Upcoming Grand Canyon Trip

G

Gautier

Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
461
Been planning this trip for a little over a year now, and as the day draws closer(September), and as I do my final preparations and planning I find it hard to contain my excitement.
My wife, while supportive, doesn't seem to share my level of enthusiasm, so I figured I'd post here, where the adventure can be truly appreciated. :)

This isn't your typical trip to the canyon though, no rim to rim run, no Bright Angel trail. It'll be 280 miles, unsupported, no resupply from Pearce Ferry to Page. In other words, it really is the Grand Canyon, the length of it at least.

Granted, it's not the longest hike(comparable to the John Muir trail), or the toughest, or even the most variable in terms of terrain and scenery. How many people can say they've hiked the entire canyon though, in one shot? :cool:

Needless to say, I'm stoked, so I just had to share with somebody. Any questions, comments, jeers, cheers, etc. are welcomed and appreciated. :thumbup:


Gautier
 
Wow,I am jealous!
I get excited when I drive past a
park here in Chicago
Lucky You!

So where are the pic's of your gear?
Im sure youve had it laid out a dozen times by now :)
 
I spent a few weeks in the Grand Canyon a few years back and one issue we had was with our water filter. The Colorado River is extremely muddy/silty so it clogged up the filter element much faster than usual and we did not have a great way of cleaning it (ended up just scrubbing with a t-shirt which only worked ok). If you are using a water filter, consider bringing a couple filter elements or a good way of cleaning the element.
 
My brother's down in the canyon now on a two week whitewater trip. The heavy rain they've had makes the side canyons very dangerous. This will get worse into your planned time. Be prepared...
 
Didn't even think to take pics of it, but you're right, I've had it strowed out all over the bed more than a few times. Will see about getting some pics up tomorrow. As for the filter, I'm just going to prefilter with a handkerchief and use tablets.

We've been blessed here in the desert this past year with generally above average rain, so yeah I'm expecting it to be lush and flush. Definitely going to be careful.


Gautier
 
Gautier said:
Didn't even think to take pics of it
Click to expand...
Well, I hope you think to take pics of the Canyon, and have enough batteries and memory cards for the camera!

Sounds like an incredible trip. I'm taking a much less ambitious one back to Utah in September(if time permits, may drive down and check out the North Rim for a day), and am stoked, too. Maybe too stoked. Already packed and unpacked my stuff, since leaving is 59 days out. It's all a dream until you pay for the plane tickets...then it gets real, and you're ready to go NOW!

Hope you have fun and post some pics when you get back:thumbup:
 
As promised, here's some pics of most of my gear, minus one or two small items like sunglasses and trekking poles and possibly forgetting to list/show a few things. Sorry they came out a bit blurrier than I'd have liked.

Gear001.jpg


From top left, counterclockwise: Poncho, liner, and 550 cord to rig it as shelter.
Headlamp and spare batteries.
Fishing kit(Approx. 100ft of 12lb. mono, assorted sinkers, hooks, swivels, a couple jigs and a couple lures) in a waterproof cigar tube.
SPF30 travel bottle.
Ibuprofen and valium in a large pill fob.
25ft. of flagging tape wrapped around a small sewing kit.
100% DEET.
Monocular.
TP.
Lensatic compass and maps.


Gear002.jpg


Again TL counter CW:
Moleskin.
Homemade billy containing LMF spork, PJ cotton balls, a small paraffin candle, some heavy foil, and assorted food stuffs.
Panty hose(light, wicks away moisture to prevent chaffing better than going commando, promotes circulation, acts as a liner for my socks to prevent blisters, AND they make me feel pretty)
Mid weight thermals(I'm acclimated to 120 degree weather here in the Mohave, it'll be in the 30s at night up there come Sept.)

Gear003.jpg


Maxpedition 10X4 bottle holder
Wool glove liners and wool socks.

Gear004.jpg


Front compartment showing PSK/FAK:
Bic lighter
6ft. of IV tubing for water procurement/wound irrigation
Mylar blanket
Signal mirror
Snare wire
Assorted bandages/plasters/ointments/benadryl/anti-diarrheal
Brunton 9020G housing(baggage handlers broke the base, so now it's a fine backup compass that's more substantial than a 20mm button)
Potable Aqua Tabs shown to the right.

Contents of bottle holder's main compartment:
Guyot Standard
GSI cup
Handkerchief
About a dozen packets of Emergen-C and tea, and a couple instant oatmeals.

Gear005.jpg


Hat and shemagh

Gear006.jpg


One of only two knives on this trip, the Izula. Shown with firesteel and whistle attached from the kit, over an ExOfficio AirStrip Lite shirt.

