I spent a lot of time at my grandfather's pack station in the Eagle Cap Wilderness where people were taken on day rides and packed into the mountains for camping trips. It is amazing how much better the camping gear is now compared to back in those days.

We use small light weight tents, lightweight but very warm sleeping bags. Sometimes we do not use a packhorse. We use behind the saddle packs. They have nice large side pocket and a roomy cantle bag. The only problem with these behind the saddle packs is sometimes you get your leg stuck up on top of the cantle pack. But you can carry a tent, sleeping bag, cookpot, food for you and your horse and have room to spare. the main thing is to dress in layers.  The mornings are a very brisk cold but as the day goes on, it becomes very warm and then as the sun goes down, it becomes very cold. Carry water bottles, and snack items in a handy horn bag along with the camera and first aid items. A horn bag is handy to get into and comes off the horn very easy when you dismount. We carry feedbags for the horses. They don't loose any of their grain and don't eat pine needles. We loose grade the horses as we are setting up camp but as it becomes dark we use a high line to tie the horses to at night.  It is very important to take a bug repellant for horse and rider.  The deer flys can sure bite hard and also early summer the mosquitos can be a big problem.

I guess I had to write this because as we watch the snow melt up the mountain, the maps of the wilderness comes out and a lot of dreaming takes place of where to ride next.  I try to carry spare maps because I have come across hikers that needed to know where they were.  I have traveled the trails in the Eagle Cap for a lot of years but I still carry a map.