ORION Gear List - What should I bring?

Having an enjoyable experience on your ORION trip is greatly influenced by the way you prepare yourself. Appalachian Outdoors can help you find many of the listed items. You will be quite comfortable in any situation if you bring all of the gear on the list. You shouldn't need to bring any other items. Click on the links below (will be added soon) for suggested items:

The following is a check-off list of all the items you will need - please consider what you wear to the arrival day as part of the list (i.e. if you are wearing shorts do not pack a second pair). Pack lightly - as you will be carrying everything you pack + additional group gear.

Rain Jacket: Durable, roomy, lightweight, waterproof garments that will fit over all insulation layers. Essential for an enjoyable experience in the event of rain. Rain pants are optional.

Mens Rain Jackets and Pants
Womens Rain Jackets and Pants
Mid-weight fleece jacket or wool sweater: for those cool summer nights. (summer evening temps can be as low as 50 degrees).

Columbia Steens Mountain Sweater - Mens
Columbia Benton Springs Sweater - Womens
Mens Fleece Jackets
Womens Fleece Jackets
Underwear: 2- 3 changes should be sufficient.
Long Pants: 1 pair, nylon wind pants or hiking pants preferred. Encouraged but Optional.

Mens Convertible Nylon Pants
Womens Convertible Nylon Pants
T-shirts: 2 for warm hiking days. 50/50 or all synthetic material is recommended (ie: polyester).

Patagonia Capilene Tee Shirts
Hiking Shorts: 2 loose fit nylon hiking, soccer, or athletic shorts.

Mens Shorts (Choose nylon)
Womens Shorts (Choose nylon)
Socks: 3 pair. Socks should be made specifically for hiking (nylon, polyester,or wool). Do not bring cotton socks.

Smartwool Hiking Socks
Wigwam Hiking Socks
Bandana: useful for a variety of purposes.

Bandanas
Hiking Boots: The most important piece of equipment! 1 pair, sturdy boots with good ankle support, comfortable and proper fit. If you are buying new boots, give yourself a sufficient amount of time to break them in. Boots not broken-in cause blisters - which makes for a miserable trip. (See reverse for more information).

Mens Hiking Boots
Womens Hiking Boots
Sneakers: 1 pair, to wear around camp and for the high ropes course or canoeing.

Mens Lowcut Adventure Shoes
Womens Lowcut Adventure Shoes
Headlamp/small flashlight: Bring an extra set of batteries. The smaller and lighter the better!

Headlamps
Water Bottle: 1 wide mouth quart or liter size (leak proof) plastic bottle (ie: nalgene). A second one will be provided for you.

Nalgene 32 oz. Wide Mouth Water Bottle
Mug (optional) / Bowl / Spoon / Fork.: Durable, plastic, lightweight. Insulated 12 oz. plastic, mugs are great.

Mugs, Bowls, Spoons and Forks
Sun Screen / Lip Balm / Bug Spray: Very small containers. Sun Protection Factor (SPF)15 or greater. Mosquitoes are abundant

Insect Repellent, Balm, and Sun Screen
Plastic trash bags: 1 or 2 large, extra heavy-duty, help to make storage bags more waterproof.
Personal Stuff: i.e: toothbrush, toothpaste (travel size), camera, personal medications (inhaler for asthma, epi-pin for bee sting allergies, ibuprofen), females: extra feminine supplies - just in case, etc.
Bathing suit: for canoeing.
Small duffel bag/daypack: You will have the opportunity to shower at the end of the backpacking portion of the trip for the cookout. You will not be carrying this bag on the trail with you. It will be stored while you are out on the trail and delivered to you on the last night -before the cookout. Small book bag or duffel bag should include: towel, soap, shampoo, other toiletries you may need or want, clean clothes (can be cotton) for cookout and the last day, and a comfortable pair of shoes.

