Don’t make this planning mistake

Don't worry man, everyone makes mistakes. I think most if not all of us have forgotten something for a trip, even big things like a sleeping bag.

On a car camping trip last summer my plan was to sleep with a down jacket and a thin fleece blanket to save on bulk in packing up the car. It's summertime and warm anyhow. My family and I get to the lake, unpack everything, get the tents up, have a great time.

When it came time for bed I look all over for the jacket, and nothing. So I put on my windbreaker and hunker down in the tent for a not so great night of sleep. I wasn't cold, but I sure wasn't warm either, and only got a "meh" quality of sleep.

At least you were warm, I hope :)

When I first started doing UL for some reason, almost like a ritual, I would accidentally leave one thing behind. They were pretty minor items, but since it was UL, all were noticeable – including once my eating implement – that was interesting. After about 10 repetitions of the ritual hoping it would spontaneously end figured it was only a matter of time before it worked its way around to my bag or tarp. That is when I started using a checklist (I had poo pooed them in the past) rather than just going through and "checking" if I saw anything missing.

Still, nothing can prevent you from checking something off and then leaving it in your living room, as I have also done on many occasions. I'm usually looking for small items at the point were I "go back one last time" and I am also quite capable of missing the elephant in the room when I do this.

You can blame it on your old monster bag blocking the view. :-)

"Still, nothing can prevent you from checking something off and then leaving it in your living room"

I don't check anything off until its in the pack.

b

I don't check anything off until its in the pack.

I don't put trekking poles in the pack. As they normally sit by the front door in the umbrella stand it's easy to grab them on the way out. Or not, as was the case earlier this year.

I have a checklist and still forget things occasionally

It gets worse with age – "old age is a bitch"

But no big thing, sometimes you will stumble into finding a piece of gear isn't really needed or you can improvise.

I forgot my boots once so I just went back and got them. I "beer camped" the first night rather than hiking in a ways.

I forgot a bag of food once so I bought some stuff at a store near trailhead

I forgot my cell phone so I just used pay phone. Learned that pay phones are becoming rarer and rarer.

I'm just glad I don't have to go to "the Dilbert factory" every day anymore

"I don't check anything off until its in the pack.

I don't put trekking poles in the pack. As they normally sit by the front door in the umbrella stand it's easy to grab them on the way out. Or not, as was the case earlier this year."

In that case you don't check it off until it's in the car… or strapped to the outside of your pack.. you get the idea… not checked of until it's in a place where it can't be forgotten.

FWIW… my actual procedure is a bit more complicated…
I first gather things on the living room floor or in duffel bags. When the check list item is in that staging area I put colored dot next to it on the list. Then when I'm packing the actual pack… be that at home or at the trailhead… then I put the final check mark next to the item on the list after it's in the pack. Can't say that I never forget anything, but it's pretty rare. And especially important to me as most of my trips are remote and solo.

billy

BG,
Thanks for sharing. I just recently completed my gear list for weight and item scrutiny and realized what a great check list it will make. Hopefully I will 'remember' to check everything off as it goes in or on the pack.

Hey Bob, did you see any Bighorn sheep over by Langley?

Sorry for running off like that, but I wanted to get down off Whitney before the snow/hail really started. LOL

If that wasn't you on 6/11, then there is someone else just like you with a Canon, who was following your itinerary, and also shoots (photographs) Bighorn sheep.

Hobbes

"Hey Bob, did you see any Bighorn sheep over by Langley?"

The only sheep that I counted were in my sleep.

First, I saw no sheep on White Mountain Peak this year. Then I saw no sheep on Langley. From what I have determined, this year the sheep are on the northeastern side of Langley for greenery. If this had been a decent winter, then there would be more greenery on the west and south sides. Alas, it was a dry winter.

So far this year, the only bighorns that I have photographed were in the San Gabriels in March. However, I still have one bighorn trip left for July.

On Whitney, however, I managed to photograph an American Pika. The thing was squeeking its lungs out at 12,000 feet, so I couldn't pass it up. Down by Langley, I got a Blue Grouse male up in a tree. I understand that they are tasty, but I had neither a pan nor any oil. I could have whittled a stick as a rotisserie skewer, but wood fires aren't allowed in there.

–B.G.—

> "Still, nothing can prevent you from checking something off and then leaving it in your living room"

Everything is spread out in a row on the living room floor – open polished wood.
Eventually we pack. Nothing is left on the polished floor. Works for us.

Cheers

"Still, nothing can prevent you from checking something off and then leaving it in your living room"

The main issue is that I do not like to leave an expensive, ultralightweight down sleeping bag compressed for a long time before departure. I prefer to leave it out and lofted, and then pack it at the last minute into its stuff sack and then into the bottom of the backpack.

I know! I will have to build a polished wood floor into the trunk of my car. Then I can do it like Roger does it.

Roger, why don't you just have your household staff do it?

–B.G.–

"I just recently completed my gear list for weight and item scrutiny and realized what a great check list it will make. Hopefully I will 'remember' to check everything off as it goes in or on the pack."

Now all you have to do is remember not to forget the checklist. Don't ask me how I know.

What did you think of Soldier? Did you come down the Langley shoulder to the upper lake and then wind through the keyhole to Miter?

We're going back up for the 4th (fishing season opens 7/1) to day-hike around the eastside lakes; maybe take a jaunt up NAP to check out the views.

A couple of years ago I was checking off the last items on my list just before heading out. Wifey passed by and I grabbed a last kiss and stepped out the door leaving my hiking shoes on the step. Doh! After 4 hours drive I figured it out. Hiked in an old pair I had in the trunk and hadn't worn that year. Blisters … won't do that again.

"What did you think of Soldier [Lake]?"

By the time that I got going, I had an extra load from the old heavy sleeping bag, extra food and water, and other small factors. So, I didn't want to bite off anymore than I could chew, so to speak. I did not want to do Langley on that first day, but I thought that I might on the way back out. Unfortunately, it was very windy when I was going back out, so I skipped it.

Lower Soldier Lake was fine, by way of the main trail. There were some strange bugs flying, but nothing was biting or buzzing. The water looked clean. Sky Blue Lake was nice, but it was so windy that pieces of my gear kept blowing away. That's the trouble with ultralightweight gear. You know that you have arrived when your boots blow away.

New Army Pass was OK. There was a snow cornice at the top, and the trail was covered. However, previous hikers had created a path up through it for about twenty paces, so there was no need for poles or traction. The marmot that sits atop the pass was directing traffic.

–B.G.–