Week long hike, bringing one knife...

Macchina

Macchina

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
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I'm hiking into the Supai campground in the Grand Canyon for a week of day hikes and overnight excursions to the surrounding Havasu Falls. We are going in mid-August and I have been working up my gear list lately. I've been blessed by having nice trails within a couple hours of my house where my buddies and I can go on nice weekend hikes. Last weekend we hiked the trail and I used my Ritter Grip a lot, but my Izula, S1, and Victorinox Spirit all stayed in the pack all weekend (except to behead a pike which the S1 did nicely). Since there will be no fish, fire, or harming of the wildlife/trees in Havasu Falls: I've been thinking of only bringing a pocket knife and perhaps a SAK. I own hundreds (thousands) of dollars in fixed blades, but the only things I can think that would happen to them are they go missing in my checked luggage, or stolen at the campground. I haven't checked all the laws along our route (flying into Vegas, driving to Arizona, hiking into Havasupai tribal lands), but I would feel better if we were checked and I wasn't carrying an arsenal of blades.

Do you ever hike with a minimalist amount of blades (for weight or ease of traveling), or do you go all out like I usually do?
 
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Sounds like a nice opportunity to pack a traditional folder, for fruit slicing and other such low-intensity activities. If it were me, I would pack a Wave or other multitool just in case.

Have a blast,

- Mike
 
Well, I like to backpack, so I never take more than a single ~4" belt knife and a SAK, even for day hikes. I never did understand why someone would want to take 40lbs. of steel with them on a hike. But, I guess if the whole reason for the hike is to play with knives...

Anyways, If I were you and was worried about one of your expensive/favorite knives being lost or stolen during travel, I would just take a Mora(or any other light knife that you are not attached to or was too expensive) to have on your belt or outside of your pack, and a small SAK inside you pack for a backup. You could probably get away with just the SAK, but Moras are so light and cheap, and a fixed blade is so much more easily accessible, I think it would be worth taking.
 
Not familar with the area but are there any mountain lions in the area? If so I would have a 6 plus inch blade fixed knife with me if I wasn't taking a firearm.
 
I think a modest fixed blade and a sak will do you... I started playing around with using 1 knife to do all wilderness rquired tasks lately..It's very doable.. at least in the summer... lol
 
shaving sharp said:
Not familar with the area but are there any mountain lions in the area? If so I would have a 6 plus inch blade fixed knife with me if I wasn't taking a firearm.
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Any guns are banned, as well as machettes. I don't think Mountain Lions are in the area, and there is very little crime in this area (i.e., I'm not worried about protection).

We are going to be hiking out from base camp every day and leaving our packs and 90% of our gear in padlocked tents (oxymoron?). I will be carrying a Camelbak M.U.L.E. with very limited storage...
 
I would suggest just taking a SAK and/or multi-tool.

I have been there twice. Once in 2004 and again in 2007. The Supai campgrounds are decent. The campgrounds are walking distance from the Supai reservation (access to mini mart, cafe, and hotel). Hard to feel like your out in the wild. Trails are established and almost no opportunity to trail blaze.
 
heresay1 said:
I would suggest just taking a SAK and/or multi-tool.

I have been there twice. Once in 2004 and again in 2007. The Supai campgrounds are decent. The campgrounds are walking distance from the Supai reservation (access to mini mart, cafe, and hotel). Hard to feel like your out in the wild. Trails are established and almost no opportunity to trail blaze.
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I've read that it is very civilized in several places, please tell me more about the place if you would. I am going there with a group of 8 friends with no plans to trailblaze or act like a hooligan (I can do that at home). My only hope is that it is not TOO crowded. I don't plan on practicing any bushcraft or building bonfires, just lost of hiking and swimming...

This may be a good opportunity to put some miles on my Queen Stockman (After sharpening it is one of my favorite knives, but the spring is not the strongest).
 
My #1 outdoor rule is "NEVER GO INTO THE WOODS WITHOUT A FIXEDBLADE"
If I was in your shoes I would take a SAK & the Izula or a Mora.
The Izula can be worn like a Neck knife or dropped in you pocket or attached to your belt :thumbup:
 
Unless I'm figuring on a campfire, a Victorinox Hiker is all I carry. If it weren't for the fact I use the saw to make tent pegs, I'd probably just take a Recruit.
 
coaldigger said:
My #1 outdoor rule is "NEVER GO INTO THE WOODS WITHOUT A FIXEDBLADE"
If I was in your shoes I would take a SAK & the Izula or a Mora.
The Izula can be worn like a Neck knife or dropped in you pocket or attached to your belt :thumbup:
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I don't want to sound like an ignoramoose or start a flame war here, but I don't see a fixed blade as essential survival gear in this case :eek:. Water and First Aid are important factors out there, but short of a machette or axe, I don't see the advantages of a fixed blade over a folder in this case. I do understand the inherent strengths of a fixed blade, but I believe in a summer survival situation, I will not be using my knife much and a decent folder would do.

I have spent more than my fair share of time in the outdoors, and when I'm backpacking I'm on my own for a week or more. I have my own rules (lighter and SAK in the pocket, ability to boil water, don't get knocked in the head and forget how to survive, etc.) In the winter, I use a fixed blade often, but in the summer I can't think of a single time when I have NEEDED a fixed blade. Heck, I've even butchered deer, built shelters, sparked flint, and made frog spears with my Grandpa's Buck 112 before I even knew what a Benchmade or Spyderco was! That 112 was my only knife on many week-long canoe, backwater fishing, backpacking, and hunting trips.

