The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared”. While I was never a Boy Scout, I try to be prepared, as best I can anyway. When you’re out geocaching, there are certain items you always want to keep on hand. Things like a first aid kit, trash bags for CITO, pens and/or pencils. Those items are pretty much a necessity, just to get by. But depending on the individual, one persons backpack can be totally different from someone else.
I stumbled upon a grouping of photos of various geocachers’ bag contents and I was intrigued at the similarities and differences. I thought about my own backpack and what I take to the field. I’m typically the person who throws everything in but the kitchen sink, but lately, I’ve pared back on what I consider to be the essentials. Depending on the time of year and the weather, I try to travel light. I carry around enough of my own weight – I don’t need to add to that burden.
The photo identifies the various items held within my backpack. Items not shown are garbage bags, walking stick, and extra logs for cache maintenance.
1. travel bugs, 2. electrical tape, 3. ziploc sandwich-size bags, 4. back-up GPS, 5. flower seed packets for trade items, 6. wipes and poison ivy lotion, 7. canister of drywall screws and screwdriver, 8. 2″ x 3″ ziploc bags, 9. signature tags and cards, 10. flashlight, 11. caches ready to go, 12. writing tools, 13. mini-kites for trade items, 14. disposable rain poncho, 15. first aid kit, 16. match container caches w/log, 17. magnetic key holder cache w/log, 18. tweezers, 19. bison tubes w/log, 20. point-n-shoot camera, 21. various cache trade items.
What items do you think I’ve overlooked or can do without? How does your backpack compare to mine?
