Packing for a New Pack

This is pretty much it. This is my summer gear. The stuff I pack into my home away from home and with any luck, carries me from Cooper Gap to the NOC this year. I can hardly believe that this little bit of gear is everything I need to live in the woods for several days at a time. (Oh, I’ve worked hard to get it down to that fairly lightweight, little bit, mind you.)

Packing a little early for summer, am I? I wish! Actually, taking it to the outfitter to hopefully get rid of my nearly 6-pound backpack and finally find something lighter that fits right and carries well. I settled on a Gregory Z65, which is actually a men’s pack. I’ve tried on all the women’s packs, none fit right except my hulking Deva 60.

I went down there with all my gear to stuff it in the new women’s J63, but it didn’t fit right. The Z65 is the men’s version of the same pack, and whattaya know? Fits good! Mine should be here in about a week!

The guy at the outfitter asked me if I wanted black or red. Now, when I say red, I mean candy-apple fire engine red. And of course, I said, “I’ll take that in ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up so now you SEE me, red!”

Not only can I wait to see how my stuff packs up and feels in the new pack, I can’t wait to take it out either. I’m eyeballing the weekend of March 8… Wonder if Mother Nature will cooperate.

From left to right (sort of): Red dry bag with electronics and personal items like comb, toothbrush, etc.; tent poles; Gatorade bottle for carrying drinking water; pack cover; tent; air pillow; water filter; pot with stove and bear bag stuff inside; camp flops; pepper spray; camera and GPS; emergency Tyvek pants; rain jacket; headlamp pocket knife and Blistex; TP kit; green dry bag with clothes; orange dry bag with food; pink dry bag with sleeping bag.