What's your morning / evening routine?

[Goonky]

Hey there,

I'm a section hiker/ aspiring thru hiker and I've struggled to get a good routine down at the start and end of the day. Curious to hear what others are doing. I feel like it's taking me too long because I'm still running through a mental checklist of what needs to be done. I did a two night trip last weekend and it just seems to take forever to break camp. I wish it was more automatic. I suppose that comes with time and practice.

Right now, I'm shooting for something like this:

EVENING:
Arrive, find a place for the tent
Get water
Set up Tent
Feed Dog
Cook Supper and Eat
Clean up
Refill water for morning

MORNING:
Get dressed in tent
Take down tent and pack it
Feed Dog
Cook and Eat
Clean up
Final Packing - pull out lunch and snacks and make them easy to get

I feel like it's not enough detail. I don't know. Getting the backpack routine down is a whole other story...

Would really just like to hear what others do and why. Feel free to blabber on with details.

[Malto]

Evening - stop pull out quilt and pad, go to sleep.

morning - wake up, put quilt and pad in pack, pull out days food and hike.

repeat

[Water Rat]

It will all become habit! Once you get out on the trail for a bit, you will figure out what works best for you - It'll just naturally fall into place. There doesn't have to be a strict schedule.

When I get to camp, the first thing I do is get the tent set up. If I haven't already gotten my water for the night (it just depends on where the closest water source happens to be), that is when I get water. Dinner sometimes happens on the trail...It just depends on my hunger level for the day, how many miles I feel like putting behind me, and what the weather is like.

Morning - I put water on for coffee (that is a must) and start packing. I drink my coffee while breaking camp. If I am stalling (due to weather, or just in a lazy mood) I will eat breakfast in camp. Most often, I opt to snack as I walk. Breakfast will happen at my first break of the day.

If the dogs are with me, they eat in the morning and again in the late afternoon, or when we get to camp. My routine varies depending on my mood. I pick the routine that suits my mood for the day.

[Papa D]

Get to campsite - - locate water source (if available) - look up for potential falling limbs, pitch tent or set up in shelter (if un-occupied and / or quiet), unpack and organize things, collect water if available, sponge bath or wash with pack towel (or even swim) if available, prepare food for dinner, socialize for a bit if applicable, eat, read, sleep.

5:00 am (if I'm doing biggish miles) - - wake, boil water for coffee, pack up most things, boil water for 2nd cup, eat (oatmeal, Cliff Bars, Snickers, etc.), go to the privy or dig a hole and meet with the Governor, pack up remaining items and hike - usually (if on schedule) by 6:00 am - - at 10am, I'm apt to stop for a second cup, a visit to the next shelter's privy, and a handful of additional food.

[gypsy97]

When I attempted a thru hike in 1997 it took me several weeks to really get a good routine going, even though i had done many trips from weekends to a full week. I finally realized I had everything down pat. Your morning and evening routine sounds like just about what I did, and I'm not sure you need more detail (such as brush teeth, etc.). I tented much of the time in the vicinity of a shelter if possible, but when I stayed in the shelter it required a different, and much shorter, routine. You will quickly become so good at setting up and taking the tent down.

I carried a sierra cup and a small titanium cookpot. In the evenings I left a little food in the pot and the dog cleaned it nicely so I didn't have to scrub so hard! I used my sierra cup in the a.m. for coffee, then grits, and didn't find the clean up took much time. Sometimes if I stopped early in the afternoon I reorganized my pack so that things were easier to find and less jumbled up - I found it so much easier for me to leave early in the morning and then stop early, but that is a personal choice. I loved having the relaxation time after the day's hike.

Today, about 16 yrs later, I am preparing for my annual drive across country, CA to NY, and hope to do mostly camping along the way. I still don't have my tent routine down as well as the backpacker tent, but I'm getting better all the time. Just enjoy the hike - it's a wonderful experience no matter how many miles you go. You will be amazed at how adept you become. It changed my life and I'm forever grateful.

Hey there,

I'm a section hiker/ aspiring thru hiker and I've struggled to get a good routine down at the start and end of the day. Curious to hear what others are doing. I feel like it's taking me too long because I'm still running through a mental checklist of what needs to be done. I did a two night trip last weekend and it just seems to take forever to break camp. I wish it was more automatic. I suppose that comes with time and practice.

