Travel Diary - Glacier National Park Hiking Prep
The decision to go back to Glacier National Park in Montana was an easy one. The decision to do it in a 1985 VW Vanagon…well, that’s a little different. So much prep went into this trip. Between our regular prep of hiking and camping, we added prepping the van into the mix. Was it worth it? 1000% yes! This blog will deal with our backpacking gear. Later we'll go into van prep.
The entire point of this trip was to hike in the backcountry of Glacier National Park. Everything else that came our way was a complete bonus. Backpacking is made easier by the gear that you invest in. There is A LOT of expensive gear out there. We try to be aware of what we're spending and why we're spending it.
Here is a rundown of all the equipment we pack for a few nights in the backcountry:
Sleeping Pads - Therm-A-Rest Basecamp, Big Agnes Q-Core SLX
Sleeping Bags - Kelty Sleeping Bags
Bear Canister - Bear Vault BV500
Stuff Sacks - Sea to Summit brand
Knife - CRKT brand
Multi-tool - Leatherman brand
Duct Tape
Flashlight - Streamlight Mini
Headlamp - Black Diamond brand
Water Filter - Katadyn Vario Water Filter
Bladder - MSR Dromlite Bag (2L)
Stove - MSR Windburner
Trekking Poles - Black Diamond brand
First Aid Kit
Sunscreen
Bear Spray
Dishes - Fozzils brand
Towels - Sea to Summit Tek Towel (lightweight & quick-drying)
Some notes of some of our equipment:
Obviously, one of the most important items for backpacking is the backpack itself. If you will be carrying 20-40 lbs. of gear on your back for many miles over multiple days, you’ll want a comfortable backpack to carry it in. The best way to ensure you’re getting a good fit is to get a fitting. A well-trained employee at a reputable outfitter will be able to help you choose exactly what you need. All quality backpacks will have multiple sizes and adjustments to fit you almost perfectly. Some packs can even be molded to your body! A quality pack will cost over $200, but this is money well spent. We used big box store backpacks for a few years, and we thought we had good units. Once we tried on some quality packs, we realized what we were missing out on. We decided to bite the bullet this year and invest in some top quality backpacks for our trip to Glacier. The folks at Quest Outdoors in Louisville, KY ( https://www.questoutdoors.com/) were very helpful and had us both fitted in under 30 minutes. We ended up purchasing Osprey brand packs, an Aura AG50 ( https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/aura-ag-50-AURA50S18_681.html) for Becky & an Aether AG60 ( https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/aether-ag-60-AETHER60_807.html) for Andrew.
Another important item is your tent. There are many things to consider when choosing a tent (size, weight, seasons, etc). The tent we use pretty much year-round is the Nightcap 2 by Big Agnes ( https://www.burton.com/us/en/p/big-agnes-burton-nightcap-tent/F17-145411.html This is currently out of stock). It’s a 2-person tent that weighs 4-1/2 lbs. It’s considered a 3-season tent, but we have used it in below-freezing weather a few times and stayed pretty warm. What we like about it most is how quickly it sets up. We can usually get it set up in a couple minutes. The only thing we would consider a con is it having just one “door.” When we first bought it, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. Having a second opening really is a great feature in a tent if you don't want to crawl over another person in the dead of night.
Our Katadyn water filter is pretty awesome ( https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/405-8014931-katadyn-vario-usa). This bad boy screws right onto our Nalgene water bottles making it so much easier for us. We can't say enough good things about it. It pumps quickly, cleanly and it's light to carry. We have never had a problem with the water tasting bad. It's always clear and delicious. That thing is well worth every penny we spent on it.
The dishes we use from Fozzils ( https://www.fozzils.com/solo-pack-semi-transparent) were something we purchased on a whim. We have since traded in our "good" camping dishes for these lightweight, snapable dishes. When we say lightweight, we really mean it. The entire set (cup, plate & bowl) weighs in a 4 oz! The design of the dishes allows us to snap them into the shape of a bowl or dish. When we're done eating, we can clean them quickly and unsnap them to put back in our packs. They take up hardly any space since they lay flat. Our only complaint is that if you pour hot water into it, the dish can heat up pretty quickly in your hands. But we will take that little inconvenience rather than packing heavy dishes.
We could go on and on about equipment, but these are some high points that made our trip a little more comfortable. If you would like more info on some of our equipment, please ask us! Or if you have equipment that you love, tell us about it in the comments!
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