Pre-trip Planning

It is the "picking a destination, calculating routes, etc." that are what takes the most time and holds the most challenge (in a good way).

Preparing my pack? It is pretty much pre-packed. Really nothing to prepare. Without exaggeration, I can be ready and packed for a three-season backpacking weekend in 30m +/- . My quilt is the only item not already in the pack. Even my backpacking food is readily accessible. I think you'll find that "preparing the pack" is not really an issue the more experience an outdoors person has.

Just my .05 worth anyway.

EDIT: More thoughts here if it is of any interest:
http://www.pmags.com/work-life-outdoors-balance

Getting a permit.
Sometimes ranger stations are in weird places. More than once I've gotten turned around and spent time that could have been spent hiking trying to find the permit location.

For me the hardest part of packing is figuring out what it is we'll be doing on the trip. My camping gear ranges from somewhat lightweight to RVing with full hookups and satellite… that said, as your thesis is related to lightweight, I think you'll find most answers for BPers similar to Paul's, myself included – 90% of my gear is already packed. I might him-haw over which stove to take or if it will EVER rain again in the southwest and my need to pack raingear, but for the most part the work is already done.

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but hardest part for me is to get my buddies motivated to go on trips, all the rest is easy compared to that :-)

I would go on solo trips but my wife thinks I will be abducted by a banjo playing alien.

For an experienced backpacker in a relatively familiar place, packing is dead easy. The biggest concern is likely forgetting something more inconvenient than your spoon.

For a backpacker doing a trip outside their knowledge sphere, things get more interesting. Adequate calories packed in an ingestible and appealing variety becomes a concern. Proper but not excessive clothing, shelter, and sleep insulation is also a relevant factor, which is a lot more complex than "is my stuff warm enough." Enough new-to-you stuff (adding technical gear to your pack, for example) brings up questions about how to pack everything in the most efficient (easy to access, good weight distribution). In short, all the questions a novice might ask.

Takeaway being, if you don't do one backpack a year which has you asking newbie questions of yourself, you are doing it wrong.

Most of my long/interesting/rewarding trips require plane travel. An important part of trip planning for me is tranportation logistics upon arrival at destination. That usually includes a grocery store stop and finding fuel for my stove. I prefer to use canister stoves and I have very distinct memories from all over the world of franticly trying to get to stores before they close at night to get a canister so I can get an early start the next morning.

Weather. If it looks really bad, I won't go.

The packing is second nature.

The route can be modified to fit the circumstances.

The weather can make you miserable.

What are your biggest concerns when getting ready for a trip?
Setting the date, weather, confounding variables with family/house/vehicles, traffic, crowds.

What is the easiest/hardest part about preparing for a trip?
Nothing too difficult. I live an hour from the PCT, 2-3 hours from the Olympic Peninsula, Mt. Rainer, North Cascades, etc. Getting a map and specialized food is the hardest part and that just means a 5-6 mile shopping trip.

How do you go about packing?
I have a checklist and all my gear is organized in one place. It's really just a matter of selecting the pieces that suit the trip: cooking gear, hydration, sleeping gear, shelter and clothing per weather. My essentials are packed and ready to go, so I can swap them from my day hiking pack to multi-day.

As Tom Petty put it, "The wai-ai-ting is the hardest part"

The second hardest part, is learning basics about the area, finding what maps are needed, finding what travel arrangements can work getting there and back, where you can resupply, NPS regulations, etc. Basically overall trip planning if its a totally new area.

Permits are the biggest hurdle.

The hiking and packing is nothing of concern.

i wrote this up earlier, and then threw it away.

"industrial design" .. ok, fine.

packing a bag is the about same process as loading out a truck to a jobsite, or an erection job, or fitting out a ship, it's all going to be the same dogma. it will be the same blend of necessary skills of experience and knowledge and passion and effort (lots).
so then the proper question would be more along the lines of… "what is the hardest part of loading out an xyz ? "
i suspect the nature of xyz matters not a great deal.

that is my contribution to your thesis.

cheers,
v.

Yeah, the research is the hardest part. But I guess he's asking "What is the hardest part about packing?"

And I'd have to answer "Picking an appropriate amount of insulation."

Here out west conditions can vary. A lot. So if I'm going someplace new I spend a lot of time researching conditions, highs and lows, looking at forecasts, etc, so that I can decide if i need to bring a clothing insulation layer, if so how much, and which sleeping bag and pad is most appropriate. When Sarah asks "what is your biggest concern when preparing for a trip" this is my answer- I hate sleeping cold. That's not camping, it's enduring. Coming in a close second is over-packing, though, so this stuff is clearly a compromise.

After that the second hardest part is likely "Picking an appropriate rain strategy." I often only bring a water-resistant windshirt in the desert, for instance, but might need a full top/pants suit in other conditions.

