The Complete Guide to Packing for a 7 Day Backpacking Trip

When planning an extended backing trip you want to make sure that you have everything you need and little that you don’t. There is nothing worse than finding out after day one of your planned 7 day hike that you forgot to pack cooking fuel or a clean pair of underwear or toothpaste or (god forbid) toilet paper. 

Before beginning any multi-day hike I make extensive lists of the things I will need, and then carefully check these items off as I load my backpack. The items that make the final list generally have been vetted both for their usefulness as well as weight. Simply put: I want to bring with me all of the necessities, but I don’t want to carry a single ounce more than I have to. 

This summer I have two seven day hikes planned: A loop hike in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, as well as the 45 mile Timberline trail around Mount Hood . The problem with such  long hikes, especially ones where I will be taking a good deal of camera gear, is that my pack will be rather heavy at the start–food alone adds a pound or more for each day on the trail. And then there is the added cooking fuel, coffee, toilet paper. It is for this reason that it is even more important to pack smart.

Below you will find my final list of items for this upcoming trip, along with their weights. At the very bottom of this post I arrange the items in the back. Your own list and packing methods may differ from mine, and that’s alright. Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions below. If you would prefer, you can also leave comments on my instagram post related to this hike. You can find me there at @OldManWalking.landscapes and also @OldManWalking.Travel. Happy hiking!

Backpacks (52 oz)

Main Pack: REI Flash 55 (48 oz.). 

Day Pack: 4 Monster (4 oz). This day pack is super small and very light, and even rolls up into its own fist sized pouch.

Sleep System (88.75 oz)

Tent: Nemo Osmo Dragonfly 1p w/footprint (49 oz)

Sleeping Pad: Thermarest Ultralight (12.25 oz)

Quilt: Enlightened Equipment 10 degree Quilt (27.5 oz)

Clothes (50.5 oz)

Undewear: Underarmor Boxer Briefs XL (wear), Underarmor Boxer Briefs XL (pack) (2.5 oz)

Socks: Darn Tough Merino Wool (wear), Smart Wool (pack) (2 oz)

Shirts: Eddie Bauer Lightweight T (wear), Outdoor Vitals Attitude Hoodie (wear)

Pants: Nike Lightweight Sweat Pants (wear), Columbia Lightweight Sweat Pants (pack) (9.25 oz)

Thermals: Outdoor Vitals Highline Thermal Leggings (pack) (4 oz)

Outerwear: Eddie Bauer 650 Down Puffy Jacket (pack) (12.5 oz), Outdoor Research Rain Jacket (pack) (7.5 oz)

Footwear: Solomon Elixer Mid (wear), Outdoor Vitals Down Booties (pack) (3.5 oz), Z Packs Ultralight Sandals (Pack) (4.5 oz)

Head and Hands: Smartwool Gloves (pack) (2.5 oz), Arms of Andes Alpaca Beanie (pack) (1 oz))

Dry Bag: Sea to Summit 5L Dry Bag (1.25 oz). Pro Tip: I put my spare clothes in this and then use it for a pillow!

Cooking (28 oz)

Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket 2 and Container (2.5 oz)

Fuel: 230g Isobutane Fuel Cartridge (13.25 oz full)

Cookware: Toaks Titanium 750 ML Pot and Lid (4 oz)

Coffee Filter: GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java (1 oz)

Coffee Mug: GSI Outdoors Coffee Mug and Lid (3 oz)

Ignition Source: (2)Bic Lighters (in case one fails), Wooden Matches in a Sealed Container (In case both bics fail) (2.25 oz for all)

Other Items: Small Washrag (1 oz), Plastic Spoon (0.5 oz), Mini Pocket Knife (0.5 oz)

Sanitary (11 oz)

Toilet  Paper (enough for 7 days) (6.25 oz), Small Shovel (0.75), Liquid Soap (1.5 oz) , Hand Sanitizer (2.5 oz full)

Miscellaneous Items (18.55 oz))

