What they really are is sins of omission.
It happens, at one time or another to anyone who leaves the road behind: You and your boon companions have loaded all your camping gear into a backpack, canoe or kayaks or onto mountain bikes and you’ve hiked, paddled or pedaled far. The sun is heading toward the horizon when you reach your campsite, night is coming fast and, as you unload your gear, you or someone else (hopefully someone else) suddenly says “Did you pack the . . . ?” or “Where is the . . . ?” or even “!#&$*!, I forgot my . . . !”
Here, you can fill in the blank with some item (or items) that you just know you are going to miss, especially because there’s no possible way of rectifying your sin of omission. You are just going to have to live with the consequences for at least one night, maybe longer.
In some cases, what you’ve forgotten really won’t be missed at all: did you really need that travel backgammon set? In other cases, you can make do: a lot of campsite wine has been drunk from coffee cups; a (clean) finger makes a serviceable emergency toothbrush . . .
But then there are essentials: Forgetting insect repellent and protective clothing in bug season can make camp life pure misery. Forgetting your rain gear when a cold rain sets in on Mount Washington can make your trip dangerous. And heading out unprepared in the winter is downright foolhardy.
On a recent overnight, I set a new personal-worst record for forgetting things. After yet another long, stressful day of hard work in a long series of such days, EasternSlopes.com’s Senior Editor David Shedd (who had come to help me with one piece of the larger project) and I backpacked into one of our off-the-beaten-track campsites for a much needed getaway night. When we got to camp, I had one of those classic “uh-oh” moments. Actually, I had several . . .
I’d remembered the important stuff like solo tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel, cook kit, insect repellent, toilet kit, most of my share of food, etc. But I’d forgotten my tea mug, wine glass, and the Romaine lettuce for the Caesar salad. I’d also brought two right Crocs for camp shoes (do you get the picture that these overnights are not exactly “roughing it”?). And, most critically, I’d forgotten the pad to go under my sleeping bag. Ooops . . .
For me, packing for a camping trip is a multi stage process that starts with taking what I’ll need from the storage bins in the attic and piling it in the middle of my office. From there, it all goes into whatever backpack, pannier or dry bags I’m using for the particular trip.
In this case, the sleeping pad, coffee cup and wine glass had made it out of the attic and into the office, but, somehow, they hadn’t made that giant leap into the backpack. When I got home, I found them all under a shirt I’d decided not to take. I just got careless, I guess. The lettuce was in the fridge for last minute packing and somehow that got forgotten, too.
In the grand tradition of all who of us who are good at this CRAFT (“Can’t Remember A Freakin’ Thing”), I made do with what was available. With plenty of other food (including spareribs and sirloin tips, veggies, and dessert. . .), we didn’t really miss the salad. I carry teabags in a screw-top plastic container that made a dandy wine glass and morning tea cup. And David’s Crazy Creek Hexalite Long chair, folded flat, provided enough padding on the soft forest duff that I slept comfortably through the night, waking only when a thunderstorm boomed overhead and dropped a quick downpour. Actually, it was warm enough and the ground was soft enough that I probably would have slept well without any pad, just by hollowing out a spot for my hip bones. Pads are often more necessary for insulation than they are for padding.
Even with several forgotten items, it was a very pleasant getaway in the midst of a very stressful stretch of days. Well worth doing. Overnight getaways almost always are.
Would it have been better not to forget anything? Absolutely! And I intend to never forget anything again. But I will. And you will, too, if you go camping enough. With any luck, you’ll be able to “make do” and have a grand time anyway.
How To Never Forget Anything Important
1. Always prepare for the next trip as you finish the last one. Clean and dry everything, replace batteries (or put rechargeables in the charger), fuel, toilet paper, toothpaste or anything else that got used up so you don’t end up tearing around at the last minute trying to gather what you need. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to have everything eventually arrive at your campsite in good working order.
2. Store everything where you can find it. I keep the basics for a quick overnight (toilet kit, emergency kit, first aid kit, headlamp, eating utensils, headlamp, etc) in a small plastic storage tub in the attic. Backpacks hang from hooks, tents are on shelves, sleeping bags and pads in big storage bins, etc. So it’s just a matter of picking a backpack, tent, sleeping bag, stove appropriate for the trip. It would be easier if I only owned one backpack, one tent, etc., but what fun would that be?
3. Keep camping checklists and use one every time. A checklist can save you a lot of headaches, but only if you actually use it . . . If you only follow one rule to avoid forgetting anything, this is the one to follow. I recommend double checking yourself. Have the checklist in hand and check items off as you put them into the packing pile. The double-check is harder: have the checklist in hand and check items off (with a different color pen, or make an “X” across your first checkmark) as you actually pack them into your backpack, panniers or dry bags. It’s that second check that will prevent you from leaving gear hidden under the shirt you decided not to pack. Pre-print copies of whatever checklist you prefer and leave them WITH your gear; that way, you won’t have to worry if your computer hard drive suddenly dies just before your trip.
4. Cross check and double-check with your companions on communal gear. If you are supposed to bring the stove, or the tent, make sure you know that and do it. Otherwise, people are going to be very annoyed with you at some point. David and I usually put communal gear into laundry baskets or canvas totes in the car to divvy up as we pack at the trailhead or launch ramp. Make sure you write all of your “extras” for the trip onto your checklist, and doublecheck them at the same time you do the others! It is WAY too easy to leave that bag of food in the refrigerator on your way out the door, and if you want to end up on the post office wall as “least wanted on a camping trip”, that’s the fastest way to get there.
5. Get in the habit of taking a final, unstressed look around at each stage of the process. Check where you store your gear, to make sure it all got moved to the staging area. Check the staging area to make sure your sleeping pad hasn’t hidden under a shirt you decided not to take. Check the refrigerator for anything you meant to pack last minute (yes, I said this above, but it’s worth repeating). Check everyone’s car at the trailhead to make sure everything got into backpacks; we’ve left plenty of headlamps on car seats. Check your campsite before you leave in the morning so everything you need comes home for the next trip.
6. If you do forget something (and you will, no matter how careful you are), make do with what you have, learn from your mistake. Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten something that puts you in real jeopardy. As long as it’s not something you need to survive the night, you can laugh about it and have fun anyway.
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Saw your article on OutdoorChannel.com and found it interesting. Thank you for the info.
-jared
Your post is very informative! In the basic list you put emergence kit, whats in your kit?
Thanks for pointing out an oversight on our part! We’ll correct that shortly–stay tuned!