While on a backpacking trip, have you ever experienced walking up a steep trail carrying what seemed like your grandmother’s oven – a bulky, heavy backpack – that caused you to pop in several analgesics due to severe back strain?  In that case, let me share some tips on packing backpacks since I’ve experienced this myself - carrying heavy loads while thinking that all the things I’m carrying were necessary. So, here are some tips on turning your rock-heavy loads into a load as light as your girlfriend’s shoulder bag (or kikay kit for that matter.)

  

1.  Shrink it!  Have your kitchen knife, can opener, flashlight, soap and everything in mini size. The point is you need to cut-off weights so that you wouldn’t complain with your loads. Your basic Swiss knife with can opener will do. Use headlamp instead of the bulky ones.  The toothpaste and shampoo can be bought in sachets.  Transfer your one liter cologne in mini bottles that can be bought at a nearby store.  Don’t forget to bring sunscreen lotion and buy a deodorant-and-foot-powder-in-one like Milcu.  Don’t forget to label the containers.

  

2.  Pack clothes by event, not by type.  Pack your clothing based on when you will need them at any particular time. Put all the related items together (socks, underwear, shirt, and pants), one bag for sleeping, another for the descent (if different from the ones you slept in or the ones you used for the ascent!), and another one for the clothes you will wear for the bus ride home (IF you are able to take a "shower" at the outhouse behind the municipal hall!). That way you pull out and open only one bag which you will then use to seal the soiled ones you took off. It’ll save a lot of time and energy.                                                                                                

 

3.  Pack food wisely.  Use margarine instead of cooking oil since margarine is solid and therefore, less messy (worry about cholesterol and saturated fats when you get home). For cooked food like chicken-pork adobo, a tight-seal “Lock and Lock” (I swear by this product’s efficiency) is still the best container. It comes in different sizes and is transparent so you don’t need to open it just to see what is contained inside.  You can pack bread, knickknacks and just about anything.  They even have one that has a built-in compartment (sort of a pillbox but bigger) where you could put four different things together in one container.

How do you pack the raw eggs? One way is to sink them into the rice. Make sure the rice is packed tight in the canister so your eggs don't jiggle around. Another is to keep the eggs in their original styro packaging and put the whole thing inside the cheese ball canister. You can fill the gaps with small packs of dried fish or beef jerky, coffee and sugar sachets, instant noodles, etc. The canister is not good for cooked food, though, because the pressure at high altitude can pop the plastic liners and the canister's lid is not tight enough to prevent a leak.

  

With frozen foods like bacon and hotdogs, keep them frozen until you're ready to leave. Then wrap them in several layers of newspaper and put them inside plastic bags. Even on a hot trek they will remain cool until you need them. The same goes with frozen water.  

4.  Pack with ease of access in mind.  Your ID (or dog tags) and whistle are hanging from your neck. You have a belt bag for items you need to reach in a flash - Swiss knife, lighter, compass, mirror, first aid, money, pen and paper, some trail food, camera, and cell phone. Your backpack's top load (or front pocket) holds your trail water, other trail food, flashlight, maps, garbage bags, gloves, and rain parka, things you will want to pull out without having to unbuckle your pack. 

 

5.  Pack your trash!   It goes without saying... but I'll say it nevertheless... you can't leave your trash on that mountain. So, be prepared for trekking down with everything you did not consume and are not biodegradable. That means extra garbage bags (you do know that the big garbage bags are also the best for insulating your feet during chilly nights, and for wrapping your backpack safe from morning dew, right?). Plus a spare plastic grocery bag for the probability that you may have to put the "basura" inside your backpack for trekking convenience.

Your climbing team must agree, before you even discuss who's going to bring what, on how you will manage your garbage. You can designate one "basurero" or divide the trash equally among yourselves. You can have the one with the lightest pack volunteer to carry the trash.

Whatever you agree on, just make sure not one little bit of anything you brought up there gets left behind. So that the next climbers will find the mountain as pristine and magnificent as the day you first set foot on it. 

Now the pack itself needs to be organized so that the heaviest items are in the middle (like your water supply). Too heavy on top will make you keel over, too heavy at the bottom will force you to bend lower to balance the weight. Keep the pack's center of gravity in the middle, so it rests on your waist or lower back. With that in mind, choose the items you may need to pull out in a hurry and load them on top, like your jacket (sudden cold spell), sandals (river crossing), or bag of toiletries and tissue paper (you know!).

Slip in your pack a couple of yards of that plastic straw twine used to tie bags and boxes at the supermarket. It's almost weightless but pretty durable. You can use it to tie down a flapping fly sheet, or hold together a busted backpack. You can cut it up to serve as trail markers. Or tie it across trees to hang wet clothes.

They say paper plates are ideal. I say paper plates are hard to handle when you have to eat standing up. There are new plastic plates in the market, thinner and lighter than paper but very durable. They're disposable, yet reusable. Same with plastic cups (choose those that won't shrivel from boiling soup). As for the utensils, I've climbed with guys who pack plastic chopsticks instead of a spoon and fork. But I suggest you bring one lightweight metal spoon for cooking and for a little touch of home.

Never climb without a pen and paper. You must chronicle your trek, landmarks, contact persons, timeframes, fares and fees, directions, etc. Remember to bring the lightest ball pen you can find. Ball pen not sign pen. Or you'll sadly discover that your journal has transformed into one psychedelic inkblot after a sudden downpour.

Invest in a lightweight, compact, waterproof camera. Mountain climbing is an experience of the senses. But the only thing you can take home with you is a set of beautiful pictures of the climb -- memories of a truly unforgettable adventure, in print.

  

Submitted by: Francis Dollano

Acknowledgement: Narcolepsy weed + Ruby Bayan-Gagelonia

 

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