Lace Up Your Boots: Gear Shake Down

Last weekend I went on my first camping trip of the year. It was only for one night, but it was a great opportunity to get back in the camping mindset and a great time to do a gear shake down.

Thankfully I remembered the essentials (tent, sleeping bag, etc), but forgot my morning tea and my face wash wipes. Not too shabby for the first trip of the season. The trip also gave me a chance to break in my new hiking boots, for Aspen to try out her doggie backpack, and to test out my new camp stove.

A note on the camp stove, I purchased propane on the way to the campground, which didn’t give me a chance to test it beforehand. NEVER TAKE UNTESTED GEAR INTO THE FIELD. At least not the essentials – stove, water filter, etc. To compensate for this I took my tried and true backpacking stove as a backup.

Your challenge – do a gear shake down: you can just set up your equipment in your yard, take a short camping trip, or venture in the wilderness for a night or two. Let us know how it goes!

-Trails

Aspen is ready for this summer!