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The Isle Royale trip report is up, so let’s talk about gear next! This post covers my 5 day packing list, weights (according to my scale) and some of the conditions I prepared for on this trip. Be sure to also check out the accompanying gear video I shot on our last night of the trek, where I unpack everything that I carried! There are a few items I would probably leave at home next time, but I feel good about what I brought on this shoulder season adventure. I was downright comfy, even in variable temperatures that come with spending time on Lake Superior.

Im not an ultralight backpacker and every time I pack…I feel like I have too much stuff. But I work to balance comfort with keeping things on the lighter and simpler side, making it easier on my body and mind (less to carry and keep track of). If you are just starting out, use what you have, bring what you want, borrow gear and then upgrade as you go. Here’s a post I wrote on ways I’ve lightened my pack over the years and 5 hacks to lighten up without breaking the bank.

Comfort Light
I brought along some new critical gear, including my pack, tent, pants, shoes and water treatment. A few comfort items came along too, including a lightweight stool, twinkle lights and a DIY field watercolor kit. Most of these items performed as they should but I will keep testing and report back. Except for my art kit, of course…that was wonderful to have along, requires no further testing and has its own dedicated post you can read here!
Here we go: Let’s unpack that gear!

TRIP DETAILS
LENGTH 47.6 trail miles (according to GPS, including spurs to campsites)
CONDITIONS Temperature range from approx. 30-65 degrees inland and coastal. Chance of rain
DATE HIKED May 27-June 1, 2021
CONSIDERATIONS Carried 1-2 days more food, 1 more L of water and warmer layers due to length of trip, water access and variable weather conditions.
Learn more: Trip Report + Gear Video
PACKING LIST









