The total weight of your backpack with your personal gear and your portion of group gear plus food and water (i.e., everything you are taking to Outpost) should be less than 30 lbs (preferably 25) and should be no more than 25% of your body weight, whichever is less.
Please note your Outpost leaders will not be carrying anything for you. We will give you your food before Outpost. We won’t carry any extra food, your tent, your stove, extra fuel, extra TP, feminine hygiene products, extra hand sanitizer, your trash, ways for you to hang your food at night, soap, extra spoons or cups. None of that. You get the idea. You will need to be 100% self-sufficient when it comes to carrying anything you will need from early Monday morning till we return to Girl’s Camp. With a group our size, there is no way the leaders can pack enough contingency items for everyone (plus we want you to learn how to be self-sufficient in the wilderness).
Individual Items
-Sleeping bag
-Sleeping pad
-Water bottle, old Gatorade or soda bottle works great
-Cup or small bowl (not a mess kit, which is overkill/too heavy, though feel free to pull a cup or bowl out of a mess kit and use just that if you have one)
-Spork or spoon (plastic disposable is fine, but you may want a couple if you do that)
-Rain gear
-Insulation layer (jacket/fleece, possibly a beanie hat)
-Extra socks
-Extra clothing (be very, very careful in selecting what you will bring and how much it weighs). Consider sun and bug protection in your choice of clothing. Don’t bring shorts if you'd like to not be scratching at mosquito bites for all of girls camp.
-Toiletries (contacts and mini solution bottle, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products and associated Ziploc bags, hand sanitizer, chapstick, lightweight shovel, wet wipes, etc). You won’t need deodorant, perfume, hair products (that’s what a hair elastic, hat or bandana is for), etc.
-Sun and Bug Protection (sunscreen – small tube, hat, sunglasses, small tube of repellent). Don’t bring a big can of spray; it weighs too much. Bring small tubes.
-1 Gallon Sized Heavy Duty Ziplock Bag that will be YOUR Trash Bag. I promise you we will not carry your trash.
-First Aid Supplies and any meds you need. Don’t pack for the zombie apocalypse. Pack for blisters, a few cuts, sprained ankle, some chaffing, and I never go backpacking without Ibuprofen.
-Essentials – includes matches or a lighter, a pocket knife, and a source of light. If your flashlight uses more than 2 AA batteries, it is overkill and too heavy. Put new batteries in it before coming, be smart about using it, and you won’t need any extra batteries.
-Stuff sack that can hold your food, your trash, and any clean or dirty feminine hygiene products.
Group items are listed below here. The beautiful thing about group items is you can reduce the weight you have to carry. The scary thing is your happiness and safety depends on your group member not leaving something at home or at yesterday’s camp. Trust them to carry it, but verify they really have it!!
-Tent. Please pick your own tent-mate. Tents will be provided by the stake, but you need to get one from us and pack it up (this will occur when we do pack checks). Split up the tent between whoever will be sleeping in it. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure all the necessary pieces (body, fly, poles, and stakes) end up getting to Outpost.
-Stove and fuel for stove. One stove will be shared between 2 to 4 people. Keep in mind that you need FUEL for your stove to work. Make sure your group has enough fuel.
-Pot that can hold 2 to 6 cups of water
-Water Filter
-Bear Bag System. This consists of 30 to 40 feet of 3mm rope (pretty thin) and a big stuff sack that can hold everything your group will need to hang all food, trash, and smelly supplies at night.
-Map & Compass
Luckily, we won't be carrying this much gear. Winter trip to Thunder Lake, CO.