of course every trip starts with a list. you can’t go wrong.

i pulled out all my gear, cleaned what i could scotchgarded the pack, purchased what i needed to, etc. pushed everything in the living room and thought how i was going to get everything inside the pack.

let’s see what we’ve got!

Nalgene: this is the liquid vessel for the trip. when we went down the river in 2002, i bought this and never thought it would be such an investment. no wonder all the study abroad bennies carried nalgenes with them all over europe. it’s a sturdy piece of equipment.

camera & gear: i got a hard case for my camera and walkaround lens. i has two lenses in the bag but nixed one in favor of space. so now i’ve got the cam, a 24-74 walkaround, 70-300 long, my ND filters, a remote release cord, two extra batteries, 2 32GB SD cards, and one 8GB CF card (well you never know). oh, and a small tripod. stars will hopefully be awesome up there.

Headlamp: yalumi headlamp purchased for night running. it works great, so why mess with anything else. i put new batteries in it.

Solar Charger: i got this a few years ago, and i’m not sure how well it will keep a charge, but i have it attached to a caribener on the top of the pack. also bringing a phone cord to charge. the phone will be an easy-to-grab camera, and nate said this morning while i was hemming about me yeeting it toward a moose: “it’s cheap enough that it’s ok to fall in a lake.”

entertainment: i brought two books, a skinny water resistant notepad, cards, quiddler, and a crossword book.

toiletries: what you’d expect: toothbrush, lotion, some allegra, contacts just in case. i am NOT bringing the wetwipes. i’m gonna hope that i don’t need to be clean LOL

down vest: it’s supposed to get to high 40s overnight! gotta bring this sucker to stay warm in the sleeping bag.

campsite shoes: i went back and forth between sandals and light shoes, but went with the shoes based on the temps.

sunscreen, bug spray, KT: the sunscreen is reef friendly, so i’m hoping it’s bwca friendly as well! bug spray is 25% deet, and KT tape is for my feet because inserts won’t stay put in my watershoes. gotta tape them up really well!

sleeping bag: this is an amazon purchase to get my stuff more compressed! it’s rated for 4 seasons, so i hope it’ll keep me somewhat warm in high 40s. it’s a mummy style but a little spacious.

fancy sleep mat: i got this from klymit based on how i liked their simple sleeping mats. i used it once on my cot at leech lake, and after figuring out that i needed to clasp something, it stayed inflated for 2 nights. so i’m hopeful for a (somewhat) comfortable sleep. i’ll followup on this one because it’s a $150 mat and if it works, it’s worth it.

fancy pillow: this one i got from coop after reading a crapton of reviews. the pillow was $25 and (red) pillowcase $15. again, i feel like this is a splurge, and i’ll followup on this one as well. i did throw it on the floor and put my head on it, and it felt nice, so i’m hopeful about the ground in a tent.

sitting pillow: this is the klymit cush pillow i purchased on a whim thinking it would double as a head pillow at night, but i decided to get an actual pillow. it’s just a long, inflatable piece that you can sit on, rest on, put on your seat, etc. it’s small enough that i don’t feel bad about bringing it.

towels: so i have a microfiber towel, but it’s actually my yoga towel that i wanted to bring for…yoga… so i went to amazon and got an actual set of appropriately sized towels, which includes a bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth size.

yoga towel mat: what, you think i go to the boundary waters and not do yoga? as if. i had this one hand, and it doubled as something to wrap my camera lens in.

rain gear: after experiencing two different types of rain gear for canoeing, i decided this time i would make an investment. columbia has been my go-to outerwear for a long time, so i got their rain pants. i have 3 stinking rainjackets now, but i ended up going with the anorak i got from costco because it’s just a little bit longer than my two columbia ones and the hood seems to have a bit more of an overhang. here’s hoping on that one. i’m not worried about the pants.

coffee mug: i was going to bring my tin mug but saw an insulated travel short coffee mug at DG last week for $5 and picked it up. i bought a couple stickers from scheels and stuck them on there.

food & creamer: well, rae and greg are really taking care of the food, but i picked up some trail mix and clif bars. i also mixed some powdered creamer for myself, a proprietary blend of french vanilla and hot chocolate.

nuun: these little tabs are handy. you just pop one in your water bottle and get a shot of electrolytes and caffeine. i actually drink some of these before a long run and they work well.

clothes: well wouldn’t you know it’s supposed to be rainy and a little chilly. so, i’m bringing shorts, a run tee, flannel, sweatshirt, and some duluth trading company hiking pants for everyday wear. for night, i have a wool long sleeve, yoga pants, and long underwear.

waterbags: like i said before, nate grabbed these during his time as a repo man. here’s what’s going in the waterbags: camera & gear, which will be at the top of the pack; clothes, which will be wherever it fits.

and then all of this will fit into my canoepack, which i got for the 2002 trip. i have to imagine that probably cost around $100 at that time. it’s actually a brand called woods. i can’t find it online for sale anywhere, so who knows what it would be now.

but, i stuffed it in and it all fit.

then of course this morning, i did something to my back while mowing the lawn. perfect! i iced it and i did some yin yoga, then did this weird thing i found online that sort of helped a little, but now i’m like, well, here’s hoping it just fades away overnight. -_-