until I unstrapped it to take it on or off. The only change I would make if I was designing this pack – the waist pouches are just too small. They should be twice as big. I kept my knife in there, a little airhorn (for bears), a small container of bug spray, and snacks. I would have liked more room to carry snacks for the entire day. Give these hips some saddle packs!

In both of our bags, we put 3L Gregory water bladders. Our backpacks have a hook for them to attach, and then they slide into a fabric sleeve on the back of the inside of the bag. The water hose escapes the bag through a little hole at the top, and then has a small magnet you can attach to a strap. I attached it to a little elastic strap that was in a good enough place instead of that magnet. I really like having a water bladder. It makes it really easy to mindlessly drink water the entire time. You don’t have to pull out a water bottle, and then struggle to fit it back into the side pouches. Instead, you just grab the nozzle with your teeth and suck it like a straw. If you position it properly, you can do it totally hands free!

Techy Stuff

Apple Watch – I think we’ve finally had it with the Apple Watch. Now that I’m more active and use my watch to track 2-3 walks/workouts/activity sessions a day, I have to charge this stupid thing TWICE a day. I carried a heavy Anker battery pack to charge my watch during breaks! This seems silly, no? We’re eyeing the Garmin watches that have better battery life. Any reviews/recommendations?

Garmin In Reach SE+ – Jeff’s had this device for years now, and it’s really been a trustworthy safety net when we’re outside of cell coverage. When we got to our campsite, we used it to send a text to each of my parents (who I knew would be curious to know how we were getting on), and to our friend Tim to let him know we made it to camp (although it turned out he was already on his way to check on us). This device would allow us to trigger a rescue, if needed. I guess our Apple iPhones can do this now too, but I feel more secure knowing Garmin has our back.

Sleep System

Nemo Dagger Osmo 3p – We’ve been looking for a lightweight tent for a few years, watching reviews online, checking them out when we’re in adventure stores. While we were sure we were going to go with the MSR Hubba hubba, after seeing it set up side by side by this Nemo Dagger, the Nemo was a clear standout winner. It has so much headroom, nice vestibules, a super easy pole system, and I like the fabric. We went with a 3 person tent, so we could have room for Hank at our feet – well that was the plan. But he spent most of the night between us, or stealing our sleeping pad instead of using his blanket. This tent was a lot of money, but I’m hoping to take a drive across the country and back next year, and this tent will be perfect. It’s about 4 lbs for the 3 person version, and packs quite small. There are smaller, lighter options, but their fabric just feels so flimsy that I wouldn’t feel comfortable having a dog with nails in it. As a bonus, without the fly, the entire top is mesh so you can see the sky (or sun, in the Yukon summer), and the side mesh is a bit different, so you can still have privacy, unless someone is standing and looking in from above. Here’s a link to a NEMO YouTube video about this tent.

Thermarest Vesper quilt – I love this quilt. It’s down and super lightweight. It packs so tiny and small in its own stuff and compression sack. I’ve even started taking it to some hotels that I know never have enough blankets, and I’ve flown home to Ontario with it a few times so I can sleep anywhere. This quilt has a nice long leg box that is closed, then it is open on the back (hence it is a quilt and not a sleeping bag). It has two straps that you can attach around your sleeping pad. It was warm enough that I didn’t strap it down on this trip. The down makes it warm up with your body heat so quickly. I have the -6C rated version in long (I’m not that tall, I just like extra material around my face.)

REI Helix sleeping pad – This sleeping pad from REI is nice. It rolls up quite small, inflates quickly with a fabric bag you can attach (to catch air and push it into the mattress) – or you can blow it up with your lungs if you wish. It’s got a nice R rating of 4.9, meaning it protects you from a cold ground. It isn’t noisy when you roll over. We both have the wide version, for a bit more space, and Jeff has the long version. I let some air out of mine in the middle of the night because I was finding it too firm, and then it was even nicer.

Amazon inflatable travel pillow – This pillow packs up really small. I’m not convinced yet by any travel inflatable pillow. It’s like sleeping on a blown up bag with fabric on it. Mine has a strap to secure it to your sleeping pad. I should have done this. It just kept firing out from under my head. I think clothes in a stuff sack may be more comfortable, but on this trip, we didn’t really have too many extra clothes.

