Ensure You Have the Right Gear on Your Mountaineering, Backpacking, or Camping Trip: Loadout Days

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Having too much gear can make your trip miserable. Not having the right gear can end your trip just at the point where it starts to get interesting: once you’ve gotten beyond the commercial air travel and ground transportation and into the wild, actually beginning the human-powered trek to or up your objective.

I’ve made both mistakes. But I’ve also learned that both mistakes come in two flavors: 1) having a good plan, poorly executed, or 2) having a bad plan.

This post is really about mistake type #1. Frankly, I find that mistake the most, personally, unforgiveable. It’s the mistake type that frustrates me more. Sure, I could make a bad plan due to having poor information or because I am stretching into an adventure style for which I lack experience. But when I have a plan laid out and then forget to bring the right stuff or bring more stuff than the plan really needs, that’s truly an unforced error.

The “everyone participates” gear loadout days of the type I describe in this video are truly invaluable when it comes to avoiding this “good plan, poorly executed” problem. No, they aren’t a guarantee, but I have made far fewer mistakes when it comes to gear planning since I’ve instituted them into my planning routine. It’s a lot of work, to be sure, but being able to literally see everything that is coming along is a beautiful thing. I am far more likely to see misses and redundancies. The more people who are on the team, the more likely I am to catch a mistake before it becomes hard to reverse.

It also makes us accountable to each other, as teammates. I have full confidence that everyone has managed their team responsibilities because I see the physical evidence. The person bringing the tent? There it is. The stove. Yup, over in the corner of the room. And so on.

So, maybe consider adding this “quality control” check into your planning. It may save you from having that good plan, poorly executed.

And here is a link to the duffel I used on my last big, international adventure: the Osprey Packs Transporter 95 Liter Duffel Bag (fits cargo luggage size limits).