HOME • CALENDAR

PHONE or EMAIL US

CONFIDENTIALITY:
Wolf Camp does not share
its database — period.

• Wolf College SITE MAP

• Wolf Camp SITE MAP

• Wolf Journey SITE MAP

Packing for Overnight Youth Camps

After registering, we will send you a detailed program description, with directions on how to prepare. For week-long camps, we will also send a questionnaire for new campers to complete. It will include health history questions and other information that are designed to ensure that the program for which you apply is the best choice for you.

The most important thing for you to do is to sleep well the night prior to camp and eat a healthy breakfast the day camp starts. Remember, we will be camping primitively, so set your expectations appropriately.

We will do a pack check upon check-in at camp, and the following items are required, so parents need to pack together with campers to make sure everything is present! However, if you cannot attain a required item, we have lots of extra supplies at our Home Campus, so be sure to advise us to bring something in advance! Otherwise, we probably won't have extra gear to lend out, as all of our camps are field-site based. If there is a favorite item a camper wants to bring, even though we haven't mentioned it, or advised against it, or provide it for you, simply advise us before camp starts. Otherwise, the items on this page are things you'll need to bring to camp to help ensure that everyone is comfortable.

Health History: If it’s not too time-consuming, please bring the results from your most recent physical exam to place into your file upon check-in on the first day of camp. A very recent physical is not required as long as you were forthcoming when you filled out the health history form (which was part of your registration form), but a physical is recommended if you have not had one in the past year. Please tell your doctor your plans for coming to camp, and the activities involved.

Bring a medium-size, day-hike type backpack (such as a big school-size backpack) with your name printed on it and include the following essentials inside: (we can supply all of these, however, if you ask us in advance)

• Full Water Bottle
• Large Zip Lock Bag labeled with your name and containing:
• Small Toothbrush in small zip-lock bag
• Floss (which has many purposes like rope/string does, i.e. tieing things, etc.)
• Two Feminine Pads (which double as first aid bandages) in small zip-lock bag
• Band-Aids (smalls for common uses, larges we use when teaching how to secure bigger bandages) in small zip-lock bag.
• Large Zip Lock Bag labeled with your name and containing:
• Very Small Sunscreen Tube (we’ll have extra)
• Small Flashlight or headlamp with new batteries, all in a small zip-lock bag
• One Tablespoon of Salt in a small zip-lock bag (no more as critters like salt, and no less as salt is critical to hydration)
• Toilet Paper (enough for 2 uses – we’ll resupply) in small zip-lock bag
• Individually-packaged Handi Wipes, or baby wipes in small zip-lock bag.
• Spoon / Swiss Army: We recommend bringing the cheapest Swiss Army Knife you can find With Spoon on it to use as silverware, but youth must be tested by parents on how to safely use the swiss army knife before sending it along, as folding knives are fairly risky. We do not allow you to use any knives you bring for carving or projects. Instead, we will supply and train you on the Frost Mora brand with finger guard. Only campers who attend a second overnight camp week and who reach our Level III knife safety can bring the knife home. Alternatively, parents may also pay $25 for a knife at the end of a camper’s first week if they wish.
• Metal Pot & Cup: The most important item to fit in your small backpack or waistpack is a small metal pot plus a cup that fits inside, because as you will discover after becoming proficient in survival (that is, after being able to make fire by friction, sharpen rocks for tools, etc.) that a metal pot is the last thing you would ever leave home without. In the meantime, the small pot will be used for food at meals. We recommend a small stainless steel pot even though they weigh a bit more and are harder to come by in sporting goods sections (so check housewares for something that will still fit inside your small backpack or waistpack, or go to REI etc. for the expensive compact ones) because they are more durable to use when cooking over a fire, often have small handles which is nice for useability, and most important, aren’t as toxic like aluminium when used over the long term.
• Giant Plastic Garbage Bag: Also, it’s fine if you want to round-out the “ten hiking essentials” recommended by organizations such as the Mountaineers or Sierra Club but don’t get carried away at home because one of the first things we do is a pack-check and add Wolf Camp supplies where needed, including a whistle, more giant plastic garbage bags for waterproofing (which is in the top 4 critical items never to leave home without – see http://www.wolfcamp.com/wolfjourney/essays/order.html for details – since stuffing an adequately large garbage bag with debris will give you a quick, waterproof “nature’s sleeping bag” to use in emergency if caught by dusk, whereas a natural debris hut requires several hours to make comfortable, which is what one would want to do in day two of a survival situation since plastic bags retain moisture, meaning that any debris or blanket put inside or under plastic will need to be aired out in the morning, while with a natural debris hut, your own body heat will actually dry out the debris packed around you overnight).
• Wool or synthetic hat for warmth (with your name printed on the tag as with all these items)
• Sun hat (baseball cap fine, but full brim yet foldable is best). You can also bring hair ties or buy a Wolf Camp bandana.
• Thin leather gloves in a large zip-lock bag (leather because it is safe for working with tools/knives, for warmth, and around fire).
• Amber-colored, uv-protection sunglasses with strap, preferably those without nose rests nor screw-corners as they always unscrew and/or break-off whenever being packed. Rather, look for the plastic ones formed to rest directly on the nose, with sturdy folding corners. However, don't bring expensive sunglasses, as they get lost too easily. Spending $15 is about right. The amber color is important when sunglasses are needed for eye protection in dim light, as they can actually seem to brighten up the surroundings, yet lessen eye fatigue in bright sunlight.

