menu facebook twitter instagram pinterest youtube search chevron-down chevron-up
  • About
    • About Kristin
    • Press
    • Contact Me
    • Work With Me
  • Blog
    • Archives
    • Best of the Blog
  • YouTube
  • Solo Female Travel
  • Home
  • Tours
  • Destinations
  • Travel Resources
    • Outdoors 101
    • Itineraries
    • Spiritual Travel
  • SEARCH

Be My Travel Muse

Solo Female Travel

The Only Backpacking Checklist You’ll Ever Need

05/04/2022 by Kristin 14 Comments

I looked at my friend quizzically many times over the two days that we shopped and prepped for the 8-day circuit in Torres del Paine, Chile – my first ever backpacking trip. There were so many things he knew that I didn’t know, like putting everything in its own individual bag, to exactly what to eat in order to cut down on weight, to how to eliminate every unnecessary gram.

Had I been on my own, I would have ended up with the world’s heaviest backpack. Thank goodness I had some guidance!

Since then I’ve completed several multi-day backpacking trips on three continents, most recently, completing a 4-day trip completely on my own. The following is my ultimate backpacking checklist after all of these experiences.

backpacking checklist
one week’s worth of food and gear in Patagonia

Just a note: There are ultralight backpackers who sleep under just a tarp and barely bring any gear or food. That’s not my style, though I do take every effort to cut down on weight while still being safe from the elements, and comfortable.

Table of Contents

  • Food Checklist
  • Gear Checklist
  • Clothing Checklist
  • Toiletries and Hygiene
  • READ NEXT: 20 of the World’s Best Hikes

Food Checklist

I usually go one of two directions with my food. Either I’ll bring instant backpacker meals, which are convenient, pack up really nice and small, and can be quite delicious, or I shop at smaller markets and buy things like pasta and powdered sauce. Neither one are going to be incredibly amazing cuisine, mind you.

That said, food tastes a lot better on the trail. Maybe it’s the hunger from hiking all day, maybe it’s the fact that you’re staring at a glacier or gorgeous valley while you eat it. Either way, I’d say that making food I’d only be mildly disappointed eating at a restaurant back home while on the trail is a success.

If you want to bring instant backpacking meals, I have a definitive ranking of best to worst here, including organic and vegetarian options.

If you’re shopping at the grocery store, here’s what I recommend:

  • 150 grams pasta, powdered potatoes, couscous, or some other quick-cooking carb per person per day. Increase or decrease depending on your personal needs.
  • 4 85-gram powdered pasta sauces.
  • Optional small block of cheese or salami to make pasta more exciting (one block is better than individual slices which mold more easily).
  • 80-100 grams oatmeal per person per day.
  • Powdered milk and chocolate milk.
  • 1-2 Snicker’s or Lara bars (vegan), or some other form of nutrition bar per day.
  • 100 grams dried fruit and nuts per day for lunches.
  • 1 lightweight treat per day (oreos, candy bar, something you’ll look forward to).
  • Enough ziplocks to portion out each meal (please reuse them after!).

This food list assumes that you will have water readily available on the trail. The only backpacking trips I’ve done are ones where I didn’t have to bring all of my own water in, though you may very well encounter that if hiking in the desert. In this case you should also bring 1-2 gallons per day for drinking, plus 0.5- 1 full gallon more for hygiene and cooking. You’ll also need a method to clean water just in case you run into an emergency and you need to take it from your environment, and are able to find it, listed in the gear section below.

backpacking checklist
Cooking in Peru

Gear Checklist

The gear you bring is going to depend heavily on what kind of weather you will encounter. Almost all of the multi-day backpacking trails I’ve done have been in the mountains in Patagonia, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, and Alaska, which usually equates to cold weather and the possibility of snow. However if you are hiking in the desert you will have different needs.

In all of these cases you can count on cold temperatures at night, so that you’re list below is meant for harsher conditions where it’s cold and potentially very wet and windy:

  • Light tent (compare different kinds here)
  • Lightweight sleeping bag for 0-C or under: It’s very important that your bag keeps you warm and doesn’t weigh much! If I’m in sub zero like in Alaska, I use the REI Coop magma sleeping bag in long (I’m 5’8 so the regular is too short) and I’m in love with it.
  • Sleeping mat (this one is so worth the money! How did I ever use anything else?)
  • Backpack that can fit all of your gear inside. It will rain, a rain cover often isn’t enough to keep your sleeping bag dry, especially if it’s windy and the cover blows right off.
  • Headlamp
  • Hiking boots: I love this pair, even after 8 days in Alaska I didn’t have a single blister, and they keep my feet warm and dry.
  • Trekking poles – optional but very helpful for the knees. I always use them!
  • SteriPEN, or some other method to sterilize your water
  • Cooking stove and at least 2 gas containers (or 1 per every 4 days)
  • Waterproof matches or firestarter
  • Cooking pot 
  • Spoon/fork or spork
  • Knife or multitool
  • Hydration bladder
  • Toilet paper and a bag to put the used paper in when you’re done – pack it out!
  • Small first-aid kit with medical tape
  • Any prescription medications, in a waterproof container
  • Waterproof map and compass, offline map with GPS, and if really in the backcountry, a satellite phone and personal locator beacon.

For the best hiking backpacks for women, check out my post reviewing the best backpacks on the market right now.

backpacking checklist
Not a bad front porch in Alaska

Clothing Checklist

For those who have never backpacked before, brace yourself because this is going to sound really gross: You should only bring two sets of clothing for your trip. Extra clothing adds unnecessary weight and there’s really no point in putting on fresh clothes only to make them gross and sweaty within five minutes anyway. Regardless of the length of my hike, whether it’s one day or eight, I still follow this rule. I do bring enough underwear for each day, and I bring extra socks.