Clothing Worn | Item | oz. |
Top | Sherpa Quick Dry Tee | 2.00 |
Top | Craft Sun Sleeves | 1.00 |
Bra | REI Bralette | 2.00 |
Light layer | Joy Lab windbreaker | 3.40 |
Underwear | Long briefs | 2.40 |
Pants | Kuhl Klash Pants | 18.30 |
Sock 1 | Wright Socks – Cool mesh tab | 1.00 |
Compression Sleves | Zensah Compression Sleeves | 2.00 |
Shoes | Altra Timps | 21.90 |
Gaiters | Altra Gaiters | 1.00 |
Sun Gloves | Outdoor Research Sungloves | 0.60 |
Hat | Wandering Pine Trucker Hat | 2.5 |
Trekking poles | Leki Micro Vario Poles | 14.90 |
TOTAL | 73.00 | |
Other Clothing | Item | oz. |
Rain jacket | REI Rain Jacket | 9.70 |
Rain Pants | 3F Rain Skirt | 2.90 |
Rain Gloves | latex gloves | 0.40 |
Light Mittens | mis match fleece gloves | 1.60 |
Underwear | Long briefs | 2.40 |
Insulating layer | Melanzana Fleece Hoodie | 9.50 |
Insulating layer | Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Jacket | 7.90 |
Insulating Layer | Enlightened Equipment Snow Skirt/small blanket | 5.20 |
Baselayer/Sleep top | Smartwool PhD Merino top | 4.70 |
Baselayer/Sleep bottom | Terramar Fleece bottoms | 5.60 |
Sock 2 | Wright Socks – Cool mesh tab | 1.00 |
Sock 3 (warm!) | Darn Tough Wool Socks | 3.10 |
Socks/sleep | Acorn Fleece | 2.40 |
Camp Shoes | Hacked walmart shoes | 6.20 |
Warm Hat | Enlightened Equipment hooligan | 0.85 |
Bandana/Buff | Isle Royale Buff | 1.10 |
TOTAL | 64.55 | |
Storage | Item | oz. |
Backpack | Crown 60 Women’s | 40.00 |
Pack liner | Compactor Bag x 2 | 4.30 |
Stuff sack-clothes | Enlightened Equipment stuff sack | 0.70 |
Food Storage | Opsack – scentproof food bag | 1.60 |
TOTAL | 46.60 | |
Sleeping & Shelter | Item | oz. |
Shelter | Nemo Hornet 2 | 30.00 |
Pad | Big Agnes Two Track winter pad | 27.30 |
Pillow | Nemo Fillo Elite Pillow | 3.50 |
Sleeping quilt | Enlightened Equipment Revelation 10 degree Wide + Bag | 28.90 |
TOTAL | 89.70 | |
Hydration & Cooking | Item | oz. |
Water storage | CNOC 2L Vecto | 2.60 |
Water Bag | Mesh bag | 0.50 |
Purification | Sawyer Squeeze | 2.30 |
Water | Nylon pre filter | 0.20 |
Chemical Purification | Aqua Mira Water drops | 3.60 |
Cup/pot | Snowpeak cup w hot lips & lid | 3.00 |
Stove | Snow Peak Giga | 2.40 |
Cozy | Metallic mailing envelope/cozy/seat | 2.40 |
Utensil | Blue spoon | 0.40 |
Ignition | mini bic lighter | 0.40 |
TOTAL | 17.80 | |
Misc/Electronics | Item | oz. |
Photo | iPhone 7 w/ case | 7.30 |
Battery Pack | Anker w/ cord | 7.90 |
Battery Pack | Anker w/ cord | 7.90 |
Camera | GoPro w/bracket + bag | 7.50 |
Delorme | InReach Mini | 4.00 |
Lights | Twinkle lights | 3.10 |
Glasses | Presc w/ case | 2.10 |
Trash Bag | (2) bread bags | 0.60 |
Art Bag/Hip Pack | Granite Gear Hip Wing | 2.30 |
Water color kit | Sm Altoid Kit+ Pencil, pen, eraser, brush in GG Bag | 4.8 |
Journal | Watercolor Molskien | 4.10 |
Stool | Big Agnes skyline UL | 19.50 |
TOTAL | 71.10 | |
Personal/Hygiene | Item | oz. |
Toothbrush | Travel Toothbrush + cover | 0.40 |
Soap | Dr Bronners in dropper | 0.50 |
#1 | Kula Cloth | 0.40 |
#2 | Culo Clean portable bidet | 0.70 |
Fem Hy | Diva Cup | 0.70 |
Fem Hy | Back up tampons and pads | 0.80 |
Massage Ball | Rawlogy Cork Massage ball | 1.70 |
Bath | Viva paper towels/10 squares | 0.50 |
Balm | Hike Goo Foot balm – Small | 1.20 |
Chapstick | Lip Balm | 0.20 |
Trowel | Large aluminum stake/trowel | 0.80 |
Earplugs | Earplugs | 0.10 |
Headnet | Sea to Summit Headnet | 1.00 |
Pepper Spray | Pepper Spray | 1.00 |
TOTAL | 10.00 | |
10 Essentials/Repair | Item | oz. |
First Aid Kit | Solo First Aid kit 4 days | 6.40 |
Personal Blister Kit | Foot care kit | 3.90 |
Sunscreen | Sunscreen | 1.20 |
Essential stuffsack | Essential stuffsack | 0.30 |
Signalling | Mirror | 1.10 |
Safety/Signalling/Multi | Safety Bandana | 1.20 |
Emergency water | (4) Micropur Tabs | 0.10 |
Emergency warmth | SOL Survival blanket orange/mylar 2 person | 3.40 |
Multi tool | Swiss army yellow knife | 0.70 |
Flash light | UCO Headlamp | 3.10 |
Compass | Brunton | 1.30 |
Maps | Keith Myrmel Map | 1.90 |
Thermometer | Key chain thermometer | 0.20 |
Fire starting kit | Fire starting kit | 1.20 |
Repair Kit | Repair Kit | 0.40 |
Warmer | Body Warmer | 1.70 |
Warmer | Hand Warmer | 3.10 |
Emergency Shelter | pocket rain poncho | 1.50 |
Pen | Sharpie w/ duct tape | 0.60 |
Rope | 25 ft Amsteel rope | 1.40 |
Bug | Small bottle Picardin | 2.20 |
Duct tape | 10ft duct tape-on hiking pole | |
TOTAL | 36.90 | |
Misc | Item | oz. |
Stickers | WP Stickers x 12 | 0.40 |
TOTAL | 0.40 | |
Consumables | Item | oz. |
Water | 1L Smart water | 36.00 |
Water | 1L Smart water | 36.00 |
Food | 5 days @ 2,200 cal av. | 101.90 |
Fuel | Iso Pro Canister | 7.10 |
TOTAL | oz. | 181.00 |
TOTAL | LBS | 11.31 |
oz. | ||
BASE WEIGHT* | OZ | 301.05 |
LBS | 18.815625 | |
CONSUMABLES | OZ | 181.00 |
LBS | 11.3125 | |
TOTAL CARRIED WEIGHT | 482.05 | |
minus worn gear **ADDED | LBS Purple Rain Adventure Skirt | 30.13 Love this skirt! |

