I took a quick (but incredible!) day trip to the Fossil Creek dam last weekend, and while I was writing up that quick lil recap (and daydreaming over the electric blue water as I prepare for another week of work), I realized it’s actually been kind of a long time since I took a longer day hike with friends.
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A day trip on Bob Bear Trail to the Fossil Creek Dam (aka “the Toilet Bowl”)
Ryan and I have been leaning into backpacking more and more lately as a way of maximizing our outside time (if you’re gonna drive two hours to a trailhead, might as well take your time on the trail — right?), and I feel as though I’ve gotten in the habit of approaching a good number of hikes that could be done in a day as opportunities for overnight adventures.
Because who doesn’t love a good long mid-hike sleep under the stars?
But, yunno, those aptly-named “day use areas” can be a bit tricky. Sure, you can find the loophole (like we did during our Sabino Canyon trip) and hike through the day-use area to the portion of forest where you can camp overnight, or you can just round up half a dozen friends and have a really long, fun day trip.
Which is great because 1. it gets you back home and in your own bed before work the next morning, and 2. you don’t have to worry about your car getting locked in or towed because you left it at a trailhead overnight.
And, while I usually take my overnight hikes with Ryan (mostly because I love him, but also so he’ll carry most of our shit), it’s May and he’s back on his Hotshot crew this summer — which means I’ll be going on a lot of my outdoor adventures with other friends.
Anyway, it’s been a second since I packed for a hike in something other than my 53-liter backpacking pack, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually shared everything I typically pack on a day hike.
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I packed everything into my Gregory Juno H2O 24 pack, which is just about the perfect size for day-long adventures that require a lot of water and a change of clothes.
Clothes: I wore my trail runners, running socks, Lululemon Hotty Hot shorts, a Lululemon Energy bra, a Patagonia Capilene Cool shirt, a baseball hat and Goodr sunglasses. I packed my Tevas for the water adventures, along with my swimsuit. I can’t hike in swimwear, it bothers me way too much! So I always wear my normal hiking clothes and then opt to change once I get to the water.
WATER: Like I mentioned, it’s important! I filled my 3-liter Gregory water bladder with three liters of water. I froze two of those liters the night before so I could pack my lunch against my water bladder to keep it cool, and filled the remaining liter up with water before I left. I also packed my Grayl GeoPress so we could filter stream water if we needed extra. This worked perfectly. I had plenty of cold water on the hike down to the falls, and plenty of cold water on the hike up to the falls. I didn’t run out of water, and was actually the only one of our group who thought to pack a filter, which worked out really well since we were all able to share my GeoPress. This was actually the first time I’d ever thought to freeze my water bladder the night before, and I was panicking the entire hike down thinking I’d find a leak. I packed an empty Nalgene to bring with me just in case my bladder leaked, but I ended up using it for my electrolyte packet before we hiked back up out of the canyon.
Snacks, lunch and food: In addition to bringing a ton of water, I brought food. I hiked in my lunch (a vegetarian Waldorf salad packed in a Stasher bowl) along with a long-handled spork to eat it. I also brought a few snacks, including pickles (the best!), soy curl jerky, string cheese, granola bars and an electrolyte packet.
I also brought my waterproof Pelican case (which floats and leashes to your body with a lanyard), a Sea to Summit microfiber towel, a foldable hair brush, my inhaler, spare contact lenses, ChapStick, extra sunscreen, a two-person first aid kit and my Kula cloth.
I also always pack a bag to leave in my car when I return from the trailhead that includes my Birkenstocks, extra snacks and water, baby wipes (it’s always somewhat satisfying to wipe the grime off your ankles and calves after a long hike)
I didn’t bother to bring a few things I might ordinarily bring: My headlamp, my Apple Watch charger, my external MagSafe phone battery, or a jacket.
I also didn’t bring a map, a printed permit or a printed parking pass — but a member of my group did because all three are required.
A bit of a controversial topic: If you’re not familiar with the “10 Essentials,” it’s a list of everything you should, in theory, take with you on a hike. If you’re a new or inexperienced hiker, the list is a great resource to help you pack for an adventure. However, I’ve hiked enough in my life that I know my capabilities and limits, and I don’t particularly find it useful to pack some suggested items (like… an emergency tent) on a 10-mile out-and-back day hike on a popular, well-marked trail. I do think the 10 Essentials list is a great reference point, but it’s definitely far from a perfect science. (Big pet peeve of mine: There’s also no point in bringing fire starters when you’re hiking in an area with year-round fire restrictions.) With all that said: You do you; hike your own hike.
In retrospect, I do wish I’d have brought an inflatable inner tube (Jenni brought hers and it was a blast), my backpacking chair, my tripod, a pair of swimming goggles, some bug spray (we encountered biting flies?) and some extra ChapStick (mine fell out in my Jeep before the hike, so I ended up borrowing some from Emma the entire day).
Maybe next time, because I do know I’ll definitely hike this trail again!
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