Tomorrow- Wed. 28 Feb- I head out for my third hitch with the American Conservation Experience in SoCal. This hitch will be 8 days front country camping: our camp site will be next to our parked vehicle, but will not be equipped with a flushing toilet or comfort amenities. Time to get my dirt groove on!!

So how does a diabetic prepare for an 8 day hitch? Well here’s my packing list:

–Osprey  day pack (bought at REI)

–Frio insulin cooling packs- 2 pen for the day pack and 4 pen carrier for the big pack that stays cozy in my tent

-6 omnipods and extra batteries

-1 dexcom applicator and dexcom receiver charging chord

–Goal Zero solar panel with battery charger to charge dexcom receiver

-set of Pump Peelz for omnipod and dexcom

-bunch o alcohol swabs (bring more than just enough for calibrating your dex- what if it breaks and I have no sink to wash a day’s worth of grime off??)

-2-3 bottles of test strips

-4 hypo snacks for every day (Gu gel packs; Transcend gel packs; and Kind fruit pressed bars)–also, although these are packaged food items, I do tend to keep them in an odor proof ziploc bag I found at REI so critters aren’t attracted to my tent)

-2 tubes of 10 glucose

-a few lancets..

-20-30 pen needles (in case all of my omnipods fail- this has happened, unfortunately, but only for 1 day (comment below if you want to hear more about that experience in a new blog post))

-2 glucagons

-backup meter (that uses the same test strips as my omnipod)

–Sea to Summit dry bags: larger Toiletry bag for in the tent with restock items and smaller 8L Dry Bag for my day pack (Sea to Summit keeps all of my medical shit organized and protected from harsh weather conditions- HIGHLY recommend!)

 

I definitely tend to over-pack when it comes to medical supplies, but that’s what makes me feel more comfortable when I am going out into the field. I would personally rather carry 5 extra pounds- even though every ounce of weight makes a difference when you’re working with and carrying it all day long- but if I had a lighter pack, I would feel more panicked about more frequent hypos. Especially because of how experienced I am now going into the field through all of my geology trips, I feel well equipped and comfortable with keeping this same packing routine each trip.

Please comment below what y’all like to bring camping or hiking in terms of hypo snacks or just supplies in general. I am a hard core sea to summit fan currently, but I also LOVE trying new things and would love to hear from all of y’all diabadasses!

-amanda