The Things They Carried to Havasu Falls
Number 1B on my first bucket list pass was to hike to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon. Through a series of fortunate coincidences, I did that last week.
To make a long story short, my coworker Adam and I had discussed hiking the Grand Canyon (we've both done the Phantom Ranch hike). He is based in Las Vegas, so he's relatively close to the Canyon, and when a friend of his had two extra permits for Havasupai Trail he asked if I wanted to go. I did.
This was my first real backpacking trip (unless you count canoe camping, which I wouldn't). The daypack I bought for the Tour de Mt Blanc wasn't big enough, so I went to the Backpackers Shop and bought a Osprey Stratos 50. This is what went in it for a 3 day / 2 night backpacking trip.
Drink
- One 3 liter water hydration system. I did not refill it, and I ultimately ran out of water about 100 yards from the end of the final hike back to the car. Adam had a similar hydration system and refilled it partially.
- 2 Powerades. I drank one at the end of the hike in on the first day, and one at the end of the day hike on the second day. I refilled one bottle at the spring in the campsite and drank that on the hike out.
- Adam carried two small pint plastic flasks, one with tequila and one with Jameson.
Food
When I arrived in Las Vegas Adam and I went shopping at REI and Target for food. I carried all of the main meals, and we split carrying the snacks.
- Breakfasts: 2 backpacking granola breakfasts (just add water). We split one packet for breakfast the latter two days.
- Lunches: One package of flour tortillas, 4 bags of tuna, 4 peanut butter packets. We each had one tuna and one peanut butter tortilla for each of the first two days.
- Dinners: 4 single meal self-heating backpacking meals. We each had one each of the first two days. It's pretty incredible how fast they heated up, and we didn't need to carry a stove.
- Snacks: I carried one package of beef jerky, one package of Adam's homemade tofu jerky, two packages of dried fruit, one package of trail mix and three granola bars. Adam carried tofu jerky, one package of dried fruit, one package of trail mix and three granola bars.
When we finished the final hike out, we had a little bit of trail mix left and a tiny bit of tofu jerky. Everything else was gone.
Team Gear
- Adam carried the tent poles, I carried the rest of the tent.
- I carried the hammock.
- I carried the first aid kit, an extra blister-specific kit, and the water filtration device, but we didn't need any of that.
- Adam carried some paper towels and toilet paper. I carried some tissues, which went unused.
- I carried some wet naps for clean up.
Electronics
- We each carried a head lamp.
- We each carried a camera.
- We each carried a cell phone and a spare charge (plus USB cable for the spare charge). There's no coverage at all down where we were, but I brought mine with the intent of using it as a backup camera, but I never turned mine on because my camera somehow stayed charged for the entire trip, which I was shocking to me.
- Adam brought a fancy speaker to listen to music from his phone.
Other Personal Gear
- We each carried a bowl, a cup and a spork.
- We each carried our own sleeping bag. Adam carried both sleeping pads.
- I carried hiking poles.
- We each carried our own pharmaceutical stuff. Advil is great!
- We each had a photo ID (needed to check in at the campsite) and a small stash of cash in case we needed to purchase anything at the small store.
- Adam had a small daypack with him. I just emptied out my main pack and used that.
- I had spare boot laces, which I did not need.
Clothes
We each carried our own clothes. My personal supply (including what I wore in) was:
- two pairs hiking pants
- three undershirts
- one long sleeve over shirt
- one sweatshirt
- one rain jacket (didn't need it)
- one big ugly hiking hat
- sunglasses
- 3 pairs of socks
- 3 pairs underwear
- swimsuit
- one knit cap
- one pair light gloves
- one pair of hiking boots
- one pair of sandals for water crossing and general walking around camp
Our weather was between 40 and 70 degrees with clear skies at all times. There was plenty of shade for all but a small portion of the hike in and out, and even in the direct sun it didn't get too hot. For this weather, the clothing selected was spot on. I wore everything I brought with except for the rain jacket, which is not something you leave behind. In retrospect I would have taken two of the over shirts and only one pair of hiking pants, but that's a minor quibble in the big scheme of things.
Keen eyes will note that I carried somewhat more shared gear than Adam, notably all the food. This is in large part because Adam is 2/3 my size and started off with a heavier empty pack than I did. My backpack still had plenty of room in it, and while we didn't weigh our packs I'd estimate it was about 30 pounds going in.
