How early do you start packing for your trips? (i.e. food/clothes/items in stuff sacks/portage packs packed.....)

Actual packing......Night before I leave.

quote awbrown: "Actual packing......Night before I leave."

Hee, hee, hee Art. Pretty much the same here. I'm thinking there's a ditty on this subject. :-)

3-4 weeks before. In the past, I would pack, and then re-pack as a double check to make sure I have everything I need and stuff I really could do without but pack it anyway. I use an extensive list, so there really is no need for that. Compulsive packing disorder (CPD), I guess.

My "new" wife of 12 years hates having gear laying around, so I've been reduced to packing only once. Bummer.

Tomster

Trip 1: Packed probably 4 months in advanced
Trip 2: Packed 3-4 weeks in advanced
Trip 3: Packed only my thwart bag 6 days in advanced and will leave everything else up to 4-1 days in advanced!

3 years, 8 months, 2 days. Really???

I start a day or two before heading north. I do tweak lists a couple of weeks in advance.

I start buying supplies about a week in advance when I am in town. I start pulling out gear a day or two ahead of time. I actually pack the night before.

I start getting my food in order a week in advance so I can time it with my regular grocery shopping.

Otherwise I pack the nite before I go out.
However, I like to stay at a car campsite (campground) with a picnic table the nite before I go in, and fine tune my gear on the table right before I head out in the canoe. I usually end up leaving a few uneeded things in the car.

The reason I do it this way?
It's hard for me to really get a sense of what I need when at home.
Once I'm in the woods at the campground it helps me with my perspective, and I will say, why would I need this thing? I will then leave it in the car.
My wife and I use this method as much as possible wether canoeing or backpacking.

I am in that 3 week camp.

I used to pack way ahead of time. I still get some food stuff ready a week or so ahead of time. Instead of packing I just keep a list of things I add to as I think of them and usually pack my gear the day before I leave.

quote pswith5: "I am in that 3 week camp."

Yup

Groceries and menu planning are first and then gear and finally personal things. Usually start the first phase about 3 weeks ahead to allow for dehydrating and pre-cooking. Final personal things - the night before we leave.

2 days before

One month from today! Started packing! Late Sept. trip!

Actually, I don't "pack" as in putting things in portage packs until I'm at lodging or entry point. Gear travels to Ely or other location in bins.

I start laying everything out 3 to 4 weeks in advance.
Actual packing of equipment starts 4 to 5 days before we head in.

Prep and packing are two separate phases. Prep takes a long time, packing not so much.

quote billconner: "Actually, I don't "pack" as in putting things in portage packs until I'm at lodging or entry point. Gear travels to Ely or other location in bins."

Yep. And I always find things that I leave in the bins as I am packing the night before or day of departure.

I start my gathering about a month in advance, but I'm responsible for everything except my husbands clothes pretty much... Actually packing it? Usually a few days before.

Dehydrating Food: start preparing it a month in advance, that is if I don't already have a stockpile of dehydrated food ready to go.

Food: I pack a week in advance. That gives me a week to get stuff I forgot.

Gear: Day before, night before, or just throw everything in the truck and go. Depends on the trip. I have 3 checkoff lists for whatever trip I am on: canoe trip, backpacking trip, or winter camping trip. Much of the gear is used in all three trips, but there are certain items specific to that trip I don't want to forget.

I have found the earlier I start packing, the less I sleep before the trip and the more I worry that I left something behind (even if it's checked off the list). In fact, just now I thought I forgot the crystal light flavoring, so I tore everything up to get to where it was supposed to be and there it was. That means I had to repack everything again. This goes one all the time!

Prep for a couple weeks before; list everything; compare last years list with this years. Eliminate stuff, add stuff; start buying any needed food or snacks. Select appropriate tent, sleeping bag, clothing...

Laying out gear 4 to 5 days before. Packing starts a day or 2 with a double check on the weather.

It used to be about 3 weeks. Now I use about a week.

If I quit buying stuff it would be simpler. If I always traveled with the same group or # of people it would be easier.

I start food preparations about a month in advance. I store all camping/duluth pack items in my garage - so I lie them out about a week in advance. I use a checklist to make sure I do not forget anything. When we stuff the duluth packs, we each double check the list to make sure it is packed. The afternoon before we leave, we triple check everything and pack the vehicle. At that point, there is no stress or worry. Just friendly discussion on the way up north!

About a week before the trip things start piling up in the garage, actual packing two days before trip

Well, I'm leaving early in the morning and finished packing today. But some prep began weeks ago and some stuff was packed a week ago.

Because I am always making adjustments, new gear, accommodating weather/season, and so forth I generally pre-pack about 2-3 weeks before departure. Menu planning this far out allows any final shopping and prep.
I have packed everything in the canoe and checked trim then set up camp and repacked. That provides a solid sense that I am prepared. And my OCD is temporarily satisfied.

quote boonie: "Well, I'm leaving early in the morning and finished packing today. But some prep began weeks ago and some stuff was packed a week ago."

