Backpacking basic gear?

[Downunder Diva]

Some great advice here on gear. I am a "pack light - travel far" freak and I also buy gear that I can use in the snow as well as warmer weather. I use a gore- tex snow bivvy which is probably more like a coffin tent with hoops in both ends and an small awning over the entrance. It is only a single skin however so condensation can be a problem. To deal with condensation issues I put my down expedition bag in a gore-tex bivvy cover because there is nothing worse than a wet sleeping bag. I use a white spirit (shellite) optimus stove but I also have a titanium Vargo ultra light wood stove - these things are awesome (will cook dinner with only a few dried twigs and pack down to (and weigh) nothing - you can even use your titanium drink bottle as a kettle!). There are some good youtube vids showing these stoves in action...
https://www.vargooutdoors.com/Hexagon-Backpacking-Wood-Stove
I really like my Exped R9.0 inflatable goose down sleeping mat which packs very small and is light. I've used this extensively on the snow and in warmer weather and it is cosy when it needs to be and insulates at other times. I've got several used thermarests which I never use at all now. Pillow is spare fleece in exped mat sack. I don't carry much in spare clothes just the essential wet weather outers and inner layers - I tend to "sleep - dry" any damp clothing worn over my ever present skins (compression garments). So this is my basic kit but I also have 6 other hiking tents (including bivvies) and 4 other bags that I will choose depending on what I'm doing. I always pack a lightweight ex army nylon - coated groundsheet or two that can be used when ground is rough or slung as an awning for extra shelter.

I do a lot of solo hiking/ski touring/camping especially in the snow and I have always felt safe with the exception of one really sinister episode when I was stalked by a youth. I was hiking to a waterfall not far from the YHA I was using as a base when I was 19. This guy followed me - when I stopped - he would also halt, so I stopped to boil a billy hoping he would move on and he stood there just staring which was really freaky. I tried to talk to him but he didn't answer. In the end I returned back to the YHA talking to the silent him the whole time. He vanished into the bush as I neared the road. Strangely I feel more threatened by this now than I did then (I was very idealistic in those days and thought perhaps that one could talk another out of anything - I don't feel this way now). Apart from this one episode I have always felt safe in the bush on my own. As another diva posted - the further away from civilisation the safer you feel.

 

[Celestron2000]

I'm fascinated by this conversation about female solo backpacking... I really enjoy backpacking, but my husband has pretty much said never again.
I have to say though, that as much as I love it, something about sleeping in a tent makes me feel very vulnerable.
A couple of years ago I went on a trip with one girl friend and my big (part Great Dane) dog, I still felt rather insecure. For whatever reason the area was full of these hard core hunter guys in camo, they were all perfectly polite, but we were the only women out there and I had visions of waking up to find one of them in my tent...
I debate going out alone with my dog a lot, I just don't know.

 

[abc]

I figure that of all the places I'm going to be in danger from some random person, the backwoods of BC isn't high on the list. I hope.

That's exactly what I think. The chance of meeting another human is much lower in the back country than in a lonely country highway. So frankly, I'm a lot less worried about being a sex crime victim in the back country than I'm if I'm stuck on the roadside (say, hit a deer, or slide out on ice) in the road between my home and my work!

 

[Ringrat]

For whatever reason the area was full of these hard core hunter guys in camo, they were all perfectly polite, but we were the only women out there and I had visions of waking up to find one of them in my tent...

I hear you about the hardcore hunter guys in camo. The area I live in is hunt-ATV-snowmobile mecca, and in the fall that's a debate I've had with myself in the past. But now that I live and work with guys that all do that kind of thing, and most of the women do to, I'm less nervous about it. More worried about getting shot at in the fall!!!

 

[Soujan]

I've never backpacked alone. I'm too scared about getting injured or stranded alone. I've never worried about other people on the trail hurting me. The most scared I've been backpacking was before I had eye surgery and had to pee in the dark. I wouldn't be able to find my glasses in the tent, so I would walk out into the dark without them. All I could see was the blob of leaves at my feet, illuminated by my headlamp. I would squat down and would be scared over every noise I heard cause I couldn't see a thing! I was scared a racoon would come a bite me in the butt! LOL

 

[Pequenita]

I was scared a racoon would come a bite me in the butt! LOL

A valid fear!

 

[litterbug]

On safety, I'm most concerned when car camping, especially when I'm not in a campground and there are ATV-ers or hunters nearby. Not a lot of people will hike more than a mile our two to rape or kill someone. The vast majority of my backpacking experience is solo--in fact the only time I remember going with someone else was on my orientation trip for my summer in the Maze District.

Story about hanging food bags: after losing half a loaf of carrot cake and getting a hole in my pack I started hanging my food bag using a long piece of chord so the kangaroor rats wouldn't just climb down onto it. One night I'd made camp late and hung the bag next to the tent. I was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of something hitting the side of my tent and sliding down. Turned out the critters were climbing the tree, falling off the string, and landing on the tent.

I moved the bag.

 

[Soujan]

Regarding hanging food...I hang my food a couple of hundred feet from my campsite. I was in PA doing an overnight trip, and was already in my camp shoes, which is flip flops. I went to hang my food and when I got back to camp I noticed I had stepped in something brown that was stuck on my shoes. I didn't know what it was so I did the smart thing and touched it and smelled it. Turned out that as I was hanging the food, I stepped backwards into bear poop!

 

[geargrrl]

I've never backpacked alone. I'm too scared about getting injured or stranded alone. I've never worried about other people on the trail hurting me. The most scared I've been backpacking was before I had eye surgery and had to pee in the dark. I wouldn't be able to find my glasses in the tent, so I would walk out into the dark without them. All I could see was the blob of leaves at my feet, illuminated by my headlamp. I would squat down and would be scared over every noise I heard cause I couldn't see a thing! I was scared a racoon would come a bite me in the butt! LOL

I have a friend who was attacked by a rabid raccoon and it bit her in the face.

 

[Indianaskier]

I was just look through here, since it's raining in beautiful Indiana today, and thought I'd share my brother's webpage about backpacking. He's very experienced, especially loves the mountains, and sharing his love of backpacking with others. There are several tips and photos of his trips.
He's always happy to answer questions without ever being an overbearing know it all. If he knows how to help he will. If not he will either say so or direct a person to where they might get the help they are seeking. He is retired now , but has worked part time for REI for a few years, where he teaches classes on backpacking and related activities, as well as snowshoeing.
I've been able to spend a little time backpacking and hiking with him and my sister in law. He is 8 yrs older than me, doesn't ski, but did used to do some cross country skiing.
He is the greatest brother and over all cool person. If anyone ever checks out the page, enjoy. I hope the link works okay.

https://www.backpackingamericanwest.com/