The Happy Camper: Trip Planning and the Importance of a Checklist
Always check your gear list before heading out on trip. Why? Well, there’s been a few times when I hadn’t and suffered greatly from it. I once drove all the way to Temagami for a canoe trip and didn’t realize that I had left the paddles on my front porch back home. I had to rent some cheap one’s off an outfitter. Last year, I had the job of bringing the coffee for our entire group on a canoe trip and discovered that I had packed whole beans instead of grounded java. One of my canoe mates carved a wooden motor and pestle. Even worse, I had a bush plane drop me off in the middle of northern Ontario for an eight-day canoe trip and found out on the first night that I had brought the wrong poles for the tent. Twigs stuck together with Duct Tape make good back-up tent poles, by the way.
Needless to say, it’s good prey time to make up a detailed equipment list and then assign specific gear for each party member. This just doesn’t make for a more organized and safer trip—it also lets you know who to blame when something is missing while on trip.
Here’s my overall equipment list for a five-day canoe trip I am going on next week with my regular canoe buddies.
Group Gear List
Cooking Gear
- camp stove(s)
- pots/pans/kettle
- fuel
- grills/reflector oven (optional)
Kitchen Gear
- plates/bowls
- mugs
- cutlery
- sugar/spices/salt/pepper
- camp soap
- hand sanitizer
- drying bags/lines
- fire lighting implements (fire steels, matches, lighter, tinder)
- water filter (and a back up water filter)
- coffee/tea/hot chocolate, etc.
Tents and Accessories
- tent/hammock
- sleeping pad
- sleeping bag
- camp chair
Canoe Gear
- canoe
- bow line
- bailing/safety kit
- extra paddle
- map
- PFD (personal floatation device)
Campsite Gear
- tarp(s)
- lines/rope
- first aid kit(s)
- repair kit
- emergency beacon (SPOT/Garmin inReach, etc.)
- bug shelter
Wood Processing
- axe(s)
- saw(s)
- sharpeners
Personal Items
- toiletries
- towel
- sun hat
- sunscreen/bug repellant
- rain gear
- extra footwear
- knife
- flashlight/headlamp
- clothing
- snack items (trail mix/chocolate/etc.)
- water bottle
- reading material
- fishing licence and gear, if so inclined and in correct season
Individual Gear List
From this list I assign some of the gear to each individual on trip:
Tim: axe, saw, camp kitchen (pots, pans, cooking stove, stick stove, camp fuel, plates/bowls—each person should bring their own mug), repair kit, 4.5 litre billy pot and 1.5 litre pots for Ash’s meal
Mike: extra water filter, extra tarp, extra saw, extra stove and fuel
Kevin: tarp, first-aid, SPOT, map, reflector oven, saw, extra water filter and bug shelter
Ashley: a positive attitude (and a landing net), coffee, tea, coffee cream/sugar, drink crystals, hot chocolate, fish crisp, oil and extra pan for frying fish.
Chris: fishing gear for trout, pump filter for day trips, your own mug and a prize for the best dinner meal
Everyone brings tent(s), sleeping system, camp chairs, camp mugs, toiletries, sunscreen, bug repellent, fishing gear, sun hat, rain gear, extra footwear, PFDs, extra paddles and anything else I’ve missed on the list.
Each canoe is responsible for their own snacks. Each canoe is responsible for separate lunches.
Meal Plan
Then there is the meal plan. For this particular spring canoe trip in Algonquin, we delegate individuals to an evening meal. They pack all the ingredients required. One given night, one has the privilege of packing in fresh/frozen ingredients. The one assigned to the last meal must rely on dry and dehydrated items. It becomes a serious competition, even more serious than whoever catches more fish on the trip. Ashley won last year… let’s see who wins best dinner this year.
Check out the video from last year’s trip on my KCHappyCamper YouTube channel:
Trip Meal Plan
Day 1
Breakfast on the road
Lunch on the road
Dinner—Ashley
Day 2
Breakfast—Kevin
Dinner—Chris
Day 3
Breakfast—Kevin
Dinner—Tim
Day 4
Breakfast—Tim
Dinner—Mike
Day 5
Breakfast—Ash
Lunch on the road
I know everyone has a phone. However the guy I recently went on a trip with forgot his phone. I should have made him buy a watch from walmart, because somehow the time on my phone got changed while sharing it. It meant I crossed Cedar lake in high winds when I could have crossed it earlier when it was quieter.