🎒 Family of 7
Packing Checklist
Wilderness + city packing for 18 days: grizzly country, Arctic tundra, and Vancouver. Tap items to check them off.
Packed: 0 / 0
🚨 Critical — Buy/Arrange Before or On Arrival
- Bear spray ×2 (buy in Whitehorse — can't fly with it)
- Canadian SIM card or roaming plan (Rogers for Yukon)
- CAD cash $500+ (ATMs in Whitehorse, then sparse)
- USD cash $300+ (Alaska phase)
- Download Google Maps offline (entire Yukon + AK + BC)
- Download Maps.me offline as backup
- Passports for all 7 family members (valid!)
- Car rental confirmation (Terrace, Aug 22)
🧥 Clothing — Wilderness Phase (per person)
- Waterproof rain jacket (non-negotiable — Juneau is very rainy)
- Waterproof rain pants
- Warm fleece / mid-layer jacket
- Down puffer (Tombstone can near-freeze in August)
- Warm hat (wool/fleece)
- Gloves (lightweight, for Dempster)
- Long sleeve base layer ×2
- T-shirts ×4 (quick-dry preferred)
- Hiking pants ×2 (zip-off dual-purpose)
- Shorts ×2
- Underwear ×7 (at minimum)
- Wool socks ×5 pairs (merino wool)
- Swimsuit (lake swimming, Skagway, Hyder)
- Sleepwear (warm — cold nights)
🌆 Clothing — Vancouver City Finish
- Nice dinner outfit (one per adult — Miku sushi, Vij's)
- Casual city shoes / sneakers
- Lighter jacket / blazer for evenings
- Kids: one nicer outfit for restaurants
- Swimsuit (hotel pool)
- Light travel umbrella
👟 Footwear
- Hiking boots (waterproof, ankle support) — essential!
- Sandals / flip-flops (campground showers, hot springs)
- Camp shoes / Crocs (around campsite)
- Sneakers (Vancouver city)
- Kids: same footwear set, check sizes first!
🎒 Outdoor Gear
- Bear bells (1 per hiker — attach to pack)
- Daypack / hiking backpack (per adult)
- Trekking poles (Angelcomb Peak is 576m gain)
- Headlamp + extra batteries (midnight sun = need for reading)
- Blackout eye mask for sleeping (19+ hrs daylight in Whitehorse!)
- Blackout curtains or fabric for RV windows
- Water bottles (reusable, wide-mouth Nalgene)
- Water purification tablets (backup for remote areas)
- Binoculars (bears at distance, Dall sheep, eagles)
- Camera / extra memory cards (glaciers deserve good photos!)
- Portable phone charger / power bank ×2
- Universal car charger / USB adapter
🦟 Bug & Sun Protection
- DEET bug spray (Yukon mosquitoes are legendary)
- Head nets / bug head nets (essential near lakes)
- Sunscreen SPF 50+ (UV intense at northern latitudes)
- Sunglasses (polarized for glacier glare)
- Lip balm with SPF
- Sun hat / baseball cap
- Citronella candles for campsite evenings
📄 Documents & Tech
- Passports — all 7 (check expiry dates!)
- Trip document folder (ferry tickets, booking confirmations, permits)
- Travel insurance docs (medical coverage in US + Canada)
- International driver's license (for Yukon/BC driving)
- Bear Boardwalk permit (Order #0861988795)
- Ferry booking confirmation (#2226291)
- Charging cables (USB-C, Lightning — all family devices)
- Canada/US power adapter (same socket, but good to confirm)
- Walkie-talkies ×2 (for convoy communication — no cell service)
- Portable WiFi/hotspot or Starlink Roam (for Dempster)
🏥 First Aid & Health
- Comprehensive first aid kit
- Prescription medications (with copies of prescriptions)
- EpiPen (if any family member has allergies)
- Motion sickness meds (winding mountain roads)
- Ibuprofen / Tylenol (adults + kids versions)
- Antihistamine (for unexpected allergic reactions)
- Blister pads / moleskin (Tombstone hikes are long)
- Hand sanitizer ×3 bottles
- Tick removal tool (Northern BC has ticks)
- Emergency whistle (each hiker)
👶 Kids (Adam, Anne, Ari, Alex, Amy)
- Small personal backpack for each kid (hikes)
- Snack pack per kid for long driving days
- Entertainment for drives (tablet, headphones, games)
- Offline downloaded movies + shows
- Sleeping bag rated to 5°C (cold Tombstone nights)
- Stuffed animal / comfort items (for youngest)
- Kids' bear spray education talk before trip!
- Glow sticks / fun campsite activities
- Waterproof boots for all kids (sized correctly)
- Kids' binoculars (cheap set — incredible for bears and eagles)
🍳 Food & Campsite (for Phase 2 — your own vehicles)
- Camp stove + fuel (if no RV kitchen)
- Cooler (high-quality for remote legs)
- Cooking pot + frying pan
- Plates, cups, utensils for 7
- Camp dishwashing kit
- Dry food staples (pasta, rice, oats — provision in Whitehorse)
- Snacks: trail mix, nuts, protein bars (Costco in Whitehorse)
- Coffee kit (drip or French press — essential!)
- Biodegradable soap / washing-up liquid
- Garbage bags (bears: no scented trash left out)
- Bear-proof food container (required at some sites)