Trip Gear For The Upcoming Coyote Buttes South / Cottonwood Canyon Road Excursion

After my quick trip up to the Vermillion Cliffs and Grand Escalante Staircase area I’ve got just about everything in mind that we’ll need for a few days of tenting, hiking, and photography.  I thought I’d give you the whole rundown!

From my most recent trip, the Titan resting roadside.

• Nissan Titan 4×4 for me, and a Jeep Rubicon for Ken C:  2 vehicles will be going in, as 5 people are taking this trip.  Ken’s got a ton of recovery gear on board with his Jeep, so if we get in a jam……Ken will save the day.
• Max Trax:  In case Ken doesn’t save the day I picked up a set of Max Trax on his suggestion.  We’re heading into South Coyote Buttes, Paw Hole & Cottonwood Cove.  With luck and decent traveling, maybe even White Pocket.  It doesn’t sound good though.  The rangers at the Paria station, and Easton (the campground owner where I stayed) have all said the sand is really bad in South Coyote Buttes right now.  Hence the Max Trax!
• 2 5 Gallon Jerry Cans:  Pretty self explanatory.  Gas!
• Shovel:  Once again, self explanatory.  🙂
• Yamaha Generator & Portable Air Compressor:  In the event I need to drop tire pressure I can re-inflate down the road, literally.  Ken is also bringing compressed air containers, but it never hurts to double up on emergency items.
• Tool and Repair Kit:  The same tools I keep in the back of the Titan for all my needs when on the road with the Airstream.
• Everything on Ken’s Jeep:  Winch, extra Jerry cans, a hi-lift, sand shovel, containers of compressed air, etc.

Safety Gear in the truck

• Yaseau VX5R:  My HT Ham Radio and whip antenna on the truck.  Already have the frequencies up there programmed in.  Cell phones don’t work in any of the places we’re going.  ARRL Repeater guide book comes along as well.
• Garmin 2610 GPS:  I’ve had this fantastic GPS for so long now.  Who needs a new one when I’ve got the best?
• Fire extinguisher:  Yeah, that’s on hand too.  You never know.
• Spot Messenger:  The Spot has proved to be a useful little device.  The bulk of my test messages on my last trip made it out to the world.  A few that I tried sending from Hackberry Canyon didn’t make it.  But I won’t be driving the truck in a canyon.
• EMS Guide Emergency Medical Kit:  This is a big medical pack that I got from Eastern Mountain Sports oh so many years ago.  It covers all of the major bases, and a few that I never thought of.  It’s the emergency kit that has ridden with me for years, and traveled around in my backpack before that.

Truck entertainment

• XM Radio:  I’ve been an XM user since 2002.  Think they’d give me a “thank you” discount by now.
• IPod Touch:  For use when driving and hiking.  I can drown Tom out with the headphones while I’m hiking…… 😉

Camping Gear

• Northface Tent:  I think I own the Rock 22.  Reminds me of my old Slickrock that I’d gotten so many years ago.  That one is still stored back in New England.
• Thermarest Sleeping Pad:  Love these pads!
• Petzl LED Headlamp:  I’ll be bringing 2 in case anyone needs to borrow one.
• Brunton LED Lantern:  For in camp use, lighting up the tent for night shots, and for attracting every flying insect around into the tent!
• Slumberjack 30 degree bag:  Yeah, it won’t get to 30 out on the trip, but guess what?  Lightest bag I’ve got with me…….
• Whisperlite International Stove:  Quick boiling of decaf in the morning and heating beef stew at night.
• OR Bathroom & Kitchen bag:  I stuff the forks and knives with the toothbrush and toothpaste.  What can I tell you?
• Epi-Pen:  Between bee and food allergens, gotta have this with me always.
• MSR Nesting Pots:  For the water boiling, etc.

Hiking Equipment:

• Keen Hiking Sandals:  I’ve really come to like these sandals.  And I’ve found that hiking in sand in my Chacos leads to blisters.  Using the Keens and some socks….all happy all day long.
• Osprey Stratos 24: The Osprey pack I picked up years ago as a light hiker / climbing pack.  I can fit a 100 oz Camelback water bladder in it, and the water keeps me cool all day long as well.  This is the pack I used on the past trip up, and it will be the pack I use for the upcoming trip.
• OR Medium Medical Kit:  A smaller version of the emergency medical kit that will stay at the truck.
• Leatherman Multi Tool:  I just always have one of these in any pack.  So many uses.
• Synthetic tops and shorts by Northface, Mountain Hardware, Smart Wool, and Cloudveil.
• Oh, and my Tilley Hat.

Camera Gear and Packing

• Canon 5D Mark II
• Canon 40D:  The backup
• Canon 17-40mm f/4
• Canon 24-70mm f/2.8
• Canon 70-200mm IS f/4
• Canon 10-22mm EFS lens (for the 40D)
• Zing Medium Camera cover.
• Clik Elite Medium and Large Lens Pouches:  I was really hoping to get to try some of Clik’s other packs on the upcoming trip, but I’ve received no response from them.  So, I worked out my own solution with my Osprey pack and a few of their lens pouches.  Worked well.  I’ll do a podcast on that sometime.
• Camera cleaning kit:  Gitzo Rocket blower, lens brush, soft cleaning cloth, and lens cleaning solution.
• Pelican 1520 Camera Case:  For all the gear on the ride up.  Weatherproof, dustproof, and it gets to ride in the back of the truck as the passenger compartment will be full.
• 4 8GB Sandisk CF cards, and 2 4GB Sandisk CF cards:  No computer is coming along, so I’ve got what I’ve got for memory.  4 day trip, 2 days of guaranteed all day hiking in amazing places…..I think I’m covered.

I think that covers everything.  If I’ve missed anything I’ll update this post of course.  Oh, and lots of water is coming too.  5 people going up for a 4 day trip.  Water, water, water