What I Packed in my 60L Barrel for My Solo Trip

I had just completed a multi-day solo canoe trip in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, and I decided to try something a little different. Actually there were a few things different on this trip for me.  Firstly I was using a solo Swift Keewaydin 15 ft canoe, then I decided I would try to get all my gear into our 60L barrel.

This post I will list all the items I took on my trip, what went inside the barrel, and what I had to carry as extra.  I know there is always interest in this kind of post, and I just took it into my own hands and gave it a try.

I have never used a barrel for an entire trip. There are other trippers out there who I have seen use solely a barrel, rather than a canoe pack or backpack.  Since I have not yet purchased a canoe pack or dry pack, and I didn’t want to chance my backpack getting soaking wet in a possible dumping, (Although I wasn’t too worried about this), I decided to try tripping with the barrel.

So, here is what I brought with me. Next time there are a few items I would leave out to lighten my load, but you just don’t know until you have done this a few times right? Practice makes perfect. All items in the list were IN the barrel.

List of Items (from Top to bottom, going right, left, right, left etc)

1. Eureka! NoBugZone shelter
2. Eureka! Midori Solo tent
3. Black and Green rope (this is my bear hang, it had a pulley attached)
4. Extra rope (just in case)
5. Thermarest hammock and straps
6. Sea to Summit eVent dry bag with clothes
7. Sea to Summit eVent dry bag with sleeping bag
8. Summer air mattress (from Explore gear box)
9. Dollarstore rubber gloves (I use these ALL the time for the fire and wood)
10. Lifestraw (this was my backup water filter)
11. Platypus 4L gravity water filter (This was a bonus for how much water I was drinking on these hot days)
12. Avventura solo pot set (Explore gear box)
13. UST collapsible bowl
14. Bag with utensils (fork, spoon, folding spatula, folding spoon, sharp knife)
15. Fire kit
16. Sea to Summit Aeros pillow
17. Folding saw
18. Personal bag (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc)
19. First Aid kit
20. TP and hand sanitizer
21. Food!
22. Sharp knife (Explore gear box)
23. Bear spray
24. Luci blow up light
25. Portable charger (for my phone)
26. Headlamp
27. Backpacking clothesline
28. MSR fuel tank
29. Pocket rocket stove
30. Pack towel
31. Rain jacket and rain pants (Not in picture)
32. Bug jacket (Not in picture)
33. Starbucks reusable mug (with platypus soft water bottle with a couple oz of vodka) (Not in picture)
34. Keen sandals for around camp (Not in picture)
35. Tackle kit (Not in picture)
36. Qwick wick firestarters (Not in picture)

I took some items and packed them into each other to make it easier to find throughout my trip.  The pot set bag held my pot, frying pan, pocket rocket stove, fuel tank, cloth, soap and lighter.  The utensil bag I placed my fire kit and my clothes line. My personal bag had my portable charger as well as the other items.

There is also a small 5L dry bag that I clipped to the outside of the barrel for this trip.  It help my sunglasses, multi-tool, glasses strap, medication (head cold remember), the extra rope, my keys, fishing license, sunscreen, bug spray, and tissues that needed to be easily accessible.

Below you can see the items all over my living room floor. At this point I was gathering everything and hoping it would fit.  I found I only had to pack a couple of items in different places.

As you can see in this picture below, all items, including the food, is in the barrel.  My Keen’s are not in there yet, but they went along the sides.

Items that I had to carry in my hands, well they just wouldn’t fit in the barrel after all, were the kayak paddle, Badger paddle, fishing pole, two water bottles, and the orange dry bag with my keys, tissues, etc.

Verdict

Well, carrying a barrel with gear is not easy, neither is carrying a canoe pack or backpack.  I really didn’t mind the weight of it while portaging, but it just didn’t work out for having me complete single carries.  I don’t know how different it would be with a backpack (oh ya, and a yoke!!), to complete a single carry with this gear, so that will be my next attempt.

I really enjoyed that I had all my gear in this waterproof barrel, and I could throw it onshore without worrying too much about if it landed in water and got wet. If I was using my backpack, I would have been a little more conscious of where I would place my gear LOL. 

The other great thing about the barrel is that I was able to use it as a table one morning while eating breakfast.  I have also used barrels to sit on around the fire on previous trips.