Sea to Summit  3L Dry Bag (to hold most of the misc. items) (1 oz), AR toothbrush and toothpaste container (2.5 oz), Sport 1.5 oz 50 SPF Sunscreen on a D Ring (1.5 oz), Plastic Bag Filled with Tent Repair Items (shock cord, wind guys, broken pole sleeve etc.) (1.5 oz), 1st Aid Kit (Bandages, Gauze, Alcohol Wipes, Small Scisors, Tape, Wrap, Antiseptic Cream) (2.5 oz), Small Bottle of Ibuprofen (0.5 oz), Small Notebook and Pen (1.5 oz), Ben’s Invisinet (0.5 oz), Flextail Rechargeable Headlamp (2), Headband/Tourniquet (1.5), CounterAssault Bear Spray and Holder (wear), 1 Gallon Plastic Bag (.05 oz), Ridge Wallet w/ID,, Credit card, Med Card, Car Key (wear)

Wayfinding (13.25 oz)

Map: National Geographic Trail Map (3 oz)

Compass: Brunton Tru Arc 3 (1.25 oz)

GPS: Garmin GPSMap 67i (9 oz)

Cords and Electronics (21.75 oz)

Case: Travel Essentials Electronic Cable Organizer (3.25 oz))

Cords: USB-A to USB-C, USB-C to USB-C (1 oz)

Power Bank: Anker 633 Magnetic 10,000 mAh Foldable Wireless Power Bank (7.5 oz)

Phone: Apple I-Phone 13 Pro (8 oz)

Ear Buds: Apple Ear Buds Pro 2 (2 oz)

Camera Equipment (110.05 oz)

Sony A7Riv Camera Body (25.5 oz)

Tamron 28-300 F4-7.1 Lens (23.5 oz)

Tamron 20mm F2.8 Lens (9.75 oz)

Senset Filter w/ Polarizers and ND Filters for each lens (2.5 oz)

Extra Camera Battery (3.75 oz)

Peak Design Camera Clip (3 oz)

GoPro Hero8 Black (5.5 oz)

Mini-Tripod for GoPro (2 oz)

(2) Extra GoPro Batteries and Charger (3.5 oz)

Lens Cloth (.05)

Sirui Traveller 5C Tripod (22 oz)

Manfroto Ball Head (9 oz)

Water (11.5 oz)

Lifestraw Collapsible w/Filter (4.5 oz empty)

REI 48oz Nalgene Bottle (7 oz empty)

Food (175 oz)

BearVault BV500 Bear Resistant Food Canister (41 oz empty)

6 Dinners (36 oz +/-)

7 Breakfasts (Includes 1 Extra) (30 oz +/-)

8 Lunches (Includes 1 Extra) (40 oz +/-)

14 Snacks (28 oz +/-)

Other Stuff (8.5 oz)

Eddie Bauer Hiking Poles (carry)

Coffee in Sealable Container (pack) (4 oz)

Cocoa in Sealable Container (pack) (4.5 oz)

Wide Brimmed Hat (wear)

Total Starting Weight: 588.85 oz, 36 lbs. 12.85 oz, not including water

How I Load My Pack:

The first thing i do is sort all of my meals by meal type (Lunch/Dinner/Breakfast/Snack), and then line them up by weight. When this is done, I pack by bear canister one day’s meals at a time, placing the lightest of each meal at the bottom, and the heaviest at the top. In this way I make sure to lighten my load as quickly as possible (heaviest meals get eaten first).

Once I have packed all of my food, I am ready to load my pack. I start by placing my quilt at the very bottom of the main compartment, and then my camp sandals. into these I set my bear canister (standing upright). Beside the canister I place my tent (minus poles and stakes) on one side and my sleeping pad and booties on the other. Above the sleeping pad and booties I place my cook pot and fuel. Above this is by clothes bag (inside of which I have placed my smaller camera lens), Empty Lifestraw, Electronics Bag and Camera Filters and Toilet Paper (you always want this handy, just in case). 

I place by water bottle, shovel and tent poles in one side pocket and my camera tripod and tent stakes in the other. My tourniquet, daypack and rain jacket go in the front pocket. In the brain I place my map, 3L bag fill of misc. items , GoPro and compass. 

My camera with the 28-300 lens I carry in the clip attatched to the left shoulder strap. I hook my GPS device to my right shoulder strap. I attach the bear sprat canister to my belt.

Once I have loaded my pack, I cinch all of the straps down tight to make everything as compact as possible, and then I’m done!

Hope this list helped. Please feel free to leave comments below. Happy Hiking!