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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Lee in Doncaster on 16:12:12, 25/03/20

Title: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Lee in Doncaster on 16:12:12, 25/03/20
It's been a bit of a ritual for me:


https://peakwalking.blogspot.com/2020/03/unpacking-my-rucksack.html (https://peakwalking.blogspot.com/2020/03/unpacking-my-rucksack.html)
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Islandplodder on 16:24:06, 25/03/20
Sad. I haven't plucked up courage to do that yet.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Slowcoach on 16:26:24, 25/03/20
On my list for tomorrow. Boots cleaned and waxed and now in the garage.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: gunwharfman on 16:44:24, 25/03/20
Yes done mine, I keep it all in the garage, I have a wardrobe in there for clothes and a large lidded box for tents and so on. I washed my down sleeping quilt a few days ago, its now dry and amazingly it looks like new! Winterboots already store, summer boots just keep staring at me!
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: fernman on 17:01:13, 25/03/20
I can just imagine all the things mouldering away in the OP's rucksack  :(

After a day walk every single thing I wore gets washed and dried the next day, although I must admit I keep forgetting day after day to clean the mud off my boots.

With backpacking my stuff has to wait while I enjoy three or so days on a campsite before I return home, but I do hang my invariably wet little tent and my waterproofs out to dry on anything I can such as fences, tree branches, car or big tent, while my boots partially dry in the tent 'living area'.
I value all of my equipment so highly that the day after I am home everything is washed or cleaned and put away for the next trip  :angel:
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: vghikers on 17:10:42, 25/03/20
Quote
I value all of my equipment so highly that the day after I am home everything is washed or cleaned and put away for the next trip

Basically the same here, everything is unpacked and stored away after every trip. Most things don't need cleaning though, only clothes, footwear and a few odd bits like utensils if we've used them.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: ninthace on 17:35:45, 25/03/20
My day pack used to live in the kitchen, packed for two and pretty well ready to go, only the type of waterproof changed.  It got cleared out the other day looking for a bottle of hand sanitiser, found a forgotten spare bottle so it was worth it.  Our boots are still in use, pro tem.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: SteamyTea on 18:30:52, 25/03/20
There be dragons.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: ninthace on 19:17:24, 25/03/20
There be dragons.
Darwin would have got a paper out of it, if not an entire chapter for On the Origin of Species.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: sussamb on 20:37:53, 25/03/20
Well you're still allowed out for exercise, mine will be my normal 9 or so miles  O0
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: sunnydale on 21:55:00, 25/03/20
I'm still getting out for a walk every day too. My psychological/mental health depends on it!
Haven't used my rucksack for ages to be honest. I'm managing with a Lowe Alpine waist belt these days.
Better for my back! O0
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: richardh1905 on 08:05:58, 26/03/20
I'm still getting out for a walk every day too. My psychological/mental health depends on it!
Haven't used my rucksack for ages to be honest. I'm managing with a Lowe Alpine waist belt these days.
Better for my back! O0


I have a large Lowe Alpine hip belt, about 7 litres capacity, that I have had for decades. Wonderful bit of kit, although showing it's age now.


I am getting out for a 4-5 mile walk every day with the dog, which is the average that I normally did prior to lockdown. I'm very fortunate in having some delightful countryside right on my doorstep, criss-crossed by a network of paths and minor lanes. I do feel for those stuck in cities.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: richardh1905 on 08:07:13, 26/03/20
As for unpacking my rucksack - something I do regularly anyway, - except for a small pocket low down on the back, containing compass, whistle and first aid kit. They can stay.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Lee in Doncaster on 08:27:59, 26/03/20
As for unpacking my rucksack - something I do regularly anyway, - except for a small pocket low down on the back, containing compass, whistle and first aid kit. They can stay.


Hello Richard:


I've no use for my compass and whistle at the moment so they can stay in the rucksack, but I think I might be using the first aid supplies - the paracetamol tablets will come in handy.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Jac on 10:03:02, 26/03/20
As with several others - boots washed/waxed and most of the backpack unpacked after each walk and repacked with essentials ready for the next outing. But..............at the bottom is my emergency rations bag. Forms of life as yet undiscovered by science may be lurking there.

Saving this for the inevitable rainy day - along with all the other indoor jobs.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: richardh1905 on 10:51:19, 26/03/20

Hello Richard:


I've no use for my compass and whistle at the moment so they can stay in the rucksack, but I think I might be using the first aid supplies - the paracetamol tablets will come in handy.


