The outdoor settings we visit require you to have all items on the first day of your trip. Forgotten items will be purchased with your pocket money. Do not pack more than is on this list. Your duffel serves as your main storage locker. On your trip we will help you to fit everything in your soft sided duffel and backpack.
____Backpack: Bring an internal frame “overnight type” backpack: size: approximately 3,500-6,000 cu. in. Depending on your size, the capacity should be appropriate for a 4 day backpack trip. Any wilderness equipment store (REI, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc.) will be able to help you select and fit your pack.
____Duffel: You are allowed one duffel. While engaged in activities, excess clothing is left in your duffel locked in the van. We suggest a tough, flexible soft-sided bag approximately 34”x16”x16” or smaller. No wheels or suitcases please, they become a loading hazard on the vans!
____Sleeping Bag: A medium weight, mummy style, nylon bag with synthetic filling (Polar Guard 3D, Lite Loft, etc.) or goose down made for camping and backpacking and rated to 20°F or -5°C. A stuff sack is required. Your sleeping bag NEEDS to be small and compactible and able to fit into the bottom of your backpack.
____Daypack: Bring one large “school type” daypack. To be used during the day to carry personal items.
TRAVEL GEAR
____“Therm-A-Rest” or foam ground pad for sleeping
____2 backpack type water bottles, and/or a 1 liter minimum Camel Back type hydration system
CLOTHING
You need a one-week supply of clothing. If you bring too much it gets in the way. Laundry is done weekly. Synthetic clothing is best! Cotton keeps you cool but if it gets wet or dirty it is difficult to dry.
Inner layer
____One week supply of underwear
____Long underwear top and bottom; synthetic fabric is essential - NO COTTON!
____Pajamas: boxers and a t-shirt
Middle layer
____1 polar fleece jacket; the fuzzy synthetic stuff
____1 pair polar fleece pants
____5 short sleeve shirts
____2 long sleeve shirts
____4 pair of lightweight shorts
____2 pairs of jeans/khakis
____2 swimsuits
____Old clothes to wear for your service project
Outer layers
____ Medium weight rain proof jacket. Breathable (Gortex or similar material) is best.
____ Lightweight rain proof pants
HEAD AND HANDS
____Baseball style cap
____Fleece or wool hat
____Gloves or mittens (synthetic or wool)
FOOTWEAR
____3 pairs of lightweight, athletic socks
____4 pairs of hiking socks; a wool, synthetic blend (no cotton)
____Water sandals that secure around your ankles (Tevas, Chacos, Nike)
____Sneakers/running shoes
____Hiking boots; above ankle high, light weight & flexible: Merrell, Vasque, Asolo, Nike. A generous, comfortable fit is critical. Please break in before your trip!
TOILETRIES
____SPF 30+ sunscreen and chapstick with SPF
____Personal toiletries, medicine, prescriptions, bandanna, etc.
____Mole skin or second skin for blisters; buy at a pharmacy
____One medium towel
____Laundry bag and small camping pillow
____Bug spray
MISCELLANEOUS
____Headlamp or lightweight flashlight and extra batteries
____Camera (Phone and camera must be separate devices!), batteries/charger
____Cheap watch
____Stationary, stamps and journal
____Mess Kit: fork, spoon, knife, plate, bowl, mug & mesh bag
____If you wear glasses or contact lenses, please bring a spare pair of glasses, including a protective case. Wearing contacts is okay!
____“Crazy Creek” camp chair
____Sunglasses with secure strap (Chums or Croakies)
____Suggestion: bring along small, different colored nylon “stuff sacks” or plastic Ziploc bags to organize your stuff.
Important Information Regarding Your Trip---PLEASE READ THIS!
Weather: Be prepared for varied conditions. Temperatures will range from 25°F. to 100°F.
Spending Money: Bring approximately $75 per week. This is for personal expenses and gifts. If you run out of money, you have spent too much. Unless there is an emergency, Bold Earth will not advance money.
Identification: ID is required when checking in for your flights and to cash travelers checks. Bring along a picture ID, library card, school ID or state ID card. If you bring a passport it will be held for you by the trip leader. A Travel Permission Slip is MANDATORY(available online 3 weeks before your trip).
Health Notice: Giardia, a water borne illness is common. We treat all natural water sources but it still sometimes gets through. If after the summer you have diarrhea, contact your doctor.
Helmets: Helmets are provided and required for horseback riding and climbing.
Laundry: You wash your own clothes once a week along the way. We provide the suds, coins and know-how. Many participants have identical jeans, socks, hiking boots, etc. A good practice is to put your name on items which are not unique to you.
Trip Journal: Bring along a notebook to record the challenges and successes of your adventure.
Forest Service (“USFS”) and National Park Service (“NPS”): Bold Earth is required to notify all participants that, to the extent a court determines USFS and NPS restrictions on waivers of liability apply to Bold Earth as a matter of law, Bold Earth’s liability for negligence may not be waived while you are traveling on those affected lands.
Reading List: The people, places and activities you will encounter on your trip are diverse and incredible. These are a few books offering background information. We suggest you consider reading these books before, during or after your adventure. Also, you might like to read Outside Magazine, Backpacker Magazine or Trilogy Magazine, available everywhere. For more adventurous reading, check out Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time.
The Man Who Walked Through Time, by Colin Fletcher. With this book, Fletcher may be said to have started the backpacking craze. It was his idea to walk the 200-mile length of the Grand Canyon, which had never been done. He did it, wrote this excellent book, and hundreds of thousands have since taken to the trails.
Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey. The noted author's most enduring nonfiction work, it is an account of Abbey's seasons as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah. Abbey reflects on the nature of the Colorado Plateau desert, on the condition of our remaining wilderness, and on the future of a civilization that cannot reconcile itself to living in the natural world. A beautifully written challenge for Americans to take stewardship of their environment.
The Wild Colorado, by Richard Maurer. A fascinating account of Major John Wesley Powell's 16-month journey down the Colorado River, as seen through the eyes of a teenaged crew member, Fred Dellenbaugh. The young man joined the team as a crewman, but he was asked by Powell to document the voyage with pictures and maps. This artwork is used to illustrate the book, along with remarkable black-and-white photographs taken on the expedition. This is a well-crafted, exciting book about exploration and adventure.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown. First published in 1970, this extraordinary book changed the way Americans think about the original inhabitants of their country. Beginning with the Long Walk of the Navajos in 1860 and ending 30 years later with the massacre of Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee in South Dakota, it tells how the American Indians lost their land and lives to a dynamically expanding white society.
LEARNING • SERVICE • LEADERSHIP
