Gear List and Pictures

This is an update from a previous post. I have a couple of shakedown hikes left before I go to The Grand Canyon. Look out for updates!

Here's the link to my Flickr album. Features most of my gear.

This is the link to my actual gear list on GearGrams.com.

Grand Canyon APPROVED!

I finally got my permit approved. I am simply waiting on it to pop into my inbox. I would like to thank the many people in the Grand Canyon Backcountry Office for their help and patience. Though the process needs to be updated and improved, these people work very hard to help people... even the ones that don't deserve it.

So, without further adieu, I present to you my ORJ 2016 itinerary. 

Day 1 - Drive to Grand Canyon and overnight in the South Rim Lodge. Carb-load... get fat.

Day 2 - South Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Campground - 6.9 miles & -4,860ft
Day 3 - North Kaibab Trail to Cottonwood Campground - 7.2 miles & +1,600ft
Day 4 - North Kaibab Trail to North Rim Campground - 6.8 miles & + 4,161ft
Day 5 - North Kaibab Trail to Cottonwood Campground - 6.8 miles & -4,161ft
Day 6 - North Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Campground - 7.2 miles & -1,600ft
Day 7 - Clear Creek Trail to Clear Creek Campground - 8.0 miles & +1,760ft
Day 8 - Clear Creek to Cheyava Falls and back - 8.0 miles & +/- ~1,000ft
Day 9 - Clear Creek Trail to Bright Angel Campground - 8.0 miles & -1,760ft
Day 10 - Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden Campground - 4.7 miles & +1,320ft
Day 11 - Bright Angel Trail to South Rim Lodge - 4.8 miles & +3,060ft

Day 12 - Drive home.

Total Miles:  68.4 
Total Elevation Change (estimate): 25,282ft

Gear Review: The North Face Furnace 35

I have had a few sleeping bags in my lifetime. I haven't been a big backpacker so I haven't ever had the need for a lightweight sleeping bag. That being said, all my bags have been heavy, synthetic bags. Recently I have taken up backpacking and gotten into cutting weight down tremendously. The last time I lugged my synthetic bag out into the woods for an overnight trip, I vowed that I would never again carry a sleeping bag over 3 pounds with a temperature rating above 35º.  I knew I could cut a lot of weight, considering my bag weighed 44 oz., and the time had come to make a change.

I picked up The North Face Furnace 35º down bag on backcountry.com. They were having a sale and I couldn't resist the bargain at $130. Finally, I have a 35º bag that weighs in at just 27oz. I know that's not "ULTRALIGHT" but it's definitely an upgrade for me. Just having a down bag is an upgrade. To Hell with synthetic bags. Never again. It's like I have been living in some cruel world where I can only freeze to death in my tent on nights where I should be super warm. Even with a thermal liner in my old sleeping bag, I would still freeze in the high 30s wearing layers of clothing and thick socks.

This past week I took my new bag out for a test drive and, let me tell you... it was AWESOME.

The Furnace is a great sleeping bag. The fact that it's down allows you to shove it in your bag and make room for important stuff and, because it's a relatively light 3-season bag, the down springs back really quickly and gives you plenty of loft. The comfort limit is 43º but the temps dropped into the high 30s overnight and I still woke up feeling a little warm. I found myself able to wear only a pair of nylon shorts and a nylon shirt to bed. No socks! How awesome is that? Temps in the 30s and here I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt to sleep. It didn't hurt that I drug my Alps Mountaineering self-inflating foam pad out for this trip but I doubt there would be a difference between that and my Klymit X-frame considering how warm this thing is. 

My Klymit X-frame fits perfectly into this baby.

The limits of this bag are pretty accurate.

The only thing bad I can say about this bag is that the stuff sack is kind of a waste of space. It adds weight and because it isn't a compression sack or waterproof, I just stuck it in the top of my closet. I'm going to get a compression dry sack for it in the future. It will add some weight but I think it would be worth it if I encountered some wet weather. For now, I just shove it in my pack.

I would definitely recommend this bag because the build quality is high and it seems like you get exactly what you pay for. Are there nicer bags out there with similar features and ratings? Certainly, but if you're like me and you want to watch your wallet, this is the bag for you. In fact, I would almost recommend their 20º or even 5º Furnace if you live in a cooler climate. They're not much heavier at around 35 and 48 oz respectively. If you're willing to throw the extra cash at either of them, I don't think you'd be disappointed. 

