WILDERNESS ADVENTURES CLUB (WAC)
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Personal Equipment and Clothing List for Outings FIrst, a word about cotton... DON'T WEAR IT! Because cotton in hydrophilic i.e, it 'loves' water, and therefore absorbs it and does not dry out quickly, wearing cotton in the backcountry puts you--and all your buddies on the same trip--at risk for a hypothermic emergency. Wear cotton, fall into a creek, get caught in a thunderstorm, get lost and panic...this same scenario plays itself out every year to poorly prepared groups. Read this story about how a series of simple mistakes can lead to a hypothermic emergency. Your pants, your tops, your underwear and socks, your hat--each of these need to be non-cotton i.e, wool, nylon, rayon, polyester, or other synthetic material (just look at the label on the inside of the clothing item). This is especially important for backcountry trips--typical examples of these outings include our overnight backpack trips to Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park, to Fall Canyon in Death Valley National Park, to Disappointment Lake in the John Muir Wilderness, and to Red Rock Meadows in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Being in the backcountry, miles from the vehicles, means that our comfort and safety rest entirely on our own collective intelligence, integrity and preparedness. DON'T JEOPARDIZE GROUP SAFETY by ignoring the 'non-cotton' rule, please! Key to Symbols If there is a " nc " in front of an item, it means that is should be made of non-cotton. If there are " ln " in front of an item, it means that WAC or ICO owns enough of these to loan to you for the trip (But it's first-come-first-served, so be early to meetings to make sure you get one!) If there is an " op " in front of an item, it means that bringing this is optional. What you should have for day-hike trips " Day-hike " means that we hike with our small backpacks (like a bookbag) with a few items like lunch and water on a short trail. We return back to the vehicles; we do not spend the night. Typical examples of these outings include our day-hikes in Caspers, on the San Juan Trail near San Juan Creek, in El Moro Canyon in Crystal Cove State Park, and our kayaking adventure in Upper Newport Back Bay (even though we don't hike here, it's still considered a 'day-hike', as far as equipment concerns go). In 2009-2010, we might enjoy day-hikes during these trips: Upper Newport Back Bay, Tanglewood, Joshua Tree National Park, and Caspers. ***** ln rd day-pack (like a bookbag with two shoulder straps) ln rd nc hiking boots and socks, or sturdy shoes like running shoes rd trail snacks e.g., raisins; trail mix; nuts; crackers; cereal; string cheese—stuff you like to munch on! rd one-liter bottles of water (the number of bottles you'll need will vary depending on the trip) rd small pocketknife (a simple one is fine; just make sure it’s sharp!) rd personal size first aid kit—In a Ziploc bag
rd one quart size new Ziploc bag rd three plastic grocery sacks—for picking up trash that we’ll find along the trail rd one very large Hefty bag (makeshift rain poncho and pack cover)—Sharpie your name on a strip of duct tape and stick it on the bag so we can clearly see that this bag is yours. rd two or three books of matches in a small Ziploc bag (this is emergency gear that you should go inside your first aid kit) rd sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rd sunscreen—travel size (Don’t bring an aerosol can—it’s too large!) ln rd flashlight w/extra batteries—optional, but highly recommended: an LED-type headlamp rd nc ln hat (like a baseball cap—you need a brim) rd one or two bandanas (really inexpensive at Target) rd nc ln long pants (nylon track pants work well) nc ln layered clothing: A T-shirt; a long-sleeve shirt to wear over the T-shirt; a sweatshirt (or two); and finally a nylon windbreaker that will fit over all the other layers. op pajamas (whatever you want to lounge around in before going to bed) rd hand soap—travel size op (for girls) feminine hygiene products rd toilet paper in ZipLoc bag (DO NOT bring an entire roll!) rd travel-size hand sanitizer nc op shorts (pants with zip-off legs work great!) op camera with extra batteries and memory cards op binoculars (for looking at stars at night) op cell phone (for calling your family on the way home to let them know your expected arrival time), and emergency communcations op beach-type sandals, or comfortable old tennis shoes for lounging around op a novel or other enjoyable reading material rd a good sense of humor, a strong feeling of team spirit, and a willingness to get dirty, hike hard and play hard…and have fun with a good group of young people who cherish the freedom of the hills! What you should have for drive-in, overnight camp-outs " Drive-in, overnight camp-out " means that we drive our vehicles, and all our gear, to the campsite (we don't have to hike in our equipment). Typical examples of this type of outing would be Tanglewood, Caspers, Big Pine Creek, and Joshua Tree National Park's Indian Cove Group Campsite and Sheep Pass Group Campsite. ***** ln rd day-pack (like a bookbag with two shoulder straps) ln rd nc hiking boots and socks, or sturdy shoes like running shoes rd trail snacks e.g., raisins; trail mix; nuts; crackers; cereal; string cheese—stuff you like to munch on! rd one-liter bottles of water rd plastic 2-cup measuring cup ln rd plastic eating utensils--We recommend that you buy either Lexan-type or polycarbonate-type non-disposable utensils Sharpie your name on the handles. These are very tough, and will last for years. rd small pocketknife (a simple one is fine; just make sure it’s sharp!) rd personal size first aid kit—In a Ziploc bag
