For a lot of fans of the great outdoors, it’s much more appealing to enjoy the outdoors during the day and have the luxury of returning to the shelter of a hut at night than to have to tough it out all by your lonesome on a long trekking tour. The advantage of a hut-to-hut trip is definitely how much weight you save as a result. You can just leave your food, tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat at home! Some huts even offer food and drinks as well!
We’re well aware that a lot of our fellow Alpine Trekkers are experienced travellers, but we thought we’d give all of the beginners out there some assistance as to what to pack when embarking on a hut-to-hut adventure.
Clothing
1. Layer (base layer):
2. Layer (insulation):
3. Layer (weather protection):
Food
Hygiene & Health
Gear
For the hut
If you still have room in your pack
Let’s just start off by saying that our packing list is merely a suggestion. If you’ve already gone on a hut trip before, not only do you know what you need and what you don’t, but you are fully aware of what you’re capable of carrying and what you can leave at home next time. The most important thing to consider is the duration of the trip. If you’ll be travelling for more than four days, we recommend taking spare clothing and travel detergent with you.
Where will you be touring, and what kind of backpack do you need?
Of course, the region in which you plan on travelling plays a significant role as well, e.g. in Scandinavia or the Alps. When it comes to weight, the general rule of thumb is that your rucksack shouldn’t weigh more than 8kg without drinks for a multi-day trip, especially if your route has a lot of elevation gain.
Rucksacks with multiple compartments are incredibly helpful, but if you don’t have one, you can use lightweight stuff sacks to compensate for the lack of compartments. We recommend packing your belongings according to how you’ll need them over the course of the day. Keep your water bottle and food within reach, and if you think you might run into to bad weather, store your waterproof jacket and trousers in an easily accessible compartment.
Clothing and material
When choosing clothing and gear, you need to keep your route in mind. Will you be crossing a glacier (gaiters, crampons, snow spikes, glacier glasses, etc.), will it be raining or will it be mostly dry? Do remember to take gloves with you for routes secured with steel cables, since they’re not fun to hold onto in cold and wet weather.
If you’ve never travelled in this way for multiple days at a time, you should practise beforehand to see how you get along with your kit. For in contrast to daytrips, any poor decisions you make can end up being a pretty big deal. You don’t want to have to call it quits because of some silly mistake!
A huge advantage of hut-to-hut trips is the food and drinks. Depending on the hut, you can stop for a bite to eat and a cold drink at an affordable price. That way, you won’t have to lug a whole bunch of extra weight with you for food. The only thing weighing you down will be the food you plan to eat over the course of the day.
So, that being said, have a fun trip!
