Backpacking adventure

[West Texan]

This will be my third trip backpacking. I'm going back to Carlsbad, hitting the same trail. I guess I'm figuring that as I am learning all the ins and outs, maybe I should keep something constant...LOL.
Anyway, I will try a few things different this time. Still not sure about carrying all my water with me at once. I have a 6 litre and a 10 litre MSR dromedary bag. Last trip I took the 6 with me and it would have run out the second night so I didn't stay. Might try carrying the 10 and leave the 6. Or if I am feeling up to it, maybe carrying both. I do have a new sleeping bag that packs down small so I will have a little bit of extra room.
I am not planning to hike to the end this time. I have decided to camp among the junipers and do all my exploring from there. Think I had been setting my standards a bit high for myself as I am still new to the whole backpacking side of this.
I'm sure I'll see the mule deer again and really hoping to see the barbary sheep again. I have a way better camera and want much better pictures of them. Also hoping to find the double canyon that I had been trying to get to the last two trips. Hoping that with a daypack and a start from the top of the reef, I might have a better chance at finding it.
Also got me a GPS unit so I will know better where I am at. I am still have some problems with the topo maps. Here at home everything is flat so there are no features to pinpoint my position and practice. I get out there and there are too many features and have trouble figuring which is which on the map. Still plan on using the map and using the GPS to see if I am correct. Maybe that will help me learn the topo maps better.
That is about all I can think of for the trip right now. If ya'll have any suggestions, please let me know. As I said, this is still only my third trip like this and it is a slow deal learning this on my own.
WT

[Mike]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Sounds like you are planning well. The casualties that the Carslbad area has had are almost always due to people getting off trail, getting lost, and running out of water.

You are from Texas, so you probably understand the importance of water. The challenge in the Carlsbad area is that it is so dry that you need more water than normal and when you get away from the developed areas, there simply is no water. So, water will be your biggest challenge. Frankly, I never understood how the dessert walkers could carry enough water for several days.

What is the recommended water supply for dessert hiking - more than a gallon a day, isn't it? I guess that a three day trip in the desert would require at least 30 lbs of water - that in itself would be considered nearly a full pack in more inviting environments.

Personally, I don't think you can carry enough water and other supplies on your back. You might consider making or buying a wheeled pull-cart rather than a backpack. Weather extremes - either hot or cold - require more gear than in temperate environments. Here, in winter, we carry our gear on sleds over the snow. Probably in desert environments, you would be wise to consider a similar concept - with carts instead of sleds.

[Mike]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Excellent advice, Hogsnapper. Even in today's world of GPS, I want to know where I am and where I am going.

It is amazing to me how some folks are willing to hike into the wilderness rely solely on an electronic GPS.

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Mike, I can't really use a cart, the terrain just won't allow it. In a lot of places you are wading through the scrub brush, yucca, and cacti. Other spots the trail gets extremely narrow with hill on one side and sheer drop on the other. I like the idea though if I ever get to do my trip in the colorado snow.

For water with it still being cool, I am planning on one gallon per day. This trip I'm camping right at the top of the canyon so it wouldn't be a really long hike back to get the other water if I can't carry it all. The hike is about 1-1/2 miles, however it climbs 1500 feet so it is a rough climb... at least for me it is. I figure if I can eventually conquer this trail, any others would be a piece of cake :-) You can see some of the terrain in the pictures in my album here.

I've thought about figuring my pace like you said HS, but here at home we don't have any hills to figure into my calculations so here would be flat land only. Now that I have the gps, I'll take notes on time started, time resting, accent gained, pack weight, and try to figure out my average speed. I'm taking a little notebook to write down times and notes for all this. I'll look at those ranger beads when I get a chance tonight.

Thanks to both of ya'll for the advice. Some of this is hard to figure out on my own cept for trial and error. The whole water situation out here is the toughest and I cut the last trip shot just because I didn't think it safe to stay if I thought I was going to run out. I am having fun learning though, even if I call my trips early.

[terasec]

Re: Backpacking adventure

For pace,
Average hiking pace over easy terrain is approximately 2 mph,
Uphill, rough terrain can drop to 1 mph.
Can use that as a rough estimate.
For water, if your taking an in/out path, can you drop water along the way?
If its legal leave cache's labeled with date along the way, and have water on your trek out. And if you run out, a stash shouldn't be too far away.
For maps, can down load usgs quadrant maps.
Another good series of maps is national geographic topo maps, little more costly, about $10-$15 per map, but are high quality, and very detailed.