rd one each: quart size and gallon size new Ziploc bags (handy for trash, dirty clothes, camera protection, etc) rd three plastic grocery sacks—for picking up trash that we’ll find along the trail, and dirty clothes rd two very large Hefty bags (makeshift rain poncho and pack cover)—Sharpie your name on a strip of duct tape and stick it on the bag so we can clearly see that this bag is yours. rd two or three books of matches in a small Ziploc bag (this is emergency gear that you should go inside your first aid kit) rd sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rd sunscreen—travel size (Don’t bring an aerosol can—it’s too large!) ln rd flashlight w/extra batteries—optional, but highly recommended: an LED-type headlamp rd nc ln hat (like a baseball cap—you need a brim) rd one or two bandanas (really inexpensive at Target) rd nc ln long pants (nylon track pants work well) nc ln layered clothing: A T-shirt; a long-sleeve shirt to wear over the T-shirt; a sweatshirt (or two); and finally a nylon windbreaker that will fit over all the other layers. rd nc extra pair of pants, underwear, socks, shirt op pajamas (whatever you want to lounge around in before going to bed) rd nc ln a “beanie” hat rd ln sleeping bag rd ln sleeping pad rd ln groundcloth rd toothbrush and travel size toothpaste rd hand soap—travel size op (for girls) feminine hygiene products rd toilet paper in ZipLoc bag (DO NOT bring an entire roll!) rd travel-size hand sanitizer op textbooks, notebooks, calculators—you’ll have 1-2 hours of study time each afternoon to get homework done nc op shorts (pants with zip-off legs work great!) op camera with extra batteries and memory cards op ln binoculars (for looking at stars at night) op cell phone (for calling your family on the way home to let them know your expected arrival time), and emergency communcations nc op “long-john” underwear Don’t know what this means? See http://www.rei.com/product/722393 op beach-type sandals, or comfortable old tennis shoes for lounging around the campsite rd a good sense of humor, a strong feeling of team spirit, and a willingness to get dirty, hike hard and play hard…and have fun with a good group of young people who cherish the freedom of the hills! What you should have for overnight backpacking trips " Overnight backpacking " means that we drive our vehicles to the trailhead, where we load our backpacks on our backs and hike into the backcountry. This means that everything we need--tents, sleeping bags, food, extra clothing--is on our backs. Our home becomes wherever we decide to stop hiking for the day! Sometimes these are simple overnight trips; other trips take many miles and up to a week of hiking! Typical examples of these outings include our overnight backpack trips to Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park, to Fall Canyon in Death Valley National Park, to Disappointment Lake in the John Muir Wilderness, and to Red Rock Meadows in the eastern Sierra Nevada. In 2009-2010, backpacking trips could include Sitton Peak, and Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park. ***** ln rd full size back-pack ln rd nc hiking boots and socks rd trail snacks e.g., raisins; trail mix; nuts; crackers; cereal; string cheese—stuff you like to munch on! These snacks will comprise your lunch each day on the trail, so bring plenty, and a nice assortment, so you don't get tired of eating the same stuff every day. rd one-liter bottles of water (the number of bottles you'll need will vary depending on the trip) rd plastic 2-cup measuring cup ln rd plastic eating utensils--We recommend that you buy either Lexan-type or polycarbonate-type non-disposable utensils Sharpie your name on the handles. These are very tough, and will last for years. rd small pocketknife (a simple one is fine; just make sure it’s sharp!) rd personal size first aid kit—In a Ziploc bag
rd one each: quart size and gallon size new Ziploc bags (handy for trash, dirty clothes, camera protection, etc) rd three plastic grocery sacks—for picking up trash that we’ll find along the trail, and dirty clothes rd two very large Hefty bags (makeshift rain poncho and pack cover)—Sharpie your name on a strip of duct tape and stick it on the bag so we can clearly see that this bag is yours. rd two or three books of matches in a small Ziploc bag (this is emergency gear that you should go inside your first aid kit) rd sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rd sunscreen—travel size (Don’t bring an aerosol can—it’s too large!) ln rd flashlight w/extra batteries—optional, but highly recommended: an LED-type headlamp rd nc ln hat (like a baseball cap—you need a brim) rd one or two bandanas (really inexpensive at Target) rd nc ln long pants (nylon track pants work well) nc ln layered clothing: A T-shirt; a long-sleeve shirt to wear over the T-shirt; a sweatshirt (or two); and finally a nylon windbreaker that will fit over all the other layers. rd nc extra pair of pants, underwear, socks, shirt op pajamas (whatever you want to lounge around in before going to bed) rd nc ln a “beanie” hat rd ln sleeping bag rd ln sleeping pad rd ln groundcloth rd toothbrush and travel size toothpaste rd hand soap—travel size op (for girls) feminine hygiene products rd toilet paper in ZipLoc bag (DO NOT bring an entire roll!) rd travel-size hand sanitizer nc op shorts (pants with zip-off legs work great!) op camera with extra batteries and memory cards op binoculars (for looking at stars at night) op cell phone (for calling your family on the way home to let them know your expected arrival time), and emergency communcations nc op “long-john” underwear Don’t know what this means? See http://www.rei.com/product/722393 op beach-type sandals, or comfortable old tennis shoes for lounging around the campsite op a novel or other enjoyable reading material rd a good sense of humor, a strong feeling of team spirit, and a willingness to get dirty, hike hard and play hard…and have fun with a good group of young people who cherish the freedom of the hills! |
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