How To - Pack For The O-Trek

Written By 2 Tickets 2 Everywhere

Introduction

We have been planning for the O-Trek for months on end. Before we left the US, we were plotting how to best transport the camping gear we would sporadically need throughout the year and finally on the culmination of our camping adventures: the long-awaited Patagonia hike. Planning our packing list was, of course, down to efficiency and excitement, but also spurred by how early we needed to book our spot. While we needed to be clever about leveraging some of our friends to hold on to items for a few months and deliver them when they met us later (sorry, Stella!), we needed to ensure that most of our clothes were suitable for the hike. Throughout our travels and in the last few weeks before the hike, we’ve collected the remaining gear needed. Here’s where we’d recommend shopping for these last few items: 

Punta Arenas: 

  • Scoop Punta Arenas – A no packaging dry goods shop with plenty of nuts, cereals, pasta, dried fruits & veggies, sweet treats, soya protein, and staple goods (i.e. sugar). Prices are very reasonable!

Puerto Natales: 

  • Rental Natales – Gulliermo is a great contact to have! He has loads of park tips and information, plus the pricing for the gear is very fair. The shop rents anything from boots, to backpacks, to clothing. The brands are amazing too – think Sea to Summit, REI, and BackCountry. We’d recommend renting a 55L backpack here to avoid carrying this if you are traveling long-term. 

  • UNIMARC – You’ll find loads of comments on Reddit and blogs that say you should get your shopping done in Punta Arenas, but this is not true! Puerto Natales arguably has a better selection of products, many of which are packaged in a more suitable way for camping.

See below for our full O-Trek packing lists – one for Jackson’s gear, one for Sarah’s, plus one for our food and another for some key items we’d both recommend. To store all of the below, we’d recommend a 55L backpack – REI’s Co-op Flash 55 Pack (Womens / Mens) did an amazing job, is super light, and very comfy!

Jackson has been on a number of through hikes, so he’s well-seasoned when it comes to packing lightly and anticipating what he needs for an amount of days. Meanwhile, this is Sarah’s first through hike, especially of this length, so she has cautiously packed more in each category, knowing that she would miss some comforts with fewer items. 

Note: You’ll notice some edits to the lists below. These were made after our hike, either indicating that we didn’t need the item or that we were missing something from our list that we wished we’d had. Use the lists however you wish, but make sure to cater to your own comfort and preferences!

JACKSON’S LIST

Outerwear (Mid & Top Layers):

Tops (Base Layers):

  • 3 x Activewear Short-Sleeved T-Shirts / Nike, Under Armor, Brady

  • 2 x Long-Sleeved Shirts / Patagonia, Nike

Bottoms:

  • 1 x Long Hiking Pants / prAna

  • 1 x Activewear Shorts / Onia

Underwear: 

Headwear:

  • 1 x Baseball Cap / Nike or Similar

  • 1 x Merino Beanie / Canada Goose or Similar

  • 1 x Bandana

Shoes:

  • 1 x Hiking Boots / Solomon – Edit: If you get inserts, go up a size on these shoes as they were too tight and caused blisters. 

1 x Flip Flops (for showers) – Edit: Would recommend slides, like the plastic Birkenstocks, to wear with socks.

Toiletries:

  • 1 x Toothbrush

  • 1 x Toothpaste

  • 1 x Deodorant

  • 1 x Nail Clippers

Other:

  • 1 x Water Repellent or Resistant Gloves / The North Face or Similar

  • 1 x Sunglasses / Oakley

  • 1 x Water Bottle (1.5L) / Camelbak

  • 1 x Camping Towel / PackTowl

SARAH’S LIST

Outerwear (Mid & Top Layers):

Tops (Base Layers):

Bottoms:

Underwear: 

Headwear:

  • 1 x Baseball Cap / Columbia

  • 1 x Merino Beanie / Smartwool

  • 1 x Headband / – Edit: Not necessary.

Shoes:

  • 1 x Hiking Shoes / Merrell – Edit: Would recommend boots versus low hiking shoes, as they offer more ankle protection on uneven trails & warmth in snow.

  • 1 x Flip Flops (for showers) – Edit: Would recommend slides, like the plastic Birkenstocks) to wear with socks.

Other:

  • 1 x Water Repellent or Resistant Gloves / Amazon

  • 1 x Sunglasses / Le Specs

  • 2 x Water Bottle (1L) / Nalgene – Edit: Would recommend one insulated bottle for tea in the mornings, especially the sunrise hike to Base Torres (it gets very cold).

Toiletries:

  • 1 x Toothbrush

  • 1 x Toothpaste

  • 1 x Mini Face Wash

  • 1 x Deodorant

  • 1 x Hairbrush

  • 16 x Daily Pad (keeps underwear fresh for longer)

  • 1 x Lip Balm

  • 1 x Bar Shampoo

Cooking Gear:

Other Items:

FOOD & OTHER KEY ITEMS

Edit: It was great to save on costs by bringing our own food, but food options are available at all camps aside from Los Perros. The camps offer full board, single meals (pizzas, burgers, quesadillas), and snacks (chips, chocolate, cheese). We enjoyed splurging on dinner on Day 4, as it was such a tough and long hike but were happy to cook alongside most of the other O-Trekkers most nights.

Food: 

  • 1 x 500g of Pasta

  • 4 x Pasta Express – Edit: only needed two of these.

  • 2 x Chickpeas in Spinach

  • 3 x Pasta Sauce Pouches – Edit: only needed two of these.

  • 1 x Mash Potato (4 Portions)

  • 1 x 250g of Soya Protein

  • 16 x Trailmix (Small Ziploc Bags)

  • 2 x Dried Apples & Mango (Small Ziploc Bags)

  • 16 x Protein or Cereal Bars (Breakfast)


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