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campcrafter
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06/18/2018 11:37AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
...We hit the road to head north!
EP47 Aug 21

Have been pulling out the gear for a couple of weeks now and playing with menus and such. Buying some new gear too!. The excitement is building.

How early do you pack before a trip?

Blue Skies!
cc
 
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06/18/2018 12:05PM  
My first trip ever started in late June, I think I started packing in March
06/18/2018 12:43PM  
Entry date in mid-July.

Hope to have clothes/tent/gear, etc. permethrined two weeks prior, and be fully packed up a week prior.
SevenofNine
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06/18/2018 01:02PM  
Since sleeping bag manufacturers recommend not having your bag compressed for more than 24 hours I try to have everything else packed a week before I leave. But since I do a lot of spur of the moment trips in Sept and Oct it's usually 1-2 days prior. :-)
BuckFlicks
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06/18/2018 01:48PM  
Depends on a few factors. In the past, I've not packed until the night before. I didn't have a lot of room to store stuff and definitely not enough to keep it out once packed... more recently, I'm usually all packed 2-3 days before the trip except for sleeping bag and sleeping pad, which go in last.

However, in the weeks leading up to the trip, I will have done a gear inventory and assessment to see what needs to be replaced or what I want to replace just because I have MGS (More Gear Syndrome) at the moment.

Now I have a pretty decent gear storage system that consists of plastic storage tubs. I have a couple bins for canoe-specific stuff (muck boots, canoe seats, etc) and a couple for backpacking-specific stuff, and a couple for stuff that is useful in both endeavors. So I know which bins to pull prior to which kind of trip. Packing is pretty easy now. Everything gets thrown in to my giant North Face Duffel. Takes longer to pack my other luggage for a trip than it does to pack my camping gear.
06/18/2018 06:34PM  
Depending on exactly what you consider packing - it's a process that starts months before, but is completed at the end. Making a menu, acquiring food, checking the first aid kit and repair kit for replacements, happens sometime ahead in case something is not immediately available or is hard to find specialty item. Things like the repair kit, first aid kit, are basically always packed in a stuff sack. Stove etc. is checked for proper operation well ahead of the last minute. Stuff starts getting gathered together in the week before departure, and the couple of days before I leave, everything gets checked off the list as it is put in a pack.
06/20/2018 02:56AM  
boonie: "Depending on exactly what you consider packing - it's a process that starts months before, but is completed at the end. Making a menu, acquiring food, checking the first aid kit and repair kit for replacements, happens sometime ahead in case something is not immediately available or is hard to find specialty item. Things like the repair kit, first aid kit, are basically always packed in a stuff sack. Stove etc. is checked for proper operation well ahead of the last minute. Stuff starts getting gathered together in the week before departure, and the couple of days before I leave, everything gets checked off the list as it is put in a pack. "


As boonie said, the overall planning is months before, actual packing from the refined packlist that has been reviewed very often, a couple of weeks. have a great trip campcrafter, my trip starts in 46 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes and 40 seconds, but whos counting.
06/20/2018 06:39AM  
I got to where I had food options ready, everything in stuff bags ready... So I could toss things together and go pretty fast. But for any big "adventure" I'd be packed and ready days ahead of time!
06/20/2018 08:01AM  
I used to pack way ahead of time, but not anymore.

For my May solo I got everything out on Wed and made sure I had everything I needed, packed it on TH, and loaded the van/strapped on the canoe after work on Friday to drive up during the middle of the night Friday night/Sat. morning.

Next week I go on my daddy/daughter trip w/ big duckling and will pack a couple of days before we go.
skwerlee
  
06/20/2018 10:11AM  
We leave in 41 days and I'll start putting gear into the pack this weekend. We've been making gear lists and route plans for months.
Oldtown13
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06/20/2018 11:12AM  
I go next week. First time going in 12 years. I've made a big effort to upgrade my gear. I started acquiring stuff for the trip in December. Started to really organize and pack 2 weeks ago. Been thinking about it daily for about 8 months. Not sure what I'll do with myself when the trip is done. I guess just start planning the next one!
06/20/2018 11:25AM  
HItting the road July 13th for a July 15th entry.

Been through the checklists, we bought a lot of new gear this year, also new packs from CCS. Packing our own food, I think we have everything we need but we don't have it organized on a per day or per meal basis.

I figure next weekend, June 30th, we hit everything with Permethrin, It's supposed to be good for at least 40 days, and take inventory of all our gear against the checklist, probably then have to pick up a couple of miscellaneous food items.

July 7th-8th we'll pack and see how everything fits, zip up the packs when we get everything balanced out, put everything together with our fishing gear in the garage, and make sure nobody touches it until we leave.
WinstonRumfoord
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06/20/2018 11:28AM  
Oldtown13: Not sure what I'll do with myself when the trip is done. I guess just start planning the next one!"


Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I've had my gear out for my upcoming trip for the past month. It's part of the fun :)
06/26/2018 09:33PM  
I am leaving in 3 weeks and I have been packed for about 3 months
mastertangler
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06/27/2018 06:31AM  
I go in August but start developing a fishing strategy and a route plan the fall before. I get serious about the plan in December and then I usually get real busy with work until sometime in May where I pack my stuff for the ride north where I spend summers in Michigan.

I go through everything a time or two during the summer. 3 week trips is a long time to have neglected something. Right now I am applying a fresh DWR coating to my rain gear.
06/27/2018 08:45AM  
I lay out everything in the garage on tables the weekend prior to the trip. We go over the checklist and gives us a few days to decide if we really need it or how many extra luxuries we are willing to carry. Also gives us a week to adjust any gear selections on current weather/bug conditions. Actual packing happens a day or two prior to departure. We actually take several weekend trips to Deem Wilderness on Lake Monroe here in Indiana over the summer with the canoe so that limits how early we can really pack but also gives an excuse to have most of our canoe gear out all summer!
Sentio
member (37)member
  
06/27/2018 11:54AM  
BuckFlicks: "


However, in the weeks leading up to the trip, I will have done a gear inventory and assessment to see what needs to be replaced or what I want to replace just because I have MGS (More Gear Syndrome) at the moment.
"


I thought it was GAS (Gear Acquistion Syndrom). Wikipedia Link. Whatever you want to call it I have it....

OK back on topic....I will pull stuff out about 2 months before to review and determine if anything needs to be replaced. There is always something begging to be replaced. Then about 2 weeks before I will again review and make sure I have everything I need, then sort gear by pack or what will be strapped into the canoe. Finally, a day or two before I leave everything gets packed up.
 
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