Really impressed so far.

Garnet Peak and Mt. Laguna

Since my last backpacking adventure into Nobel Canyon, I have done nothing but dream about my next hike. The conditions here in San Diego have been nothing short of ridiculous. It's been hazy and "partly sunny" for over a month. I guess they call it "May Gray" and "June Gloom" for a reason. Fortunately, if I want a bit of sunshine, I only need drive an hour away to Cleveland National Forest.

I decided to do an overnight and try out El Prado/Laguna Campground located off Sunrise Highway (S1) about 50 miles East of San Diego via I-8. The campground is near the top of Mt. Laguna, a 6000' mountain within Cleveland Natioal Forest. 

The recreation.gov website, being completely useless most of the time, wouldn't allow me to book a last minute trip so I elected to try out the first-come-fist-serve option. (For some reason most of the parks and forest services just can't seem to catch up with the 21st century.)

I arrived at about 8:30, picked a campsite, filled in the register and dropped my money/registration form into the drop box. Pretty simple. Luckily it was Thursday so I didn't have to fight for a spot. If this was a Friday adventure, I would have been BONED. I didn't bother setting up camp just yet. I grabbed my day pack and headed for the trail. At this point, I still hadn't made a plan. I knew I had enough food and water to hike all day if I wanted to. That's about it.

I hiked out of Laguna Campground down to an overlook and hit the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I hadn't taken a single step on this trail up to this point in my life; from the moment I did, I was hooked. It is a particularly easy section of the trail running about 2 miles to Garnet Peak Trail. The views alone are worth the walk. When I got to the crossroad, I decided to give Garnet Peak a try. I figured that the climb would be very rewarding and give me a better vantage point- I wasn't wrong.

Garnet Peak is accessible from S1 directly. It's a 4 mile round trip with a pretty decent bit of elevation gain. The route I took was slightly longer because I used the PCT to access it. Whichever way you decide to get there, it is worth the effort. You can actually make this hike as hard or easy as you like because there are several places on S1 that afford you the ability to stretch or shorten this relatively easy peak. The scramble to the top at the end can be a bit precarious but, as long as you are watching each step and being very careful, you shouldn't have a problem. At about 5900', it's one of the highest points of Cleveland National Forest and gives you spectacular views of Anza Borrego Desert to the East (maybe even the Arizona Mountains on a very clear day); San Jacinto and San Gorgonio Mountains to the Northwest; Cuyamaca Peak almost due West and even a glimpse of the Slaton Sea to the Southeast. It's an amazing little spot. 

Once I was done taking pictures and eating a light lunch, I headed back down the trail. My site in Laguna was really nice. I found a pretty shady spot and settled in for a nice night. The squirrels and chipmunks in the area are fearless. One of the little beggars came about a foot from my feet looking for hand outs. :/ I have mixed feelings about that. While it's nice that wildlife is drawn to my magnetic personality, I think it's messed up that people feed them so they can have a cool Instagram picture.

Takeaways:  1) I really want to hike the entire PCT, even if I have to section hike it over the next few years. 2) I will do this hike, or a variation thereof, in the near future or possibly in the fall. 3) I think I can make my pack lighter if I force myself to leave some frivolous things behind and just concentrate on water and food. It's just too tempting to grab something extra that I will probably not need. 4) Laguna Campground is okay but at $22/night, I expected more. The sites are kind of small and uneven.

Enjoy the pictures!

Noble Canyon

Since my last posting, my Grand Canyon trip is officially off. It seems that the system is slightly rigged. Oh well, I'll try again next year.

In the meantime, I've decided to get on with my training and try to get my pack tuned just the way I like it. Who knows? I might even knock out some of the PCT this summer.

Saturday a friend and I set out on an overnight camp and shake down hike. We hiked some of this particular trail earlier in the year and ended up bailing because the temperature dropped well below what we anticipated. Noble Canyon Trail is located in Cleveland National Forrest. It's popular among mountain bikers, horse riders and hikers. The trailhead starts off Pine Creek Road and runs 10 miles to Sunrise Highway and the Pacific Crest Trail.

