Hey all, beginning final preps for my GC trip launching on Nov. 30. What are some things that you wish you had brought on the GC, or are super glad you brought, or brought and wish you hadn't? I have all the required gear, and the basics covered so just the extra stuff.
Got that! it is gonna be such a cool trip. 10 awesome folks, most of us longtime rafters making our first trip down the grand! Couple folks with trips under their belt already.
A separate dry bag with some clothing. The place is extremely Sandy and I thought it would be amazing to have some off river clothes that were in a bag that had not been opened. Wait till your 2/3 way down. Enjoy the float!
not something that fits in the urgent, or even important pile, but I really like to sock away a nice bottle of port (if you are a drinker) for late in the trip. For me, it's a great way to make a good night a little more special, and makes a perfect after dinner drink.
You probably have this stuff covered already but just in case.
Pee bucket, regs say go to the river even at night.
Handy wipes, nothing nicer than a good wipe of the face and parts before leaving the tent. Don't put in groover even if used at the groover even if it says flushable.
Door mat, step onto it if necessary to use pee bucket and to reduces sand in tent and on feet.
Pillow or pillow case for making a good pillow.
Body lotion and treatment for cracked skin.
Callous file and foot/finger nail brush. It is a good idea to get dirt out of skin cracks each evening especially on heals.
Spare hat. Hat clip(clips to your hat and shirt collar).
Spare glasses/contacts. Spare sun glasses.
Long tent stakes and one doggie screw. Nice to find your tent in place after a big wind. I take multiple doggie screws for camp shelters.
Tear aid and aquaseal.
Socks and shore shoes. BTW, if you wear river shoes like Astrals and your feet stay wet all the time beware of foot rot(trench foot).
Qtips and some to share. Nail clippers. Dental pick/tooth picks.
Waterproof sharpie to write in guidebook.
Spare batteries.
Your own thermal mug. Coffee get cold fast in December.
Star guide for the long, long nights.
A warm seat/insulated pad for the long, long nights.
A good repair kit. I'm amazed at how many people don't have the material or tools to fix stuff. It's a long trip, stuff breaks, sucks to try to limp along with something that doesn't work right
Lip balm. 2x stash in different bags
Dental floss
Wrist brace (if you have an old injury it will act up)
Sewing kit
30 feet 1inch tubular webbing (can fix a whole lot with it, including lace in floors)
In the repair kit west systems gflex repair pack, tear aid a and b tape
extra sunglasses
extra headlamp
extra hat
Sacred takeout clothes (clean, cotton, and vacuum sealed and then ziploced) at the end of the trip pulling on clean non-grimy clothes is really nice.
That brings to mind considering that it will be December that things like hot buttered rum and spiked cocoa will warm the belly. Watch out for the potential hangovers.
Had the bottom seal-weld of one of the dishwash buckets start leaking almost as fast as you could pour water in on day two. This stuff worked great as long as you remembered to NOT put said bucket on the blaster for hot water.
Any shoulder season trip I always have a pair of tall boots that allow you to get into the water without getting wet for rigging etc. For a winter trip I would consider them mandatory personal gear.
I second Xtra tuffs for winter trips. Warm dry feet are pretty important. Also, Carhart insulated overalls can be pretty sweet for at camp, though they are bulky. Oh yeah, I also now bring bedroom slippers and pajamas to wear at camp. But I am old haha.
Also, for winter, consider a JetBoil stove and hot pot setup for making hot drinks/soups on the boat. You can bail wire a goodwill old coffee pot onto the stove for a self-contained or even hangable unit. This is what we used to use on multi-day climbs to heat some water and food each night. But it will work good on a raft as well.
- Para cord and binder clips to hang wet clothes
- 10-20 new washcloths, heat in water one morning for hot body wipes
- socks and gloves to wear over lotion at night
- spare 2” hose clamp, we had an umbrella holder break and a spare clamp would’ve been tits
- personal lunch box or bag
- lots of spare locking carabiners
- we all brought our own personal 1st aid kits, just because we already know how they’re stocked and never had to dig into the outfitters supplies for minor
- narrow neck nalgenes - we used them exclusively for liquor so we knew regular mouth bottles were water and narrow neck were booze
- packed spare booze in 64 oz flasks in a 20mm ammo (you can fit 10 handles in one box!)
- “There’s This River”, short stories to share, great fireside reading
Honestly, if you have a great crew and a good outfitter, you’re set! Have so much fun!!!
Spare dry suite gaskets, we’ve ended up needing them on a couple of trips now. Brush up on your replacement knowledge before you go, as well.
NRS site has a great tutorial.
First time we had to replace one, we had no idea what we were doing...
I’ll second, third, fourth and fifth, the ditch boots. Most important piece of gear after dry suite, in my opinion. Uninsulated, so you can dry them out when you step in to deep at the put in!( least that’s what I usually do...)
“Day hikes from the River” by Tom Martin.
Have a great trip down there! I love winter in the Grand!
A hot tent is REALY awesome, if you can pull it off...
If you have the space I’d also recommend bringing an extra dry bag packed with some spare warm clothes and a couple spare sleeping bags, just in case. Maybe even a spare dry suit if you can get one. We had a couple people hike out at Phantom and they left their dry suits behind so we could use them as spares just in case.
Also, to tag on to what others have said, bring stuff to maintain/repair dry suits. Gaskets would be nice, also some zipper care stuff, maybe some 303?
Then of course duct tape for the stuff that moves but shouldn’t, and WD-40 for the stuff that doesn’t move but should.
If you are seasoned rafters you probably know the necessities for a long multiday.
There is a thread somewhere around here of what to have in a tool kit that is worth taking a look at even for seasoned boaters. Theres a lot of tool/handy stuff you wouldn't think of that comes in handy on a 2-3 week trip.
Assorted salves if you don't already have a favorite. Sharpies.
Top of my list is Vetbond for hand/ foot cracks. You can use regular superglue, but the medical grade seems to work better. Use at least 6 thin layers.
the big thing I forgot, and went in as soon as I got home from my last trip, a rat tail file (chainsaw), regular file, and harbor freight step drill bits (I use a set of vise grips to hold the bits, it is not quick, but will work)
I usually just get a couple tubes from my vet when she's here, reading the product info this stuff has only a 6 month shelf life and is a multi use container, cyanoacrylate adhesives react to air, so once the cap is off, the process of hardening starts. Seems a little pricey at 18 bucks to fix a small cut. I use New Skin in both the bottle and spray most times, it works well and holds up to water as well as super glue and is nowhere near as spendy....
Irrigation boots, buy them one size too big in case you take an unexpected swim. With a pair of wool socks they are as comfortable as can be for loading and unloading boats when it's cold, as well as a trip to the river to pee
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