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Theres only four great traverses… if your counting satans ridge thats not an official great traverse. Ive never heard anyone claim the crestone traverse is the scariest. Its usually a competition between the bells and lb blanca as which is the hardest - I found the maroon bells the hardest because im not that experienced in technical climbing but don’t really mind high class 4 exposure.

But what/where is the view everyone misses 🤔

Great info Thanks mate

Can you clarify, do parking reservations open up on the same day as shuttle reservations so April 1st for July and August?

Great route!

If not camping then no permit should be needed

Honestly I do not understand the comparison.. Stuff sacs are a packing thing whereas a pack liner is for protection from water. They do two different things.

Can you recommend a one night backpacking trip in Colorado that's also close to a rafting location? Thx

Want a part 2? Let me know in the comments down below (I’ve learned SO MANY things the hard way). One of the things that keeps me coming back to backpacking is how I can learn new things in new environments. Even after doing this for 20 years. A few things that are worth mentioning. If you’re looking for an alternative to the Sawyer Squeeze - a product a lot of beginner backpackers love to buy - I would recommend a Katadyn BeFree (bit.ly/4i7muLE). It’s just as light and compact, but without the worry of extreme calcium buildup. Next up, don’t beat yourself up. The internet is a NON-REAL place where everyone pretends like they’ve never done anything wrong, had a bad time, or all of the above ever in their life. However, reality is a lot different. There are bad days backpacking. There are days when you made a mistake you didn’t see coming. There are trips that just go pear-shaped. It’s also totally okay to have these things and never backpack again or give it a throw a few years later. Just remember: It’s cool to be new. And it’s even cooler to honor yourself and what you love. I’ll pull back the curtain and let you in on a little secret. Shhh…come closer… I really don’t love backpacking in my home of Colorado. Don’t get me wrong. It’s fine. But between the weather, the altitude, and the freezing (yes, even in summer) temps, it’s not my favorite thing. And after 2 decades - I’m OKAY with that outcome. I live to backpack in the desert - particularly the Grand Canyon - and most people would disagree with me. Guess what? I don’t effing care! So get out there and hike your own hike!

Part two, please!!

how many thermarest vespers do you have lol

Really enjoy your content! Could you help me find the video with the best campsite at Lone Eagle Peak?

We once went up Ding, did Ding Dang Dome, then down Dang, where we got rim rocked and had to go back. So, we did Ding, did Ding Dang Dome, down Dang, then up Dang, did Ding Dang Dome, and down Ding. True story.

Awesome 😊

This is an advanced backpacking trail in the Grand Canyon. Meaning, it’s more advanced than your average backpacking outing. Steep drops, water management (caching and potentially hauling depending on the temps), exposure, and a little bit of navigation know-how are required to stay safe here. Level up your Grand Canyon backpacking game and prep for the Beamer Trail with this video that explains what you need to know to stay safe in the Big Ditch. th-cam.com/video/0KO74njKyDo/w-d-xo.html And just because you’re an UL backpacker doesn’t mean you’re ready for the Grand Canyon. In fact, there are several specific items you’ll WANT to have in your pack during your trip. And I PROMISE unless you’ve been here before, you haven’t heard of a few of them. Here’s what you need to pack for your Grand Canyon adventure: th-cam.com/video/7n9M5FDilIk/w-d-xo.html I saw people who literally ditched their gear on the side of the trail here. Disgusting. And it goes without saying, but your safety is your responsibility. Please follow all ranger requirements and practice LNT. Keep in mind, some ranger instructions may be counter-intuitive to certain LNT practices - such as not peeing in the sand at beach camps. Read the fine print!

Thanks for taking us on such a beautiful excursion to a special and sacred place. Happy to see you out on the trail, and thanks for the motivation as I keep working to get back into Canyon shape. Fun to see part of the GC that isn't in the r2r corridor.

Amazing Be safe I love your videos ❤

Okay, you have my attention. After 5 below the rim backpacking trips, including 3 North to South Rim to Rim trips over 4 or 5 days, where would you suggest I go to break out of the corridor? S Kaibab to Tonto to Bright Angel seems like a long day trip, but interesting. For those of us comfortable in the corridor, give us some suggestions on alternative adventures, please.