Look after yourself, Lee. I'll not be using my compass for quite some time, I suspect, but it weighs next to nothing and sits in the small lower pocket of the rucksack, where I know it is, so it can stay. My first aid kit only contains a triangular bandage, a large wound dressing and a few plasters - it can stay too.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Lee R on 19:03:58, 26/03/20
I don't really empty mine. It's mainly camera gear, gloves, waterproof trousers, which is kept in there at home as 'storage' - although the latter will be removed soon with the changing seasons. Flask/water/hydration is obviously removed & cleaned. Coats etc hung up. Any food is usually already eaten :)
My other half's is usually stored with compass, local maps, first aid bits, kept in there.
She's off work for the foreseeable future so she cleaned all our boots etc today :)
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: BuzyG on 14:38:13, 30/03/20
I'm still heading out for regular walks.  The locations have just changed.  I have not needed my ruck sac or boots the past two weeks due to the good weather I have simply carried a drink and a few biscuits in my camera bag.  When the rains return and I need to carry more gear I am sure the ruck sac will be back in use.  As will my boots.  :)
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: mananddog on 15:11:32, 30/03/20
Mine is usually full of veg from my allotment and dog toys at the moment - the only use I have for a rucksac at the moment. I still get out for 10 to 15 per day with the dog. We have a few regular routes which involve him doing scent work, retrieves, doing an equestrian cross country course while I direct him by the whistle, a bit of sheepdog work without sheep. Out of boredom I have started to train him to find all sorts of things, recently it was £10 notes hidden around the house - easy!

Next it will be my car keys then whatever it was I came upstairs for.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: archaeoroutes on 16:13:05, 30/03/20
I'm a completely unpack and sort kit after each trip kind of person, too.
If it is my personal kit for leisure or instructing, it then gets stored in the best way for each piece ready to be packed when I next need it.
If it is my grab bag or webbing, I repack immediately with replacement kit and then sort and store the used kit.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: mountaingal on 18:39:49, 31/03/20
I walk regularly. Unpacking is a dangerous thing ::)  All bits and bobs are in my rucksack, though I may not use it every time. Such as... first aid, compass, boots cover for going into a pub, emergency snack, skarf, hat and gloves, emergency blanket, emergency contact paper, tissue papers, waterproofs, wet wipes...If I change my rucksack I might forget some of them. So they must stay as they are. I have a different rucksack for holiday (as the current one has seen the best day). Moving the contents to another rucksack is dangerous. I might overlook something hiding in one of the pockets or at the bottom. I also have a rucksack for shopping as I walk to the shops. I used to move my wallet between the one for walk and one for shopping. One day, I forgot to take my wallet for shopping :-[ . Another time, I forgot to take my wallet for a walk. And so, I keep a separate wallet for walk in my walking rucksack.
Since I have been doing shorter walks every day for the past week, I haven't taken the rucksack. But time will come for me to go out with my rucksack for a longer walk on my own...from my door of course ;) 
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: sussamb on 22:33:00, 31/03/20
My rucsac remains packed too. I have a small one for shopping, which is empty bar a water bottle and an EpiPen

Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: forgotmyoldpassword on 12:59:38, 01/04/20
I'm a completely unpack and sort kit after each trip kind of person, too.
If it is my personal kit for leisure or instructing, it then gets stored in the best way for each piece ready to be packed when I next need it.
If it is my grab bag or webbing, I repack immediately with replacement kit and then sort and store the used kit.


Same for myself - not least because if you leave a wild camp bag packed then both down and synthetics don't respond well to being stored compressed - and become less warm over time through not springing back properly.


Have a very small day pack with a few bits in it at the moment, but realistically anything which requires a rucksack I probably shouldn't be doing at the moment anyway.
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Davidedgarjones on 10:33:41, 02/04/20
I'm lucky enough to live in Hayfield where we can walk out of the door in several directions, mostly short walks at present. My winter kit is still in my rucksack which I like to have on my back as it feels strange without it. Dave
Title: Re: Unpacking My Rucksack - anyone else done it yet?
Post by: Doddy on 12:27:32, 03/04/20
I empty my multi day/week pack after each trip. I wash the clothes and stuff sacks then put all my gear into my GoTo box (a stationery box); it holds about 35ltr. After washing I put all the smaller items - socks, gloves, underpants, cook pot, stove, water treatment sack in the GoTo box. I hang up long pants, shirt and rain gear.
Before the next jaunt I consult checklist and tick off as I put the gear into the pack. I have similar food box and after consulting my trail route make a menu plan including pubs, cafe stops so  only carry the food needed. I rarely carry more than a litre of water filling up at pubs or the shops. In wild areas I will check maps where the trail passes close to streams. I understand in the UK you are nowhere more than two hours away from water.