Whats In My Pack? 5 Day Comfort Light Gear List!

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