Every woman who lives for the outdoors needs to be prepared. A good place to start is your pack. Start with the 5 basic questions every outdoor enthusiast needs to ask themselves.
- Who am I packing for?
- What is the purpose of today’s adventure?
- Where will I be going?
- When will I be out and for how long?
- Why do I need my pack?
Who is this pack for?
This could be the most important question of all. Now I’m not asking you the easy questions. This isn’t about your name or who you’re married to or when you started your outdoors adventures. This is more in-depth than that. Do you have health concerns?
- Allergies,
- necessary meds,
- Devices to help with a limitation,
How much do you know about the area you’re going to?
- New to this park, lake, lease
- Traveling to a different state
You have to be completely honest with yourself here. It’s not about being overconfident or trying to “look” self-sufficient. It’s about being ready for your needs. The pack is your resource to be safe, healthy, and successful with your outdoors adventure.
What is the intent behind today’s adventure?
If you’re scouting a new territory for next season’s hunt your needs are going to be different from a week-long kayaking trip down the Rio Grande. If your searching for a clearing to set up a feed plot, your needs will be different from a search for the perfect archery tree stand. You need to ensure that you are prepared for what will make you successful. If you are hiking through the woods, there’s the risk of a fall which could lead to breaks, sprains, or cuts that may need immediate medical care. When you’re kayak fishing, there’s a risk of falling into the water and even the best swimmer can be knocked unconscious which needs to mitigated with a life vest.
Where will you be going?
There are 3 factors in this that must be considered every time you go out. You need to know the terrain. This may require maps or a GPS tracking program. You need to know the environment. Is there going to be a risk of snakes, potential predators, dangerous weather patterns? You will also need to know your area’s laws. Will you be required to wear orange, allowed to carry a rifle or pistol for protection, need additional permits or licenses? It may be beneficial to have a compass, especially if you are using printed maps. No matter what supplies fall into this category for you, it is imperative to ensure you know where you are going and to make sure someone knows where you have gone.
When are you going?
The needs of a winter outdoors adventure are different from the needs of a summer adventure. There are different requirements for a day trip then there will be for an overnight outing. A dry, sunny outing will have different necessities than a wet, rainy outing. When you go out during hunting season, your needs will be different than during the offseason.
Why do you need the pack?
You have to understand why you need the pack to understand how to put your pack together. These questions you’ve been answering will give you a good foundation to understanding why you need the pack. Especially when you’re new to the outdoors adventures you need to be realistically prepared. Not only do you need to have the necessities available at your fingertips, but you also need to remember your constraints.
If you have a medical condition that requires medication you will have to ensure that you are not gone beyond your safe timeframe or make sure that you have the necessary medications with you. Take me for example. I have daily meds that must go with me on overnight adventures and I have medication that must be with me at all times in case of a medical emergency (ie anaphylaxis).
Learning to adapt to new limitations or disabilities can make it seem like the outdoors will never be in reach again. Being faced with daily or emergency medication can instill fear and uncertainty in people who have limited exposure to these life restrictions. If you’re faced with these kinds of challenges, check out our article: Disabled not Unable
If you’re going to a new area you will need reliable location resources. I personally prefer to rely on three sources: When I’m hunting and scouting I use OnX and Google Maps. When I’m fishing I use Fishbrain and Google Maps. This gives me the ability to check satellite images, terrain graphs, and I am able to track my location or the path I take. I even have the ability to allow access to my maps to other people so someone always knows where I have gone when I am out.
We discuss more about the use of google maps in our article Fishing for Alligator Gar 101.
These are the two absolute musts that should start every pack. But, where do you go from here?
You can ask 100 women what they put in their pack and you’re likely to get about 113 responses. Every woman’s pack will be a tad bit different and it will take you a while to decide exactly what you will want and need in your pack, but here is a basic skeleton of a list for you to start with.
Our Must Pack Every Time
- Emergency Kit
- Splint (SAM splint)
- Wrap (Ace Bandage or self-adherent wrap)
- Paracord
- Quick clot
- Aspirin
- Benadryl
- Epipen
- Cellphone–fully charged
- OnX app (with my parking location, intended target location, and planned rout mapped out)
- Google Maps
- TPWD Outdoors Annual app
- Weatherbug app (with nearest weather towers for my trip flagged)
- Water (at least 4 liters for a full day trip)–We carry the RTIC Stainless Steel Water Bottles
- Snacks (some form of candy for sugar/carbs, fruit, and protein)
- Knife
- Lighter or flint
- Fishing Handline (depending on where I am going I will always have a hook and line available; it can be attached to a stick if hand lines are not legal, but I still have the ability to fish for food if I get stuck)
- Clean socks (as AJ puts it: if you lose your feet you don’t stand a chance)
- Space blanket (it takes up virtually no room and can be used for 20 different things: warmth, shelter, reflective marker, etc.)
- Flashlight (I carry the Protec Multitasklight and make sure to have an extra set of batteries)
- Whistle (should you become injured or weak, you will be able to call for help more easily by whistling than trying to yell)
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- Toilet paper and FUD (check out “When a Woman’s Got’ta Go” for a full discussion on these game changing devises)
- Trashbag
These are some of the less farmiliar and rarely thought about items we keep in our packs.
See the list above for links to some of these items.