Arizona Trail Packing List

GENERAL

1. Tent (Big Agnes UL Copper Spur) 🙂
2. Big Agnes footprint for tent (to keep backpacks dry and create a packing area outside tent) 🙂
3. Mountain Equipment Co-op sleeping bags (4-season) with dry/ compression sacks. Warm and comfortable, but too heavy 🙁 Now substituted by Feathered Friends’ Spoonbill 2-person sack weighing 2lbs 11oz, but, while we’re never cold, it turns out to be very sweaty inside, there’s no down on the underside, so you lose cushioning and insulation, and we keep each other awake a fair bit. :-(. There must be a good intermediate solution out there…
4. Sleeping liners. Returned home. 🙁
5. 2x SOL emergency bivvys. They’ll save us from freezing if our sleeping bag ever gets wet and we use them to line the bottom of our tent for extra insulation when it’s very cold. 🙂
6. Waterproof compression sack for the sleeping bag. We’re not just protecting it against rain, but also against leaking water reservoirs. 🙂
7. Duct tape 🙂
8. 2x Travel towels. Returned home. We’re having wet wipe washes when camping and can use clothes to dry ourselves elsewhere 🙁
9. Brunton compass 🙂
10. 2x shoe bags. Great to avoid getting mud in tent, but we sent them home to reduce weight 🙁
11. Osprey Aura 65l backpack (women’s) 🙂
12. Osprey Atmos 65l backpack (men’s) 🙂
13. 2x backpack waterproof covers 🙂
14. Trowel for burying organic waste 🙂
15. Paracord for hanging our food in trees and for emergencies 🙂
16. Mini camp light. Great product, but sent home to reduce weight 🙁
17. Gerber Dime Multi-tool 🙂
18. Waterproof food storage sack for hanging food in trees. The waterproofness seems to keep the food smells in, which makes it less of a target 🙂
19. 2 x pairs of Leki poles; possibly our overall best purchase 🙂
20. 2 x Thermarest Z sleeping mats 🙂
21. 2 x REI Scarpa inflatable mattresses. Added late in trip when Thermarest Z sleeping mats lost their bounce and our new sleeping bag turned out to provide no cushioning. 🙂

FOOD

1. Honey 🙂
2. Oatmeal porridge x 2 servings per day. Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
3. Peanut butter and other packets of energy-intensive spreads for breakfast 🙂
4. Dried fruits and nuts; especially dates and home-mixed trail mix 🙂
5. Dehydrated food x 4 servings per day. Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
6. Snack bars x 2-3 each per day 🙂
7. Dark chocolate. You have to have some treats! 🙂
8. Salami and other cured meat. 🙂
9. Pre-washed tomatoes and spring onions. 🙂
10. Bread and sometimes bagels. 🙂
11. Mustard which doesn’t require refrigeration. 🙂
12. Parmesan, as it lasts for a long time without refrigeration. 🙂

WATER

1. Water reservoir cleaning tablets (though can also use water purification tablets, if you don’t mind the iodine stains) 🙂
2. Water – up to 6 litres each 🙂
3. Water purification tablets (as emergency back-up) 🙂
4. MSR water filter pump 🙂
5. Steripen Journey water filter and a set of spare batteries 🙂
6. 1x water bottle for washing clothes and pumping dirty water into for sterilisation 🙂
7. 4x 3 litre Camelbak bladders with valve guards. Good, but they have a habit of leaking when compressed in the backpack 🙂

COOKING

1. MSR Pocket Rocket stove. Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
2. 2x stove camping gas canisters: 1 large, 1 small as back-up. Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
3. Waterproof matches as back-up to lighter 🙂
4. Lighter, used for sterilising knife and lighting camp fires 🙂
5. GSI cooking system including pan and mugs. Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
6. 2x long-handled titanium sporks (good for eating and stirring food packets). Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
7. Mini 2-cup lightweight Bialetti stove-top espresso maker. Great product, but excess weight. Sent home despite caffeine addiction. 🙁
8. 2x espresso cups. Sent home 🙁
9. Coarsely ground coffee. Sent home 🙁
10. Ziplock bags with zipper. VERY useful! 🙂
11. MSR washing up brush (MSR) Was good, but we no longer carry cooking equipment to reduce weight and water usage. 🙁
12. Foil. Good for stove windbreak. Excess weight and no longer carry cooking equipment, so sent home 🙁
13. Washing up/ clothes washing liquid 🙂
14. Travel sized squeezy bottles for honey, peanut butter, etc. 🙂

BATHROOM STUFF, ETC.

