A Week in the Woods: Preparation

I've done a lot of packing in my life, but preparing for a one-week stay in the Yukon wilderness provided a relatively new experience. Most of what I needed was pretty basic: clothes, food, things to help me make a shelter, and several books to read in the free time I anticipated having. The generosity of my coworkers helped a lot-- I got a backpacking-sized backpack from a tech who was leaving and I borrowed a battery-powered lantern and a hand-pumped water filter from a grad student.

The main specialty item I needed to get for this trip was a bear canister to keep my food safe from bears and other interested parties. I decided to rent a bear canister from Parks Canada, a process that involved going to their nearest outpost and filling out some paperwork. Everything went smoothly until the ranger asked me where I was going to be using the bear canister (this is done mostly so that Parks Canada knows where campers are in case an emergency situation arises). My first answer, "Oh, I'll just be in the woods north of here," apparently didn't cut it. I hadn't considered my rescuability by Parks Canada as a factor in choosing a random section of forest rather than a designated backpacking trail for my expedition, but in hindsight it makes sense. As far as the bear canister rental was concerned, I realized I could be more specific, and I wrote "in the woods near the Old Alaska Highway, people at Squirrel Camp will know where I am," and the ranger was happy with that.

A trip to Whitehorse, the city which contains two thirds of the Yukon's population and most of its grocery stores, allowed me to fill the rented bear canister with all the food I would need. The canister was small enough to be carried comfortably under one arm, but since I went for fairly dense foods, I ended up packing about 20,000 calories into it. As in other areas, I erred on the side of over-preparation.

I made an inventory of all the supplies I brought with me for the week; this was inspired in part by the highly-organized lists my mom makes when packing for important trips, and in part by Robinson Crusoe, one of my favorite books and a source of my interest in wilderness survival and building shelters and other such stuff. When I finally set out, I had a full backpack on my back, the bear canister under my arm, my neatly-packed sleeping bag in one hand, and a stout stick in the other. Here is what I took with me for my week in the woods:

Apparel
Two sets of clothes (including those I was wearing)
Two jackets
Boots
Sweater
Bandana
Bug net (a mesh hood that rendered my face and neck inaccessible to insects)
Rain coat
Rain pants
Gloves
Two warm hats
Backpack
Sunglasses

Tools
Belt knife
Multi-tool
Two whistles
Compass
Flashlight
Two pens
Sharpie
Flagging tape
Mechanical pencil
Binoculars
Walkie-talkie
18 AA batteries
Bear spray
Chapstick
Water bottle (1 liter capacity)
Water filter
Toothbrush (I must have forgotten to bring toothpaste, typical)
Kleenex
Toilet paper
First-aid kit

Campsite Materials
Four large garbage bags (for waterproofing my shelter)
Thick rope
Thin rope
Wire
Duct tape
Lantern (battery-powered)
Sleeping bag
Small Canadian flag

Food
1 kg granola
1 kg peanut butter
1 kg raisins
1 kg dried apricots
750 g dried cranberries
400 g chocolate
Bear canister
Ziploc bags
Spoon

Media
The Bible
Robinson Crusoe
Wildflowers Along the Alaska Highway
Journal
Kindle
Smartphone
iPod
Rechargeable battery
Charging cables