We didn't reach the trailhead until after 11:00 on Saturday morning and it was already 80°. Carrying over 4L of water and the heat didn't make the hike easy at all. About 2.5miles (2hrs) in we found our campground. We decided to carry on and come back at the end of the day. The next 2.5 miles weren't much easier as we crossed Pine Creek, we decided to turn back to camp. We made our way back much faster, as most of it was downhill.

Our Campsite

When we arrived at the meadow, the gnats and flies were almost unbearable. Luckily, there are not a lot of mosquitoes in Southern California. We quickly pitched our tents to escape the swarming insects, beneath one of the largest oak trees I have ever seen. We took time to relax and enjoy the cool breeze while slinging insults at the flying pests from behind our bug nets.

Once the sun started to creep behind the horizon, we came out of our tents and cooked dinner. Since the sun was almost out of sight, the bats came out and began to ravage the pests that had been bothering us earlier. Our dinner was great after a long day of hiking up and down hills and through the canyon. We sat around talking, watching the bats and enjoying the full moon.

The night was long and my air pad, while light weight, did little to provide support and comfort. It was definitely better than just sleeping on the ground but not by much. The temp dropped down into the 40's but this time we were prepared. Despite tossing and turning, I actually managed a few bouts of sleep because the area was so quiet.

We got up the next morning and made the hike back to the trailhead in half the time it had taken us the previous day.

Despite having a rough time, we still enjoyed the trip and will definitely be going back. This would be a very good training loop. Lessons learned? Bring more water and less gear. Workout and walk every day. Get better about sitting when stopping on the trail and drying my feet out. Bring the hammock; the trees in this area are plentiful.

DENIED!

After staying up until after 2 a.m. waiting for the Grand Canyon Backcountry Office fax machine to not give me a busy signal, I managed to submit my permit. A few days later, I received an e-mail that informed me that our permit was denied because they ran out of reservations.

I thought to myself, "How can that be?"

The approval process for permits is very different than what I imagined. Permits are accepted up to ten days prior to the 1st of the month... four months in advance of the month your trip is planned. I waited until after midnight on the 1st because that's what their website says to do. In the end, it doesn't matter when you submit it as long as it's turned in by close of business on the 1st. I also found out that there are only two group sizes that they look at; large (7-11) or small (1-6).

All the permits are then sorted alphabetically and shuffled. The first 200 permits for the use areas are approved and the follow-on permits are looked over and most likely denied unless they include remote-use areas, outside of established campgrounds.

The rangers at the Backcountry Office are really helpful and I now have a new request in the works.

The Plan

Permits. Is it ridiculous that I have to explain to a group of people, who think they know me and my limits better than I do, how I plan on tackling one of the best hikes on the planet? Yes. There is a good reason for the permit process. Stupidity. People, by and large, are idiots. Some people think it's a good idea to just show up and attempt one of the most difficult hikes on the planet without planning anything. Like I said, IDIOTS. I digress. 

Grand Canyon's Backcountry permit process is pretty easy. You can submit it up to four months in advance and it must be mailed or faxed, because even though the rest of humanity has learned to use web forms, the U.S. government still hasn't quite figured it out.  
 
Things to remember:
Use common sense and make sure you are adhering to what they consider "best practices". Don't try to hike too far in one day. Don't stay at any campsite longer than two nights. Remember that campgrounds below the rim are on a first-come-first-serve basis. Getting there early ensures you get a better spot.

Acronyms:
MC = Mather Campground
SK = South Kaibab Trail
NK = North Kaibab Trail
BA = Bright Angel Trail
BAC = Bright Angel Campground
CWC = Cottonwood Campground
NRC = North Rim Campground

Here it is.

Day 1:  Arrive at Grand Canyon and stay overnight in MC
Day 2:  SK from Trailhead to BAC (7mi)
Day 3:  NK from BAC to CWC (7.1mi) *Detour to Ribbon Falls*
Day 4:  NK from CWC to NRC (6.9mi)
Day 5:  NK from NRC to CWC (6.9mi)
Day 6:  NK from CWC to BAC (7.1mi)
Day 7:  BA from BAC to South Rim Lodge (9.4mi)
Day 8:  Drive home

As a reward for nearly 50 miles of hiking, the last night will be spent drinking beer and eating all the carbs we can get our hands on and sleeping in an actual bed at the Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim.