Cape to Cape Track, Western Australia, 135km Packing list
A somewhat blurry shot, but I won't unpack the hiking pack anymore for a while. This is (at this stage) all the stuff that I will be taking on the hike, 17.9kg, which includes 4L of drinking water. Together with the two tarps, which came in really handy because we had rain and the guide book, the pack weighed close to 20kg in the end. I won't take the guide book and only copy some pages that will be useful. The guide book is 290g, the few pages I am taking only about 80g. (see 'edit' below).
Fully packed:
www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/16974955221/in/album-7...
Also, what's not shown here is the camera: I took my trusty Nikon FM3A and the Nikkor 24mm and 50mm Nikkor Series E lens. I carried the camera as shown here: www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/17297309602/in/photost...
All this is for the first leg from Cape Leeuwin to Margaret River, and four days' camping along the track. Then, a food drop at Margaret River for the second leg from Margaret River to Cape Naturaliste (3 1/2 days). Most days were 16-17.5km, with one day about 19km. This was the first time I carried such a heavy pack (added four Mandarins and one Lebanese cucumber after Margaret River which added weight!). I found this hike quite challenging with such a heavy pack which was close to 35% of my body weight on the first day. My daughter carried the tent and her pack ended up close to 40% of her body weight. (We are 'little women' :). Recommendations for loads are less than what we carried but women in some other countries carry heavy sacks of produce to the market every single day which makes me wonder whether we, in the western world, are just getting 'soft'. Anyhow, I managed, just. Towards the end of about 16km, especially after the slog on sand, I just had about enough. :)
several 'Edits' added at the bottom!
Stuff that I left behind after the first four days = deleted
Edit:
I will take the guide book as the maps in the book are much better than the trek maps that come with it. After working out how many copies I was going to print the weight added up again.
When I look at this shot, the first thing I notice is the bar of TOBLERONE! :) I love LINDT Chilli chocolate but find for hiking TOBLERONE is more suitable because it is chunkier and may not break as easily as a flat bar of chocolate. TOBLERONE tastes nice too! :)
THE STUFF for four days (we'll hike for four days, food drop, hike for four days):
On the left is the stuff that goes into the top compartment.
- 2 knee bandages in case my knees get dodgy during the hike, can also be used for snake bites, which hopefully won't happen.
- First Aid kit, which we hopefully won't need.
- hand sanitizer
- Pack cover & shower cap camera cover
- rain jacket
- wallet with cards, no coins
- head torch
- trek notes and SUUNTO compass (not needed).
- note book
In the middle is the stuff that goes into the main compartment
- toilet roll with baby wipes and trowel
- 4 x 500mL water. I made tubular bags so I can put the bottles on top of each other into the pack on either side. Makes packing easier and keeps the balance of the pack better. (did not work as well as I thought it would.
- swimmers, as we may have to wade through water
- lightweight fleecy jacket replaced with warmer jacket.
- vest
- spare pants (left behind to reduce weight
- Goretex rain pants (left behind to reduce weight, would have been too cumbersome to put on)
- one change of socks and undies
- small towel
- stainless steel mug (not needed).
- Pita bread and cheese for four days. Took multigrain breadrolls instead as well as a Lebanese cucumber, i.e. 1/4 bite of it each day.
- instant soup for four days (not needed. Also, would have used too much drinking water).
- TOBLERONE (can't leave home without it) (alas, it had to go as it was too cumbersome to pack. Replaced with four Mint Patties, which were nice and kind of 'refreshing' and the soft mint bit inside is covered with a thin layer of chocolate).
- 120g trail mix for four days (took about 200g of trail mix).
- 150g apricot bites/delight snack. (This was nice!)
- 2 x rice porridge for two (daughter carries the other lot for two) Note: Rice porridge was difficult to cook. The bit over the flame burnt and the rest turned into the kind of slop that you see in POW camp movies. I have been cured of eating rice porridge and shall keep clear of it for at least a while).
- 2 TASTY BITE meals and rice for two people (daughter carries the other lot for two) Worked really well and tasted good, even after four days.
- 400mL fuel bottle (used less than 400mL for four days, approx. 300mL).
- Ultralight bushbox stove www.bushcraft-essentials.com/english/bushbox-ultralight-o... with windshield www.amazon.de/Andoer-Faltbarer-Alu-Windschutz-Windscreen-... and pot scraper. (This little stove worked a treat!)
- gardening gloves (we won't do gardening, of course, but sometimes gardening gloves come in handy when having to clamber up rocks, move pieces of timber, clear the ground for the tent, etc. They weigh only 70g, so will take them along. i found them to be very useful on other treks as well). Managed to clear small branches, etc. without gloves.
- matches, lighter (forgot the lighter. Waterproof matches kept breaking, i.e. a lighter is a good idea).
- 2L OSPREY hydration pack
- gadget bag, containing some gaffa tape, 2 x 3 AAA batteries (decided that things would have to go really really bad and the two head torches would suffice for four days which, of course, they did; small sewing kit, spare laces, AQUAMIRA chlorine tablets, spare head torch, because I have a habit of losing head torches and even the best ones can break down.
- cooking utensils: pot handle, small pot cloth, snuffer to put out flame.
- mess kit, paper towels (no water for washing up), cutlery, and the burner is stored inside the mess bowl.
- thongs to relieve the feet used only once, so decided could to without them).
- small tarp so we won't have to put the packs in the sand or dirt. (Took two small tarps which came in really handy to make entrance mats on either side of the tent, especially when it rained. Also, we could put the packs on the tarps to keep them off the wet sand.
On the right is the stuff that goes into the bottom compartment
- 3/4 length THERM-A-Rest mat with small piece of sheepskin for extra comfort.
- pillow
- Western Mountaineering USA sleeping bag. Cosy! weighs only 500g!
- toiletries
PJ's
- spec case
- KOMPERDELL trekking poles (these are new and have clamps instead of twist locks. The twist locks on my other pair sometimes don't work which is a real nuisance.
In the right hand corner the stuff that goes into the side pockets, minus the scarf. I decided I really don't need a scarf when I have a Santini headband. Saves 25g! :)
- 4 hankies I opted for paper tissues as I often get a really runny nose when hiking. Disadvantage is that the used ones had to be put into a plastic bag and packed for disposal at the end of the hike.
- Santini headband
- cell phone (there is no reception on most parts of the trek. I took it 'just in case'. We had reception for a short distance just after Conto camping ground).
- sun screen
- cotton gloves for sun protection
- lip balm
Edit 1:
Swapped packcover (105g) and tarp (215g) for a 285g poncho tarp. Saves 35g and will be more useful. The disadvantage with pack covers is that the water is running down your back and the pack still gets wet. (Poncho tarp: Will write a 'gear review' when home! Not very useful in high wind conditions.) Glad that I packed the pack cover 'just in case'.
Edit 2:
In the main compartment I packed everything that was in the small stuff sacks into one lightweight compression bag. In the bottom compartment the pillow and the pj's are now also in one compression bag. Makes packing a bit easier. I.e. at this stage it appears to be easier. :)
Edit 3 - gear review after the first four days!:
I got rid of a few items, but then added 4 mandarins and one Lebanese cucumber for lunch, which brought the weight back up again. But: A quarter of Lebanese cucumber with the bread roll and "La vache qui rit" cheese, and a mandarin after dinner was very nice! I also added more trail mix and ate it all every day. :) I took one Lebanese cucumber for the first four days, but it became really slimy after the second day in a plastic bag so threw it away. For the second four days I wrapped it well in brown paper, then in a plastic bag and it kept well and was still crunchy on day 4. The breadrolls: wrapped tightly and with as little air as possible in plastic bags and the roll on day 4 did not taste stale, a bit flatter than a lovely roll fresh from the baker's, but still edible. I suppose after 135km lugging a heavy pack and probably not enough kiloJoules, anything tastes like a feast. Just downed 100g of Toblerone! Feeling a bit sick, but hey! a Toblerone is worth it! :) I seem to have lost 1 1/2kg to 2kg during the hike.
Also, the second tarp was added again. Small tarps are really handy. One of them could have made an emergency roof for cooking in the rain and the other used as an entrance mat to the small 2-person tent, and also for the packs to sit on during the night. It did rain, but not heavily enough and we managed to cook in the drizzle without cover.
