Camping in the backcountry is already intimidating for newcomers who are just used to day hikes, and my somewhat rushed preparation did not help. I ventured out on my first overnight backcountry trip this July with my boyfriend, who, thank goodness, had done this many times before. The only issue is, we were somewhat lacking in certain essentials, and I value my comfort every so slightly more than he does (okay, a fair bit more). I’m going to share a bit of our experience, and the things I would have packed/done differently to ensure maximum comfort. This trip took place on the Gargantua trail headed north, towards Warp Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

For a little more context, my boyfriend has done these overnight camping trips multiple times with his family as a kid, and is quite versed in that area of the outdoors. I myself have done my fair share of longer day hikes, and spend a lot of time outdoors in general (hence the outdoors-themed blog, I guess?). Anyway, in normal circumstances, we would have been well geared up on equipment, but my boyfriend’s parents were actually out of the country on a camping trip at the same time, and had some of those valuable essentials. Regardless, let’s get into it!

First thing that I wish I KNEW was how fricken heavy those backpacks are when they’re packed to the brim with items. After many years as a competitive gymnast, I know heavy. However, I can’t say I was adjusted to hiking with a heavy pack and in what felt like 30-degree heat. I will say, the hike out the next day wasn’t so bad. I also wish I had studied the trail a little harder! I’m pretty sure we turned an 8km day into an 11km one, and that was due to sheer stupidity…

We ended up taking the wrong trail about three times, with one of those being a steep ascent to a lookout that we really weren’t dying to see anyway. Once we did find the right trail, we determined that a patch of wild raspberries had distracted us, causing us to miss the overgrown trail and sign. Know your trail!

There are a few things I wish we had brought that we didn’t think about till after, but now we know for next time. First, off the top of my head, is camp shoes! I’ve seen soooo many TikToks since this overnighter talking about bringing camp shoes with you, and it feels like common sense at this point. Camp shoes are basically like an extra pair of slides or sandals that you switch into for being around camp. This would have been soooo convenient for trips to and from the lake, bathroom trips, and just to have extra footwear while our shoes dried out from the ankle-deep mud we walked through.

This one seems obvious, but we relied on fire instead of bringing any kind of butane or other gas stove to heat/prepare food. The fire situation was fine, until it rained overnight… We honestly just had a hard time finding wood, but once we realized how much drift wood was on the beach, it became easier. Having an actual stove would have made things quicker and would have been more reliable for boiling/purifying water. After realizing how cheap you can find just a small stove attachement for, it seems like a no-brainer.

On that note, some type of water filter would have made things easier, definitely lighter anyway. We brought a few water bottles with us in our backpacks, and it’s safe to say that weight would have been eliminated by packing a filter. Yes, the filter has weight, but I think it would have been featherweight compared to the extra four kilograms those water bottles added. And yes, I did bring my Hydro Flask, but one litre wasn’t gonna cut it, and we didn’t want to chance river/lake water out there. I also got a LifeStraw water bottle with a filter shortly after that trip, and I think it will be coming on lots of hiking ventures with me from here on out.

Okay, I’ll list one more “thing,” that being what I would like to call the comfort category. I wish I had brought a real PILLOW. I don’t care how inconvenient it would have been, I sacrificed comfort sleeping for comfort hiking. I don’t know what would have been a better idea, but that dang pillow woulda been nice. Mom, if you’re reading this, I don’t need an “I told you so.” The problem was probably that Dad helped me pack while Mom was in town running errands. I had a hoodie that I folded up to mimic a pillow, and while it looked half decent, it was just eh. I know, camping isn’t meant to be “comfy,” but it would have been NICE. I won’t say much about my sleep, but I think you can gather context from what I’ve said so far. I think an inflatable pillow is on the horizon for me. A bag of potato chips would have been cool, too…

Also, the only flashlight I had was the weak one on my phone. Oops… I mentioned we were underprepared, right?

Anyway, despite how I made it sound, I really have minimal complaints for my first backpacking trip. While we had a little bit of rain overnight, the weather was really beautiful. We had the perfect camp spot right where the Gargantua River meets Lake Superior at Warp Bay. We were slightly up from the beach, which was good to keep the wind out, but close enough that we went swimming multiple times.

If you’re unsure about backpacking, I’d recommend reading some other blog posts from people who have done the trail you’re looking at doing. Research the trail, know where you’re going, and make sure you have at least the essentials. Also, just go for it! It might result in an adventure with plenty of stories to look back on.

That’s all from me, I’ll provide a more detailed account of the actual hike in another post. Thanks for reading!