Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

I am usually that organized but just recently moved. I have had the most annoying anxiety/stress for the last month because my garage is a disorganized nightmare. We are almost done getting the interior put together and looking nice with new furniture etc and then I am greenlighted by the wifey to get the garage back in organized functioning order for my gear...and to fit her car in.

Props on the cleanliness it makes me smile

 

nice organization! Where did you score the deals on Backpacker's Pantry?

 

LDP Camping Foods has 25% off of all of their mylar packaged BP offerings, and 20% off all of their #10 cans. They also had 40% off all Mountain House #10 cans, and 33% off MH mylar packaged meals.

http://www.ldpcampingfoods.com/

They run these deals about once a quarter. Amazon also has good prices on Mountain House right now, too. It's a seasonal back-end rebate that resellers get, so they drop prices.

 

Well, here are some photos from my trip. I know that some of these are not strictly camping related, but I think they are worth sharing here!

The full album is here.

I stopped by the painted desert badlands and old petrified forests of Petrified Forest NP near Holbrook, AZ. I had never been here before so it was another park to check off of my list. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Blue Mesa has a nice trail through it, but I was short on time so I skipped it:


I drove down to Sedona after getting to Flagstaff, but it was a zoo and I essentially just wasted 2.5 hours on the trip. Very pretty place. I would have loved to stay in one of the campsites in Oak Creek Canyon.

After a night in Williams, I drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and checked out some of the viewpoints there whiel continuing out of Desert View. This photo is from the Desert View Watchtower/Navajo Point:


Continuing on to Zion, I took AZ64 east continuing to US89 and headed north. I stopped in Page to photograph Horseshoe Bend again, even though I was also here last August. It really is a cool site, but it is absolutely overrun with foreign tourists. That isn't a "bad" thing, but it's definitely not an easy place to get a good shot. You have to have an ultrawide lens to capture it all, and you have to find a spot that also is not obscured in any way by the canyon wall. You really have to get right up to the edge to get a good photo!



Along US89 in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, there is an old relic of engineering of a past time that you drive right over without realizing it. At one time, old cars were used to control erosion on riverbanks and canyons (Link here for info. Where US89 passes next to Catstair Canyon there are a few pull-offs where you can park to access this particualt "Detoit Riprap" (including one to more easily access the petroglyphs on the east end of the canyon). I took the pull-off on the west side and drove down the very short unpaved road and parked to walk down into the canyon. It's quite an odd sight to see old Detroit Steel down here.



I had a fun realization as to what this car was. Bonus points if you can name it!



After the riprap, I continued West on US89 through Kanab and North into Carmel Junction where I got on Utah State Route 9 to head into Zion. The drive from the East into Zion on SR-9 is one of the best introduction drives into a National Park in my opinion. After winding through sandstone cliffs and passing Checkerboard Mesa, (and likely a few Desert Bighorn Sheep), you enter a long tunnel and then appear into a magnificent canyon. The sunset view of The Watchman is a good one.



The next morning I climbed Angel's Landing for the second time. I was lucky in that on my way up I hit kind of a break in the action and there were not too many people up there. It was nice until on the way down the crowd going up started to increase and become rather rude in their inability to wait for other climbers to come down (if you visit Zion and climb Angel's Landing, please realize that some of the climbing sections are NOT two-way thoroughfares; be patient and allow down climbers to come thru if they are already coming down). Here are a few photos of that:

You can see a bunch of people as little dots in this one

 

Great pics! Last time I was on Angels Landing I just waited for the sun to go down. Empty and easy to hike down.

 

I also did a few other hikes in Zion like the Canyon Overlook Trail and part of the Pa'rus trail, as well as doing some photography along SR-9 inside of the park. The next day, I headed over to the Kolob Canyons part of Zion, which is accessed either by backpacking up the West Rim Trail -> Wildcat Canyon Trail -> Connector Trail -> Hop Valley Trail -> La Verkin Creek Trail, or by driving about 45 minutes by car up near Kanarraville.

The morning is a terrible time to photograph the Kolob Canyons, but here is a photo:



I hiked down the La Verkin Creek Trail down to site #10, which I had to cross La Verkin Creek to get to! These are crappy iPhone pictures since I did not take the SLR with me on the overnight trip.







This was a simple overnight trip, so the next morning I hiked out. I hadn't realized before starting that this trail actually has 1,000 feet of elevation gain! La Verkin Creek is at about 5,000 feet, while the Lee Pass TH is at about 6,000.



I am now busy at work so I will continue later!

 

More progress on the gear den today. Got the rack system hung and I put up my best packs, BA Bootjack down bag, and EE Revelation down quilt up where they belong. Futon came in today unexpectedly early so I got that put together, too. Still 2 more racks to put along the righthand wall and get rid of that little glass TV stand with some of my son's old baseball knick-knacks. Lots more gear still in the garage in bins that I will bring in and get all cleaned and organized. It's coming along nicely.

Packs:

Top row

• Zpacks Arc Haul 62L 24oz
• Zpacks Nero 38L 10.9oz

Middle Row

• Osprey Atmos 65 AG
• Kelty Coyote 80

Bottom Row

• Gregory Jade 38
• 5.11 Rush 12
• Marmot Kompressor Plus 20 (in front of the 5.11)

If I get the longer hooks like the one that the sleeping bags are hanging from, I can go 2 packs deep on each. I have 2 more 5.11 bags I'd like to hang, plus a Swiss Gear work laptop backpack that I use on most business trips.

 

Jealous of this room. Ive been needing a gear room for a long time....

 

Man... That is incredible! I had a badass gear room but not near that organized! Can't wait to buy another house (renting currently after I sold my house) so I can get my man cave back in order.

 

From Glacier Point Road today. (Only open to Admin traffic currently)

 

OMG I can't wait for August!

 

Tioga Pass (from the 395 side). Not my photo.

 

So anyway, after Zion I headed past Cedar Breaks (still closed) on the way to Bryce.

It was a nice day at Bryce for photos.







The next day I drove down Hole in the Rock Road.

I checked out Peek-A-Boo slot canyon:





Devil's Garden:





And saw a cattle drive:



It was a good trip!



There are more photos here for those interested! Thanks for looking!

 

Look at dutchware gear. And check out the Hammock Forum (yes that's a thing)

 

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/content.php

For all your Hammock needs lol.

 

Any of you guys using the MSR whisper universal? I haven't cooked on it yet but it seems like it would be a decent stove to cook on

 

More progress. Catfish rods have a new home. One more of those should hold most of the other rods. The rods look small in this picture, but for reference, the longest one up there is 9 feet.

 

Learned about this area, in my Atmo class this semester. Crazy how high the snow layers can get.

 

So, I am planning to hit the road in a month or two... for camping and exploring with no end date.

I am building a swingout for a camp stove and my old coleman works, but isn't spectacular.

Any input as far as a quality grill? I am planning to run a full size propane tank (for ease of refilling, and possibly looking into a propane water heater for showers).

This has a grill, but I would imagine it will get dirty and I'll also have to clean under it.

Mountain Series 2 Burner

https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Rainier-Campers-Combo/dp/B005GIOMQ4

This has a skillet and should be easier to keep clean.

Camp Chef Rainier 2burner Stove W/griddl

https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Mountain-Rainer-Griddle/dp/B00ESYXNEO

Input on either style or should I just go with a standard two burner and use pans?