Link to album and blurb: www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/albums/72157650612998820
Claudia's photos of this spectacular hike:
Cape to Cape Track, Western Australia, 135km Packing list
A somewhat blurry shot, but I won't unpack the hiking pack anymore for a while. This is (at this stage) all the stuff that I will be taking on the hike, 17.9kg, which includes 4L of drinking water. Together with the two tarps, which came in really handy because we had rain and the guide book, the pack weighed close to 20kg in the end. I won't take the guide book and only copy some pages that will be useful. The guide book is 290g, the few pages I am taking only about 80g. (see 'edit' below).
Fully packed:
www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/16974955221/in/album-7...
Also, what's not shown here is the camera: I took my trusty Nikon FM3A and the Nikkor 24mm and 50mm Nikkor Series E lens. I carried the camera as shown here: www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/17297309602/in/photost...
All this is for the first leg from Cape Leeuwin to Margaret River, and four days' camping along the track. Then, a food drop at Margaret River for the second leg from Margaret River to Cape Naturaliste (3 1/2 days). Most days were 16-17.5km, with one day about 19km. This was the first time I carried such a heavy pack (added four Mandarins and one Lebanese cucumber after Margaret River which added weight!). I found this hike quite challenging with such a heavy pack which was close to 35% of my body weight on the first day. My daughter carried the tent and her pack ended up close to 40% of her body weight. (We are 'little women' :). Recommendations for loads are less than what we carried but women in some other countries carry heavy sacks of produce to the market every single day which makes me wonder whether we, in the western world, are just getting 'soft'. Anyhow, I managed, just. Towards the end of about 16km, especially after the slog on sand, I just had about enough. :)
several 'Edits' added at the bottom!
Stuff that I left behind after the first four days = deleted
Edit:
I will take the guide book as the maps in the book are much better than the trek maps that come with it. After working out how many copies I was going to print the weight added up again.
When I look at this shot, the first thing I notice is the bar of TOBLERONE! :) I love LINDT Chilli chocolate but find for hiking TOBLERONE is more suitable because it is chunkier and may not break as easily as a flat bar of chocolate. TOBLERONE tastes nice too! :)
THE STUFF for four days (we'll hike for four days, food drop, hike for four days):
On the left is the stuff that goes into the top compartment.
- 2 knee bandages in case my knees get dodgy during the hike, can also be used for snake bites, which hopefully won't happen.
- First Aid kit, which we hopefully won't need.
- hand sanitizer
- Pack cover & shower cap camera cover
- rain jacket
- wallet with cards, no coins
- head torch
- trek notes and SUUNTO compass (not needed).
- note book
In the middle is the stuff that goes into the main compartment
- toilet roll with baby wipes and trowel
- 4 x 500mL water. I made tubular bags so I can put the bottles on top of each other into the pack on either side. Makes packing easier and keeps the balance of the pack better. (did not work as well as I thought it would.
- swimmers, as we may have to wade through water
- lightweight fleecy jacket replaced with warmer jacket.
- vest
- spare pants (left behind to reduce weight
- Goretex rain pants (left behind to reduce weight, would have been too cumbersome to put on)
- one change of socks and undies
- small towel
- stainless steel mug (not needed).
- Pita bread and cheese for four days. Took multigrain breadrolls instead as well as a Lebanese cucumber, i.e. 1/4 bite of it each day.
- instant soup for four days (not needed. Also, would have used too much drinking water).
- TOBLERONE (can't leave home without it) (alas, it had to go as it was too cumbersome to pack. Replaced with four Mint Patties, which were nice and kind of 'refreshing' and the soft mint bit inside is covered with a thin layer of chocolate).
- 120g trail mix for four days (took about 200g of trail mix).
- 150g apricot bites/delight snack. (This was nice!)
- 2 x rice porridge for two (daughter carries the other lot for two) Note: Rice porridge was difficult to cook. The bit over the flame burnt and the rest turned into the kind of slop that you see in POW camp movies. I have been cured of eating rice porridge and shall keep clear of it for at least a while).
- 2 TASTY BITE meals and rice for two people (daughter carries the other lot for two) Worked really well and tasted good, even after four days.
- 400mL fuel bottle (used less than 400mL for four days, approx. 300mL).
- Ultralight bushbox stove www.bushcraft-essentials.com/english/bushbox-ultralight-o... with windshield www.amazon.de/Andoer-Faltbarer-Alu-Windschutz-Windscreen-... and pot scraper. (This little stove worked a treat!)
