Prior to the High Sierra Trail, the longest backpacking trip I had ever done was 4 days/3 nights on the Teton Crest Trail in 2014. With my back problems, I was a little concerned about how I would carry everything I needed for up to 9 days on the trail.
Our group exchanged lots of emails back and forth trying to decide how many calories to pack. With a 3-4 day backpacking trip, it’s as big of a deal because if you underestimate your calorie needs, you don’t have too far to go. If you overestimate your calorie needs (highly unlikely), you don’t have to carry the extra weight for as long.
Below is what I packed on the trip. I certainly could have shaved ounces but we chose comfort over weight for things like our tent and sleeping bags. We also could have saved a lot of weight by only staying in camping areas that had bear boxes, which would have allowed us to leave our bear cannisters at home. This seemed like a risky approach and we wanted to be able to stop when we wanted to stop, regardless of whether there were bear boxes available.
Gear:
- Backpack: Gregory Deva 60L (size XS so I actually had about 55L of space)
- Tent: Nemo Dragonfly 2P
- Sleeping Bag: Nemo Jam Women’s Down 15 Degree Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping Pad: Nemo Tensor Insulated Regular
- Shoes: Salomon S-Lab Speed 2
- Trekking Poles: Black Diamond Trail Pro Trekking Poles Womens
- Stove: JetBoil Flash Cooking System
- Fuel: JetBoil Jetpower Fuel 230g (per couple)
- Water Filter: Katadyn Hiker Pro Transparent Filter (we had terrible luck with water filters – mine broke the first day, Brendan’s broke a couple days later, I broke Wade’s handle so we switched it with mine, and Mike and Tasha’s bag filter got a hole in it).
Food:
- Good to Go Oatmeal
- Good to Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto
- Good to Go Indian Vegetable Korma
- Good to Go Classic Marinara Penne
- Good to Go Thai Curry
- Honeystinger Chews
- Olomomo Nuts
- Trail Butter Variety Pack
- Sour Patch Kids (we bought a 5lb bag to split between two of us!)
Clothes:
- Shirts (2): Helly Hansen W HH Lifa Active Light Singlet
- Shorts: Salomon S-Lab Shorts 6 W
- Skirt: Salomon S-Lab Skirt W
- Tights: Salomon Comet Tech Leg W
- Socks (2): Feetures Merino 10 Cushion Quarter
- Underwear (3): Lululemon Mula Bandhawear Bikini
- Sports Bras (2): Salomon Move’On Bra
- Sleeping Clothes: Old Icebreaker Merino Baselayers
- Sleeping Socks: Feetures Merino 10 Cushion Crew
- Rain Jacket: Old Marmot Packable Rain Jacket
- Down Jacket: Helly Hansen W Verglas Hooded Down Insulator
- Hat: Nemo Shield Trucker Hat
- Beanie: Vail Brewing Company
- Gloves: Outdoor Research Women’s Backstop Sensor Gloves
Extras:
- Camp Mug: Nemo Enamel Camp Mug
- Multitool
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- First Aid Kit: HART Health Weekend First Aid Kit
- Sunscreen: SOL Altitude
- Chapstick
- Spork: humangear GoBites Uno Spork
- RockTape for my back
Since we were a group of six, we were able to double up on things like water filters and JetBoils. It came in handy, especially since by the end of the trip we were all having problems with our water filters.
