Packing Tips

Adventure Treks provides all of the necessary outdoor equipment for our trips, including a large backpacking backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, cooking gear, and all activity-specific technical gear.

Daypack (carry-on)

This is something students will use most days. We recommend using a school bookbag as your daypack; for all trips except the Leadership Adventure Semester, there’s no need to purchase an expensive, technical daypack from an outdoor store. For students who are flying, this will be their carry-on luggage on opening and closing days.

For opening day, please pack the following items in the daypack:

• An ID, if your child chooses to carry one. (U.S. citizens under 18 traveling domestically are not required to show an ID to get through security and board their flight.)
  • If your child is participating in an international trip, they will need a current passport whose expiration date is valid for six months past their travel date.
• Essential items in the event your checked luggage is delayed: rain jacket, fleece, change of clothes, toothbrush, prescription medications, contacts and glasses, sunglasses, warm hat and baseball cap, and any other personal essentials.
• Water bottle and headlamp.
• Cell phone, charger, other electronics, and wallet/money; please pack these in a Ziploc bag labeled with your name.
  • Please pack a prepaid debit card or credit card for unexpected baggage or airline fees or food on the way home (we do send students to the airport with a bag of snacks).

Duffel bag (checked)

Pack everything else in a soft-sided duffel bag. Think of the duffel as a “closet” while on the trip; students will store everything in here that they’re not using that day or for the next few days. The duffel will be stored in the U-Haul trailer that we tow behind our vans. A few things to note:

• The duffel should not have wheels; they are a loading hazard.
• A bag measuring 80–100 liters should be enough space to pack everything you need.

After students have been officially accepted and enrolled on a trip, families be able to check the trip-specific packing list in your CampInTouch account to find out exactly what you need to bring. Packing lists will be uploaded to CampInTouch in early 2025.

How to organize the duffel

We encourage students to take part in the packing process. All too often, parents do all the packing, which results in their kids having no idea where any of their items are inside their luggage.

You’ll see nylon stuff sacks or Ziploc bags on each trip’s packing list. We highly recommend using these to organize all toiletries and soft items like clothing. While stuff sacks are reusable, see-through Ziploc bags are easier to quickly sort through. There are many ways to organize, but try these groupings in each Ziploc/stuff sack:

• Synthetic and cotton socks
• Underwear and bras
• Synthetic shirts
• Cotton shirts
• Pants
• Toiletries
• Rain gear

It’s not a bad idea to throw in a couple extra gallon-sized and two-gallon-sized Ziploc or plastic grocery bags so that your child can store any especially dirty or smelly items, like hiking boots, to protect the rest of their items.