The trails in the Grand Canyon range from wide, manicured gravel highways to rocky, hard-to-follow singletrack, but they all have two things in common: They’re steep and hot. Grades often exceed 10 percent, and mid-canyon temperatures routinely hit 100ºF by late morning. When packing for a spring, summer, or fall hike down into the gorge, make sure you prepare for these hazards by selecting sturdy models of the following products.
| |
|
1. DAYPACK: Since you're not carrying a lot of food or extra clothes for a daylong
adventure in the Grand Canyon's heat, your pack doesn't need to be huge—but it does
need to carry at least three quarts of water comfortably for several hours. BACKPACKER
testers voted the CamelBak Fourteener their favorite new daypack this year, in part
because it features a reinforced frame and swiveling shoulder straps (click here
to read a full review. They also loved the air channels in the back padding, which
keeps sweaty backs cool. Bonus: This pack comes with an insulated 100-ounce water
reservoir (ice water for hours!). For more daypack reviews, click
here.
(Photo courtesy Seth Hughes)
|
|
 |
| |
|
2. WATER BLADDER:
We're big fans of CamelBak's reservoirs, which are
so tough that one of our editors was able to drive a truck over one without bursting
it (watch the video here ). Whichever brand you buy, look for a wide mouth for
easy filling and cleaning, and an on/off valve to prevent inadvertent leaks. For
a half-day hike, pack 2-3 quarts of water; for longer outings, take 5-6. (Photo
courtesy CamelBak)
|
|
|
| |
|
3. TREKKING POLES:
Sturdy aluminum hiking sticks provide two key benefits in the Grand
Canyon: shock absorption (great for your knees) and stability (great for your ankles
and anything that could break if you fall). Improve your balance and lessen the
impact of steep trails with Komperdell's Contour Titanal, a lightweight telescoping
model that packs small but takes years of abuse (read our full review here).
Learn how
to give your trekking poles a long life and
find
your perfect pair. (Photo courtesy Countour Titanal)
|
|
|
| |
|
4. ALTIMETER WATCH:
One easy—and common—mistake made by new canyon hikers is descending
too far before turning around. It's easy to drop 2,000 or 3,000 feet very quickly
here, then realize you have a big return climb with little water and/or daylight.
Avoid this mistake by monitoring your elevation and turnaround time with an altimeter
watch like High Gear's AltiTech 2, one of several highly rated models our testers
reviewed here. (Photo courtesy High Gear Alitech)
|
|
|
| |
|
5. CAMERA:
Okay, so it's not all about safety—you want to bring home memorable photos, right?
In recent field testing, we've seen a lot of excellent tiny point-and-shoots like
the bargain ($175) Canon Powershot A1000IS, which
features an image stabilizer and take 10MP images. And for high-end users who want
pro-quality pics and geotagging, there's the Nikon Coolpix P6000
($350), which saves GPS data with every image so you can drag-and-drop it onto Google
Earth and other digital maps. This camera won BACKPACKER's Editors' Choice Award
this year. Read reviews of these and other cameras (including video cameras. (Photo courtesy Canon)
|
|
|
| |
For complete gear checklists for this and other types of hiking trips, visit
www.backpacker.com/gear/checklist/.
|
|