Just about finished packing for our journey down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Yes, we still have a few weeks to go, but anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with this trip. Looking at nearly everything that I will be responsible for and that will be needed for 18 days, I am surprised at how little it really is. Of course, there is no food, water, or toilet paper in the photo as those essential items are being supplied by O.A.R.S., our outfitter. Also missing from this photo are my camera equipment and some other things that will show up in a blog post soon.

Pictured in the inventory photo are the following: two pairs of quick-dry convertible pants, three quick-dry shirts, three pairs of quick-dry underwear, three pairs of wool socks, two pairs of silk sock liners, a pair of swim shorts, a nightshirt (the Hello Kitty shirt is Caroline’s). In the gold bag are one long-sleeved synthetic long-underwear top, one pair of synthetic long underwear bottoms, a fleece top, and a bottom. In the blue and gray dry sack are our waterproof tops and bottoms; in front of the drysack is my quick-dry towel. Next to the gold bag is our toiletry bag with Dr. Bonner’s soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, contact lenses, portable clothesline for drying clothes, unbreakable mirror, first aid kit, extra boot laces, etc. The bottom left is my neoprene wetsuit booties for trying to keep my feet warm in 47-degree water. To the right of those are Bathing Wipes; hopefully, these will be the next best thing to a shower. Then the river shoes, a sleeping mat in the gray and orange bag, my empty daypack, and a river hat sit on top of that. On the far left are my tripod, my trekking poles, assorted flavored drink mixes, and 2 Nalgene 1-liter bottles with carabiners to attach to the boat. Most of this gear will be packed into a dry sack prior to departing. Missing from the photo are my hiking boots.

We will be packing our sleeping bags into compression sacks that will, in turn, be packed into a dry sack along with our sleeping mat, a sheet, and a pillow. My camera equipment, CPAP, batteries, memory, and writing materials will all be packed into a Pelican case, but as I said, that photo will be posted soon.