Before I got Violet, my biggest backpacking “goal”, beyond just going as many places as possible, was to reduce my pack weight as low as I could comfortably stand. I fancied myself an ultralighter, or at least aspiring ultralighter, and I meticulously weighed every single item I purchased. Fast forward to our first backpacking trip together, and I have an entirely new perspective on being comfortable in the outdoors. Don’t get me wrong – dogs don’t need luxury any more than humans do. Violet would eat her dinner right off the ground if I fed it to her that way, but we’re not trying to be uncomfortable. We want to enjoy our time outside, and sometimes that means we need to pack a little more.
I still meticulously weigh every single item I purchase, okay. I use GearGrams to keep a comprehensive list of all of my gear, as well as track my gear by trip and season. You can toggle between measurement units, which is a handy feature. I have a separate list just for Violet’s gear, because there still isn’t a lot of “ultralight” gear for dogs and weight is really important to both of us.
Here’s a rundown of what we took for Violet’s first trip, along with the weights in ounces (some of this I carried, some of it she carried) :
- Outward Hound DayPak – 9.6 ounces
- Mammut Alpine Mat UL – 3.1 ounces (cut in half to fit Violet’s body length, R-Value is 1.2, which is sufficient for 3-seasons for Vi as she is a warm sleeper)
- Big Agnes Kings Canyon Quilt – 16.5 ounces (this is WAY more bag than she needs, so we’ll be adjusting our bag options for sure)
- Fozzils Dish Container – 1.4 ounces
- Outward Hound Cinch Top Bowl – 1.6 ounces
- PackTowl UltraSoft Body Towel – 6.4 ounces
- MLD Rain Kilt – 2.1 ounces (this serves a rain protection for my bottom half, a ground cloth when neither of us wants to get wet or dirty, and I’m going to figure out how to make it into a poncho of sorts for Violet)
I carried her quilt, sleeping pad, and food dish in my bag, and she carried the rest of her stuff, plus the rain gear & bathroom items. Since it is going to get hot in Texas soon, I am probably going to have to start the hunt for a good pair of all-weather booties (she has front dewclaws, so that’s a challenge.) The ground gets really hot here and I don’t want to risk injury to her paws. But her pack works fine for the weight we’re working with now, and it’ll take some time for us to work out the most comfortable sleeping arrangement. I suspect I’m going to get double pads & quilts and we’ll just snooze together. ❤
Miranda Writes 