Food

Jetboil Flash – These are great, dependable stoves that boil water so fast. A bit bulky, but has a built-in starter, and is so fast, it is really fuel efficient.

Peak Refuel dehydrated meal – I ate the Chicken Pesto pasta.

Snacks – we brought GORP (good old raisin and peanuts – in fact it was a trail mix variety with some M&M’s in it), protein bars, peanut butter, sesame seed bagels, and Rice Krispie squares. We were not very hungry so we certainly overpacked our food, but having a bit extra in case of any unforseen lengthening of the trip seems smart (but maybe heavy). The prepackaged rice krispie squares were perfect little sugar bombs for a short and quick burst of energy/happiness while hiking so far, and are really light. The meat and cheese was a good idea for our first lunch, but we didn’t eat as much as we thought we might, and it got a bit too warm to save after riding in a black bear vault container for another day.

We brought some Nuun electrolyte tabs to help us recover at night. They dissolve in your water.

Dishes – We brought collapsable lightweight silicone bowls for our oatmeal. Jeff brought a camping mug for his coffee. I brought a collapsable cup for tea but didn’t end up wanting/needing any tea.

We used a Ruffwear collapsable dog bowl for Hank’s food and water. It worked well!

Clothing

We both went with long pants and long sleeves, to protect from the bugs and sun. I wore an REI sun hoodie, and bug/sun pants from Marks Work Wearhouse. Both my hat and pants are from there, and they came pretreated with permethrin to help keep the bugs off. Everything was a quick dry material. The pants have two layers of fabric, which I was worried would be too hot, but they were fine. Quite comfortable too, with an elastic waist and deep zippered pockets, even one on the side of my leg that fit my big phone! Bonus! Jeff’s sun hoodie from Cabelas is a silky feeling material that didn’t dry quickly though, when he got a sweaty back from his pack. That’s maybe one article of clothing we’d change next time.

We wore Injinji toe sock liners under regular socks. These are supposed to save your toes from blisters but I’m not sure either of us would wear them again. Two layers of socks were hot and uncomfortable, and due to my poor choice of shoes, I have a blisters anyway.

Shoes – Jeff wore Altra Lone Peaks and was really happy with his choice. I didn’t wear mine and wore my Hoka Speedgoat 5‘s instead, thinking I’d appreciate the extra thickness of the sole over the Lone Peaks. However they just don’t have a wide enough toe box. My little toe was starting to feel like it was relocating under my next toe after 8 km of downhill, but it was all the fluid inside the blister that has overtaken the end and sides and underside of my little toe. It doesn’t hurt much now, but I think I’ll let it try to reabsorb and not pop it! I also have a blister on the outside of my big toe from rubbing (not just the downhill, but from all the twisting of my feet and shoes over the uneven terrain). I think the blister tape I put on the arch of my other foot saved it though! No blister, just a bit tender. My favourite hikers are Altra Olympus. All the toebox space of the Lone Peaks but with more cushioning. Unfortunately they changed their sizes somehow between versions, my new ones were too small.

Handkerchief – I loved having a bandana hanging from my pack so I could wipe my nose (pollen season?). I just wish it was softer. Maybe I should look for a flannel one?

Neck gaiter – I brought a warm flannel neck gaiter. For a while I had it on my inflatable pillow for softness, but later during the night I put it on my head for warmth, and to cover my ears and eyes to try to force sleep.

Extras – I packed a second pair of socks for day 2, a thick pair of socks for sleeping (in case it was frigid up on the ridge), a long sleeve thin fleece sweater (for night and sleeping), and leggings for sleeping. Oh and also a pair of quick dry shorts in case I wanted to switch out of pants. I probably could have left the thick night socks at home, although I did use them. One thing I’d do differently – cotton underwear soak up sweat. I may try another material some day – lightweight merino wool maybe?

Camp shoes – I will always bring a second pair of footwear. I’m so glad I brought my Crocs, and I even wore them for the last couple of kilometres due to the blisters I was forming.