Please don't let the thread go south here, just take this as my personal viewpoint on warm weather survival...
 
when i fly i have an old gerber folder that is always in my check in luggage. i just leave it in the bag all the time as i dont carry it at home. when i know im gonna wanna take a fixed blade i also do as many suggested. take something inexpensive, like a mora or some of the other older fixed blades i have without much invested(typically bought used and cheap). something that if some baggage handler decided they needed i wouldnt be too sad about losing....
if its an extended stay or im meeting up with friends, i have shipped knives ahead. there are numerous friends and family i visit often that i have just left knives at their place(i also have bicycles scattered about the country...)so its just there when i arrive. of course when i visit my brother in missoula mt, i can always borrow one of his many custom knives:D
and beings there are so many makers in the area(and great pawn shops, along with many hunting/fishing/camping/archery shops that carried used stuff), its always a good excuse to come home with a new knife.....
 
michaelmcgo said:
Since there will be no fish, fire, or harming of the wildlife/trees in Havasu Falls
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Since you can't have any fun :p, I'd just take a SAK Rucksack or Outrider, or a Swisstool and be done with it. If you think there may be some possibility of needing a fixed blade, an ESEE Izula, HEST or ESEE-3 would be my recommendations.
 
Both times I went it was during spring break and it was not too crowded. We hiked from a parking lot to the Supai campgrounds. It was a 9-10 mile hike. If you do not want to backpack it in then you can have your gear carried in on a horse/mule. They will carry it to the campground. The hike in requires you to bring your own water. Cold morning but temps skyrocket once the sun comes out. There was no water source on the hike in. There were people hiking in and out along the trail so you did not go very far without encountering someone.

Once you get to the village the level of poverty will become apparent. As mentioned before there is a cafe, mini mart, and hotel. There is even a church and post office. Mini mart is convenient if you need last minute items but way over priced. People are generally nice there. Most of the time they ignored us.

About 3/4 of a mile from the village are the campgrounds. You will pass Havasu Falls and Navajo Falls along the way (Navajo Falls is between the village and Havasu Falls just off the trail). Just past the campgrounds is Mooney Falls. Follow the water flow down the Canyon for a day and it dead ends into the Colorado River. Sometimes the weather is nice and you can swim next to the falls. Last time I went it was really cold. No one was out swimming.

The campgrounds have drinking water and pit toilets. The water that flows through the canyon is not drinkable due to high concentration of minerals and such. Swimming goggles are useless (can't see farther than 3 feet).

Campgrounds are decent. You will be surrounded by Canyon walls several stories high so it hard to get lost or go anywhere else for that matter. There are cougars there but I have yet to encounter anyone who has seen one. Only wildlife I saw were ravens, flies, bees, canyon sheep tracks, some type of biting worm insect, and unleashed dogs (from the village). The dogs are a nuisance.:mad:

Keep in mind there was a murder there in 2006. Japanese girl was backpacking solo when she was found dead. Arrest and conviction of suspect was made. There have been accounts of young kids from the Reservation entering campgrounds and stealing food.

Okay...I just realized I may have gone on too long about the place.

ANYWAYS! I think you would be fine with a multi-tool and/or a SAK. Mainly because there is no opportunity to make fire, build shelters, fish, hunt, etc..
 
Take a fixed blade with you. Even if not to use, you will feel better knowing you have one with you. Everytime I leave the house there is a fixed blade with me, and most of the time I end up actually using it. (If I am in the woods, I always end up using it)

Better to have and not need then to need and not have.
 
Doesn't sound like there's much need for a large fixed blade in this situation, unless you value the protection from wildlife or people. I'd probably be comfortable with a fixed blade or folder in the 3 to 4 inch range. I've recently grown very fond of the Vic One Handed Trekker.
 
I always have at least a SAK on my keychain, and usually some sort of folder or multitool in a pocket.

I like to attach a small fixed blade to my pack, even if I have no intention of using it whatsoever. If I were concerned about theft, it would be a mora or a becker necker, and if not, any one of about a million other knives get rotated through on the duty. Lately it's been my Rat Pack RC-3 for day hikes - small enough to not freak people out too much, and large enough to be pretty useful. Plus the safety orange handles rule :D
 
I've been known to just carry a SAK or an Izula on dayhikes. It depends mostly on the weather IMO. Summertime where the daily low temp is 65, shelter and fire building are less of a priority. You could hedge your bets with a cheap pruning saw if you're worried about it though.
 
Clark County (Vegas area, until you get to AZ) prohibits a *concealed* knife with >3" blade.

if it's a folder, and the pocket clip is visible, that's not concealed. if it's in a pack/luggage, that probably won't be considered "concealed on your person".

i'm not aware of any strange knife laws in AZ

in AUGUST, it's stinkin' HOT. water, electrolyte replacement an water wil be your biggest concerns, not what blade you're carrying or how big it is.

an Izula or ESSE 3 should be fine for a fixed blade. for a folder, whatever sturdy folder or multitool you like for edc should be fine.

i've been past the Havasupai Falls, but never to them yet. but i've camped nearby. most of the area is DESERT, not "woods", but there are some areas with big trees at the higher elevations. i don't expect you'll be doing a lot of chopping.

if the MULE is your only Camelbak, i'd probably pack a Nalgene or two of water inside it, or perhaps Gatorade or whatever in the bottles @50% of normal strength and water in the bladder. if you had a HAWG that can take TWO bladders, i'd take that.

a Tilley or boonie hat will also be a very good idea. something with a full brim, not a "baseball cap". also shades and sunscreen.

and you want to start at dawn. and then be back at camp relaxing and hydrating in the mid day... or down at the falls.


pack water, not steel.
 
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