I’m currently in the process of revisiting the gear selections as we regroup in Baltimore before heading back out on the road.

We left our apt in a bit of a rush, so some things were thought out more thoroughly than others. Now I’m trying to figure out how best to organize everything into the car.

We have a good amount of cargo space in our 09 Forester, the real tricky part is how best to keep things organized and accessible. With a limited amount of space, we’re not bringing much we don’t want to be able to access regularly- so how do you stack, shelve, or pack items into the car so that 90% of it can be accessed regularly without a lot of unpack and re-packing?

Any suggestions?

Once I have the scanner hooked up I’ll share a few of the sketches Ive done with some different possible configurations.

Here’s an idea of what we have to work with:

• Camping gear:  including 4 sleeping bags (0 degree and 35 degree for each of us), 2 car-camping pads, 2 small backpacking pads, tarp, tent, solo tent, lanterns, stakes.
• Food gear: groceries, cooler, everyday foods like bread, pb, granola bars, fruit & cereal, utensils, Jet Boil stove, water jug (collapsible 2.5 gallon), collapsible kitchen sink, camp soap.
• Toiletries: everyday items, occasional items, and shower stuff
• Clothing: it’s either with us or inaccessible, so we have to include a good amount of everyday clothing for a variety of settings, as well as cold weather outdoor gear, jackets, etc
• Car stuff- jumper cables, oil etc
• File bin- have to have key documents for work and record-keeping with us
• Books-Andrew lots to read, me a few reference plus maps and guidebooks
• 2 laptops and associated cords in bags, frequently accessed, but you don’t want too high a placement in car since they are dangerous FOD in the case of an accident, they need to be locked down
• Dirty laundry- separate from clean clothes- and next to what? ugg
• Emergency gear- I’m slimming down, but I’m still a dork so we’ll have emergency food bars and a very basic set of gear, i.c.e.
• Scanner- not sure if it’ll make the cut, but it is handy in getting rid of documents…
• Shoes- shoes take up a lot of room, but so key, I need to find a pair of shoes that can be everyday and light hikers, but even then I still like my camp shoes and flippers at a minimum. Andrew’s hiking shoes take up 1/2 sq foot on their own!
• Hiking gear: day pack and overnight pack, trekking poles, first aid kit.
• Cold weather hiking gear- 30L backpack, crampons, lighter duty ice traction.