Desert Section Gear

Deciding on what is worth carrying and what should be left at home is a difficult task to complete. The trail is long enough that I will have time to decide if my decisions are worthy of the trail or, if deemed unnecessary, will be relegated to the hiker box/shipped home.

How do I choose!? Well. some of its easy. No micro spikes for the desert is a good example. But there are some other questions to be answered. How cold will it be at night in the desert? How much sun can I handle on bare legs, do I really need pants? Do I want to carry a sun umbrella or just a sun hat? Would I really need both? All legit questions I have been struggling with.

Here’s what I DO know:
1. I like hot food at night, a stove makes sense for me. Some people cold soak (add water to dehydrated meals long before they want to eat and rehydrate slower than hot water would) and don’t need a stove. I may decide to ship it home until colder climates but at this point I am not willing to forgo the luxury.

2. I might be cold at night. I have a down sleeping bag rated down to 30 degrees. I decided on this bag for weight and how much room I have to move around in it as a side sleeper (specs here: https://www.rei.com/product/111167/rei-co-op-joule-30-sleeping-bag-womens) I will be wearing long underwear, hat and possibly a down jacket if the conditions call for it. If I decide it is too cold I will add a liner to up the warmth.

3. I might be packing too much clothing. I don’t want to wear dirty socks too often, I don’t like dirty underwear and I would like to be able to wash my clothes with a little decency. I feel safe saying that I probably am carrying too much clothing to start out with but I am comfortable with that.

4. I will not starve. I have been waffling on when/where/how much to ship to different stops (more on that later). I will not starve, there are stops all along the way that I can make. Some easier than others. I believe that “the trail will provide” in the form of transportation, resupply sources and hiker boxes (where other hikers unload what they don’t want of their food and supplies).

Anyhow, I have created a list that is not quite complete. But until I am packing up to go I won’t know. Here is a link (https://lighterpack.com/r/8m39w5) to the nitty gritty of weight and nuances. There is a nice little calculator that someone created to make the weighing and reinvention of the wheel unnecessary. This does not include food or water at this point.

I am planning for 5-6 liters of water for the first 20 miles of desert and will see what my needs seem to be like. From everything I’ve read it varies from person to person so I will plan for have too much rather than too little to start with. I will mention that I feel it’s highly unlikely that I will go 20 miles in the first day to reach Lake Morena. We will see what my body says when I get there!

Until my next post, happy trails!