Packing for Packrafting

My 50 liter backpack weighs in at about 50 lbs.

Traveling light has been a proclivity of mine for years. But reaching that “light” point is not an easy task. As the maxim goes “it takes longer to write a shorter letter”. Unfortunately, camera gear is not light in any measure, although it is lighter than it used to be, and new lenses and cameras are continually redesigned with lightweight materials. I decided to take one camera body, one battery, and three lenses. I finally finished some degree of a “system” for an upcoming pack/raft trip in the northern Brooks Range, which will begin in a few days. That packing process seemed like a combination of an art project and solving the Rubix Cube. I kept going back and forth between two backpacks, but ended up using the smaller, 50 liter pack, mainly because I like the fit a little better and I’ve used it extensively and trust its fit (Osprey Atmos 50 Pack w/1.5L H2O bag) .Although, the extra volume would be nice.

The trip includes about 60 miles of hiking and 90 miles of paddling and the benefit of the lightest pack possible is obvious. For those of you who share the same quest for minimalism may find my list of items interesting. Many have perfected this mode of travel, and explored vast regions of the Brooks Range on foot. This is a relatively short trip, but the truth is that the length of the trip does not alter your gear much, besides food and fuel. My pack comes in at about 49 lbs. The blank spaces in the list are the shared items that my friend is carrying in his pack. The Arctic is just awakening from the long dark winter, and the tundra will still be brown. I plan to do some photography, as opportunity permits, and will share some photos upon my return in latter June.