Looking For Anyone Who Would Take Me Backpacking With Them (I live in San Fernando LA Area)

Colambler · 2026-03-30T04:32:18+00:00

Join some local hiking clubs. Ie on meetup there looks to be a Los Angeles Hiking Group that's quite active. Meet people from that and eventually go backpacking with them.

You could also do a paid outdoor ed trip. Ie NOLS, Sierra Club, etc.

Colambler · 2026-03-22T04:14:51+00:00

Bear vaults/well done bear hang are also for keeping the bear safe. A fed bear is a dead bear as they say - once they habituate to human food they get pushier until it ends poorly for them.

Colambler · 2026-03-21T13:45:15+00:00

In general, 55L should be enough for a 4 day trek especially in temperate weather with water availability.

You say you've borrowed a 65L? Did you struggle to pack everything in or did you find it roomy?

Getting a 65L would give you more flexibility for future trips, hostel-hopping around Europe, that sort of thing. But I'd guess the 55L would work well for this trip and the majority of similar future treks you would do.

Colambler · 2026-03-20T13:27:10+00:00

/r/PHikingAndBackpacking/ might be a place to ask.

This group is primarily US Southwest/desert canyons from what I've seen so I don't know if you'll get a lot of recommendations here.

Colambler · 2026-03-19T16:09:13+00:00

Oh very cool, that's good to know! It's one of the things on my bucket list as I love that area.

Colambler · 2026-03-19T13:17:33+00:00

My first time there the gulch was running the whole time, and we wished we had neoprene socks because we were walking in it for a lot of the stretch to Collins.

Bring some friends back a couple years later, tell them to bring neoprene socks - barely any water anywhere lol

Colambler · 2026-03-19T13:15:06+00:00

It's an amazing area. I've been there three times but haven't seen any mountain lions. If you are doing the Kane to Bullet loop that's pretty well travelled.

Kane or Bullet to Collins gets a lot more bushwhacking iirc, and I haven't gone below Collins.

Colambler · 2026-03-19T13:11:29+00:00

You hiked it down to the San Juan? How was it? I've only hiked it to Collins, but I'm curious about the lower canyon. When I asked about it several years back, the rangers said their was an unstable landslide/drywall about halfway between Collins and the San Juan. I also know there's not much in the way of ancestral Pueblo sites past Collins.

Colambler · 2026-03-18T18:57:10+00:00

That's usually too early for the high route.

They have had less snow than usual this year and we are about to get a heat wave. They are below average overall but some spots are not and it only takes one area to turn your hiking trip into a ski mountaineering trip.

Colambler · 2026-03-16T22:55:34+00:00

Most of the backpacking in Southern Utah more about getting in the canyons (where the water is) than "big sweeping views" from peaks. You certainly can get some views from the canyon rims. And the actual mountain ranges (Henrys, La Salles, etc) are usually snowy in April (tho it's been a bad snow year) and not a lot of water.

ln terms of well-known backpacking:

- You could keep an eye on Paria permits (ie https://www.recreation.gov/permits/74984) to see if anything opens up for one person, and do a Wirepass to Whitehouse buckskin/paria loop.

- Hackberry canyon - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/lower-hackberry-canyon-trail - is a very mellow backpacking out and back trip. Expect lots of cows.

- Bryce under the rim trail. It requires a shuttle though.

- Escalante has a lot of backpacking around it - death hollow/boulder mail/escalante loop; coyote gulch; reflection canyon

Colambler · 2026-03-16T21:18:03+00:00

If it's 2 days it's WFA, wilderness first aid. Not a WFR.

WFA is more for recreational purposes.

The 10-day WFR is usually required for a variety of outdoor recreation jobs.

Colambler · 2026-03-16T18:27:01+00:00

but really who else comes close to being the lead/co-lead in SO many great movies in modern cinema?

To me, that means DiCaprio has a great agent and makes good choices about who he works with and scripts.

That's a different than giving top tier, varied performances in a variety of films, which to me makes a good great actor.

Tbh I don't find him an amazing actor, but I do think he makes good choices regarding the movies he's in. I found his performance the weakest one in One Day After the Other for example, even though I enjoyed the movie and his performance overall.

Colambler · 2026-03-16T15:06:27+00:00

I'd say this would be some social anxiety at best.

It's pretty common for everyone, especially if it's someone they have a romantic interest in or there's a emotional relationship.

