Havasu Falls Backpacking *TONS OF PICS*

Rockywolf said:
Very beautiful. What other gear did you find indispensible? Any stuff you would never carry again?
Click to expand...

As far as gear I wouldn't carry again:
-We couldn't fly with our iso-butane tanks for our backpacking stoves, but we had called several Walmarts that had them in stock the week before. When we showed up, they were all out of stock :eek:. After hours of shopping, we settled on buying a large butane stove from Big 5 (they had 10 cheap iso-butane canisters, but they ALL had manufacturing defects and lacked threads, had deformed threads, or even completely lacked a valve) and 4 of the big green one-pounder gas cans. It was heavy and dinner took forever because we all had to cook in order. We packed in 4 of those huge tanks and only used 1.5 of them. Luckily we were able to give the two new ones to a group that was staying by us.

-I wore some Keen Newport trails and though I liked them in the city, they gave me blisters on the sides of my heals and I don't think I'll be hiking in them again. They were very waterproof and gripped well, and I only got blisters when I wore them with my heavy pack (no problem during dayhikes). I cursed myself for leaving my tried and true Vasque Sundowners at home: never again!


As for gear I really appriciated:
-I loved my North Face Paramount shorts: They were comfortable, durable, had no back pockets (a big plus in the water and mud), had excellent cargo pockets, and dried in about 5 minutes.
-My simple Lowe Alpine camera case was semi-hard sided and protected my Sony Point-and-Shoot very well from knocks, mud, and dust.
-I always pack in an MSR 10L Dromedary and it worked great for limiting trips to the spring. A nice sleeping pad is essential due to the sharp rocks and my Thermarest Prolite 3 worked perfectly. It may be light and tiny, but it is made of a very durable material that simply will not puncture!
-I got a 750ml MSR/Seagull Stowaway Pot from GoingGear to compliment my 2L one I have been using for years. It worked great for a solo dinner and is made with the same excellent old-school quality that its bigger brother is.
-My Keen's may have given me blisters, but my wide-fit Green SuperFeet insoles supported my feet very well and I only had a bit of internal foot pain. I have started wearing insoles lately in all of my shoes and will always hike with a quality insole.
 
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Here is a video of the climb down to Mooney Falls. The video doesn't give the steepness justice, after the caves, the trail is almost vertical. The slow pace and heavy breathing are not unwarranted...
 
That looks like an epic good time. I'm dying to get into some desert soon.
 
I hiked down a couple times in the 80s and once came up the creek while on a raft trip ('92). One of the guys in an outdoor club to which I belong visited not long after WW I I . The old film was faded but showed how wild it was back then.

Very nice photography. Thanks!

DancesWithKnives
 
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