- gardening gloves (we won't do gardening, of course, but sometimes gardening gloves come in handy when having to clamber up rocks, move pieces of timber, clear the ground for the tent, etc. They weigh only 70g, so will take them along. i found them to be very useful on other treks as well). Managed to clear small branches, etc. without gloves.
- matches, lighter (forgot the lighter. Waterproof matches kept breaking, i.e. a lighter is a good idea).
- 2L OSPREY hydration pack
- gadget bag, containing some gaffa tape, 2 x 3 AAA batteries (decided that things would have to go really really bad and the two head torches would suffice for four days which, of course, they did; small sewing kit, spare laces, AQUAMIRA chlorine tablets, spare head torch, because I have a habit of losing head torches and even the best ones can break down.
- cooking utensils: pot handle, small pot cloth, snuffer to put out flame.
- mess kit, paper towels (no water for washing up), cutlery, and the burner is stored inside the mess bowl.
- thongs to relieve the feet used only once, so decided could to without them).
- small tarp so we won't have to put the packs in the sand or dirt. (Took two small tarps which came in really handy to make entrance mats on either side of the tent, especially when it rained. Also, we could put the packs on the tarps to keep them off the wet sand.
On the right is the stuff that goes into the bottom compartment
- 3/4 length THERM-A-Rest mat with small piece of sheepskin for extra comfort.
- pillow
- Western Mountaineering USA sleeping bag. Cosy! weighs only 500g!
- toiletries
PJ's
- spec case
- KOMPERDELL trekking poles (these are new and have clamps instead of twist locks. The twist locks on my other pair sometimes don't work which is a real nuisance.
In the right hand corner the stuff that goes into the side pockets, minus the scarf. I decided I really don't need a scarf when I have a Santini headband. Saves 25g! :)
- 4 hankies I opted for paper tissues as I often get a really runny nose when hiking. Disadvantage is that the used ones had to be put into a plastic bag and packed for disposal at the end of the hike.
- Santini headband
- cell phone (there is no reception on most parts of the trek. I took it 'just in case'. We had reception for a short distance just after Conto camping ground).
- sun screen
- cotton gloves for sun protection
- lip balm
Edit 1:
Swapped packcover (105g) and tarp (215g) for a 285g poncho tarp. Saves 35g and will be more useful. The disadvantage with pack covers is that the water is running down your back and the pack still gets wet. (Poncho tarp: Will write a 'gear review' when home! Not very useful in high wind conditions.) Glad that I packed the pack cover 'just in case'.
Edit 2:
In the main compartment I packed everything that was in the small stuff sacks into one lightweight compression bag. In the bottom compartment the pillow and the pj's are now also in one compression bag. Makes packing a bit easier. I.e. at this stage it appears to be easier. :)
Edit 3 - gear review after the first four days!:
I got rid of a few items, but then added 4 mandarins and one Lebanese cucumber for lunch, which brought the weight back up again. But: A quarter of Lebanese cucumber with the bread roll and "La vache qui rit" cheese, and a mandarin after dinner was very nice! I also added more trail mix and ate it all every day. :) I took one Lebanese cucumber for the first four days, but it became really slimy after the second day in a plastic bag so threw it away. For the second four days I wrapped it well in brown paper, then in a plastic bag and it kept well and was still crunchy on day 4. The breadrolls: wrapped tightly and with as little air as possible in plastic bags and the roll on day 4 did not taste stale, a bit flatter than a lovely roll fresh from the baker's, but still edible. I suppose after 135km lugging a heavy pack and probably not enough kiloJoules, anything tastes like a feast. Just downed 100g of Toblerone! Feeling a bit sick, but hey! a Toblerone is worth it! :) I seem to have lost 1 1/2kg to 2kg during the hike.
Also, the second tarp was added again. Small tarps are really handy. One of them could have made an emergency roof for cooking in the rain and the other used as an entrance mat to the small 2-person tent, and also for the packs to sit on during the night. It did rain, but not heavily enough and we managed to cook in the drizzle without cover.
Link to album and blurb: www.flickr.com/photos/30079014@N03/albums/72157650612998820
Claudia's photos of this spectacular hike: