Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Well... we foraged plenty of calories, had a dry roof over our head, stayed warm, and had great morale. I'd call that a true success in surviving!

 

My sewing machine came in. Waiting for some fabric to get started on some simple pouches but I am pretty stoked to start making my own gear.

 

Heck yea, man! I toyed around a few months ago making stuff sacks and such. I made a few with zippers using these as my inspiration.

https://store.kifaru.net/ultralight-pullouts-p22.aspx

I got some cheap lightweight fabric remnants from the craft store and some somewhat tougher thread and a few zippers. I came up with these.



Here's a pic of the red one inside out. It's made from 2 oval shaped pieces sewn together and turned inside out. Zippers are tricky!



I also tried a typical stuff sack. I cut out a round piece and sewed it to a flat piece working it around the circumference.



I think I got all the stuff needed for less than one of Kifaru's pullouts. It's not easy, for sure but it is very rewarding! Sewing is pretty fun!

 

I have a few Kifaru pull outs and love them. Simple and effective. I need some more so those are my few projects. Once I am done, I might try to make a mini tipi out of what's left. Just to get a hang of sewing and cutting the material.

You pretty much nailed their pouch. Good job

 

Thanks, I enjoyed working on it more than I thought I would!

 

Last night of my trip, I'm here at Zion. Why does it have to end?

Okay, technically I'm staying at the Hyatt in ABQ tomorrow and I'm doing some sightseeing on the way, but still.

 

ASAP! Maybe tomorrow if hotel internet is good enough (lol).

 

I was totally enthralled with both Zion and Bryce. But now seeing, living and working in Yosemite... I've been spoiled. Not sure many places could fill my heart the way this place does...

So... Did you do Angels???

 

God, I miss that place...

Glad you had great weather, though! Looks like you hit it just right!

 

Oh dude the weather was so perfect everywhere. Moab was like a high of 83 and cloudy both days providing perfect hiking AND photo conditions!

I got rain at Mesa Verde the second night but other than that no real rain besides some sprinkles. Zion was the warmest but still perfectly manageable (I AM from Texas, haha). According to my Fitbit I did about 70 miles of walking/hiking in the last 7 days (not today).

These are the hikes I did and/or things I saw:

• Balcony House
• Petroglyph Trail (Mesa Verde)
• Farview Sites/Mesa Top Pueblos/Square Tower House
• Balanced Rock
• Windows Arches and Turret Arch
• Devil's Garden including Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, and Navajo Arch
• Delicate Arch (this is the cliche one and all that but holy shit it's impressive in person! I loved it)
• Neck Springs trail (marked only by cairns, thisnone was pretty fun actually)
• Mesa Arch
• Grand View Point
• Stopped in Capitol Reef NP and went to the visitors center and the Gifford House
• All of the fruit orchards there/in Fruita are awesome as well; I'd like to go back and spend more time there
• Took Scenic Byway 12 through to Boulder Utah and ate at Burr Trail Grill (I will try Hell's Backbone Grill next time)
• Drove Hell's Backbone Road which connects Boulder and Escalante and drove over the one lane Hell's Backbone Bridge, which at 9200 feet or so of elevation was the highest point of the trip
• Stopped at Bryce Canyon and checked out Sunset and Inspiration Points after a brief rainshower; I must go back here
• Zion! Set up camp and went into Springdale
• Angel's Landing! Gawd that was tiring but amazing. My mom did it with me (I was worried about her doing the final climb but she did badass)
• Emerald Pools trail (lower and middle)
• Hidden Canyon! I did this before the Narrows since I wanted it to warm up a bit and work up a sweat before the Narrows. This one was fun. Went up the canyon maybe a half mile. Will go further next time.
• Weeping Rock
• The Narrows. I went to about a quarter mile into Wall Street/past Orderville Canyon. Would have gone further but it was getting late in the day
• Glen Canyon Dam
• Horseshoe Bend
• Monument Valley (unfortunately we didn't go down the visitor center road or anything and I didn't get any photos)


Things I would like to do next time:

• Spend a lot more time in south central Utah. Basically between Moab and Zion. Places like Escalante/Capitol Reef/Bryce.
• Go see some real slot canyons!
• Kolob Canyon area of Zion
• Mountain Bike in Moab
• Needles District in Canyonlands
• A lot more of Colorado, but that is a different subject and discussion entirely

 

That is outstanding! Glad you were able to hit Angel's, Hidden Canyon AND the Narrows!

I've mentioned it before, but the Kolob Canyons section of Zion is my absolute favorite place on earth. You'll love it when you make it back there. If you can swing it, try to hit the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek, and also hike from Lee Pass at least down to La Verkin Creek. If you have enough time, you can make it a long day and hike through La Verkin Creek up to Hop Valley and then back out to Lee Pass. If you're really feeling good, the hike from Lee Pass through Hop Valley is super cool as well, but that is usually an overnight and requires a shuttle to pick you up on the Kolob Reservoir road.

Now post up those pics!

 

Couldn't agree more with @jubei777. Kolob side is amazing!

 

My fabric came in . I couldn't wait to look at instructions so I just jumped into designing a simple bag to compartmentalize my stuff. Ripstop overall was pretty easy to sew. Gonna hit it hard tomorrow and try out silnylon. I'll make a few more bags and try them out when I go look for an elk to poke on Sunday/monday.

 

Still working on photos, but in the meantime I did order a TNF fleece from REI with the Labor Day Sale. Woohoo!

 

So, regarding pictures, do I just post them here? It is technically a gear thread, so I just wanna make sure.

 

Do it.

 

Alright.

So, Petroglyph Trail in Mesa Verde was cooler that I was expecting.

You hike along the side of a canyon a bit, going through rocks and obstacles:



The canyons are not huge here, but the view is pretty nice:



Eventually, you get to the largest collection of petroglyphs in the park:



You then do a short rock scramble up to the top of the mesa:



I won't post pictures of all of the dwellings/pueblos here, but this one of the reservoir turned out pretty cool because of the impending weather (it started getting very windy at this point and I just got back to the truck before it started pouring!):

 

From there, we went to Moab. Arches was first. The place really does feels like you're on Mars or something. It's also an interesting place, because despite being incredibly touristy, you can still get away from the crowds somewhat if you actually go on a hike, especially in Devil's Garden.

Behind me in this photo was a bus full of elderly people cackling about having their photos taken.



The view from the North Window Arch:



You can see some people standing in North Window Arch in this photo, showing how big the formations actually are:



Devil's Garden is a very cool place. The hike to Landscape Arch is pretty short (about a mile, IIRC). Once you get past there, the primitive trail starts and you lose much of the crowds.

Landscape Arch:



The start of the primitive trail leading up the slickrock. It is pretty steep in a few spots:



I feel like I'm in a Looney Toon on the trail to Partition Arch:



Which has a pretty nice view:



Another spur trail will take you to Navajo Arch, a big cave-like arch:



I think it gets windy in here:



The hike to Delicate Arch at the end of a long day was a little tiring even though it is only 1.5 miles one way:



But it was worth it. It really is impressive in person: