In How to Camp Out, Civil War veteran and avid outdoorsman John Mead Gould cautioned against overpacking, being in a hurry to spend money on new inventions, and generally taking on too much stuff, too many miles, and too much weight. However, one item he deemed indispensable was the haversack—a small bag “furnished with shoulder straps, so that you can carry a lunch, writing materials, guide-book, and such other small articles as you constantly need.” The haversack was also beneficial because it traveled well by horse and wagon. After all, it was 1877, and the backpack as we know it hadn’t been invented yet.
If overlanding requires a shift toward simplicity, donning a backpack takes this concept even further, demanding the mindful curation of essentials housed in a suitable vessel. For…
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Overland Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, Fall 2024