My good old grey Mountainsmith day-pack is a leftover from traveling in my 20s. Sigh. I’m still hanging onto its companion, the larger backpack that goes with it, hoping one day I’ll travel again with everything I need crammed in the pack on my back. Who knows? Maybe one day P will be using it. For now it’s hanging, lonely and neglected, in the garage.
My day-pack is still going strong though! Now that it’s almost summer vacation we’re starting to take lots of field trips and my it is getting a lot more use. In fact, we have a big field trip this weekend. We going on a weekend camping trip with my son’s scout pack and I definitely need to be prepared!
My bag is perfect because it’s so versatile. What do I ask myself when choosing a bag?
- Can I wear it across my chest?
- Can I wear it as a backpack?
- Can I wear it around my waist?
- Does it have lots of pockets?
- Is it lightweight?
- Is it large enough? Is it too large?
- Can it hold my water bottle without damaging the contents of the bag if the bottle leaks?
- Will my camera fit and will it be protected?
- And the #1 consideration: Is it comfortable?
I pack depending on how intense the field trip will be, but most of the time I carry these things:
- Extra bag. We usually end up carrying home specimens, rocks and other goodies
- Tissue
- Sunscreen
- Cash
- Chapstick
- Pens & pencils
- Notebook
- Hand sanitizer
- Insurance card and Safe Kids card (Planning for the worst: injuries, emergencies and missing kids)
- Safety pins
- Nail clipper
- First aid kit
- Snacks
Whether it’s a baseball game or a hike in the woods, I always bring an adventure bag. It’s not always this bag, but I like to be prepared.
That’s a very good list for your travel bag. The only thing I would add, since P is getting a little older now, is binoculars
I have a dirty little field trip secret. ..I can’t stand binoculars! Gasp! I do have a little ‘monocular’ gizmo. I’ll have to start packing it. 🙁