Gear007.jpg


A few of the things in my TruSpec 24/7 pants, wallet, lifetime parks pass, wallet, sharpening stone, handkerchief, and the other knife for this trip, a Vic Farmer.

Gear008.jpg


All carried in this, and on these. Honestly can't remember the name or specs of the pack, had it for years. Somewhere around 4500-5000ci, internal frame, hydration bladder compatible, sturdy.

Obviously I'm not an ultralighter, and in fact I've sacrificed weight for durability on some items(pants and pack most notably), doubled up on a few essentials, and have some stuff I just plain don't "need"(fishing kit for one) but will enjoy. That said, my "from skin out" base weight with everything shown is only 14.4 pounds(including the pound of rice and some ramen in the billy). Add 15 pounds of food and 6-8 pounds of water and that has me carrying a comfortable 36ish pounds(about 20% of my 180lbs) on the first day and only getting lighter from there.

Speaking of which, I've bulked up for this trip(23-24% body fat), and will be working on about a 500 calorie a day deficit. So, while 15lbs. of food may seem like very little for this trip, it'll be calorie dense, balanced, and at the end I'll be closer to my normal 165lbs. 3-6% body fat.

Again, extremely excited and look forward to any comments, questions, suggestions. :thumbup:


Gautier
 
Nice nice nice. Liking the izula. What rain are you speaking of? I'm used to the heat and am heading to Colorado today so we'll see how that goes. I looked in the closet and was like do I even own a jacket? Lol.
 
Yeah, the Izula has certainly impressed me as well. Decided it was enough knife for this trip since I'll be packing almost all of my food rather than hunting it. Was a weight saving decision over the F1 and heavy leather sheath.

Well, it's not raining now, and hasn't lately, supposed to have some monsoon weather here by the river this weekend, but I won't hold my breath. I was referring to the winter/spring earlier this year, we got alot more than we have in the last 7 years, that's for sure. Heading to the Colorado today you say? We might just be neighbors, I recently moved out of the Oatman area and am now just a mile from the river.

As for jackets, 90% of the time here it's not needed, but I do own a couple for mountain climbing in the winter.


Gautier
 
Gautier said:
This isn't your typical trip to the canyon though, no rim to rim run, no Bright Angel trail. It'll be 280 miles, unsupported, no resupply from Pearce Ferry to Page. In other words, it really is the Grand Canyon, the length of it at least.
Click to expand...

How many miles per day do you think you will average? At first I thought the 15lbs of food was light but if you average 20 miles per day that would be 14 days or 1+ lbs/day - calorie dense food could work. What food will you be taking?

Are those pants (shirt) cotton (I'd suggest synthetics - less sweating, drys faster than cotton) and do the legs zip off?

Instead of the panty hose I'd suggest Underarmor underware. I think panty hose can be warm. I remember football players used to wear them in cold weather.
 
For miles, that's about what I've calculated, 15 days at 15-20 miles per day and 1lb. of food per day. As for the types of food, I'm trying to maintain a 45/40/15 balance(carbs, fat, protein) and still stay in the weight range. So GORP,a peanut butter/butter/honey/cinammon mixture that I put on toast/crackers that I like to call "Chizzie paste", power/candy bars, olive oil, tuna in soybean oil, instant potatoes, and ramen are going to be the main calories. Some dried fruit/veggies for variety, plus a multi vitamin to keep me balanced.

Shirt is synthetic and basically designed for the desert. 3 position adjustable collar to keep the sun off, under arm vents, adjustable yoke vent in the back, SPF 30(UVA/UVB), dries quick and wicks well. Not to mention it's soft as silk and weighs only 6 oz.

Pants are a 65/35 ply cotton blend. They don't zip off and aren't fully synthetic like a lot of pants so they weigh more, but like I said, these were a trade off as far as weight/durability. Here in the Mohave at least with all the thorny, jagged, sharp plants and rocks, every pair of the synthetics I tried get ripped to shreds so I've gone with these and couldn't be happier.

That's one benefit to these, the obscene amount of pockets are another(I like to have most of my gear on me, rather than in the pack), and they're a fairly dense weave so they cut wind and insulate pretty well. Better to insulate 98.6 degrees than to expose to 120. Same principle with the pantyhose basically, and that's why a lot of folks wear them in colder weather.