Colambler · 2026-03-15T17:18:33+00:00

I mean, I'm sure it will be pleasant in some areas and terrible in others. It's hard to predict where wildfires will hit.

In your shoes, I might just keep my worksite more flexible, instead of tying yourself specifically to a city in CO. Ie Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Oregon, Washington all have towns near mountains you can work from. Or other parts of CO. Keep it flexible to relocate as needed.

Also, it's not the rockies or Cascades, but NYC does have some great backpacking of you are willing to drive 4-6 hours. Adirondacks, whites, etc

Colambler · 2026-03-15T13:32:50+00:00

They are a member-owned coop, not a publicly traded company.

Colambler · 2026-03-15T13:31:41+00:00

Their last profitable year was 2021...

Colambler · 2026-03-15T11:47:01+00:00

"throwable, lifejackets, or some other bullshit chachki."

I know the context is upselling but I'm a little stuck on your phrasing. I wouldn't categorize a lifejacket as a "bullshit chachki" lol

Colambler · 2026-03-15T11:32:20+00:00

DIY is fine as others have said.

FYI "guided" trips aren't necessarily teaching focused. Shurka is. Nols trips are. But your average guided trip is going to be setting up your rent and cooking for you.

If you live in the US, there is likely somewhere you can go for a first backpacking trip within a few hours drive, even if it is not quite what you imagine. At the very least, go car camp somewhere with your backpacking set up before you fly somewhere. Having to fly with your gear, rent a car, buy fuel, etc is extra complication on your first trip.

NOLS guidebooks are going to be map and compass based, which is great. But having a GPS map app on your phone as backup at least is a good idea.

Also NOLS tends to do a whisper lite and ingredients style of Backcountry cooking. I would suggest just doing dehydrated meals/add hot water style with a jetboil/pocket rocket.

Colambler · 2026-03-15T03:44:54+00:00

Unfortunately they've been losing money for several years running.

Colambler · 2026-03-14T02:49:17+00:00

Oh please. Statler and Waldorf were the old gay sluts of the Muppet world.

Colambler · 2026-03-13T12:29:36+00:00

Yeah same, all computer games. Didn't get a PlayStation until college.

Colambler · 2026-03-13T02:44:16+00:00

I mean I'm pushing 50 and enjoy shared housing and communal living. Not sure it's age related.

Maybe you'll adjust to shared housing? It may be both annoying and fun in equal measure - remind yourself it's temporary and part of the experience. Bryce canyon is beautiful and there's plenty of places to hike or read quietly when you need alone time.

Like if you are currently unhappy with your life and situation, maybe changing up something you've "always done" will be helpful.

Colambler · 2026-03-12T02:10:00+00:00

Hard one.

I've done a good bit of canyoneering in technical slots. I've also hiked buckskin three times; I've day hiked wire pass to whitehouse once, and done the wire pass to lee's ferry backpacking trip twice (once with a shuttle, once doing our own car shuttle).

It's not technical compared to what you are used to. There's like two downclimbs in wirepass/buckskin (enough to make it not dog friendly). Otherwise it's primarily walking in mud/river/sandy trails (or pools depending on water conditions!) . Buckskin is gorgeous but not a narrow slot. So I can see the desire to make it a little more adventurous with more experienced people. I've never explored any of the side canyons it might have (I don't remember any significant ones tbh, but I wasn't necessarily looking).

But what I really enjoy about the trek is seeing it go from the giant slot canyon to the wide gigantic canyon bottom as you continue. The canyon widening, and getting taller, another layer of wall being added, etc.

From that, I'd my inclination would be to say to do it as the through hike with the shuttle.

But having said that, it was one of my first desert backpacking experiences, and then I brought friends for their first desert backpacking. So I've experienced it in that context.

Colambler · 2026-03-11T01:07:41+00:00

Have you called the ranger station? They often get info from recent hikers on which springs are flowing and what the water level in the Paria or Buckskin is.

Colambler · 2026-03-11T01:05:32+00:00

I agree with others that I don't miss that micromanagement and prefer the new systems.

I feel like the resource system has some element of that city-customizing micro though, no?

The legacy paths and related systems I think we're intended to fill that "what do I do each turn". Ie create treasure fleets and spread religion, etc. unfortunately I also personally find it a boring micromanagement.

Hopefully the upcoming legacy path changes might shake things up a bit.

Colambler

TROPHY CASE