Backpacking List | Stroller Hikes

Pack the following for a short backpacking trip (1-2 nights):

Sleeping Bag
Insulated Sleeping Mat
Water Bottle/ Water Bladder
(Optional) Backpack cover if rain is predicted (or heavy garbage bag)
Personal Items:
- Toothbrush
- Spare socks
- (Optional) Bandana or quick-dry towel
- Spare underwear
- (Optional) Extra clothes for very cold weather: long underwear (if worn clothes do not suffice)
- (Optional) Extra clothes for hot weather: water clothes (if worn clothes do not suffice)
Diapers, wipes, and cream for baby (be sure you have a trash bag big enough)
(Optional) Extra clothes based on behavior of kids – Will they get very dirty or wet? Will they likely have pee/poop accidents? Will they need extra insulation at night (if they do not use a sleeping bag)?
(Optional) Allergy medicine for kids, if you are concerned about allergic responses
Wear on the trip:
- Hat
- Layers that can be worn around the waste or stowed
- Water-proof windbreaker
- Worn-in, sturdy hiking shoes (sneakers are fine if they offer enough support)
Food/Dishes (family):
- (Optional) Pick-me-ups for the trail for kids: Jelly beans, dried fruit, gummy candy, or other treats that will not melt and can raise blood sugar relatively instantly
- Snacks and Lunch: Dehydrated/low water content snacks (GORP, dried fruit, bars, jerky) – we recommend letting each person carry their own, but monitor consumption
- Breakfast: Oatmeal, tea and coffee (sugar cubes and dried creamer optional)
- Dinner: Dehydrated meal, Dehydrated soup (appetizer for dehydrated meal dinner), fruit tea
- Mug/heat-proof cup (1 per person)
- (Optional) Bowl if mug capacity is not great or you plan to use your mug and bowl at once
- Spork or other utensils (1 or more per person)
- Two large Ziploc bags – one for combining food and toiletries for storage at night, and another for trash (a sleeping bag stuff sack could be used for combining food for storage at night instead)
- (Optional) Paper towels (2) for clean-up
Things to share (family):
- Tent
- Duct tape (1 yard or less – you can wrap this around trekking poles or another smooth surface like a water bottle),
- Toilet paper (just what you need)
- (Optional) Small plastic spade for digging cat hole for poop
- Basic first aid kit: bandaids and antibacterial ointment, safety pin (for slivers), 3 strike-anywhere wooden matches, iodide water-treatment pills (3), emergency numbers, $1, NSAIDS, prescription medications or other special needs (epi-pen?)
- Trash bag (for dirty/wet clothes, trash that doesn’t fit in the ziploc bags, etc.)
- Map of where you are going and how to get there
- Flashlight/headlamp and extra batteries (ideally one flashlight per very mobile person)
Things to share (multi-family):
- Stove with pot for water and fuel (pots are not for more than water) – we’ll have at least two for large groups
- Water filter (or more than one, if a large group is relying on it for clean water) with very large Ziploc for collecting water to filter from (if there is no pooled water)
- Sunscreen
- Toothpaste (travel size)
- (Optional) Bug Spray (if backpacking in areas with few bugs)
- First aid kit with tweezers/gel for ticks, emergency medicine supplies
- Rope/twine for hanging food or wet clothes
- (Optional) Soap-permeated cloth for cleaning dishes if you won’t be licking them clean/using them last for a hot water drink
- Compass and/or GPS with extra batteries(1 per group traveling together)
- Emergency Whistle (1 per group traveling together)
- (Optional) SPOT beacon