What to carry in the backcountry

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

If you read the "Snowmobile War Forum" you will see a blurb from Summitric about a broken sled and spending some time by the fire in the backwoods. That was the second time Summitric and I were nearly caught in the backcountry. First time was in McBride when a buddy collapsed on a ridge. We had a large group of riders and it was amazing what was carried in the backpacks in case of emergency. 15 of us and not one had a Tylenol to be found...intresting?
The second was in Sicamous when the chaincase blew. Our leader left in a major whiteout. He left instruction that if he didn't return in 2 hours to dig in for a possible overnight stay. In the end 2.5 hours later he returned.

My question is - What do you carry in your backpack/sled to keep you safe and warm in the event of an overnight stay. I carry a ton of stuff, my buddies give me a hard time about it, but if I get caught I would be OK...I think?

So list your stuff and post it for others to learn from.

 

[Lost]

The sled pac is quite full, Tampax (dip it in your tank it makes a great fire starter) the standard first aid kit, elec. tie straps, candle, compass. gps, map, snow bungee, sled tie down straps (good for towing a dead sled), spare gloves shirt pants socks dead bunny (hat),long strap for the snow bungee, some nuts and bolts, plugs , spare belt, gas line antifreeze, elec tape, duct tape, TP (this is worth $2.00 per sheet on the hill when you can't find a squirrel), spare gas and oil, plastic hand scoop (could use as a splint or wrap around a trailing arm) ,cash, phone, lots of tools, Water and food. This is just what I carry every time that we go out thanks to this post I will do a complete inventory befor the first ride.

 

[catmando]

I know they dont keep you warm but always mention shovel,beacon & Probe.It amazes me to no end how many people dont carry all of these.Oh ya,Lost, you forgot wooden matches!
catmando

 

[Farm_boy]

OK here's a list, it's alot of stuff, but use any of it once and you'll be glad you had it, even if you "borrow" it to someone else it's worth it:

Beacon
Shovel
Probe
Garbage bags
Flagging tape
Phone (its rare that they get reception but what the heck)
Candle
Saw built from old Chainsaw chain cut in half with bolts welded to each end for handles
Matches in 35mm film case and lighter
Small tarp
Space Blanket
toilet paper
LED headlight (straps to your head instead of a flashlight)
Spare batteries (for GPS, Beacon, and flashlight/headlight)
Camera/Video cam
Spare sunglasses (snowblindness sucks)
Spare clothes: Socks, sweaters, touque, mitts, gloves
Heat pads (the ones you break and they provide 8 hrs of heat)
Tums
Advil and asprin
Food: Dried goods, Jerky, Boullion cubes
Tin Coffee cup (can be used to melt snow, make soup etc)
Tampon (makes good fire starter)
Water
Alum foil
First aid kit
Whistle
Snowshoes (small aluminum ones)
Cumpass
GPS
Knife
Zip Ties
Tarp Tape (Not duct tape, it don't stick in the cold and tarp tape is way stronger, and it comes in 4 colors)
Spare nuts + Bolts
Tow rope
Maps
Climbing rope (this stuff is tuff has many uses and strong as heck)
Mech wire
Small roll of 14ga elect. wire
Gas antifreeze
Tools: Assortment of Wrenches, cresent, vice grips, etc.
Electrical kit: Has Elect. tape, wire strippers, conntectors etc.
Ratchet straps
Small hatchet
Extras:Spare Belt
Small bottle of coolant
Small bottle of synthetic 2 stroke oil
5 liters of fuel

On the want to get list: Spare beacon, Spare probe, Altimeter, BIGGER SLED to haul all this stuff...............

 

[rknight111]

Ouch

You would need a trailer behind your sled to carry all that

But I firmly believe in wearing a backpack with some of those items, A shovel and probes in your pack is a must. I see alot of people with there shovel or pack strapped to the back of there sled. What would happen in an avalanche situation if you flew off your sled, and your sled went down, your still on top of the snow, most of the people you were with are burried. Your shovel and probes are somewhere buried with your sled. If you had your packpack on you would at least have some hope. Now your in a really bad situation.

Just my thoughts..

RON

 

[foothills m8]

Don`t froget red green tape.duct tape and tp to

 

[ESOX]

Whiskey, shotgun, 4-sticks of dynamite, net.......oops, that's my fishing list

 

[Farm_boy]

Looks like a huge list but it all fits in a fairly small backpack, all the tools/spare parts are mounted on the sled of course, but it doesn't really add too much weight

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

My list is simular to yours Farm_boy but the weight is heavy..I think.
Of course this has brought up a few things that I don't carry so I will be reviewing my list before my first ride.
I'm not sure if I say it on anyone's list but I always carry a bunch of spare AA batterys for the Beakon, flashlight, GPS etc.

 

[Shredder]

A headlamp is one thing that comes in real handy if you're trying to get a sled out/going after dark.

 

[Mikey]

I won't list everything I carry.... Farm_boy nailed it with his. There's just a few minor differences. However, one thing I didn't see mentioned was rope, not tow rope, but 1/4 or 3/16 rope. I usually carry about a 100 ft which seems like lots but bundled up it's not. I have found that if you ever need to tie tree branches for a shelter or for some kind of tow divice it comes in real handy. I have used it on more than one occassion, bought a new one just tonight for the pack. Thanks for everybody's list I too will be doing a double check.

