Theoretically I guess you can backpack year-round. I’ve backpacked from May on into September, backpacked into the mountains to hunt September to November and even winter camped in January or February.
But in my mind my real backpacking is done July to early September. The temps are milder then so I’m not freezing at night and I don’t have to carry in a big assortment of clothing.
Plus, I’m backpacking into the backcountry so I can flyfish in pristine rivers and high mountain lakes.
There is something totally liberating about backpacking.
All the extraneous things of life are suddenly stripped away. Your unkempt lawn is suddenly totally inconsequential as well as the size of your 401k.
All that matters is staying alive, not falling off a trail, getting eaten by a bear or caught in a forest fire. You’re totally on your own. If you’re going to stay alive it’s up to you.
You may not even see anyone for days and if you do it’s probably only for a fleeting few minutes as they pass by.
If you take in perishable, keep them cool by building a rock ring in the river.
WHY BACKPACK
Some people seemingly backpack just to backpack. Not me, I’ve got to have a reason. And for me that reason is to flyfish. The further back you get the better the fishing and the bigger the fish.
If you don’t flyfish (I’m sure there are counselors too help you overcome this deficiency of character!) then you’ll want to have some purpose. Maybe to do some photography, climb cliffs, scale a high peak or something. You’ve got to have a purpose so you can have a goal set.
You’ll want a map of the area that you’re hiking into, especially if it is a new area to you so you don’t get eternally lost. I’d recommend getting a mytopomaps. I’ve been in the Frank Church River of No Return a million times so I don’t carry a map anymore but years ago I had my buddy Paige at mytopomaps send me a map of a new spot that we were going in the Frank Church.
I’m glad that I did because unbeknownst to me, there were some old Indian petroglyphs near where we set up camp. I would have missed them if I hadn’t of had the map. They will also have marked old graves etc. On this trip we had a plane drop us off for a week some 20 miles back.
You can get maps made to whatever scale that you want They can make a map super detailed where the whole map only covers one square mile on up to I guess covering 20 miles. You’ll also for sure want a compass.
If you’re going to try your hand at flyfishing here’s my advice. The first few times I always packed in a pair of waders. But no mas. They’re just too bulky and heavy. Now I wear some zip off nylon 5.11 pants that are fast drying. .
You can buy some light weight and yet cheap cups and plates for backpacking at Goodwill
If the sun is out and it is hot, I suffer through wading in a cold mountain stream knowing that I’ll dry out minutes after exiting a hole and while hiking down to the next hole.
I always take two rods. One year while scrambling down a rockpile to a hole I lost footing and flipped and hit hard and snapped my good Loomis East Fork flyrod in half. Bummer!
You’ll need to plan a menu. For breakfast I’ll eat flavored oatmeal. In August it’s a big blessing to be able to pick huckleberries/thimbleberries to add to your morning oatmeal. I also -put some in my water bottle to give me a fruit flavored drink. Ok, not to be a tightwad but while traveling I accumulate motel coffee packs. These work awesome for making my morning coffee. It’s nice to have some flavored creamer packs as a bonus. Nothing is better than fresh coffee made with water that you just dipped out of the river.
For lunch since I’m out hiking and fishing I make peanut butter sandwiches, Cheetos and a candy bar. For dinner I splurge and we eat some freeze-dried meals. Some of them are gourmet meals.
No longer do you have to eat the old Army MRE’s that are just survival food. And of course if my youngest daughter is with me, I’d better pack along the makings for S’mores or we’ll have mutiny in camp and the captain may be walking the plank!
If you splurge and take some perishables, build a rock ring in the river under a tree to keep the food cool.
I usually teach 1-3 BACKPACKING 101 Seminars every summer. Normally in my seminars I’ll talk for 45 minutes and then have Q/A for the last 15 minutes but on my backpacking seminars I learned right fast that they want me to talk for about 15 minutes and then cover what gear is needed and what brands of gear works best. So with that said, let’s get into what gear you’ll need.
This will not be an all-inclusive list by any means but it should get you started. I’ll list brands that have worked for me.
For your first trip only hike in 1-mile. That will let you test your gear and see what works and what doesn’t and what is missing.
Koko fishing a stream.
SMALL ALUMINUM COFFEE POT & CUP
ARMY/BOY SCOUT MESS KIT
PLASTIC BACKPACKIING SPOON/FORK
TENT, SLEEPING BAG, SLEEPING PAD, BACKPACKING CHAIR. I USE ALPS MOUNTAINEERING GEAR
BACKPACK
DAY PACK FOR DAILY HIKES OUT OF CAMP
BUY COMFORTABLE HIKING BOOTS
BROWNING HIKING SOCKS
DURABLE SANDLES FOR WADING IN THE RIVERS
MATCHES, LIGHTER, FIRE STARTER MATERIAL
ROLL OF PAPER TOWELS FOR CLEANING DISHES, TP AND STARTING FIRES
STRAIGHT BLADE STOUT KNIFE/SHEATH & FOLDER
.44 MAG, HARRIS SPEEDLOADERS
FLASH LIGHT (2)
MOUSE TRAPS (2)
STRING
5X7 TARP TO LAY INSIDE YOUR TENT IN CASE IT RAINS
FROGG TOGG PACKABLE RAIN COAT
5.11 BASE LAYERS TO SLEEP IN
EXTRA SHIRT
MESH BAG TO HANG FOOD.
AQUAMIRA FILTERED WATER BOTTLES
I always carry two mouse traps to keep the little vermin out of my food. Take a couple of plastic grocery bags to wrap your cooking gear in so it doesn’t get smoot on everything.
The backpacker has two enemies-WEIGHT & BULK. If you happen to be in Meridian, Idaho and want to learn more I’ll be conducting a Backpacking 101 seminar on June 10th at 1:00 at the Meridian library.
Tom Claycomb is a hunting enthusiast and writes a bi-monthly column for Great Basin Sun.