This is really amazing. Thank you ❤

The alum powder was a new one for me, thanks for the intel! Also, think I need to figure out a sun umbrella setup. Being from the PNW, I always think of prepping for rain, not sun! Great tips. While I'm still a few months off from thinking about a GC excursion, I know I'll be back many more times.

While packing for the Grand Canyon, chances are you’ll need to pick up a few additional pieces of gear. Here’s a look at a few desert-specific products that I wouldn’t be caught in the canyon without: First, the Six Moons Compact Sun Umbrella (small business alert): amzn.to/47XKxYU). The Platypus GravityWorks Filter: (bit.ly/3XZ8B94). Outdoor Research Astroman Sun Hoody: bit.ly/3y3wK5J Rat Sack for food storage (small business alert): amzn.to/4hlTzDp Odor Proof Food Bags: amzn.to/3NGK1W1 Do you bring anything specific to the Big Ditch? Let me know below!

thank you for you nice information

I stopped using compression bags after I got my first silnylon roll top stuff sack (Sea to Summit). You can compress all of the air out, roll it down, buckle up and have waterproofing. No strap weight.

As an ultralight hiker, I love my compression sack. It saves volume and weight because allows me to use a lighter frameless backpack than I otherwise would use. That’s analogous to your insight that you can take off the brain of your pack. So as far as money goes, you could also have bought a less expensive and smaller backpack to save money and using those savings to get the compression sack. So there isn’t even a financial hit to the $40 compression sack when you factor in the cost of the backpack itself.

Brilliant video. I have recurring issues with my backpacks feeling not quite right for a while now, and this video might have identified to cause from having my food being too high. Going to try using the compression sack out this winter!

Definitely overrated but still beautiful. Best advice I've been told to avoid the crowds on the popular Colorado hikes is to try planning the hike on a clear day and do the hike early afternoon. Or wait for the thunder storms to pass and do it late afternoon / early evening. We've done several popular Colorado hikes this way and had most of the places to ourselves. The most memorable hike was Blue Lakes in the San Juan's. We had the upper lakes all to ourselves.

Hey I tried to find the next video for the scramble recommendations but saw none posted, do you still plan on posting something regarding that? Really looking for some new class 3/4 ridge scrambles that aren’t super popular 13ers and 14ers!

Your hip belt is located across your belly reducung your breathing by roughly 25%. If you able to relocate the belt a few inches below your navel, you will regain your full breathing ability. Your spine is the center of your torso rotation, the best location for the heaviest gear such as water to be placed to reduce the side to side shifting of the backpack generating fatigue and best for increasing your speed.and endurance. During forward motion as your torso rotates you expend energy thrusting the backpack gear load side to side and returning the load with each step taken. With a backpack extending to your hips or lower you've lost your basic pace speed easily proven by first lifting your shoulder straps up and then pulling them down in front of you, holding the straps in place and then learning the result of this test. You could if preferred buy a shorter pack and transfer what you can't carry in your pack to a waist belt with the heaviest gear at the rear and center of your spine,

I prefer the pack liner just for simplicity. I put all of my sleep related items (pillow, warm clothing layers, and then quilt) into the pack liner and stuff it down at the bottom of my pack. That way I don’t have to worry about rolling and folding my sleeping pad in the morning and packing everything up into its own little stuff sack.

The hike from the bright angel campground to the north rim was definitely tough. Made a side trip to ribbon falls that day as well. Woke up the next day and three days later I finished the AZT.😊

Excellent, thank you Sir.

So many great tips!

