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Hi Everyone! We’re excited to bring you Week 3 of our Summer Adventure series. This series is meant to inform and equip you with useful resources for making the most of this summer.

As a reminder, our goals for each article are to:

1. Equip & Inspire – Each article will be specifically crafted to outfit you and your vehicle for the given topic.

2. Dive Deeper – Though some of the recommendations will be straightforward, we’ll also include products you’ve never thought of or know much about, but can have an impact on your adventure.

3. Support Local – We’re a local small business and want to support other local small businesses. That said, we also want to give you options, so we’ll include both a local business and an online outlet for you to choose from.

This Week’s Focus: Backpacking

Backpacking is a beloved pastime in Idaho. There’s so much to see and so many places where you can truly get away, with only the sights and sounds of nature as company. Our state has seemingly endless miles of trails to explore with varying terrain, from the high deserts of the southern plain, to the mountains and forests of central and northern Idaho. The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness alone features over 3,500 square miles of roadless protected lands to explore. It’s the largest wilderness preserve in the lower 48 states. 

If you’re making plans to delve into Idaho’s primitive areas or are even a veteran hiker, this guide of personal and vehicle backpacking-related equipment will help make your trip a memorable one. 

Equipping Your Vehicle

1. Showers

Price Range: $300-500 // Returning to civilization after days on the trail can be quite smelly and even dangerous. If you don’t shower before heading back home, citizens of the nearest town may mistake you for sasquatch and attack with pitchforks in hand. These two vehicle shower setups will prevent that scenario by making you look and smell like your normal human self. 

Note: Both setups do require a 12-volt plugin for compression or pumping purposes. For you DIYers who want to build your own solar shower, check out this video tutorial from REI. 

Roof Rack Shower

Propane Shower

Price Range: $150-$200 // Propane showers harness the “magic of science” so you can have warm water on demand. They are easy to assemble and use, plus their plastic components can be replaced with metal parts for extended life. To operate these showers, you’ll also need an inexpensive 12-volt water pump. Note: We read plenty of reviews written in all caps warning about damage in freezing temperatures, SO STORE THESE IN A WARM AREA! 🙂

This helpful video shows how you can create a box shower setup for easy storage and mobile use. 

2. Solar Panels

Price Range: $150-$1,000 // How will anyone know you went backpacking unless you brag about it on social media?😉 Luckily, using the power of the sun, you can document everything and share how in touch you are with nature and the universe. There’s plenty of solar sizes and setups for wilderness junkies. If you’re wanting to charge on the go, you can mount one to your pack, or bring a larger, foldable version for charging at the campsite. 

3. Recovery Pads

Price Range: $100-300 // The parking lots of commonly used trails are often clogged with newbies who don’t really appreciate the majesty of mother nature like you do. Sometimes you just gotta find your own trailhead. If that’s the case, bring some recovery pads to get you unstuck when the unpaved road gets too muddy or sandy. 

3. First Aid Kit

Price Range: $100-300 // The parking lots of commonly used trails are often clogged with newbies who don’t really appreciate the majesty of mother nature like you do. Sometimes you just gotta find your own trailhead. If that’s the case, bring some recovery pads to get you unstuck when the unpaved road gets too muddy or sandy. 

Equipping You 

1. Smart Watch

Price Range: $450-$600 // If you’re winging it out in the wilderness, having a smart watch could mean the difference between an enjoyable journey or Donner Party experience. The Apple Watch has a bunch of hiking friendly apps that can help guide you on your next off-grid adventure, but it’s limited to a seven hour GPS battery life. For tough navigating on multi-day trips, we recommend getting a watch with extended GPS mapping capabilities (up to about 72 hours), like the Garmin Fenix. While an investment, it could prove quite valuable in the wild.  

2. Hanging Solar Shower

Price Range: $10-$100 // Just cause you like being out in nature, doesn’t mean you need to be a filthy animal. We recommend buying a solar shower that holds no more than 2.5 gallons, since it’s much easier to fill and hang, and is less likely to pop under its own weight. Also, 2.5 gallons is more than enough for two people. 

3. Jetboil

Price Range: $100-$400 // Hiking makes you hungry. Really hungry. The last thing you want to do after several hours on the trail is expend more energy getting dinner together. The Jetboil design gets water boiling in about 2.5 minutes, so you can have your pre-made trail meals on their way to your belly in less time than the average pop song. 

4. Wool Socks

Price Range: $10-$100 // Not all socks are made alike. Wool socks are the ideal choice for the trail for a number of reasons: They regulate temperature to prevent excessive foot sweat, have antimicrobial properties to prevent stinky feet, and offer extra cushioning so your dogs aren’t barking after a long day out on the trail. Bonus: REI has an excellent guide on the proper socks to use during a variety of seasonal trail conditions.  

We hope you’ve found this list to be helpful as you plan this Summer’s adventures. If there are items you love to use and we didn’t include, feel free to shoot us an email or message us on social with your thoughts. It’s always great to hear from you and for all of us to share with each other.

Special shoutout to Sawtooth Mountain Guides for the cover photo. If you’re looking for some professionals to guide you on an epic backcountry trip, we highly recommend their services.  

Next Week: Water Sports