Backpacking!

I have been invited to an all girl's backpacking trip this weekend at Kings Peak in Utah! I'm going with a girl in our church and five of her friends, and it's going to be great! Here is the list of things to bring:

Individual Gear:

Headlight

Base layer (thermals)

*Lightweight jacket

Change of socks

Hiking shoes (something close toed and sturdy for the ascent)

Camp shoes (some type of sandal to let your feet air out)

Sleeping pad (thermarest)

Sleeping bag

Bowl

Spoon

*Toilet paper (biodegradable can be buried rather than packed out)

Toothbrush

Hand towel

Wash cloth

*Whistle

*Walkie talkies (If you have a set, bring both of them so we have backups when the battery dies, if you don’t have any, don’t worry about it)

*Poncho (disposable works great)

*Bear spray

*Lighter

*1 qt. Water bottle (i.e. Nalgene)

*2 qt. Camelbak bladder (on our ascent day, we will have to carry water most of the way, we won’t be able to refill anywhere.)

*Band Aids (5 or 6)

Daypack (we won’t carry our packs for the ascent, we will only carry daypacks)

*Emergency blanket

*carried in daypack

Group Gear

Tents (2 or 3 depending on how many come)

Stoves (3)

Fuel for stoves (we will split the cost of fuel)

Duct tape

Rope (to hang food from trees)

Sunscreen

Bug spray

Shovel

Striker

Collapsible water containers

Water filter (2)

Water purification drops

Toothpaste

Soap

Sanitizer

Pots (3 medium to big)

Med kit

For meals, we'll boil water for breakfast to put in oatmeal both mornings, do our own lunches, do our own snacks, and then have dinner together: Day 1: Refried beans, tortillas, string cheese Day 2: pasta roni, tuna packet

Info for hike:

Day 1: Park car by noon at base so we can get a good 5 hours of hiking in to get to the place we'll sleep and leave our big bags so we can just take our day packs up the peak.

Day 2: Hike 5 hours to peak (including a half mile of almost vertical the last bit), spend time there, hike back down to where our stuff is

Day 3: Hike 4 hours down (it'll take less to get down than it did to get up) and drive home!

Fun facts about Kings Peak:

Highest summit in Utah

26 miles of hiking (I've read 26 & 32, but 26 more often)

We'll park at 9,800 ft and climb to the summit at 13,528 ft.

There are lakes intermittently on the hike (cool!)

I've never been backpacking before and I'm REALLY excited about doing a legit backpacking trip! I've been wearing my hiking boots around a little to make sure I'm comfortable in them, and I've also been walking around with my pack a little heavier than it needs to be so when we really do go out I'll be somewhat used to it. Jordan's going to watch Porter for those 3 days, but he'll also be playing with the husband & kids who are also being left behind so I think they're going to have a blast (I think a four-wheeling trip has been discussed...)