Gear & packing list for backpacking the Grand Canyon
Hello there! This post shares highlights from my gear list while backpacking the Thunder River — Deer Creek Loop in the Grand Canyon.
Here’s my full trip report from May 2021.
We completed the Thunder River — Deer Creek loop over 5 days at the end of May. This trail is a lollipop loop that begins by descending from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and features creeks, waterfalls, and a wide variety of terrain, from dry, hot desert valleys, to lush creeks and waterfalls. And, of course, since it’s the Grand Canyon, there’s some elevation involved.
That means weather and temperatures can vary widely between a trailhead at 7200 feet and the Colorado at 2000 feet. Packing for those extremes can be a bit of overwhelming at first—so now that I’m freshly back from this adventure, I want to jot down lessons learned about what worked well and what I’d leave at home next time.
I hope this is helpful in planning your own adventure—let me know where you’re headed, or post your gear list in the comments!
Here’s my full LighterPack list. Green stars=MVPs. Yellow=brought too much. Red=should have left at home.
A few key decisions I made about this trip:
Sleeping bag or liner or summer-weight quilt?
I immediately scratched a summer weight quilt off my list, because I have serious REI / spending fatigue, and I didn’t want to buy more gear just to save a few ounces of weight.
I did go so far as to bring a sleeping bag liner to the trailhead just in case, though.
Since lows in the canyon were expected to be in the mid-60s, I waffled on carrying my bag, with its 15 degree rating. I read a bunch of trip reports trying to tease out a tried and true approach, and the comment that stood out to me was something to the effect of:
“Do you sleep under a blanket in your house that’s heated to 68 degrees?”
For me, the answer is unequivocally yes. I sleep cold. I’m always under a full down blanket, even when our house is warm. I hate being cold so much it was a not-insignificant factor in my move to Texas. (With notable exceptions, that has worked out pretty well).
So at the last minute, I brought the bag.
Outcome: Good decision. Most nights I ended up partially inside of it, or under it, with it fully unzipped. And those nights, I was grateful to have it. It’s soft and squishy and comfy, after all. I freaking love my sleeping bag.
And then the last night, at 5300 feet, turned out to be pretty cold. Benadryl plus a fully zipped bag led to one of the best nights of sleep on the trail.
Was it worth carrying 44 oz up and down 10K feet?
HELL YES.
That said, my backpacking buddy brought a liner and a quilt, and just used the liner most nights. So if you’re a warmer sleeper, or more comfortable with cold-related discomfort, maybe a liner would work for you.
Stove or no stove?
I deliberated on this mainly because of space considerations in my pack—not only for the stove, but also for the absurd amount of space dehydrated meals take up (and the trash they generate!).
Outcome: I went stoveless (except for one cheat!), and I was really pleased with the outcome. I mean, this hiker trash wrap was 💯 after a long day of descending:
And literally nothing tastes so good (or packs so many calories into a lightweight profile) as slightly crushed Fritos and Cheezits mixed together.
To frontpack or to cram?
Space in my pack really was a major issue, especially at the beginning of the trail, when I was loaded down with 10 lbs of food plus 25 pounds of water (half of which was for my cache).
On top of space considerations, there was also the weight to consider: my REI Flash 55 is only rated for 30 lbs, and we were starting with just under 60 lbs. I’ve loaded that pack up with 45 lbs for multi-day trips, but I didn’t want to risk busting my pack at the very beginning of this trip by doubling the weight it’s rated for.
I did a few practice hikes with a front pack loaded up with water, and while it wasn’t the most comfortable thing ever, it totally worked.
Outcome: I used a Cotopaxi day pack that was gifted to me by Ragnar Relay, and it worked like a champ. I fastened the chest strap behind my back and that definitely helped keep it better attached to my body, especially when we were scrambling down some big ledges on the descent.
And there’s no way on this earth that I would have been able to fit another 6 liters of water in my pack.
MVPs of this trip
Now for what I’m so glad I brought, and would definitely bring again:
Poles. I’m pole skeptical at worst and pole ambivalent at best. But on this trip I converted into a super pole fangirl. There’s just no way I would have made it down to the Colorado without them.
Water shoes. Not so much for the many creek crossings, which I did in my trail runners— everything dries so fast, it’s not a big deal at all — but there’s a fair amount of time to spend at camp, and so much water down in the canyon, they were well used and well worth the weight.
Electrolytes, electrolytes, electrolytes. I brought NOW® Effer-hydrate effervescent tablets (enough for 2–3 per day), and they were just what I needed to stay well hydrated.
Plus, the magnesium helps you stay regular in the backcountry. ;)
Tweezers. No matter how careful you are, you will get cactus spines in the desert.
Sun gloves. Wearing sunscreen goes without saying (I love the deodorant-style roll on kind since my hands are always gross in the backcountry), but sun gloves were a key upgrade for this trip, and meant I had to spend less time applying and reapplying sunscreen. They sure do get filthy though.
Bandaids and blister tape. I’d never gotten blisters in my Hokas before ... until this trip. I also cut my foot while exploring in Tevas.
Stuff I should have left at home
Of course, we all have those things we think are essential but we end up not needing.
Soap. I rinsed out my clothes every opportunity in the rivers and creeks, and even did a full-on back country wash, but the difference between rinses and soap-enhanced rinsing was negligible. I would have left the dry sack and the wilderness wash at home.
Sweets. It was too hot for sweets. I relied on Swedish fish and sour patch kids for courage and sugar bumps, but otherwise I had no desire for dessert-type stuff.
Overall, I was really pleased with my pack—including my little luxuries.
For all the nitty gritty details on what went into my pack, here’s my full LighterPack list. Green stars=MVPs. Yellow=brought too much. Red=should have left at home.
More on backpacking the Grand Canyon:
- The training plan that carried me into and out of the canyon with ease, despite living in a basically flat part of the country (still high on this success!)
- Day-by-day trip report for the Thunder River — Deer Creek loop in late May.
- Water cacheing and carrying
- How we handled food storage
- Why I went stoveless, and my five-day menu that I didn’t hate and sometimes even loved
- Here’s my LighterPack list. (Green stars: MVPs of this trip. Yellow stars: brought too much. Red stars: should have left at home.)