1. Glasses. Usually wear contacts, but would need glasses in relatively likely event of an eye infection. 🙂
2. Contact lenses and spares 🙂
3. Biodegradeable TP 🙂
4. Biodegradeable wet wipes (“the shower”) 🙂
5. Bathroom stuff in travel-sized bottles 🙂
6. Mirror. Returned home, as my blusher has one built in 🙁
7. Blusher. Makes me feel good. 🙂
8. Sunglasses. Good for dust, low Winter and evening light, and snow, though not essential 🙂

MEDICAL

1. Medical kit 🙂
2. Blister pads 🙂
3. Electrolytes 🙂
4. Sun block: bottle of 20 SPF and 50 SPF stick for sensitive spots 🙂
5. Mosquito repellent spray 🙂
6. Mosquito repellent bracelets. Good product, but have spray, so sent home. 🙁

ENTERTAINMENT

1. Flask of whiskey 🙂
2. Book cut up into sections and sent in order to re-supply points 🙂
3. Pen (using back of used maps as paper) 🙂
4. Small notepad. Sent home. 🙁

DOCS AND MONEY

1. Passport or drivers licence 🙂
2. Cash 🙂
3. Debit cards 🙂
4. Maps 🙂
5. Waterproof map holder 🙂
6. Park permits 🙂

SELF-DEFENSE

1. Stun gun 🙂
2. Pepper spray 🙂

CLOTHES

1. 1 x set thermals each. Best to choose design which can also be worn as spare pair of trousers 🙂
2. Gloves 🙂
3. Rain jackets 🙂
4. Rain trousers 🙂
5. 2 x pairs of socks each – Cool Mesh and Micro Wool 🙂
6. 2 x knickers each 🙂
7. 1 x bra 🙂
8. 1 x Bandana each 🙂
9. Salomon hiking boots. GREAT! 🙂
10. Hiking sandals (Chaco Unaweep). Great idea, but sent home due to excess weight 🙁
11. 1 x convertible trousers each 🙂
12. 1 x T-shirt each 🙂
13. 1 x long-sleeved top each 🙂
14. Winter hat (some people may not need one if they have a jacket hood, but I get cold easily) 🙂
15. Waterproof compression sacks for clothes 🙂
16. Down jackets (Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperers with hoods) 🙂
17. Neck purse each, which I also use as a handbag when in towns 🙂
18. Shoe wallet. Useful, but extra weight. We only kept 1. 🙂

ELECTRONICS

1. Sat phone and charger, though disconnected to save money, so only for 911 calls 🙂
2. 2x iPhones 🙂
3. 2 x Mophie iPhone battery packs and cable to extend battery life 🙂
4. 1 x iPhone charger hitch charges 2 phones at a time 🙂
5. Camera + 1 lens with all extras removed, e.g. strap 🙂
6. Camera tripod and head. Too heavy. Wish I had it! 🙁
7. Camera GPS. Great idea, but had to return home due to weight issues. Otherwise would have kept. 🙁
8. Lens reverser for macro. Couldn’t obtain in time. Otherwise, I would have taken it. 🙂
9. Extension tubes. Great idea, but excess weight. Left behind. 🙁
10. Camera Lee filters. 🙂
11. Circular polariser. 🙂
12. Video camera and charger. Returned home due to weight issues 🙁
13. Camera protective filter. Removed due to weight issues, but recommend taking it. 🙂
14. Camera shutter release cable. 🙂
15. Camera battery 🙂
16. Camera battery charger 🙂
17. Camera memory cards 🙂
18. Solar charger. Great idea, but too heavy. Returned home. 🙁
19. Black Diamond headlamps and 1 set of spare batteries between us 🙂
20. GPS and charger with loaded topo maps. Great idea, but heavy. Returned home, but kept compass. 🙁