Packing Your Pack
Once you've selected an itinerary and heaped up everything you want to bring in the middle of your living room, you need to find a way to stuff all of it in your pack. For walking on decent trails, you generally want to put the heaviest gear high in your pack and as close to your spine as possible. That allows you to assume a more comfortable, upright posture because the weight is balanced over your hips. For off-trail scrambling, skiing and snowshoeing, you still want the heaviest items close to your spine, but you probably want the weight a little lower, to make you less top-heavy. These are general guidelines; as a practical matter, I always pack my pack with the items I'm least likely to need during the day at the bottom, then continue to stow items in ascending order of daytime utility. That means my sleeping bag always goes in first, followed by my extra sweater, stove, fuel, tent, main bag of food, etc. Lunch goes in the pack's top pocket. I stow my water bottle at the very top of the main compartment or in a side pocket. The only time I've noticed a significant deterioration in the way my pack rode was when I lashed something quite dense and heavy, like a big tripod or heavy tent, to the front or on one side of the pack. If you've got an internal-frame pack, try to get heavy items inside your pack near your spine. If the item won’t fit inside, try to divide the item in two and lash half on each side. For example, you might lash the body of a big tent on one side of the pack, the poles and fly on the other. The worst place to lash something heavy is the front of your pack. If you’ve got an external frame, try lashing the heavy item horizontally across the top of the frame near your shoulders.

In rainy country, almost every item in your pack should be stowed inside a stuff sack or plastic bag. That way, if it's raining when you unload your pack at camp, you can set things down on the ground without them becoming instantly soaked. Sleeping bags are worth extra care. I often reinforce the water-resistance of the sleeping-bag stuff sack with a plastic bag or second, larger stuff sack. The waterproof pack covers sold by some companies are useful added insurance, but aren’t a solution by themselves since you have to take them off to unload your pack, at which time you'll want everything in stuff sacks or plastic bags anyway.

Some people suggest packing small quantities of liquids you may want, like hand lotion or sunscreen, in film canisters. Beware! I've seen them blow open on several occasions. Better to use little plastic bottles with screw-on lids such as some hotels use to package shampoo for guests. You can also find "travel-size" bottles in well-equipped drugstores and supermarkets. Sunscreen often comes in squeeze bottles with flip-top lids that tend to pop open and create a problem which remains undiscovered until your entire pack or jacket pocket is coated with slime. I like to tape those flip-top lids shut, then unscrew the whole cap when I need access to the contents.

The easiest way to get a heavy pack on your back is to enlist the aid of a friend who can help hold it up while you slip your arms through the shoulder straps. The second easiest way is to set the pack on some solid support, like a rock, stump, fallen log or tailgate, that's about three feet high. Sit down beside the pack, slip your arms through the straps, and stand up. Lacking a friendly rock or person to help, you'll have to do it yourself. Face the back of the pack, the side with the straps. Loosen each shoulder strap slightly, then grab one shoulder strap with each hand and hoist the pack up onto your bent right knee. Steady the pack there with your left hand and slip your right arm and shoulder through the right-hand shoulder strap. The pack will now be on your back, supported by the right-hand shoulder strap. Slip your left arm through the left shoulder strap, snug down the shoulder straps, fasten and tighten the hip belt, moan and groan a few times to impress your trail companions, and you're set.

Well, almost set. Adjusting your pack is actually a continuous process that most people learn to do while they're walking. Hip belts sometimes loosen and need to be retightened. Shoulder stabilizer straps get loose and need to be snugged down. Hips get sore, making it imperative to shift some weight to the shoulders by loosening the hip belt. Then the shoulders get sore, and it's time to cinch down the hip belt again and loosen the shoulder straps. One serious symptom to watch out for is numbness or tingling in your hands, caused by too much weight on your shoulders. If that happens, take the pack off for a few minutes until the tingling eases. When you put it back on, make sure the hip belt is tight enough to carry most of the weight.
When I’m carrying a heavy load, I try to take the pack off for at least a minute or two every 30 to 60 minutes. These “blood flow breaks” let blood flow back into my hips and shoulders, easing the soreness that inevitably develops with even the best packs. I find I can carry the same weight further, with greater comfort, if I adopt this procedure.

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