You’ll have one set of clothing to hike in, and one set for sleeping in. If your hiking set gets wet and sweaty, I recommend either putting it in your sleeping bag with you while you sleep so that it can warm up and dry from your body heat, or if you’re not too cold once you get to camp, keep wearing it and let it dry out on your body. Yes, you will stink, yes, it will be kind of disgusting, yes, it is so totally worth it!

  • 1 pair waterproof gloves
  • 4 pairs of thick socks
  • 2 warm merino layers
  • 1 sports bra
  • Enough underwear to change daily
  • 2 pairs of yoga pants or whatever you prefer to hike in
  • 1 waterproof ski jacket
  • Optional: foldable, water-resistant, lightweight down jacket
  • 1 pair hiking boots
  • 1 pair camp shoes
  • 1 beanie
  • 2 thin neck warmers that can double as ear warmers
  • 1 hat with brim
  • Sunglasses
backpacking checklist
Rocking the ski jacket while glacier trekking in Chile

Toiletries and Hygiene

Toiletries take up a lot of unnecessary space and they are very heavy. I personally only bring along:

  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrush
  • Sunscreen
  • Menstrual products (a menstrual cup is definitely the easiest and most lightweight option)
  • A small pack of wipes

I don’t usually wash my face at all on the trail, which I realize is probably really weird to most people, so if you want to be able to wash your face, bring along facial wipes and get water from the streams. If it’s glacial water and it’s way too cold, make peace with the wipes. I don’t personally think it’s worth it to bring extra gas to be able to heat up water to wash my face.

Deodorant is pointless, makeup is definitely pointless, and so are shampoo and conditioner, unless you will be able to shower along the trail. If you’re really in the backcountry there’s no point.

This list is the bare bones necessities of what you’ll need when backpacking. Remember that less is more and that every small item adds up when you’re carrying everything with you on your back. Happy backpacking!

READ NEXT: 20 of the World’s Best Hikes

*Some links in this post are affiliate links for products and services we personally use and love. Any purchase you make through them supports us at no extra cost to you. Thanks so much!

1418 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Get the guidebook for solo female travelers!
« 24 of the Best Places to Travel in the USA in June
17 of the Best Places in Canada for Solo Travelers »

Hello There!

headshot

Welcome to Be My Travel Muse, one of the top female travel blogs in the world, welcoming over 5 million readers annually.

I'm Kristin, and my vision of a better world is one where more women are empowered and living out their dreams. Solo traveling is the best method I've found to become the best, bravest version of me. This site is all about how YOU can have the adventure of a lifetime in an easy, fun, approachable way, so that you can feel empowered, too. Want to learn more about me?

Click here!

Get the Solo Female Travel Guidebook

Popular Posts

I am currently in:

The USA!

Check it out on Instagram Stories!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Ijana Loss says

    06/10/2018 at 9:09 pm

    This is great info! If I’m not a big photography person but still wanted to take a few pictures to have great memories to look back on, what would you recommend? I tend to take all my travel pics with my iPhone, but is there a way to keep it from dying from cold/altitude? Or is it really best to get a camera?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      06/13/2018 at 2:18 am

      I personally feel way too limited with an iPhone. However all batteries die quickly in the cold so I like to bring a battery pack or solar charger for that.

      Reply
  2. Kailey Ekstrum says

    06/10/2018 at 11:21 pm

    Do you use your steripen to sterilize water in the bladder? Is there a litter limit for the pens effectiveness?

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      06/13/2018 at 2:17 am

      Yes I do use it for that!

      Reply
  3. Jenn | DayTipper28 says

    06/11/2018 at 10:32 am

    Hey Kristin, great resource list. When I did my first trip to the BWCA in northern Minnesota and the camps packing list didn’t mention deodorant I was shocked. Little did I know how ineffective deodorant is on the trail! Great post of tips!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      06/13/2018 at 2:16 am

      Yep, might as well just not bring it!

      Reply
  4. Agathe says

    06/12/2018 at 2:36 am

    So many tips! This is going to be very helpful, I hope to do more hiking in my next travels. I did some in Slovenia and France and it was so amazing. Thanks for such a complete article!

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      06/13/2018 at 2:04 am

      Glad it’s helpful!

      Reply
  5. Sarah says

    07/06/2018 at 8:29 pm

    Getting a warm enough sleeping bag is SO important! Unless you run crazy hot, always go warmer than you think you’ll need. My bag is 10F, but back when I lived in CA I wished I had a warmer bag! (Summer camping on the east coast is however a bit different) Also, think what can be multipurpose. I absolutely have to wash my face – but for backpacking, the Dr. Bronner’s unscented soap we bring for washing dishes is good enough.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      07/08/2018 at 9:49 am

      Dr. Bronner’s is golden and agreed, go for a warmer bag than you think you’ll need!

      Reply
      • Lizzy says

        06/13/2020 at 12:14 pm

        What do you use to scrub your dishes? Just curious what has worked for you. Thank you for the post it is amazingly helpful!

        Reply
        • Kristin says

          06/13/2020 at 1:04 pm

          Usually just my hand, a small metal wool, and some water

          Reply
  6. Rebecca says

    08/01/2018 at 4:25 am

    I am loving how many Snickers bars and blocks of Milka chocolate are in that photo!!! Looks like my kind of backpacking trip 🙂

    Reply
  7. AB says

    05/18/2022 at 1:39 pm

    Hey, I love camping/backpacking checklists. I have a few for various styles of trips. And I love your write up. But would be GREAT if you had a download to a printable version of just the list! 🤷🏻‍♂️

    Reply

Stay Connected

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Archives
  • Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

© 2023 · Be My Travel Muse. All Rights Reserved

footer-icon

1418 shares