Third is probably planning food, which i am bad at. Unlike others here i don't get out enough to realistically just keep stocks of camping food laying about, so i always end up at the grocery store picking out Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, instant rice, etc. I do have favorites, though, like Fritos Corn Chips and a nifty fruit bar brand that my wife found.

Actually getting all of the stuff into the pack is trivial- I just have to figure out which pack is the right size. I'm a believer in the "just cram it in" strategy. I don't do neat packing- too much effort. The closest I come to that is packing stuff I'm likely to need more often at the top, and heavier stuff closer to my back. Wet stuff (shelter, bivy rainsuit) goes in the front mesh pocket. Easy.

Now there is a design project: a totally integrated UL clothing and sleep system from skin out to sleeping bag/quilt. EN style ratings for each layer and combinations would be a mind blower.

The military has gone there, but not all UL and the color options are limited ;)

What is the easiest/hardest part about preparing for a trip?

There is nothing physically hard about any of the preparation.
But I think the most frustrating part is taking care of the details of being gone. Most of my trips are about 8 days… plus a day or two for transportation. So… before leaving I have to make sure bills are paid, calls are made, cores are done. So, basically, about 10 days or so of bills, calls, chores, etc. are packed into a day or two before the trip. So getting away involves a lot of work. Not only the shopping for last minute gear (or gear repairs) and backpack food and packing for the trip, but also extra work of arranging things for while you're gone… all packed into a few days before leaving. Once I'm in the care and driving it's a joyous relief. But not long down the road a new set of concerns kick in… getting to the ranger station before the close to get a trail pass, will I get a pass, and how will the weather be. Finally, there are the last minute gear decisions at the trail head, mostly dependent on the latest weather report that I got on the way to the trail head. If it's cold, I take warmer layers. If rain is a possibility that could affect my clothing decisions and even my shelter choice. Finally, finally… my pack is on my back and I'm headed up the trail. At this point I am free as a bird… the weight of all those decisions is off my mind… Though for the first mile or so a few doubt thoughts will creep in to paradise as to whether I made the right choices or not. Not long after that my body gets into sweating and striding, my lungs notice the sweet mountain air, and my mind relaxes into the glorious moment.
So, I guess I would conclude that the hardest part of preparing for a trip are the details, the decisions, and then the letting go.

How do you go about packing?

Well. The actual packing begins at home with a checklist.
As I go down the list I make decisions and check things off as I put them into one of several duffel bags: Stuff I know is going to go inside my backpack; Optional gear that may or may not go into my backpack will be decided at the tail head (depending on weather forecast). (This may include maps, gear, etc for an alternate trip if I don't get the pass I want or the weather forces an alternate trip.) Stuff I will actually wear/put on at the trail head; street cloths/shower stuff for after I get back to the road; and a food bag if I have hot already filled a bear canister. The final pack of my backpack may occur in my car camp the evening before the hike or it may occur at the trail head.

Billy

"project: a totally integrated UL clothing and sleep system from skin out to sleeping bag/quilt."

The immediate response is always, "everyone is different and has different temperature comfort levels," but I don't see why that same logic doesn't apply to sleeping bags and quilts. Clearly they've found a way to develop an objective standard for that. Why not baselayers, too?

I use a master spreadsheet in Excel that contains a new tab for each trip. I usually start the prep about a week before the trip, longer if I am really excited. After carefully considering the weather, location, druation, and any special requirements I will create a tab for that trip. In that tab I will select the specific gear needed for the trip at hand and Excel will total up the selected items. I will then pack the items on that list into my pack. Then spend a day or two before the trip trying to decide if I should add something or switch things around a bit.

"The immediate response is always, "everyone is different and has different temperature comfort levels," but I don't see why that same logic doesn't apply to sleeping bags and quilts. Clearly they've found a way to develop an objective standard for that. Why not baselayers, too?"

Folk like Richard Nisley do testing to that point, but chi haven't seen standards offered like the ones for sleeping bags. Lands End is one vendor that has made an attempt to offer temperature range ratings for their clothing.

As to the varying personal needs, that is the sane with the sleeping bag ratings. Most quickly learn how their tolerance matches the ratings.

A truly integrated system would offer multiple versions at each layer. Patagonia comes close to the ideal to that with various weights of base, mid, and puffy layers.

It has to be daunting for someone starting from scratch with with wide array of options, not to mention the cost. If I had to go out and replace my gear locker with new retail priced stuff, I could buy a decent used car for the same!

I think the level of integration that needs most development for 3 season UL hiking is camp and sleep insulation. The rest is pretty easy to dial in with existing layering items.

What are your biggest concerns when getting ready for a trip?
Getting a kitchen pass from the wife — usually not a problem. Next weekend is a problem; some sort of Hallmark Holiday is on Friday.

What is the easiest/hardest part about preparing for a trip?
Bringing the right insulation — not too light, nor too heavy. This is the hard part. Everything else is pretty automatic.

How do you go about packing?
Print a checklist from my Excel data base, then put everything in my pack. Pretty simple.