What to Bring for a Hiking and Rafting Trip

These are items I found useful when I went on a hiking and rafting trip at the Grand Canyon.. You can read about my trip at https://thegenxtravels.com/2019/04/08/my-grand-canyon-hike-and-river-raft/ The tour trip I went with was Grand Canyon White Water, and they did a great job, you can get more information about their Grand Canyon Trips at https://www.grandcanyonwhitewater.com

• Backpack I brought a less expensive backpack as I wasn’t sure I would use it again. I upgraded to a Osprey a few years later .
• Water Bladder Make sure it fits in your backpack and has a bite valve. 3L is what I use.
• Water Bottles I brought 2 and used a carabiner to attach one to each side of my bag.
• Trekking Poles I bought a pair of telescoping poles, nothing fancy, about $20 and I love them. I am still using them 5 years later.
• Hiking Boots and Shoes I used Merrell hiking shoes and I really liked the fit and feel. Merrell Women’s Moab 2 Vent Hiking Shoe, Smoke, 8.5 M US. I hadn’t thought about ankle support, though. After this trip I bought Merrell hiking boots and I love the ankle support. I just feel more grounded wearing the boots. Merrell Women’s Moab 2 Mid Waterproof Hiking Boot, Granite, 8 M US.
• Water shoes I bought an inexpensive off brand and did not like them. I replaced them with Keens and have been very happy with the Keens..
• Fast Dry Socks I use show fast dry socks. These were great to wear with my water shoes so sand did not get between my feet and shoes and cause abrasions.
• Electrolyte Packets I didn’t bring these but our guide gave them to me on the way down. The hike was so much better after adding this to my water. Now, I never go on a hike without electrolytes. I like Propel packets as they are easy to bring and perfect for adding to a water bottle. While on any hiking or rafting trip I have found electrolytes to really boost my energy and well being.
• Wide Brim Hat with Chin Strap This is imperative to keep the sun off of your head and help keep you cool. The chin strap will keep you from loosing your hat in the rapids.
• Long Sleeve Shirt To help keep the sun off of your arms. I used a dry wicking Rashguard Shirt and it worked well.
• Tank Tops I took 3 but only wore 2. I washed them in the river at night and hung them to dry.
• Shorts I took 3 pairs, 1 dry wick and 2 swim shorts. I liked the swim shorts best.
• Carabiners These are awesome. You can attach anything with them. I hooked my water bottles to the side of my backpack, also my camera. That didn’t work well as the camera had too long of a hand strap and annoyed me. I also used carabiners on the river to hook my dry bag to a rope on the raft so it did not fall out.
• Baby Wipes There are no showers at the bottom of the Canyon and soap is not allowed in the river. Baby wipes worked great. Make sure though that you either throw them away in the camp trash or carry them out.
• Fast Dry Towel This is a multi use item. I would spread it out and sit on it in the sand, dry off after a rapid, and wet it down to put around my shoulders to cool off.
• Big Handkerchief Another multi-use item. I tied it around my neck to absorb sweat. I also used it to cool off by dunking it in water before tying around my neck. This also worked as a wash cloth to wipe off the dust and sand.
• Snacks Bring salty snacks, trail mix, beef jerky, dried fruit, and peanut butter for hiking.