Shakedown hike update (20 in Joshua Tree!)

     Due to the same budget cuts affecting NPS/FS jobs, I’m having to leave my current job a couple weeks earlier than expected. It’s really frustrating, but not much I can do about it right now.

     However, this means I’m starting the Arizona Trail a couple weeks earlier than anticipated. I’ve been tweaking my gear list and buying some of the final stuff I’ll need for my hike, and a couple weeks ago, during my birthday I got the chance to go backpacking in Joshua Tree NP with some friends!

I decided to use this trip as a light shakedown hike with all of the gear I currently have that I plan on bringing. This included a “optional” 4L water carry I did to carry more weight. Since it’s been such a dry winter in Arizona, I’m planning on carrying water for up to 20-30 miles at a time.

We left the trailhead on Monday night, as the sun set behind us, and hiked a few miles under the desert stars to our campsite. We had a group of 5, and all of us opted to cowboy camp every night we were here. Few things are better than sleeping under the stars.

The next day we hiked roughly 14 miles, through 2 water caches we had stashed throughout the park, at road crossings. I opted to only take the second cache, in order to carry a little more weight. I felt really good carrying my backpack, and I’m glad that I have worked to get it as light as it is. Water weighs 2.2lbs per liter, and I drink around 1L every 5 miles. My bags going to get heavy, just from the amount of food and water I carry alone, so keeping everything else minimal is very important to me.

Although I’m trying to pack as minimal as possible, I’ve decided to add a few items to my pack for this trip, while still aiming to keep it under 10lbs base weight.

Here are my gear additions:

• pot and stove instead of cold soaking (watching your friends eat hot food for 3 days while you eat cold food will do that to you)
• sun gloves. My hands didn’t necessarily get burnt during this trip, but the back of my legs got a little red, and my hands got a lot darker. I love a good tan, but putting sunscreen on your hands while hiking is kind of a lost cause. Stopped at a gear shop in Joshua Tree, and picked up some Outdoor Research sun gloves for $25.
• gear repair tape. Something to have in case my sleeping bag/shelter rip
• emergency poncho. I think I’m gonna ditch the rain jacket, and just bring a poncho! Am I crazy? Maybe…
• I’m also bringing a Sambob Alpha hoodie instead of my Mountain Hardware Summit Grid hoodie. Lighter weight and better warmth/weight ratio.
• I’m bringing leggings, and some $15 Amazon dance pants I found on Reddit. Wore them on my shakedown and the layering worked great! Didn’t actually need the leggings, but I know I’ll appreciate them at higher elevations.
• I bought a super cheap budget puffer with a hood, I’m bringing this instead of my REI puffer, because the REI one doesn’t have a hood. The idea is that this means I don’t have to bring a beanie, since I’ll have 3 hoods to layer if I’m cold. I wore it to Yosemite a few days ago and it was surprisingly warm! 
• I’m bringing a pair of tweezers to remove cactus from my legs.
  
• Coffee Filters and aquamira tabs to double filter bad water.
• I got a Six Moons Design tent with a bug skirt that I will likely take when I start my hike. I have read reports of a rabies outbreak at the start of the trail, so I’m a little concerned about cowboy camping in that area. Weighs 16oz

When I was camping in Yosemite, I took my new tarp, unaware that the weather that night called for nearly 3” of snow. I woke up at 4am covered in snow, with my trekking pole and tarp collapsed on top of me. I had been too lazy the night before to push my stakes in all the way, and the weight of the snow had knocked one off.  I kicked my way out of the tarp, and tried to put the stakes back in the ground, but it was frozen solid, with 2” of snow on top of it. Not to mention that the snow was still coming down heavy. I shook my friends tent, and climbed in, abandoning my tarp and apparently my pants too. I had to dig both up in the morning along with my trekking poles and tent stakes. 2 stakes were sacrificed to the snow. Next time I set up my tarp, I will be sure to put the stakes in all the way.

There will probably be a last minute change or two, but other than that this is my gear I’m starting with on my hike! 

Here are a few more pictures from recent trips to Yosemite National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. Taken on my Fujifilm A220

Check my instagram for more pictures, and to keep up with my final weeks leading up to my hike!

 http://Instagram.com/finndaugh