On my way to Florida, I stopped at Cumberland island in Georgia. You take a 45 minute ferry (if you go, you'll need a reservation for the ferry) and it's a National Park. The island (~20 miles long) has some private residences, some historical sites and a whole lot of nature.
I chose one of the "backcountry" sites to camp for two nights. There is a toilet and cold shower but no potable water (ie must boil/treat water before drinking, brushing teeth, etc), all trash must be carried out and food must be hung out of the reach of animals (mostly raccoons).
I stayed in a hotel only 15 minutes from the ferry the night before (Monday). In the morning (Tuesday) I had to pack, buy food and get a few supplies (namely gas for my new stove). I dawdled and all of a sudden had no time. I left the store with15 minutes to get to my ferry check-in at 11 for the 11:45 departure. Except I still had no gas and hadn't packed any of the other food or supplies. Typical Lena.
I checked in and asked where to buy gas. No help. Someone suggested a gas station would have some. They didn't. I found an army surplus store that luckily had it. I didn't know which brand and bought both so I could leave. We had an orientation for the ferry at 11:30. I left with my gas at 11:24. I think I parked at 11:28 and proceeded to throw things in my bag (because no, I hadn't yet packed my backpack for the two nights of camping). I caught the last five minutes of the talk.
All this leads up to my hasty packing and all the things I forgot as a result. My car was parked on the mainland, whereas all my other camping thus far had my car very near or at my campsite for easy access.
1) It rained all day Monday and was cloudy and ominous this morning (Tuesday). I forgot my rain jacket and pants in my car. These are also handy when Mosquitos are trying to bite through your clothes as the rain gear is pretty tough (see #7).
2) I will be on the island for six meals, two each of breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food I brought included four instant oatmeal packets (two at each breakfast), two applesauce packets (lunch), two cream of chicken powdered soup packets (dinner), half a stick of Pennsylvania locally made pepperoni and half a block of local Swiss cheese (lunch)....and luckily five Clif bars to supplement (mostly dinner). I had bought so much more food but left most of it in the car. When I laid out the stuff I did bring, I was so happy I had the extra Clif bars.
3) A bigger knife, I only have a pocket tool that has a knife. It doesn't even span the width of my cheese block.
4) Sunscreen. What I thought was in my day pack, I had removed to my purse last week sometime. I found a small sample lotion with some uv protection that should be ok for my face. I'll have to keep the rest of me covered.
5) Headlamp for the dark - also moved to my purse which stayed in the car. Luckily I had my iPhone flashlight, but that was all I had when the sun went down (around 6:30/7 I think).
6) Rope for hanging food bag - my friend in NJ gave me a nicely tied up rope and I left it in the car. The park ranger offered me three smaller rope pieces to tie together.
7) Bug spray. I feel like I'm in the jungle and while not horrible, the Mosquitos are all over. I found two OFF wipe packs that needed to last my span of three days. My other bug spray stuff is still in the car. **Update from Wednesday morning - a stranger saved the day and gave me a mini spray in the morning.
8) My jacket which doubles as pillow - it was warm in GA and I opted for more pack space.
9) Sun hat - this was a conscious decision to leave behind since I would have sunscreen. (See #4, oops)
10) Map of the island - again on the passenger seat in the car. I got a second copy on the ferry thankfully.
11) Camera battery - I apparently left my camera on all night Monday and I was on my last bar of charge. I'm hoping it holds out. The extra battery is.....in my purse...in the car.
12) Bandana - it is very versatile, but mostly I use as a towel when in a pinch. All towels were left at home and the bandana is in my car. Drying after my shower was interesting.
So even though I've been to Sweden and Peru - I was clearly still far from being a pro. Mostly, I need to allow an appropriate amount of time to pack my things and then I think I would've been fine. As it was, I really was okay. It just made me laugh/sigh every time I would remember one more thing that I forgot in the car or at home. :)
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