There are a few must-have essentials for backpacking the Grand Canyon and I’m not going to get into everything (stay tuned for a future video), but I am going to give two must-haves. First, the Six Moons Compact Sun Umbrella is my ABSOLUTE fave. It weighs almost nothing and easily packs down in your bag. Personally, I use some old toggles or a ski strap to attach the umbrella to my pack strap for hands-free use. (snag one here: amzn.to/47XKxYU) Next up, there is one water filter that can handle most (NOT all) of the silty water the Grand Canyon throws out. It’s heavier but it WILL out-perform and is therefore safer to use than say a Katadyn BeFree. Don’t get my wrong, I love my BeFree, but it’ll clog quickly in the Canyon. The Platypus GravityWorks Filter is a must-have for anyone not relying on the water line in the main corridor (bit.ly/3XZ8B94). There IS an additional backup method you should bring along with you too. Because yes, the water is that silty! I’ll be talking about it in my next video, so be sure to stay tuned!

just reserved a parking spot for oct 23rd, not sure its the good time to visit

Great informative video, shocking you have only 1.3k subscribers

Blue hair: opinion null and void.

When i hit the woods, i do it for me. I dont do it to impress other people. And yeah, not a fan of the mentality in Colorado. Went there once. The peopke were awful. Haven't been back.

Yea toxic. That hair dye might be leeching

**YYAAAAWWWNNN***

I don't like the competitiveness...a better thing to discuss would be your idea of the ideal hiking trip/day. It might be an overnight to get a nature fix. Hike your own hike still applies.

Interesting point about the refugios and the wilderness feel. I would not have thought about that, but it makes sense.

Ooh, I'd like to have a pastry stand on top of some of the mountains I hike.

My favorite hiking clothes are ones that I can take from the trail to town and have a TON of versatility. There are two items I’ll never leave home without, my sunshirt and my Prana Kanab shorts. In fact, all of my friends have a pair - and we are frequently twinning both on AND off the trail! My sunshirt is so insanely versatile that it’s been to 4 continents! (Hello functional pocket and half-zip) And Darn Tough socks hands-down slay the competition simply because you buy a pair for LIFE! Here’s where you can find my favorites: Outdoor Research Astroman Sun Hoodie: bit.ly/3y3wK5J PrAna Kanab Short: (PS these go on sale seasonally): bit.ly/3M5rwd2 Darn Tough Socks: bit.ly/DarnToughsocks

Lovely episode, so professionally narrated and filmed! 👌👌

After trying to pack my bear canister in my 55L pack, I put one of those Sea to Summit bags in my cart [waiting for monies]. Was waffling over the weight as well, but this video helps!

My Exped schnozzel is a pack liner and a pump sack and it is a dry bag so can be compressed down very well as it has the valve. I usually use compression sacks though.

So what do YOU prefer? A compression sack or a pack liner? And did this video bring to light anything you hadn’t thought about? The biggest surprise for me was by far how packable a compression sack is. It isn’t even CLOSE! This is crazy because everyone on Team Pack Liner seems to think the opposite. Honestly, it’s all about packing your bag correctly. And here’s how to do it. Put the compression sack down so that the thinnest part of the compression sack faces up. If compressed correctly, the shape of the compression sack should be a disk, not a tube. The disk provides a great base. Stuff your sleeping pad and clothing around this, filling out the bottom space of the bag. Now you’ve got a solid, ergonomic base to work with! What I use: I’ve had the Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Dry Compression Sack for nearly 7 years and it still works just as well as day 1. Don’t believe me? Be sure to watch the waterproof test. Even I was skeptic about how this piece of gear would hold up, but it’s a champ! 10/10 recommend! Grab one here: bit.ly/4dVLF1r (I use the 20L one) Oh don’t worry - I haven’t forgotten, here are the weights! Weights: Trash bag: 1.8 oz / 51 g Sea to Summit Ultralight Sil Compression Sack: 3 oz / 85 g Compression sack that came with my sleeping bag: 1.6 oz / 45.3g

Compression sacks for me for the waterproofing & organization

Like many I use a nylofume plastic bag as a pack liner which weighs like 26 grams (less then a ounce) also quite durable

I use a trash compressor bag as a bag liner. If I need to, I use a compression sack for my sleeping bag and then put it in the bag liner. Most of the time I don’t need the extra space. My stay dry clothes and electronics go into a HMG pod and then into the liner. That all compresses into the bottom of my pack well enough. If I over compress, it does push into the space for the side pockets.