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

I had actually thought about trying to carry both the 6 and 10 litre MSR bags and then if it was just too much weight, marking a waypoint and stashing it somewhere. My only thought about that is not people (not likely to be anyone else on this trail at all) but animals. Hogsnapper, I think I saw that you are using the MSR dromedary bags. Do you think it would be fine if I hid one in some brush? There is the occasional juniper along the trail, could possibly tie it in the branches.

I do have the nat geo trail map for Carlsbad as well as a custom 1:24000 from mytopo that I ordered last November. Sorry HS, I didn't get the UTM grid lines...LOL. I will try to change to meters, but it will take some discipline for me. Miles is so ingrained in me that it is hard to think otherwise. When driving cross Texas, I can look at a mile marker and speedometer and tell to the minute when I will get to my destination. It will be like learning a completely different language to me. I see 70 mph as 35 miles per half hour, 17.5 miles per 15 minutes, 8.75 miles per 7.5 minutes... etc. I know the only real difference is the length is a bit different and you are saying that the speed is not a factor, but I will work on making the change and see how I do. I did look at the ranger beads. One of the navigation books I read mentioned a system like that but it said use pebbles in your pocket and switch to another pocket. Will try this and reset the GPS to meters and figure length per stride. Will take several different spots along the trail at varying grades to see how it changes.

It is Wednesday and so far work has tried to stop me a couple of times, but I am determined I'm still heading out Friday morning. I hope to get out a little early tomorrow to get home to finish packing my pack and then I'm out here. Come on Friday morning...

[Mike]

Re: Backpacking adventure

I just have to ask...

What is the attraction to hiking and camping in the desert?

My Dad used to take us to the desert when we were really little kids back in the early 1960's. Dad and Mom used to like to go to old mining ghost towns in Colorado, Nevada, and California. They would pick through their dumps for old medicine bottles and stuff. Mom even found a pistol.

In those days, before the vandals got to those old deserted towns, the ghost towns were pretty whole. You could walk into deserted buildings and there would be bottles on the shelves and posters on the walls, beds in some of the rooms, sometimes tables in the saloons.

In some towns, there would still be an odd white bearded prospector with his mule still hoping against hope that he would find the mother load and that the USA would go back to the metal currency.

I don't remember much about it because I was so young, but I do remember how worried my mom was and never let us little chicks out of her sight. She said that if one of us toe-heads had taken 15 steps in any direction into the desert, she would not have been able to find us.

I guess, in retrospect, it was dangerous as helll. There were no cell phones in those days and we traveled by Volkswagen van along many miles of forgotten old dusty dirt roads to long forgotten ghost towns. IF the car ever broke down, we would not have had a chance of survival.

[tplife]

Re: Backpacking adventure

When winter cold and snow make our local mountains less appealing, the desert is our go-to destination for camping. Ocotillo, Glamis Imperial Sand Dunes, Joshua Tree...Back in the day, as a little boy, with my folks, we did X-country 8 times (FAA employee) pulling a 30-foot TT in the early '60s across the US, including the southwestern deserts, and other than occasional sandstorms it was little different than today. Never heard of anybody dying from car breakdowns, and we all carried water just in case. Here in SoCal, we love desert camping, it's the beach without the water, springtime temperatures, shooting opportunities, huge sand dunes, plenty of wildlife at night if you're quiet, lower fees and costs and fewer pesky rangers (who usually know less than we do about the place) coming over to give us a what for for flags on bushes or whatever. The desert's hard to beat for its visual beauty and quiet peaceful solitude too...

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

I like the way you put that tplife. I would add that to me there is just something about the rugged beauty of the land and wildlife. It looks barren from a distance, but there is more brush at Carlsbad than I would have thought. Here at home we brag about having the world's largest mesquite forest... it is just 3' tall... lol. And like tplife said, lower fees, my backcountry permit is free at Carlsbad. All I pay for is gas to and from. And I like the seclusion of the desert. Since not a lot of people venture out into it, I am almost assured I won't run into anyone. Last time I was on this trail and getting my permit was December 27th. When I signed, I happened to notice the last person to hike the same trail was I think December 2nd. There are other trails that are more traveled at Carlsbad, but this one is even hard to get to in a vehicle. You absolutely must have high clearance and the last mile of road takes 1/2 hour to drive unless you don't care about your undercarriage. I think the desert is one of those things that you either love it or hate it. I've lived out here for the last 11 years and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

[renodesertfox]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Excellent points y'all! When we lived in Las Vegas the camping we did was all in the desert. The starkness and solitude are immense! Learning to cope where you are has meant alot to me and I've always cherished dispersed camping having to rely on one's vehicle and wits is at it's supreme when camping completely away from everyone whether in a national forest with trees all around or just among humble creosote. It's a very humbling experience!

