Six Packs and the Breakthrough to Enlightenment

Six Packs and the Breakthrough to Enlightenment

The Path to My First Hiking Backpack

Campfire Guy here. Yeah, I’ve had six packs. Well, not in the washboard stomach sense. My belly, and it’s fondness for pie, nachos, and craft beer precedes me. Similar to the journey I had with family tents, the quest for my first backpack was no simple feat. Neither is touching my toes.

 

Busted with a bowl of caramel popcorn. Successfully ignoring the fresh fruit.
Busted with a bowl of caramel popcorn. Successfully ignoring the fresh fruit.

Totes: My Erroneous Solution To Packing Light

I first camped with my oldest son’s Boy Scout troop in 2014 and due to space limitations in the woods, we weren’t allowed to park near our campsites. In addition, the Troop asked us to limit the amount of gear we brought into camp. This was definitely not going to be Cub Scout car camping that I had grown so accustomed to. At those campouts, you park at your campsite and are free to bring the entire contents of your house. I was faced with my first attempt at scaled back, lighter weight camping. I decided that I could fit everything into one large tote for my son and I. One tote can hold a lot of stuff. I’m a list guy and my list looked pretty light. Challenge. Accepted.

 

One tote to rule them all!
One tote to rule them all!

 

As I started to work my list, I had a few “better grab this, you might need it” moments. I should mention that water, cooking gear, and food were provided by the Troop, so I didn’t have to bring any of that. In no time, I filled the first tote and still had a pile of stuff to pack.

 

Two is better than one.
Two is better than one.

 

Right up to the moment I snapped the lid onto the second, filled to capacity tote, I felt pretty smug. Then I remembered that we had yet to pack our clothes or toiletries. Combined weight of the totes at this point was north of 50 lbs but definitely under 100 lbs. I think.

 

Totes 1 and 2, meet backpacks 1 and 2.
Totes 1 and 2, meet backpacks 1 and 2.

 

It Gets Worse Before it Gets Better

At this point, I accepted that I was going to be the “overpacker at campout”.  Figured that if I already had two totes and two backpacks, I may as well be comfortable for the weekend.  Two REI camp chairs got added to the pile.

 

I had room in the car for the chairs, that's why.
I had room in the car for the chairs, that’s why.

 

This is what we left the house with. Two REI camp chairs and one rolling cooler later, I was finally prepared. A Campfire Guy has to have a place to sit and maybe a few snacks and cold drinks. My only hope at this point was that leaving Richardson at 6:30 meant setting up in the dark, shining a little less light on the mountain of stuff I had brought with me.

 

Giving up on scaling back meant that the cooler also followed us into the woods.
Giving up on scaling back meant that the cooler also followed us into the woods.

 

My first attempt at scaling down my gear for a Boy Scout campout was in the books.  We loaded up and headed to Trevor Reese Jones Scout Camp outside Athens, TX.  I drove into our assigned campsite, dropped off my gear, drove back to the parking lot and then hiked the half mile back to the campground.  Not going to lie, I just got a little winded just writing that sentence.

 

So. Much. Walking.
So. Much. Walking.

 

Fumbling Through My Gear

Once I picked out a tent site, I began to dig through a mountain of gear to find my tent.  Packed at the bottom of a tote was my Mountainsmith Genesee. After a few minutes of fumbling around trying not to loose anything, I saw one of the other Scouts and his dad stroll by. With a spring in their step, they had hiked in from the parking lot a half mile away, gear neatly stowed away in their backpacks.

These two had set up their tents, put comfy camp shoes on their feet and were kicked back in camp chairs by the time I had my tent fly on. At that moment a light bulb turned on and angels sang. I could do this camping thing better. No more would I suffer from the “you never knows” as I packed. I could function with less gear and zero totes. What I needed for camping with Boy Scouts, was a backpack.

A Better Way To Camp

I could stroll merrily into camp and amaze my friends with my packing prowess and general do-goodery. Not sure what that meant exactly, but that’s what the light bulb said. That 2014 campout led me down a year-long path of many, backpacks tested, and returned.  Packs I returned were only loaded with pillows and kettlebells for weight.  They only traveled around the house or around the block. No packs were harmed in the writing of this blog and I assume they all went on to live happy lives, full of backpacking adventure.

I liked a few of the packs I tried out, but in order to keep the peace with Campfire Wife, I could only keep one. Of the six packs I tried out, I ended up keeping the Gossamer Gear Mariposa. I’ll post a review of the Mariposa in the upcoming days. I love that pack like a fat Campfire Guy loves cake. And nachos.

If you have any backpack related questions or stories, post ‘em up in the comments section.

Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking on them and doing some shopping doesn’t cost you anything additional but does put a little coin in my pocket.  The tent mentioned above was purchased by Campfire Guy with his own coins.


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