Other Stuff

Kula cloth – I love my Kula cloth! It’s an antimicrobial, quick-drying pee cloth that you can use every time you squat in the woods, and then just hang it from the outside of your pack (it has a strap with secure domes). It saves you from carrying and burying toilet paper everywhere. I peed often enough that it didn’t dry fast enough and that meant I could smell it a bit. I also kept it folded though, with the black fabric tucked inside. If we crossed water sources, I could have rinsed it, but it was okay. These are really a game changer over carrying toilet paper. For number 2, we carried wet wipes that we were planning to pack out with our trash, but we weren’t out there long enough to poop, and there ended up being an outhouse with toilet paper under a coffee can anyway. Score!

First aid kit – Instead of just bandaids, we made sure we had good bandages and gauze because we had Hank, should he need to have any wounds wrapped up. I also brought my Epi-pen. I didn’t think I’d accidentally eat any shrimp on this hike, but it felt dumb to leave it at home and then have one of us attacked by wasps or something and have a life-threatening reaction.

Leatherman – I wouldn’t normally carry a heavy knife on a hike, but with a dog, in a land of porcupines, we wanted the pliers would we need to pull any quills.

Bear proof container – This wasn’t mandatory for hiking this trail, but it is just smart. It is big and bulky and annoying to carry. But bears can’t open them. I’ve heard that bears learn that they can’t open them so they leave them alone. Bears in this area wouldn’t see them that often, compared to bears up in the Tombstone park where you need them when hiking. (or maybe the bears travel that far, I don’t know). Jeff carried it in his pack and I carried the tent and dog blanket.

Water filtration – We bought our Sawyer Squeeze water filter with a 2L Cnoc water bag. It didn’t have adequate flow and I didn’t bring the back flushing syringe. Mistake! I think from now on we’ll always pack two water filters just in case of malfunction, as we had this time. (In researching since, I think we need to presoak this filter the day before using it?)

Sit pad – We each carried one of these lightweight foam sit cushions. Not a necessity but a nice comfort perk. We unexpectedly had a picnic table at camp though!

Hiking poles – No special brand, we each have a set that can double for winter hiking, snowshoeing, etc.

Bear protection

We have grizzlies and black bears here. Packing some safety gear in case of a dangerous encounter just seems smart. So we brought:

• we each had a can of bear spray (pepper spray) positioned in an easy grab location
• I had a little airhorn in one of my waist strap pockets
• Jeff had a bear banger pistol that will shoot loud bang or whizz bang poppers to hopefully encourage a bear to get lost
• we both had whistles in case we needed to alert the other person when we were separated by a bit of trail
• we kept our food in the bear canister

Gear we packed, but didn’t use

• Sunglasses – Jeff used his but I didn’t. I’d probably still pack them again, but the peak of my hat worked fine. I used to find my progressive lens made me a bit dizzy when hiking, so I’d switch to my prescription sunglasses that don’t have the reading lens, but these glasses are bigger and I don’t get my eyes looking down through the reading lens while walking anymore.
• Mosquito head net – the mosquitos have been hungry this month, so we bought little head nets you can put over your head. Just in case the mosquitos were totally rabid out there. Luckily there was a good breeze the first day, and we used the little spray bottle of deet on the second, so we didn’t need them. They are super light and small, so easy to pack again, just in case.
• Rain ponchos – rather than packing bulky rain gear, we each have a rain poncho that packs into a small pouch. We brought these, just in case!
• Shorts – didn’t hike in them, mostly because of mosquitos. They would have been cooler but 🤷‍♀️
• Hand sanitizer – just embrace the dirty

Things we didn’t pack, with no regrets!

• deodorant – we were going to stink anyway! Also we had small packages of wet wipes should we need to wipe down
• hair brush/comb – Jeff looked at me so funny when I asked if I should pack one
• sunscreen – other than our face and hands, we didn’t have that much skin exposed.
• heavier clothes, jackets – since it was just one night, we trusted the forecast would be accurate!

What we wished we packed

• my hands got really dry – maybe a small tube of unscented lotion would be a good addition.

** I’ve added Amazon affiliate links to some of these products, so I’ll get a few cents if you click through and buy any products, which will help us buy even more new gear 😀 Thanks!