A few more notes:
Tent
I had to quickly buy a tent a few days before the trip because last year’s repair on my UL shelter was not holding up and I didn’t want to take any chances on being wet or cold on the Isle. I scored a Nemo Hornet 2 during the REI anniversary sale and will test it further this summer before reviewing. It performed well and served as a warm, lightweight shelter with plenty of room for me AND my gear.
Clothing
File under: stuff doesn’t last forever…
After writing my foot care post, I checked out the shoes I was planning on wearing for the trip and they needed replacing. Im a big fan of Altra 1.5 Timps, but the 3.0’s have already started to delaminate after putting less than 60 miles on them. I may be looking for new shoes while my knee is healing.
I scored a pair of Kuhl Klash pants from Hiking Dude and loved the fit and durability so much that I brought them on the trip. They performed well and I think they will serve me best in cold, damp temps — probably too heavy for summer, but we’ll see! Thanks for the heavy duty fancy pants, Hiking Dude!
My Purple Rain Adventure skirt was a great, lightweight addition to a trip with fluctuating temps. I love the comfy yoga waistband that doesn’t bunch up under my hip belt, the generous pockets that hold my phone, snacks and even a map…and supporting a woman owned cottage gear business! The increased mobility of hiking in a skirt is great and its my new summer go-to on and off the trail.

Hello Summer!
Have you been to Isle Royale? Got any good packing tips or favorite gear picks to share? Hope you have a wonderful summer full of adventure and you found this post helpful. Shoot me a hello in the comments or join the Wandering Pine FB or IG to continue the conversation!
And don’t forget to check back or subscribe to the Wandering Pine Youtube channel….I just posted my first gear video, and it was kind of fun to tie my go pro up in a tree and film it in one take at camp. Let me know if you want to see more videos like this one and I’ll see what I can do… I’m editing our day by day trip video next and its going to be a fun one!
Happy Trails!
~WP
Nice write! I have a trip coming up, and I may do this. I’m sure the seven people who follow my blog are curious about what I carry. 😉
For running, I’ve switched to Carsons* unless the run is longer than eight miles. I love Altras, but since North Face bought the company it seems everyone I know has had problems with durability and it seems the issue with inconsistent sizing still exists.
I’ve also shifted to a lot of cottage brands. My pack was built by Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear, my bum pack by ThruPack, I carry a White Box alcohol stove. The customer service from these tiny businesses has been amazing.
The watercolor imbedded in this post is lovely.
* Carson Footwear – made in Oregon of US-made materials, and the price is comparable to the retail price of other running shoes. The shoes have almost no cushioning, but the sole is made with a proprietary material. We have trails here with chunky basalt, and I’ve run on those trails in my Carsons without problems. (It’s more comfortable with their optional rock plate, but still doable without it.) I prefer more cushioning for long runs because I weigh about 170 pounds and that’s a little much for my feet to bear. (I’m carrying an extra 30 pounds of fuel.) On the plus side, I doubt I’m capable of running more than a 5K right now, so I don’t need to worry about my shoes.
Thanks for the info. I like to support cottage brands when I can and haven’t heard much in the shoe area. Happy trails!!
Hello! I just discovered your blog a couple of days ago! I am a fellow Minnesotan but was transplanted here from a warmer climate too just like you! Grew up in Texas and moved to the Twin Cities area at 14 years old. Anyway..thanks for posting your gear list. I plan to add a Nemo Pillow to my gear! I am doing my second section hike of the SHT this August with my husband and another couple. We did 22 miles last summer (we’re in our 40s and 50s with some knee issues so we are sloth hikers) and it was my first multi day backpacking trip (something I have dreamed of doing for years) so we borrowed a lot of gear. Now that we’re hooked and plan to section hike the whole SHT (and Isle Royale someday) we invested in our own tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur UV HL 3) this year. Now we’re researching sleeping pads. We used inflatable pads from Cabela’s last year that we borrowed but aren’t sure if maybe the accordian style closed cell would be better? I definitely would like to find a more comfortable pillow to bring as I find that a good night’s sleep (and a good cup of coffee in the morning) makes a big difference in my energy levels and mood on the trail the next day. I look forward to digging in and exploring your site more in depth! I love reading about women getting out there on the trails! Have a great day!
Hi Kim!
Thanks for reading and Im glad to hear you are getting out there and having fun! I hear ya on the good sleep and good coffee!
As far as sleeping pads go, I carry a little heavier one for comfort. Its worth it to me to get good sleep. Our kids use foam pads, but my hips appreciate a self inflating foam pad best.
Enjoy your upcoming adventures and be sure to report back! Happy trails! -wp