Yesterday, Andrew and I hosted a livestream focused on the foundations of backpacking in the desert.
Topics we discussed included:
- Leave No Trace in the desert
- Trip planning: seasonality and daily flow
- Hazards
- Water: how much to carry, how to find it, carrying capacity, favorite bottles, treatment, electrolytes
- Footwear: ideal characteristics, favorite models
- Clothing: tops, bottoms, accessories
- Camp selection: best and worst desert camps
- Dry camping
- Best shelters for the desert
- Pitching shelters on slickrock and sand
- Gear care and special gear
- Desert navigation
In terms of the desert experience we’re drawing upon, here are the highlights:
Andrew
- backpacked 800 miles across the Colorado Plateau from Arches to Grand Canyon NPs in 2009
- hiked from the Grand Canyon to the PCT across southern California, including a 70-mile waterless stretch without a cache
- backpacked through southern California on the PCT in June
Katie
- backpacked the length of the Grand Canyon from Lee’s Ferry to Pearce Ferry
- hiked an 800-mile loop in the Great Basin of Nevada
- has completed the PCT and CDT desert sections as well as the Oregon Desert Trail
Glenn VP lives in Bend OR now.
Great Information! Thank you for sharing with us.
Thanks for the information, Andrew and Katie.
Do you have any recommendations what types of non-frestanding shelters would be best for Canyon Country? I would imagine that a simple mid like a Solomid would be the best given their ease of setup and wind resistance for the exposed flatlands. I cannot image trying to set up my A-frame shelter on slickrock or soft sand. I even thought something like a waterproof bivy sack would be an optimal shelter for Southern UT (no pitch, no problem, right?) but then thought about the drawbacks for a few minutes.
Also, do you find the performance of snow/sand stakes like the MSR blizzard to be satisfactory, or not even worth bringing?