Right now, I'm shooting for something like this:

EVENING:
Arrive, find a place for the tent
Get water
Set up Tent
Feed Dog
Cook Supper and Eat
Clean up
Refill water for morning

MORNING:
Get dressed in tent
Take down tent and pack it
Feed Dog
Cook and Eat
Clean up
Final Packing - pull out lunch and snacks and make them easy to get

I feel like it's not enough detail. I don't know. Getting the backpack routine down is a whole other story...

Would really just like to hear what others do and why. Feel free to blabber on with details.

[Dogwood]

morning - pull sleeping bag back over head and snuggle in a little deeper hoping it's not yet noon which is when I typically start hiking

evening - depends on if I'm still at the same place where I woke up that morning

[The Ace]

I pretty much learned what to do at night before I go to bed and in the morning when I wake up by the time I turned three. Been doing the same routine fro some time now.

[Bati]

You'll get faster with practice. If I get in early enough I try to set hang the bear rope, set up the tent/bivy and collect water before it gets dark. Things like cooking can be done more easily after dark than these other items. Like Water Rat, I sometimes cook on the trail, and sometimes I'm camping at a dry site, so fetching water isn't an issue. If there's two of us, I generally dump all my water in the pot for the cook to start with, while the water pumper heads down for more water.
Setting up the bear rope first is a good habit as I find this is the hardest task for me to do after dark. I leave the rock attached to it, which makes it easier for me to find and less likely for it to tangle while I'm cooking. If it's raining, it's one of the activities you can do while you stay reasonably dry and hope the rain stops, pumping water is another one. Depending on the area, I may even hang my food bag, but drop the rest of my stuff before I go for water. It just depends on how far to the source and how likely it is that something visits your camp. If I don't trust the neighbors (particularly masked racoons), I'll take my entire pack to the water source no matter how far or steep it is.
I seldom cook in the morning, though I sometimes make hot water for tea.
Aside from practice the best way to increase your speed at setting up and breaking camp is to do it in the rain. You'll quickly learn what is necessary and what is a waste of time.
One thing I try to avoid is pumping water in the morning, except in the winter when freezing is an issue. I've found that I don't like to pump, and I'll procrastinate and waste a lot of time if I need to pump in the morning. The cure in good weather is to fill all my bottles the night before, preferably after I've poured some into the pot for cooking.

Generally the last thing I do before leaving camp is remove a layer of clothes. In cold weather, I may have to stop again in 5 to 10 minutes to remove more, but at least I'm not freezing in camp nor sweating on the trail if I make this the last step. This also means that I have warmer clothes to put back on during a break that aren't at the bottom of the pack. In particularly bad weather, I hike a bit, then eat breakfast once I've warmed up a bit.

[MuddyWaters]

My experience is that if its difficult, its because people just have too much stuff.



Morning:

Wake up with first traces of light
Pack is usually hanging inside my hexamid from my trekking pole, so I unclip a tiny carabiner and take it down
stuff sleeping bag into pack
Decide if need fleece or long johns to hike for a while if its cool
Put on shoes and socks
put clothing sack on top of sleeping bag in pack (was used for pillow)
roll up neoair, put on top of clothing sack
twist pack liner up nice and tight and squeeze air out.
Put foodbag into pack, keep breakfast items out as desired
Put headlight and earplugs into pack belt pocket
Put camera, guidebook page/map, toilet paper in ziplock into pants pockets.
Go outside of shelter, take it down, roll up, stuff, put in pack
Probably take a pee.
Start walking, eat breakfast item while walking

If my foodbag is in my shelter, by the time I exit the shelter, the shelter is all thats not in my pack. Otherwise I then go retrieve it.

Evening:
Stop somewhere and eat dinner at 4-5pm and rest for a while and refill water if needed.
Hike a couple more hours as daylight allows
If Im sweaty and its cold, Ill have to put on everything until time to lay down.
Pitch shelter and prepare sleeping items
Hang food if bear cable nearby, or perfect limb, or just sleep with it. If really getting dark, might do this first. All depends.
Take items out of pants pockets and lay by me, remove excess clothing and put in clothing bag.
OR, depending on temps and sleeping gear with me, might put ON everything for sleeping.
Place headlamp by me, and earplugs
take off socks and lay down. If cold and socks damp, put them in my hoody pocket, in hot weather, just lay them next to me.
Usually peruse pictures taken that day on my camera for a few minutes
Usually look at trail profile/map for next day and do some mental planning.
Go to sleep

[Slo-go'en]

Every one has to do the same things : pack up, privy, eat, hike >>> set up, eat, sleep. There is however, a large variation in the exact sequence of events depending on the individual and of course, the situation at the time.

IMOHO, the most important routine is how you pack your pack. Every thing goes back in with a specific sequence and in the same place. This helps you keep track of stuff and not forget it and loose it. It also helps if you start packing as soon as you get up. Stuff your the bag, deflate and roll up mat, take down and stuff tent, get the major stuff into the pack. Then you just have to take a crap, eat a bite and start walking.

[Sunwolf]

Morning routine:

Wake up.
Groan.
Scratch self.
Pass gas.
Leave tent/hammock.
Stub toe.
Swear.
Put on shoes.
Go potty.
Deal with pee bottle.
Wash hands.
Change out of sleep clothes.
Get bear bag.
Eat.
Pack up.
Stretch.
Realize I forgot to pack something important.
Re-pack
Get water if applicable.
Wander off.

Let's face it--backpacking is nothing more than learning how to go potty in the woods and arranging other stuff around said pottying. Potty on!

[daddytwosticks]

Two things I have found:
1# Having lots of equipment/items in your pack slows a hiker down while setting up/packing up.
2# Making coffee in the AM slows my starts down.

[Sampson]

I pretty much learned what to do at night before I go to bed and in the morning when I wake up by the time I turned three. Been doing the same routine fro some time now.

Most kids can't even wipe their own tushies at three, but ace was setting up camp by then -- amazing! You should give the folks at Guinness a call...although you probably already did that by the time you turned two.

[garlic08]

Ditto what's been said about keeping things simple. It can be as easy as lying down and falling asleep on the ground like an animal does. But we're not animals, most of us. If you've already eaten and found water along the way, and have a lot practice with setting up your shelter, you can hike until sunset (the best time of day to be out there) and be dozing in a few minutes. Protecting your food, if you're in an area where that's required or just plain smart, could take five minutes longer. You can grab a few bites to eat while packing up in the morning (or not, Dogwood) and five minutes later be hiking and looking for more water and a nice sunny spot for breakfast whenever you feel like it.

In short, you can distribute your camp chores throughout the day. Nowhere is it written that you have to cook and eat where you sleep (and in fact in bear country that's downright dumb).

You asked for blabber....

[hikernutcasey]

Morning routine:

Wake up.
Groan.
Scratch self.
Pass gas.
Leave tent/hammock.
Stub toe.
Swear.
Put on shoes.
Go potty.
Deal with pee bottle.
Wash hands.
Change out of sleep clothes.
Get bear bag.
Eat.
Pack up.
Stretch.
Realize I forgot to pack something important.
Re-pack
Get water if applicable.
Wander off.

Let's face it--backpacking is nothing more than learning how to go potty in the woods and arranging other stuff around said pottying. Potty on!

This is so true!

[Kerosene]

I'm always amazed at how slow and uncoordinated I am at the start of every section hike. It takes me 3-4 days to re-figure out my setup/breakdown routine (about the same length of time as it takes to get my trail legs) each and every annual hike. I've done enough of these that I realize I won't start hiking before 8 am those first few days, and I need to give myself an extra half hour or more to setup camp than I should really need.

[Dogwood]

Morning routine:

Wake up.
Groan.
Scratch self.
Pass gas.
Leave tent/hammock.
Stub toe.
Swear.
Put on shoes.
Go potty.
Deal with pee bottle.
Wash hands.
Change out of sleep clothes.
Get bear bag.
Eat.
Pack up.
Stretch.
Realize I forgot to pack something important.
Re-pack
Get water if applicable.
Wander off.

Let's face it--backpacking is nothing more than learning how to go potty in the woods and arranging other stuff around said pottying. Potty on!

Another wise arse has found WB. Welcome to the infirmary. Enjoyed the post. Potty on.

You mileage may differ.

[flemdawg1]

Sometimes people are just slow at getting going in the morning, and are relaxed in how they settle down in the evening. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Drybones]

Morning:
1. Wake up eat breakfast in bag
2. Pull plug on sleeping pad, put other gear back into dry bags as pad empties air.
3. Dress in tent
4. Put sleeping bag in compression sack
5. If not raining, put all gear outside tent (everything is in a dry bag), if raining pack in tent
6. Take down tent
7. Fill water bottle, empty 2L water bladder
8. Pack
9. Start singing "On The Road Again" and start walking.

Evening:
1. Locate place for tent and set up tent
2. Inflate sleeping pad, take out sleeping bag to fluff and put in tent
3. Get 2 liters of water in Platypus, that's enough for in the morning also.
4. Eat
5. Hit the sack

[Goonky]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I'm enjoying reading them.