Advise needed for packing up

[KingKrawler]

Never backpacked in my life, so I need your advice. I'm acquiring the equipment I'll need for my 2010 NOBO thru.

That said, I'd like to hear the order everyone packs their gear into (or onto) their packs, bottom to top. I've read about it: heavier items high and closer to your back, etc; and I know I'll develop my own system eventually, but I'd like to know how YOU pack up YOUR pack. I guess I'd want the things I may need during the day (rain gear, jacket, snacks, water bottles, maps, etc) at the top or on the outside, but how about:

sleeping bag
inflatable mattress
cook kit
food bag
toiletries/first aid
spare clothing
tent/poles
journal/ID/credit card/etc

TIA

[KG4FAM]

lid:
little things

top-
water bladder
raincoat
tarp for hammock
everything else
food
sleeping bag
-bottom

outside:
sandals
foam pad
pouch on hipbelt for maps and snacks

[Blissful]

Really this depends on the kind of pack you have, where the pockets are, the cubic capacity, etc. And also the kind of gear as a rolled ridgerest pad would pack differently then, say, a Big Agnes inflatable pad. It's hard to say this unless you have the gear you plan to bring and then have your pack.

[KingKrawler]

Hey, Blissfull, I enjoyed following your journal on your hike last year. I was really wondering how YOU pack your pack - not how I should. Thanks!

[Lyle]

Also depends on the weather you expect. Cold/windy/possible rain changes things.

Usually, in decent weather for me (starting from bottom):

Sleeping Bag and Extra clothes in bottom inside a garbage bag
Tent/tarp, stove, cooking gear - things not needed until camp
Sleeping pad is my frame sheet
first aid kit - mid pack if no issues, top if blisters being delt with
Food bag with lunch stuff on top for easy access at lunch time
If weather is cool or rain expected - insulation and rain gear near top, easy to grab

Outside pockets:

Maps/guide
camp shoes
TP/sanitizer
ground cloth - easy to grab if wanted for a break
fuel
insect repellent
AquaMira
nylon cord
repair items

In hip pockets:

Camera
headlamp
money/ID
knife
compass
snacks

This becomes a REALLY personal thing. My only advice would be to find a system that works for you and be consistent. Ideally, you should be able to get most anything out of your pack in the pitch dark, without using a light - this will mean every item has it's place and that's where it lives with very few exceptions. You should also be able to reach into the bottom of your pack and find most any item without completely unpacking. Using various stuff sacks can help organize a large-volume main compartment.

One final suggestion, learned from experience: Get in the habit of ALWAYS zipping/securing your pockets whenever you take something out. Putting a pack back on after a break with pockets left open is a sure way of loosing items, if not at your break site, somewhere along the trail. Most of us don't carry extras or unnecessary items, so you will be hurting the next time you need it.

[River Runner]

Here is how I pack for section or weekend hikes:

Bottom of pack, sleeping bag in plastic bag inside waterproof stuff sack
Then clothing that I will not need until night in waterproof stuff sack
Then hammock body, underquilt
Then food bag
Misc. item stuff sack (toiletries, gloves, hat, anything I might want during the day)
Stove/pot (because I use a beer can pot & I don't bury it in the pack to get crushed)
Gatoraide bottle
Water bladder is in sleeve at back of pack

Front pack pocket:
Hammock fly
Rain Gear
First Aid/Emergency Items in a Zip-lock (includes extra photon, pocket knife, misc.)
Toilet paper
Water Treatment (currently Steri-Pen)
Maps in Ziplock

Hanging off front pocket: Photon light

Side pack pocket
Snow stake for trowel (attached via mini-caribiner to compression strap)
Hand Sanitizer in holder (also attached)

Hip belt pockets:
bandana or buff
lip balm and/or sunscreen (seasonal)
Camera (or I may carry it in a cargo pants pocket)
Sometimes a snack
Sometimes sunglasses in case

Credit card and ID go in zippered pants pocket

[Pokey2006]

It varies depending on the gear I'm taking and the pack I'm using (I choose from four different packs....). Generally, I start with the sleeping bag on bottom, then put my tarp in next, up against the back of pack. Food bag goes in front of tarp, on top of sleeping bag. Mess kit and smaller stuff sack with misc. and personal items goes on either side of food bag, or on top of it, depending on how things fit around the food. Extra clothes are pushed down to fill in the gaps.

On top of all that, I keep the rain jacket, pack cover, hat and gloves handy, depending on the weather. Also, my headlamp, plus any snacks or lunch, would be packed near the top and easy to get to.

Outside pockets: fuel and any extra water bottles.

Attached to shoulder strap: camera.

Attached to hip belt: water bottle with internal filter.

Fanny pack/pockets: map, guidebook, snacks, chapstick, etc.

[Pokey2006]

Oh, when I carry a tent instead of a tarp, I put that in second, after the sleeping bag -- the rolled-up tent goes on one side of the pack, the rolled-up rainfly and poles on the other, and the food bag in the middle.

[Serial 07]

let's see...

first my folded in half, rolled up thermarest followed my the shoving in of my sleeping bag (without a sack)...next my tent in a sinch sack...clothes are loosely shoved into crevices and where ever...some are kept in the fleece pillow case bag i have...next my stove set up is shoved where it can and my food begins its visibility...got my sandals on the outside or shoved in somewhere if food is low...

[Pokey2006]

Oh, and dur, the sleeping pad on the outside, attached with the pack's compression straps. Personally, I think the sleeping pad is the ONLY thing that should hang outside the pack. If you have all kinds of other things hanging off, you need a bigger pack.

Sorry for all the posts...I must be tired...