[campfirefun28]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Something to conserve on your supplies you have to lug around is to try to live just off of granola and water. By trying to keep calorie intake low you will really get the most out of your hikes as far as weight loss or getting in better shape. It is possible to survive out in the wilderness without anything but water and some light snacks. The only problem is if you are hiking more than 8 miles a day you will need more food stuffs.

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

This hike is about 1-1/2 mile from trailhead to campsite but has an elevation gain of 1500 feet or more. I carry ramen noodles for a lot of my meals. I had one mre beef stew that was planned for my big meal. I think in all over the weekend, I hiked a total of 15-20 miles. Will post a proper trip report tonight. I did make it both nights, carried only the 10 liter msr bag, even came back with some left over. Got some awesome photos. I leave all that for tonight though.

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

My trip report....

I left Friday morning and made out to the trail be 11:00. Decided to carry only the 10 liter water bag as 10 and 6 together was a bit too heavy. Made it up the trail to the top of the reef I think by 2:00, didn't really check the time. Saw deer in a couple of places, got some good videos of two climbing the canyon wall. Looked around for a decent spot for my tent and finally settled on one spot that didn't have too much grass. The grass there grows in clumps and is really dry and will poke thousands of holes in the bottom of a perfectly good tent. I even made my own footprint from blue tarp but back in December, I had one blade of grass go through both footprint and tent floor. Anyone with suggestions on how to fix this problem, please let me know. Didn't do much after I got set up, it was about an hour to sundown and didn't want to stray too far.


Went to bed about 6:30 as the sun went down and was getting dark. The wind picked up to maybe 50-60 mph around 10:00 that night. I didn't use the velcro loops on the rainfly to the tent pole and was kicking myself for it cause the wind kept blowing my tent flat and it would hit me in the head every so often. I was stubborn though and put up with it. Was too warm and toasty in my new sleeping bag and refused to get out. I had this mental image of me trying to fix the fly in wind like that watching it take off like a kite...LOL.

Saturday morning was a beautiful morning.... after I dusted the sand off everything in the tent. Went out exploring and found Longview Spring. Was some good views from the top of the hill. Made my way back and ate some lunch then headed out again to look for Lefthook Canyon and Double Canyon. Did make it to Lefthook and it was better than the last canyon I got pics of in December. Started out from there to head on the rest of the way to Double Canyon but started worrying about the time and if I would be able to make it back before dark so I turned around and headed back to camp. Made my supper and figured I had enough time to try and find cell service to call my wife. There is hardly any service out there, well none that I had found before. I decided my best bet was to hije to the point to the east of me which would be closer to Carlsbad and get as high on the mountain and as close to the edge as possibly so there would be no obstructions. Had to bushwack the whole way as there are absolutely no trails that direction. I think I found a cave on the way amd did find a spot where if I held the phone 2' above my head and pointed to the east, I could get through. And it figures, I was out of town and my family goes to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Was good to hear her voice though and let her know that I was OK and still had plenty of water to make the second night. Got pictures of our Tahoe at the trailhead while I was there. Checked the GPS and I was about 1.5 miles from camp. Hiked back in time to get cleaned up and ready for bed right at dark. Oh, and I did set the velcro on the fly that evening too. Didn't have the tent problems the second night.

Got up early Sunday morning and started packing but the wind was howling again and I dread rolling my tent in wind like that. Laid rocks on it and when it came time to actually roll it, the wind stopped long enough to get it packed and then picked back up. Made it out and to the trailhead at 11:00 that morning. Since it was still early, I decided to head into the cave. Talked to several rangers, showed them some of the pictures I got. I had a blast the entire weekend.

Hogsnapper, sorry to say, but I didn't work on any map skills this time. Spent most of my navigation trying to figure out the GPS I had. Was trying to figure out how to record a track and waypoints. I tried to work out my steps per kilometer, but by that time I was exhausted and second guessing if there was 100 or 1000 meters to a kilometer. I am going to work on that next time as well as here at home.

Well that is about it, there was a lot of other stuff in between but I think I've rambled enough for one night. Check my albums on my page here. I'm going to try and get some photos up from this trip.

WT

[West Texan]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Mike, where was that picture from.... looks like a place worth exploring.

[renodesertfox]

Re: Backpacking adventure

Excellent field report WT, good job! Pleased as punch that just about everything worked as planned! Will look to see photos of your Tahoe photos in other threads! Might want to post a link to your album. Only members have access to the community pages or links to albums. If you would like to share with the world then posting your photos would be a plus! Thanks for being an active member w/CF!