Perhaps more important than the packing list, is the hindsight packing list. Mexico was a hard trip to pack for this year, as we knew our elevations would range from 8,000′ to 1,000′ with temps from 40 degrees (possibly lower) to nights in the 80’s. Here is what I would bring next time:

Separate base layer for off the river. I brought a separate top layer but that was it. It’s no big deal in Cali where everything dries in a few minutes, but in the humid environment it was hard to get my pants to dry, and I don’t believe my socks ever did. Plus I like to take off my base layers and let them dry. It’s too buggy in Mexico for this. I hate those little black ankle biting flies that seem to be everywhere, but they love me, no matter how much bug spray I use.

Bug Spray. I was counting on other people having enough, which they did, but still so much was needed that I would prefer to have my own bottle.

Soap. In Pakistan we barely broke a sweat in 11 days on the water, but that’s because the average temperature was probably around 45 degrees and dry. The combination of hot, muggy weather and warm water made me feel simply gross, and we all got rashes. Maybe from poison ivy, maybe something else, but we had em and it’s really nice to have soap to feel clean before bed.

I would possibly bring a sleeping bag liner instead of a sleeping bag. Combined with the base layers it could be enough to stay warm. As it was I was almost always too warm in my feathered friends 30 degree bag, and I never zipped it up all the way. Probably would have been perfect in an REI 30 degree bag, seems to be about how far off their temp ratings are

Bleach. I’d put this in a small container that can dispense by the drop. It works as well as iodine tablets, is considerably cheaper and makes the water taste like it does in Davis! Normally I filter, but the water has too much junk in it, and it would plug in one day.

Drink Mix. I brought some Tang and Emergen-C but would have liked to have enough for once every other day at the minimum. Doubly true on cold weather expeditions where it’s hard to stay hydrated.

Tylenol PM. At 12pm in humid 85 degree weather, covered in a rash and unable to sleep, some Tylenol PM would have been worth a pretty penny.

Benadryl and or hydrocortisone 3%, which you can get over the counter in Mexico. See above item about rashes and lack of sleep, even while exhausted. By the end of the trip I was covered in a neck down mess of rash and bug bites and would have loved either of these items.

That’s about it, not too bad for a short notice international trip in terrain of widely varying conditions.

#1 item that I forgot? Paddling pants, had a pair out but forgot to put them in my gear bag.

South Fork of the Feather

Nikon D50, Nikkor 200mm F4 @ 1/1250 F5.6 ISO 200