What to put in your daypack on Kilimanjaro

What to carry with you on the mountain

Picture your backpack as the swiss-knife of Mountain climbing. With everything you need for your climb packed in the bag, it is important to make sure that you have everything you need for the day before you embark on your daily trek.

Just pack everything you need and nothing you don’t. Overstuffing your backpack could make it heavy and lead to your legs and knees getting strained by the weight of your body plus your backpack.

Apart from your daily mountain climbing needs also pay attention to the total weight that you will be carrying. Not to worry much though

What Gear Do I Need to Carry in my Day Pack?

Your day pack should contain gear that you will need for the day. These should be things that will be essential to your trek before reaching camp. You do not need an oversized backpack, a medium-sized or small one will be appropriate.

The measurement should be able to have a volume capacity of up to 2000 cu in (30 liters). The content and items inside the bag should be things of usefulness like clothes, water bottles, some energy bars or snacks, waterproof clothing, headgear, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, and other items as mentioned below.

The remaining things should be carried inside your large duffel bag which will be part of the porters ‘luggage. Which will be carried between camps each day on the mountain. To ensure that your gear and extra clothing stay dry, make sure that you wrap them in plastic bags every day when you pack.

Things to Pack in your Kilimanjaro Backpack

As mentioned above, the porters do much of the carrying, to relieve you from straining with bulky loads on the mountain and hinder your mountain climbing and summiting chances. This makes you concentrate on your ultimate goal of making it to the top or as further up the mountain as possible. Below are some of the things you can pack in your day pack to make your mountain trekking activities more enjoyable.

• sweets
• water and water purifiers
• camera and spare film/batteries
• the guidebook/maps
• sunhat
• sunglasses
• suncream
• compass
• toilet paper and wipes
• rainwear
• walking sticks
• knee supports
• medical kit, including chapstick
• watch
• whistle
• lunch (supplied by your crew)

How to pack your day pack for mountain climbing

For efficient packing of your day pack, arrange your things in an orderly manner so that you do not misplace them. It is wise to sort your things in sacks or wrap them in plastic bags in a neat and nice way. You can use zip log bags to store personal items like sunscreen, lip balm, wet wipes and hand sanitizers

To get a good balance on the weight of your backpack, consider placing the bulky items near the midpoint of your back to maintain a good center of gravity in line with your spine.  This will protect you from leaning forward, therefore maintaining a nice posture while trekking.

Fasten your backpack’s straps to have a comfortable trek on the mountain so that the contents inside your day pack do not sway or move from side to side.