Over the course of the summer, my camp gear was significantly pared and simplified. Some thoughts on what worked and what didn't here:
Clothing
I carried my clothes in two 10 Liter dry bags. The first bag carried my camp clothes (socks, pants, long johns, shirts), and the second bag carried outerwear (rain jacket, polyfill jacket, rain pants). The clothing load was pretty light, but seemed to work all right, and I only got really smelly when I was unable to dry things like socks out for days at a time (although that isn't all that unusual in Southeast Alaska). I mostly stayed pretty warm when the weather was cold. I like the Sealine Baja dry bags, which seem to be very durable and are a little easier to pack than other dry bags because they're slippery (rather than grabby/sticky, as is the case with rubberized dry bags).
Shelter
My tent was a lightweight, two person semi-free standing three season tent made by Big Agnes--model name, "Seedhouse." It was tight for two people, but worked well when I was paddling with Carl and with Emily. Fortunately, Carl, though tall (6'2"?) is tolerant of tent fabric touching is feet and face! It was very comfortable when I was alone--quite roomy for one person. It also was quite light and packed very small.
I had two problems with the tent. First, towards the end of the trip, the ferrules at the end of each pole segment started to oxidize in such a way that it became very difficult to pull the pole sections apart in the morning when it came time to take the tent down. I took to scraping the oxidation off each ferrule at night before setting up the tent, which took some time. Probably some lubricating oil would help, and/or a little sandpaper to periodically remove the oxidized aluminum.
Second, although the tent itself was of an appropriate size to stow alongside the skeg box in the stern compartment, it was a long, thin package that fit awkwardly in a dry bag. I used a large (40L) dry bag with lots of extra room in order to fit the length of the tent bag, which tended to take up more room than necessary. An alternative would have been to pack the tent poles and fabric components separately, packing the body and fly in a 10L dry bag (or smaller), but then the tent wouldn't have fit neatly alongside the skeg. In the end, I soldiered on with the large dry bag but after the trip was over, I bought a large, second-hand dry bag at the local outdoor consignment shop and made a custom-sized bag for my tent, using the dry bag material and aqua-seal. I haven't yet tested the durability of my tent dry bag on a long trip, but so far, it has proved to be immersion-proof and I suspect it will serve nicely.
Another minor complaint is that the tent is a door-in-front design. Having a door (or two) on the side(s) would be more convenient, but those designs are typically heavier and bulkier.
Despite these (relatively minor) issues, I would use the Seedhouse again. And will, including this coming summer.
My other shelter was an ultralight silnylon rain fly that I used as a cooking shelter. Not sure of the dimensions, probably 10'x12' or something similar, it was small enough to fit in tight spaces, but large enough to get two people out of the rain. I would often set it up using kayaks to anchor the corners, and paddles as poles. An absolute lifesaver in in the Pacific Northwest, though I would not want to use a shelter this simple to sleep in; the mosquitos and other biting insects can be pretty horrid when the wind isn't blowing. I generally just packed this tarp in a small stuff sack, which wasn't waterproof. It would get wet in the stern compartment, where I would generally keep it, but that wasn't a problem.
Sleeping
I converted to a Feathered Friends down 20° bag a few years ago and carried it all summer. Because of the rainy climate here, I bought it with a waterproof/breathable shell. I go back and forth about whether using a down sleeping bag here makes sense, and it definitely does sometimes get damp and insulate less well, but I didn't have any persistent problems with it this summer; when it was too chilly, I just put my polyfill jacket on. The only drawback of that approach was that it deprived me of my pillow! I also slept on a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress which I've been using for a few years.
I carried the sleeping bag in a 10L dry bag, typically with the some of the clothes I was sleeping in (usually long johns, a t-shirt and long sleeve shirt, a warm hat and a neck warmer). I kept the mattress in another 10L dry bag, also with some clothes, and with other things I use at night (headlamp, eyeshade, contact lens case and solution, book, etc.)
Camp Kitchen
I wrote about my stove in the previous entry, so won't belabor that. I kept the stove in a 1.5 qt. pot, with my spoon, a spare spoon, pot grips, stove repair kit, lighter, matches, fire starters, etc. This all went into the stove bag (to keep things clean) and then a dry bag. I've paddled without the stove in a dry bag before and it's asking for trouble--sand and salt water get in the fuel line and cause the stove to malfunction. I store the fuel bottle in a tiny, no-longer-waterproof dry bag. It seems to work all right at keeping sand out of the valve, though I should consider an alternative. I wrap the windscreen around the fuel bottle to keep it in good shape, then hold it in place with a strap. I also carry an insulated cup with a lid (it's my bowl, plate, and cup), and a platypus water filter. I've also written elsewhere about my food storage system, but I carried an Ursack, which I kept behind the cockpit in the stern hatch, and the bear keg in the cockpit, fore of my feet, held in place by the foot pegs. My plan is eventually to replace the bear keg with a second ursack, then figure out another way to use the space in the cockpit (keeping in mind entanglement hazards) that puts less weight in the bow.
Safety
I carried a fairly extensive first aid kit, though I would revise and trim my first aid supplies somewhat after taking a Wilderness First Responder class this fall. I also carried a fairly comprehensive repair kit, with wire, line, epoxy resin and hardener, rubber gloves, foam brushes, 3M 5200 caulk/adhesive, sandpaper, etc. I've previously written about my paddling safety gear, carried on deck, in the cockpit, or on my PFD, but also carried a DeLorme InReach (really used as more of a comfort device than a safety device, but could have been used to send an SOS if necessary).
For protection against bears, I carried a can of pepper spray and (controversially) a firearm. In Canada, this was a side-by-side shotgun with short (18") barrels, carried with a sling. Once back in Alaska, I traded this out for a .44 magnum revolver that I carried in a chest holster. Fortunately, I never needed to protect myself with either firearm, but was glad the shotgun was within arm's reach when a bear walked onto the beach 50' from camp my last morning before reaching Ketchikan. I did use the pistol to make some noise one day, alerting a brown bear to our presence on Chichagoff Island, the last day of the trip. If I had to protect myself from a charging bear (unlikely), I would much rather be carrying the shotgun, but because it's such a pain to tote around camp and in the woods, it's easier to keep the pistol at hand, in the holster, on my chest, so it's not just out of reach when I need it. It's also lighter and smaller, taking up much less room in the boat.
I realize that not everybody is comfortable around guns, and the research that I'm aware of suggests that firearms are not helpful in improving life expectancy in bear encounters. Bear spray, on the other hand, does reduce injuries and mortality. The social scientist in me wonders about some methodological issues around these studies, though, and I'm pretty familiar with firearms--I've been shooting since I was a wee Boy Scout, and have worked as a rifle and shotgun instructor. Right or wrong, there are times when having a gun at hand is comforting.
Electronics
In addition to the devices I've described above, I carried a phone, and sometimes two phones--one for Canadian networks and one for US networks. I also carried a small, folding Bluetooth keyboard that allowed me to type journal entries and respond to e-mails more efficiently, when I had a cellular connection or WiFi. Finally, I carried three brick-shaped batteries to charge my USB devices (InReach, phones, keyboard), the charger for my VHF (a real pain in the butt, but no alternative), and a notebook. If I were to do it over again, I would probably try to figure out how to do without the VHF charger--maybe there are USB chargeable batteries available. For the Cobra radio I started the trip with, I was using a battery tray that took AA batteries, which meant I could leave the charger behind, which was a nice way to save a little space.
