OUR PRIORITIES HERE ARE:
SMALL --ESSENTIAL --DOUBLE DUTY--FIT INTO A DAY PACK• 1 Day Pack – any size you are comfortable with & prepared to carry for 4 days. A regular size day pack should be big enough to hold these essentials.
• 1 Water Bottle – to be refilled as needed from the big water barrels on the trucks.
• Sunglasses
• Prescriptions or over-the-counter meds. you rely on
• Skin Care Items – Essentials for me are chap stick & aloe vera in the hot dry SW environment. Others to consider are sunscreen, lotion in small bottles. Everyone doesn’t need their own. Share within a family.
• 2 Large Safety Pins – At the beginning of a hike up Mt. St. Helens, the shoulder strap on my heavy ski pack broke. I had no safety pins (which wouldn’t have been strong enough anyway) but I did have twine in my pack. So I tied the shoulder strap to my pack somehow & it held all the way to the top and back down for one of the best ski runs I’ve ever had. Safety pins, short pieces of cord, tape – all very, very handy when your resources are limited. There will be duct tape on the trucks.
• Hat – for sun protection and storms.
• 2 kerchiefs – 5 quarts of water will be provided per person per day for drinking, food prep, cleanup, which only allows about one teacup per day for bathing. This makes a bath towel a bit out of scale. Think small – handkerchief, washcloth size towel. Kerchiefs dry quicker than wash cloths, take less space, & have multiple uses: sweat band, bandage, cooling wet neckerchief, hat (both of my kerchiefs were put to use by Kent & Adriana in the cold storms we encountered on the 2007 trip).
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste – small tube, shared by a family.
• Hairbrush – could be shared by a family.
• Soap or Individually Wrapped Wipes – Although water is scarce, soap is still important. One small bar of soap could be shared by a family.
• 4-6 Clean Undies
• Several Pairs of Socks
• 1 Change of Clothes – maybe shorts if you are wearing pants or vice versa. Consider a long sleeve shirt for sun protection. Especially important for sunburn cover after the burn.
• 1 Flashlight per family
• 1 Whistle per child – on a cord to wear around the neck. This is to find lost children quickly. Parents need one too.
• Boot Pads OR whatever YOU need for the needy area of YOUR body. For me, it’s my feet. Maybe it’s your knees or back. Bring your knee thing, or your favorite sore muscle rub or eye-wash if your eyes are sensitive.
• Small Individual First Aid Kit that contains just the basics such as band aids, antiseptic cream, aspirin etc. INCLUDE MOLE SKIN or other blister care. Blisters are likely to be our most common injury. This kit could be shared by a family. A large first aid kit will be in a truck. It will contain stuff for the trained first aiders to treat broken bones, shock, dehydration, etc.
• Snacks – Whatever you want. For example – eight high energy bars equals two per day OR whenever you run out of calories, especially for the kids.
• 1 Brown Bag Lunch for the first day. Prepare it in Blanding and take it with you on the boat ride. Take enough food to last you through the first day’s activities of boat ride, climbing & exploring the actual hole-in-the-rock AND hiking 3-4 miles up Cottonwood Canyon to the support trucks for dinner.
ESSENTIAL BUT TOO LARGE FOR YOUR PACK• Coat – fleece type would be adequate for those cold morning or storms. Double duty as a pillow. Throw it on the support truck. Stuff the pockets with a warm hat and maybe gloves too.
• Sleeping Bag & Pad – Use your coat for a pillow if your health will allow. Throw these on the support truck. Mark or flag your gear. They all tend to look alike.
OPTIONAL• Extra Glasses for the contact wearers. Remember – sand gets into everything.
• Small Journal
• Small Camera – On the 2007 trip dust & sand clogged our cameras. Some were permanently ruined. Got an old one? If you bring a charger, bring a DC adaptor to plug into a cigarette lighter, or better yet coordinate with your support truck--some already have adapters and plugs and things.
• Compass, Small Binoculars – These are small and add so much to any outdoor experience but are not essential.
• Tent – to be carried by the truck.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS • Hiking Boots – We’ll be hiking through rough, rocky, slanted terrain, so ankle support would be good. However, if your ankles are strong, running shoes are good enough. Traction is never a problem on sandstone if you have rubber soles.
• Hiking Stick – We’ll check with the boat company to see if they can be carried on the boat so you will have them on your first hike. Consider a retractable model as it will take up less space.
WHAT NOT TO BRING• Alarm Clock/Electronic games
• Brand new boots. Hiking boots are recommended but they should be broken in.
