What I packed: An overnight paddle trip on the Colorado River

I recently recapped my paddle trip on a 15-mile segment of the Colorado River stretching from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry, and I figured I’d take a second to share my packing list.

I’ve spent a good amount of time on a paddle board over the last few summers, but this was my first time heading out on (and packing for) an overnight paddle trip.

Honestly, it wasn’t too different from what I would normally pack for a backpacking trip — except everything was loaded into a dry bag, I had to pack a few water-specific items and I had the luxury of bringing a cooler with me.

I took my  ISLE Explorer kit, and I wore a swimsuit, sun shirt (Patagonia Capilene Cool are my favorite), gym shorts, Astral water shoes, my Apple Watch, a baseball hat, Goodr OG sunglasses, my Onyx Unisex Belt Pack Manual Inflatable Life Jacket (legally required on the Colorado River, and my waterproof Booe belt bag with my iPhone (clipped to its floaty wrist leash), lip balm, small snacks and sunscreen stashed inside.

I loaded the front of my paddle board with a larger dry bag and a smaller dry bag. I packed the larger bag with my sleep system, camp kitchen and other camp supplies, and I packed the smaller dry bag with anything I might need during the day, including extra snacks, a towel (that I never used), a pocket knife, more sunscreen, my head lamp, etc. I also hooked my Hydro Flask to the front of my board for easy access, and I stashed a few other things — like my tripod, my manual paddle board pump and my anchor — to the front as well.

I loaded the back of my paddle board with my cooler and a few other things.

My larger dry bag was a 35-liter Sea to Summit eVac compression dry bag, and my smaller dry bags were a combination of Sea to Summit lightweight dry bags. I packed several things (like my clothes) into smaller dry bags before putting them into the larger dry bag — just in case!

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Here’s everything I packed:

Sleep system: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 mtnGLO tent (similar linked, and I didn’t use it anyway), Kelty Galactic 30 (men’s), Klymit Static V sleeping pad and Nemo Fillo pillow. I also packed my REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair.

Kitchen: MSR PocketRocket Deluxe (with a compatible IsoPro fuel canister), MSR Titan Kettle and Sea to Summit Alpha Light Spork – Long. I also packed a gallon-sized Ziploc bag for trash.
Water: Sawyer Squeeze for water filtration. I also packed my Hydro Flask full of ice water as well as a 32-ounce wide-mouth Nalgene and two SmartWater bottles — all three fully frozen.
Coffee: Enamel mug + GSI Outdoors Java Grind coffee grinder – I didn’t use my coffee grinder since I made plans to share an AeroPress with Jim… and I was awake well before he was. I ended up just drinking my instant coffee.

Cooler: I loaded my Yeti Hopper Flip 8 cooler with the aforementioned frozen water bottles as well as several cans of seltzer water. In retrospect, I should have packed my larger YETI Roadie 24 cooler so I could have packed more bevvies and snacks (and used it as a seat), but I was really concerned with our outfitter’s gear weight limit, so I packed my lunchbox-style cooler.

Food: I packed two lunches, one dinner, one breakfast and plenty of snacks! Highlights included Nomad Nutrition’s Ukrainian Borshch for dinner, Backpacker’s Pantry’s Granola with Blueberries, Almonds & Milk, tuna and salmon packets, Peak Refuel’s dehydrated brownie bites, EPIC Provisions maple-glazed salmon bites, Sahale Snacks trail mix, Starbucks Via instant coffee, Liquid IV electrolytes, Solely dried pineapple chili rings and Kate’s Real Food bars.

Tools and misc. things: Black Diamond Storm 450 head lamp, Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Hiker first aid kit, Leatherman Skeletool multitool, MPOWERD Luci inflatable solar lantern (never used this), my inhaler, a Buff, an America the Beautiful Parks Pass (we kept this in our vehicle as per requirements), SO MANY bungee cords, lengths of paracord and carabiners (I brought several Coghlans bungee cords in multiple lengths, Night Ize s-biners, and traditional Black Diamond carabiners), my Turkish Towel, my ISLE anchor and my ISLE manual pump

Tech: Anker portable charger for my iPhone, Kindle (didn’t use this), Ubeesize Tripod S, extra headlamp batteries and a Mophie battery pack with an Apple Watch charging cord for my watch.

Clothing: I packed way too much clothing, but I was a little wary of getting cold and wet without having dry clothes to change into. With that said, I did pack an extra swimsuit, my puffer jacket, underwear, a second sun shirt, a pair of socks, a long-sleeved shirt to sleep in, a pair of Teva Original Universals as dry camp shoes and a pair of long pants. I didn’t use the second swimsuit, jacket, underwear or socks.

Toiletries: I brought various toiletries, including my Kula cloth + TheTentLab Backcountry Trowel as well as baby wipes, tissue packs and insect repellant wipes, but all the vault toilets we used were fully stocked (plus… it was a river trip) so I didn’t need too much. The winds were super brutal, though, so I’m glad I brought my packable Wet Brush as well as (of course) extra sunscreen.

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Overall, just a few things I’d do differently next time. I’d make sure I actually had my tent poles packed so I could use my tent (that whole story is in my original post about this trip – whoops), and I’d probably leave some of the clothes I packed behind. I’d definitely bring a larger cooler and more drinks, and I would probably a few more snacks. I ate almost all of the food I brought due to the amount of energy I spent battling the wind, so an extra Clif bar or two would have been great! I would bring just as many bungee cords, paracord and carabiner clips as I packed this time around — those things ended up being the most useful given the high winds!

I was between both of my sleeping bags — my warmer-weather one and my cooler-weather one — and I’m glad I packed my warmer-weather one. I was perfectly comfortable.

Either way, I definitely feel like I was pretty prepared for this trip, minus the whole Ryan-not-putting-the-tent-poles-in-the-stuff-sack debacle.

I’m already dreaming of round 2 for this trip!

SHOP PADDLING GEAR:

SHOP BACKPACKING GEAR:

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Recreate responsibly! Always hike safely and Leave No Trace. It is your responsibility to know which land management agency is responsible for the land you are recreating on, and for you to adhere to all rules, regulations, guidelines, camping and campfire restrictions set by said agency.