Pack the following gear (with your name printed on everything) in a larger soft-cover bag (that's easy to throw into our gear truck or trailer, i.e. a large laundry bag, large duffle bag, internal-frame backpack, soft suitcase without wheels, etc.). We won't be backcountry camping except for short overnight trips when you will leave your larger bag back at base camp, so your medium-size daypack will be sufficient for excursions.

• Sleeping Bag that fits into a semi-small stuff-sack to save space, speed packing, and add some water resistance. The mid-price range kind at cheaper sporting-goods stores like Fred Meyer or Big Five are good enough, and we have plenty of extras in case you can’t afford or don’t have time to get one yourself.
• Closed cell foam Sleeping Pad, preferably the square fold-up type since they are easiest to pack and use (air mattress pads are not okay, unless you have arthritis, since they pop holes easily when we sleep under the stars, and do not provide protection during lightning storms, however rare they are in low elevation Western Washington). Again, we have extra roll-up types, but let us know in advance if you can’t bring your own.
• Tiny Sewing Kit (learning to use it by sewing it safely to the inside of the backpack) including safety pins if you can find one.

Clothing (which we recommend to be natural color or patterned, and not noisy or “swooshy sounding” when moving in them, especially if you are attending Scout week since earth tone clothes are best for camp skill games we do every week, and they may increase chances of seeing wildlife) with your name printed on the tag with a thin marker:

• Bring/buy one of those medium-guage $35 rainsuits (jacket and pants). If you already have more expensive or durable rain gear, that's great, but the kind at Fred Meyer / Walmart / Big K / Big 5 medium-guage rainsuits are probably best for one-week of use, as more expensive ones may get ripped anyway, and cheaper windbreaker type material is worthless. 
• Three pair of long pants: 1) Sturdy but comfortable jeans for working with tools (especially knives) and for moving through sticker bushes; 2) Thinner kahki pants for hiking and moving through brush; and 3) a pair of fleece sweatpants, thin wool pants (try second-hand stores) or thick stretch pants (that can be worn as outerwear) are also required.
• Synthetic long underwear bottoms or comfortable synthetic leggings which are key to warmth at night and during wet weather. Fred Meyer / Walmart / Big 5 / Etc. often have soft synthetic long underwear bottoms which are not of great quality, but they do the trick.
• Two long-sleeve undershirts. 1) One needs to be synthetic, and the cheapest are those thin “body glove” ones sold in places like Big Five Sporting Goods, but the warmest ones are the softer polypropelene ones sold for more in places like REI. This shirt will be good for wet weather and terrain, plus cold-water swimming/bathing. 2) The other long-sleeve shirt should be a good fitting, comfortable cotton shirt that would be good for moving through underbrush in warm weather.
• 2-4 undershirts (t-shirts and tank-tops should be tasteful)
• Two Outer Tops that are good in cold/wet weather: 1) One Wool Shirt (like a button-down shirt from Goodwill / Value Village / St. Vincent de Paul) and 2) one fleece jacket/pullover. We do have quite a few extra fleece pullovers, so if your budget is limited, just tell us in advance to bring an extra. Please note that cotton coats are worthless when wet. Don’t bring any. Cotton is very comfortable, and can be tightly woven like jeans to provide some protection when working with tools and moving through sticker bushes, but again, don’t count on it if ever you need it to stay warm in Western Washington. Remember that it gets cold and wet by the water, at higher elevations, and at night, even in the middle of the summer!
• 3-6 pair of underwear.
• 4 pair of comfortable socks, plus 2 pair of wool/insulated socks are required!
• Swimwear, including a required pair of water shoes, aka water moccasins, water socks, water shoes, etc. are required!
• Large, raggedy beach towel.

