Backpacking & Camping Gear Check-in

Backpacking and Camping Style

 

There's nothing better than falling asleep with no city sounds, only bugs and maybe a flowing river nearby, and looking up to star-filled skies. Even if it's not an overnighter, heading out early in the morning for a few hours trudging around trails through forests and over passes is the purest form of dopamine hit. 

 

Having been fortunate to live in California (Bay Area) for 5 years, the likes of Big Sur, Lost Coast and the  Sierras are within 3 or 4 hour drive for the longer multi-day experiences. Local access for quicker day hikes offers areas like the Santa Cruz mountains (Big Basin / Sierra Azul / Portola / Soquel), Henry Coe, Sunol, and a bunch more that can be reached in 20 minutes to 2h. And with just over 6 months in Colorado on the door step of Front Range and winter wrapping up, am looking forward to delving into some Rockies back country.

 

First back-country US trip: June 2023, Barlow Flats, Big Sur

The ideal outdoor experience is a multi-day back-country backpacking trip ("Back country backpacking" is phrase I've only learnt in the last 3 or 4 years). Something with no public roads and finding a spot to spend nights that need more than a day to get out and back. Preparing for these trips include weight consideration as well as having gear to deal with the  elements, and food / hydration planning.

 

 

 

 

 

Yurt in Mt. Madonna, Sept 2020

A next-best format is sticking with an overnight option for car camping or front-country camping. There's a lot more convenience and affordability for comfort when you're not lugging a 30-40lb backpack for 8 hours for multiple days, and can afford to load up the extras for camp, or have 1 or 2 back-and-forth trips, if the car is not close to the campsite.

 

For times when just getting outdoors is enough, but not being able to spend the night, day hikes are never disappointing to get some mountain air in the lungs and some hills under the legs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some gear I use is generic - it's something that I have with me for any format (a good pair of boots, trekking poles), while some is more format specific (lightweight gas burner for back-country, vs JetBoil for car-camping/front-country). The gear list indicates which of these styles it works well for. 

I decided to try linktr.ee and created a collection with all my gear - check it out