For as small as they are, they actually insulate pretty well, they wick the moisture away(always good in cold for a base layer, but just as good in the heat), and promote circulation(which is partly why your legs feel warmer when wearing them in the cold and why they're recommended for knee surgery patients, etc.) Did I mention this will be my only under layer, when not wearing thermals ofcourse? So, they keep "important things" from rubbing against the seams of my pants, pull some of the moisture from those "important things" so I don't get a bad chaff/rash, and work like synthetic liner socks do for through hikers to help prevent rubbing.

I can't speak to the UA underware(sic) as I've never tried it. I have tried their HeatGear line of clothing, and wasn't really impressed. At least for my purposes in my environment (dry heat) cotton or cotton/synthetic blends seem to work better. Ofcourse, there are a few well designed exceptions, like the shirt above.

I think a lot of it has to do with the UA stuff wicking the moisture away TOO fast and you don't get as much of an evaporative cooling effective that you get when the sweat stays a little longer. I think that's why the cotton/synthetic blends seem better in the dry heat, they hold onto the moisture just a little bit longer, allowing better radiation. This is just a theory, I can't prove the theory, but in practice my body has proven to be happier.

All good questions though, if I lived anywhere else, I'd probably ask them too. Here in the desert you learn the little things make a big difference though, and at first they don't always seem to make sense. Like the bedouins wearing dark clothing over lighter clothing, etc.


Gautier
 
Last edited:
Nice nice nice. Liking the izula. What rain are you speaking of? I'm used to the heat and am heading to Colorado today so we'll see how that goes. I looked in the closet and was like do I even own a jacket? Lol.
 
Good luck on the hike. I don't think I could get my pack's weight as low as yours. Everyone has their own balance of what works for them. I lean towards the synthetics and lighter weight. But, I also carry emergency gear, primarilly things to keep me warm in case of an emergency. As far a durability, I carry items to repair things - zip tie, sewing, duct tape.

Here is a list of my stuff - I don't take it all but add and subtract according to what I'm doing. I've added a personal location beacon since I usually hike alone.
http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22194
 
Thanks for the well wishes, and wow, that's a very well drawn out list. You may not be able to get your pack weight down to mine, but I don't think I could get my organizational skills up to yours.

As to striking a balance and going with what works, I know exactly what ya mean. Different styles and methods lend themselves to, and sometimes require, different gear and approaches. Eventually everyone who does something long enough settles into their own groove. Heck, getting it down to a science or fine art is at least half the fun.

Aside from this trip, which I've overpacked for a bit, I like to go the sort of "minimalist" route. Keeps me light and fast moving, and generally getting what I need from nature rather than hauling it.


Gautier
 
Check out http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/index.html

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/

I checked out a pound of gorp 160 calories per oz or 2560 per pound.
What calories per day are you going for?
I'm guessing in warm weather about 4,000
Winter and at altitude would be closer to 5,000.

Check out some of these links
http://www.trailcooking.com/

http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13047&p=154235&hilit=recipe+backpacking#p154235

Are you ex military? I noticed that ex military go towards durability/heavier equipment at first.
Usually, the more people get into it they find out what works for them, simplify, go lighter, and find multiple uses for things.
 
Last edited:
I'm shooting for around the 3500 mark for calories per day. At rest 70 calories per hour equals 1680 over 24 hours, at 3 mph burning 90 calories per 100lbs./hr translates to about 3300-3600 calories for my weight. Like I said, I'm going to be working at a slight deficit to lose some of the weight I've put on. Planning on having a high calorie meal before the wife drops me off, and when I meet up with family out on the reservation. So that takes off another pound or two of food from the trip.

Yes, I'm prior service, so that could explain some of my affinity for durability. In actuality though, since I've gotten out, I've gotten consistently light with my loads. This pack'll be the heaviest I go at 36-40lbs. Typical 3-7 day weights for me are 13-22lbs., depending on season. That includes water, which is usually 90% of my load, the desert provides almost everything else.


Gautier
 
That will be an intense trip. Never been to the grand canyon myself, but a good friend hiked Bright Angel to the bottom and back out in a day and said it was a a very cool trip.

I know what you're saying about excitement... Next Sunday I take off for a 55 mile backpacking trip in the Wind Rivers in Wyoming.

Good luck and stay safe!
 
Awesome! I've been to Wyoming a few times, but never had the chance to hike there, was always passing through. Very beautiful country though, gorgeous mountains. Enjoy and be safe.


Gautier
 
What rain? Read the news. Flagstaff is getting flooded. This is the monsoon season for the basin, rain in any of the 4 corners can effect the river. People die every year due to flooding in the side canyons. It comes up very fast.
 
Sorry I live in Phoenix area and we haven't really gotten any rain. I canceled the tv and I'm not much for reading news. So I wasn't aware.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top