To make a long story short, my coworker Adam and I had discussed hiking the Grand Canyon (we've both done the Phantom Ranch hike). He is based in Las Vegas, so he's relatively close to the Canyon, and when a friend of his had two extra permits for Havasupai Trail he asked if I wanted to go. I did.
This was my first real backpacking trip (unless you count canoe camping, which I wouldn't). The daypack I bought for the Tour de Mt Blanc wasn't big enough, so I went to the Backpackers Shop and bought a Osprey Stratos 50. This is what went in it for a 3 day / 2 night backpacking trip.
Drink
- One 3 liter water hydration system. I did not refill it, and I ultimately ran out of water about 100 yards from the end of the final hike back to the car. Adam had a similar hydration system and refilled it partially.
- 2 Powerades. I drank one at the end of the hike in on the first day, and one at the end of the day hike on the second day. I refilled one bottle at the spring in the campsite and drank that on the hike out.
- Adam carried two small pint plastic flasks, one with tequila and one with Jameson.
Food
When I arrived in Las Vegas Adam and I went shopping at REI and Target for food. I carried all of the main meals, and we split carrying the snacks.
- Breakfasts: 2 backpacking granola breakfasts (just add water). We split one packet for breakfast the latter two days.
- Lunches: One package of flour tortillas, 4 bags of tuna, 4 peanut butter packets. We each had one tuna and one peanut butter tortilla for each of the first two days.
- Dinners: 4 single meal self-heating backpacking meals. We each had one each of the first two days. It's pretty incredible how fast they heated up, and we didn't need to carry a stove.
- Snacks: I carried one package of beef jerky, one package of Adam's homemade tofu jerky, two packages of dried fruit, one package of trail mix and three granola bars. Adam carried tofu jerky, one package of dried fruit, one package of trail mix and three granola bars.
When we finished the final hike out, we had a little bit of trail mix left and a tiny bit of tofu jerky. Everything else was gone.
Team Gear
- Adam carried the tent poles, I carried the rest of the tent.
- I carried the hammock.
- I carried the first aid kit, an extra blister-specific kit, and the water filtration device, but we didn't need any of that.
- Adam carried some paper towels and toilet paper. I carried some tissues, which went unused.
- I carried some wet naps for clean up.
Electronics
- We each carried a head lamp.
- We each carried a camera.
- We each carried a cell phone and a spare charge (plus USB cable for the spare charge). There's no coverage at all down where we were, but I brought mine with the intent of using it as a backup camera, but I never turned mine on because my camera somehow stayed charged for the entire trip, which I was shocking to me.
- Adam brought a fancy speaker to listen to music from his phone.
Other Personal Gear
- We each carried a bowl, a cup and a spork.
- We each carried our own sleeping bag. Adam carried both sleeping pads.
- I carried hiking poles.
- We each carried our own pharmaceutical stuff. Advil is great!
- We each had a photo ID (needed to check in at the campsite) and a small stash of cash in case we needed to purchase anything at the small store.
- Adam had a small daypack with him. I just emptied out my main pack and used that.
- I had spare boot laces, which I did not need.
Clothes
We each carried our own clothes. My personal supply (including what I wore in) was:
- two pairs hiking pants
- three undershirts
- one long sleeve over shirt
- one sweatshirt
- one rain jacket (didn't need it)
- one big ugly hiking hat
- sunglasses
- 3 pairs of socks
- 3 pairs underwear
- swimsuit
- one knit cap
- one pair light gloves
- one pair of hiking boots
- one pair of sandals for water crossing and general walking around camp
Our weather was between 40 and 70 degrees with clear skies at all times. There was plenty of shade for all but a small portion of the hike in and out, and even in the direct sun it didn't get too hot. For this weather, the clothing selected was spot on. I wore everything I brought with except for the rain jacket, which is not something you leave behind. In retrospect I would have taken two of the over shirts and only one pair of hiking pants, but that's a minor quibble in the big scheme of things.
Keen eyes will note that I carried somewhat more shared gear than Adam, notably all the food. This is in large part because Adam is 2/3 my size and started off with a heavier empty pack than I did. My backpack still had plenty of room in it, and while we didn't weigh our packs I'd estimate it was about 30 pounds going in.