Footwear: Waterproof hiking boots are required. Proper footwear is the only thing we recommend spending money on if a person also plans to hike in the outdoors regularly in the coming year. However, you might want to wait for growth spurts to pass before spending what it takes ($150) to get truly waterproof, sturdy but comfortable hiking boots, since having 2 or even 3 changes of cheap, comfortable shoes ready in a backpack can be just as effective, so if A relatively cheap combination of footwear includes: $25 hiking/work boots, $20 sneakers, $15 rubber boots small enough to pack, $10 water moccasins, and as many pair of $5 wool socks as you can get. You won’t find prices like that at REI etc. where you should go for quality hiking boots, but if you go to army surplus, big-box, second-hand, or sporting goods stores, that’s where you’ll find the cheap, one-summer, pre-growth-spurt supplies. Last, but not least important, be sure you have broken in all footwear well in advance to avoid common blisters!

Please do not bring candy, chips, drinks, nor the like. It's fine to bring power bars, etc., for snacks but all food must be packed in zip-lock bags with your name on a piece of duct-tape (or other sturdy tape that ink will adhere to) and you will need to give it to us right away to keep in our secure food storage bins (or secured out of reach of critters). Further, we recommend that you visit the bulk dispenser section of your store rather than bringing highly packaged or processed foods, canned goods, etc. Please do bring specialty foods if you have certain nutritional requirements. Otherwise, just let us know your needs, as we supply all meals, drinks and snacks. 

Finally, please consider purchasing the following resources: (we will have extra copies to use, and will also offer them at the end of the week by donation to our scholarship fund)

Survival Camps: Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature & Survival for Children plus Wilderness Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen.

Wildlife Tracking Camps: Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest by David Moskowitz plus a good birding field guide like the affordable Golden Guide's Birds of North America - A Guide to Field Identification. You will also want to bring a journal with colored pencils. Finally, if you can afford/risk to send along a digital camera, that would be wonderful!

Herbal Camps: Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar, and Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel. You will also want to bring a journal with colored pencils. Finally, if you can afford/risk to send along a digital camera, that would be wonderful!

Artisanry Camps: The People of Cascadia by Heidi Bohan and a subscription to the Society of Primitive Technology from which you will receive the latest copy of the Bulletin of Primitive Technology. You will also want to bring good fitting goat-skin leather gloves for flintknapping.

Art & Music Camps: Drawing from the Book of Nature by Dennis Klocek. You will also want to bring a journal with colored pencils, plus music and instruments you enjoy.

Scout Camps: The Spirit of Sacajawea dvd about Sacajawea's life, people and participation in the Lewis & Clark expedition. You will also want to bring extra fleece (as well as natural-color) clothing, extra shoes and socks, since the weather is always misty and very cool by the ocean.

Fishing Camps: You will want to bring a fishing license if old enough, plus fishing gear and resource books that you may already have.

See Books and AV for additional resource choices.

Lost & Found Policy: If you leave it at camp, it will be picked up by charity unless you pick it up on a weekend before we move our office down to the South Sound region in the fall. We won’t have staff to package and send home forgotten items. Again, to help avoid loosing things, please put your name on every item you bring, bring only what you need, and as explained above, leave all electronic devises and other distractions at home.