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Rope

Good Comment, I have a photo from a couple of years ago and we had to lower my sons 700 RMK off a ridge through the trees to get it down from some boondocking that didn't work, without a good and long rope we would have had a lot more trouble.

 

[2003Summit]

Here is my list.

I don't know if anyone got the large orange plastic bag, I like that one (just remember, not head first!)
The survival guide is also a handy one, and paper and pencil.

Whistle
Compass
Extra Socks (in a zip lock bag)
Survival Kit (in a zip lock bag)
Survival Guide
Emergency heat reflective blanket
Large orange plastic bag "Crawl into it to keep warm, plus is highly visible"
Water Proof Matches
Fire Starter
Good LED Flash Light
Multi-tool (pliers/knife)
Some Tie Wire
Hatchet
Survival Knife
Powerbars and trail mix
Spool of strong thread and a few needles
Roll of Toilet Paper
Note pad and pencil
5 hour candle
Orange Trail marking Tape
Spare Compass
Tree Saw
40' nylon cord for tying
Plastic Bags (safeway sized)
Aluminum Foil
First Aid Kit (in a zip lock bag)
Advil or Aspirin
Tums
Blanket (in a zip lock bag)
Sun Glasses
Extra Toque & Gloves (in a zip lock bag)
Stainless Container for melting snow
"High Quality braided 3/8"" nylon rope 50'+
Avalance Probe
Avalance Snow Shovel Scoop
Avalance Show Shovel Handle
Spare Water
Tool Kit
Electrical Tape
Zip Ties
Spare Nuts and Bolts
14ga Electrical Wire
Wire Connectors

 

[Summitric]

Hey Summit2003

I DIDN'T SEE THE KITCHEN SINK IN THERE, BUT YOU SURE DOO HAVE QUITE A LIST. DO CARRY THAT ALL IN YOUR BACKPACK OR SOME IN THE SLED?? DO CARRY SPARE BATTERIES FOR YOUR BEACON??

 

[2003Summit]

All tool stuff is in the sled (the tools are heavy).
This might make you laugh. For tools I have a 1/4 socket set, a 3/8 socket set up to 19mm, a 3/8 deep set up to about 14mm, stubby 10, 11, 12mm wrenches, serious pliers, serous needle nose pliers, vice grips, a 3/8 ratchet, set of allan wrenches, all the screw driver bits you can think of, some extensions (both 1/4 and 3/8) and a 3/8 U joint, a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter. It weighs several pounds. I don't feel good about thinning it down either. I think I also tossed a spark plug socket it there too. There will be one day when I need something that will make years of carrying it worth it. The other nice thing is when I wrench on the sled at home I just pull that out and I have everything I need (nearly).

Most of the other stuff is really not that big. The spare toque, blankie and gloves are about the biggest things.

I haven’t carried spare batteries on the sled. I rent beacons from cycle works, they have SOS, the battery low indicator seams to come on days before the battery is really dead so I haven't been too worried about them failing me on the hill. I bring spare batteries but they stay in the hotel. I guess though if one were to get stuck on the hill for a few days though it could be a problem. The only other item I worry about is the flash light, but it's LED and I don't worry too much about it, change them every couple of years. I do keep two LED flashlights though, I worry more about loosing one or it just failing all together (or getting crushed or something). More than anything I would hate to be stuck after dark with out a very good flash light.

Speaking about LED flash lights; MAG finally has a new 3 watt 2AA LED flashlight, a replacement for the MAG mini. It supposed to put out about as much light as a 2D but last 45 some hours continuous. Can be had from MEC for about $21. Just to give you an idea, those blinding white LED flash lights are using a 0.5W or 1W LED, 3W LED is big light.

I also carry an GMRS radio, it's usually in the windshield bag. It's rechargeable and the battery will last about 3 days as long as you don't talk all the time. Like in this post...

 

[TylerG]

I recently picked up one of those "crank to charge" LED flashlights, and will be throwing that in my small kit, I don't really go back country as of yet as I am still a pretty novice rider on a small income. I'm hoping next year to go and hit Bell or Lucille or something in McBride and get started in the hills that way.

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Mountain Rider

TylerG, good to see you are interested in the mountains. It's a ton of fun. Try to make sure your first ride is with an experienced and patient group that will gear you up correctly and guide you through the way to ride in the back country.

 

[mclean]

just gonna bump this thread up as it has some very useful information in it...

Another member pointed me towards this thread after I started a new one to find out what everyone packed in their bags for backcountry. I did a search initially but didn't really turn up any results so here I am bringing this thread back from the dead

 

[SKIROULE]

It's good to see that I'm not the only one who brings a ton of stuff! I started with a good quality back pack that was comfortable to wear and then hit Wholesale Sports and filled it up with most of the same stuff as the other guys above. Really just try and bring what you can easily carry that will keep you alive and relatively comfortable. Just remember it's not just in the mountains that you can get into a survival situation.

 

[Culvert]

What size & kind of packs are everyone using to haul all the gear? Is this something you strap on the sled or carry around all day on your back?

Just asking as I have a Klim pac that can barely fit my lunch, pair of gloves, touque and some candles with mathces.