Have a good trip, Boonie! Going to Quetico next week. Don't forget your chair! :)

I start making "piles" 3-4 weeks early, prep my meals (all dehydrated or water free) 2 weeks in advance, do a test pack 1 week before, think about what I can leave out or want for the last week and finally finish 2-3 days before departure.

I use to drag gear out a month before a trip, but in the last 10 years I drag gear out 4-5 days before. Most of it is in big totes and I just drag them out of the closet and pull out what I need for that particular trip.

I start packing about 5 days ahead of my leave date.

Groceries is the start. I keep my eye on Amazon all the time for VIA coffee. When the price is right I make an order for a box of 50 and put it in the freezer. If you keep an eye on it you can usually get that 50 count for around $25. I also keep an eye on 10# tubes of 93% hamburger and pick one up when its on sale at the local Fairway store. Dehydrator is usually going a couple weeks in advance of a trip.

Treating clothes / shelter with permethrin is next. Looking for a day or two a week out that I have the day off that I can do the treatment and get them hung out on the clothesline to dry. First days clothes go into a garbage bag so I don't have to dig them out of a pack. When I come out, dirty clothes go into that same garbage bag when I get to the showers.

Everything else comes down out of the garage a couple days before whenever the Mrs is at work. Then everything goes into "piles" in extra bedroom.

This system works for me.

Good question. When I go north next summer, it will have been five years since my last trip. So, I'll be packing this winter with all due excitement. However, if I'm doing my third trip in a summer, I'll pack the evening before leaving.

I leave Saturday morning on the 13 hour drive up.

I'll pack Friday night after dinner. Everything is in it's normal spot, so the packing will be nothing more than following a checklist.

Treating my clothes with Permethrin this evening, unless it rains.

I've been dehydrating food for the last week and will be finished up with that by Tuesday, but finalized the meal plan 2 weeks ago.

Been looking at maps and planning routes since March.

I organize all my gear in containers...so the day before I leave, I move my gear from the containers to my packs...done deal

I lay everything out about a week before I go and pack it all the night before. Laying it out early lets me think about it so I don't forget anything.

Begin organizing a week or so out. Pack the night before.

I used to pack 2-3 weeks before a trip. Now I get everything out a few days before the trip and pack it the day before I leave.

quote IceColdGold: "I start buying supplies about a week in advance when I am in town. I start pulling out gear a day or two ahead of time. I actually pack the night before."

What he said.

quote mooseplums: "I organize all my gear in containers...so the day before I leave, I move my gear from the containers to my packs...done deal "

Very similar here. We'll pull from totes/bins to stage things a couple days before. Into the packs the evening before.

quote ParkerMag: "

quote mooseplums: "I organize all my gear in containers...so the day before I leave, I move my gear from the containers to my packs...done deal "

Very similar here. We'll pull from totes/bins to stage things a couple days before. Into the packs the evening before."

ditto but often finish packing at entry point. we usually make a point of buying quite a bit of our food in ely or grand marais.

A couple weeks before, I will decide on and start clearing out a "staging area" for my gear. Typically that's on our enclosed back porch. During the 1 to 1-1/2 weeks before the trip, I will gather what I plan on taking & switch stuff around as I decide on this pack/sleeping bag/rod&reel/etc or the other. I'll pack stuff in to my packs 2-3 nights before and undo & rearrange & have my stuff finally packed the night or two before.


Things vary in life, and when things are chaotic I might not be able to start until a couple nights before. That stresses me out, I hate that.

The weekend before a trip I clean, test, and pack the gear. The day before I leave I buy and pack the food pack.

I started dragging things out this weekend for an early October trip...it takes me a lot of time to find stuff...and of course ponder what new stuff I really? Need..

quote Frenchy19: "Prep and packing are two separate phases. Prep takes a long time, packing not so much. "

Very true! :-) Yes, very true!

I never stop prepping for the next trip.
I pack a few days before the trip as a general rule
I have decided at 2pm to make a 2 hour drive and spend the weekend on a trip. With the gear presorted I can grab everything in about a hour before leaving including putting the canoe on the truck. If I'm going with a group that is new I do spend a lot more time going over gear and emailing lists to the folks going.

quote HammerII: "If I'm going with a group that is new I do spend a lot more time going over gear and emailing lists to the folks going. "

That's a big exception to my late-in-the-game packing routine too. My two frustrations there are; I want to bring my own this or own that syndrome, which is fine, but there's really nothing we need five of - let's communicate, and the "It ONLY weighs this, or ONLY takes up that much space" - yeah, I get that, but I've also heard each of you mention it 8-10 times! Becomes entertaining once it's all sorted out and things are "right", but it's tough to convey 'till everything's brought together and actually going into packs.

Since I live 1400 miles away and only trip once a year, I tend to get the packing going 2 weeks ahead, treating my clothes with permethrin, and checking my fishing gear. My car was packed this year, except for food, a week in advance. I'm probably crazy but just too excited and want to get started.