Day Packs
Duffle Bags
Optional items:
Camp chair: Crazy creek chair: it makes sitting around camp more comfortable. We'll have these for sale at the Ag Arena on the first day.$30

Camp Chairs
Pocket Knife: One small, Swiss-style folding knife is sufficient. Don't buy one if you don't have one.

Folding Knives
Money: You will not need any money while on the trip. However, some groups do pass through State Parks where there are vending machines. If you want to bring $1.00-$5.00- you may. Some vending machines along the way only accept coins.

Please do not bring electronic items such as mp3 players, games, or cell phones.

ORION will provide all of the necessary group gear for the trip including: Tents/Tarps, First Aid Kits, Maps/Compass, Stoves, Cookware, Journals, Great Food!, Water Purification materials, Backpack, Sleeping Bag & Pad. Before you venture out on our backpacking trips, an instructor will look over your gear to make sure that you are ready. You may bring your own personal gear if you would like. Leaders will determine if your equipment is appropriate for our program on the first day. We do have storage available.

Appalachain Outdoors is a local State College outdoor retailer. As a sponsor for the ORION program, the store is providing a 10% discount to all ORION participants as well as a great web link to help you with gear selection. Go to www.appoutdoors.com to find everything you need to be properly outfitted for ORION. Look for the ORION link on their website.

Additional Information:

Weather: Generally, we have summer temperatures in the 80's to 90's ° F. But temperatures can be considerably cooler in the evenings dropping as low as 50 degrees at night. Since you can never be sure what the weather will be like, you need to bring a range of clothing for various conditions. By having a variety of layers of clothing you can adjust your layers to suit your activity level and the weather conditions.

Re: Clothing (Excerpted from Rick Curtis' The Backpacker's Field Manual) The clothing layers should consist of several different types of fabrics. Cotton is comfortable and breathable, but it absorbs and retains water, and therefore it will not keep you warm if it gets wet. Also, it can be difficult to dry. For this reason you should not bring heavy cotton clothes such as sweatshirts, sweatpants or blue jeans. We strongly encourage you to wear nylon, polyester or synthetic clothing. Wool or synthetic fleece fabrics (such as Polartec 100 or Polartec 200) don't absorb water so they keep you warm even if they get wet. Fleece also dries very quickly. A wool sweater or fleece jacket provides warmth on a cold evening. These are essential to your comfort on the trip!

A combination of these types of fabrics creates a layering system. The inner layer keeps the skin dry and comfortable. Synthetic t-shirts and shorts are lightweight and will dry quickly when wet from perspiration or from rain. The middle layer provides some insulation and protection from the elements. Long-sleeve shirts and long pants make up this layer. You may wear these in the evening when your activity level is low and it starts to cool off. The outer layer provides insulation and is usually a wool sweater or fleece jacket. You will wear this around camp at night. The shell layer protects you from wind and rain. A waterproof rain jacket is essential in case of bad weather. A coated nylon rain jacket or poncho is lightweight, inexpensive, and works well. Waterproof-breathable fabrics like Gore-tex also work well but can be expensive. For the head layer, bring a brimmed hat for sun and rain protection. At night, a wool or synthetic fleece hat can be helpful for warmth. The feet layer includes a wool/nylon-blend hiking sock. Since wool or synthetic material doesn't absorb water it passes the moisture from your foot outwards, keeping your foot drier. If your feet get damp, they get wrinkled and are more prone to blisters. Wearing synthetic socks means that your socks will not absorb water and therefore will not be as likely to cause blisters.

Re: Boots (Excerpted from Rick Curtis' The Backpacker's Field Manual) 1 pair of lightweight hiking boots: Boots should provide ankle support and be either leather/fabric or all-leather with lug soles for traction. Boots should fit comfortably with two pairs of socks, a light synthetic liner sock and a synthetic hiking sock. Above all, make sure that your boots are well broken-in before you arrive. Otherwise your feet will pay the price. We cannot emphasize this enough. Non-broken-in boots invariably cause chafing and blisters.