Camping and Hiking Gear

Clothing

How much clothing you bring is your choice, but I just told myself it wasn’t a fashion show and packed the bare minimum to minimize the weight of my pack. Here are the necessities:

Hiking Boots — Unfortunately, mine are old from North Face, and I can’t find something similar from them anymore. Here are Brett’s boots, which he says are comfortable, durable, and waterproof.

Hiking Socks — Get a pair of thick hiking socks to minimize blisters. This brand is our favorite, and they have an unconditional guarantee for life.

Water Shoes — We initially tried these but ultimately preferred this pair. I recommend breaking them in before your trip because they rubbed in a few spots. Regardless, you’ll want a pair of water shoes when exploring the waterfalls because of uneven rocks.

Bathing Suit — Brett loves these shorts and could hike and swim in them without changing. I brought this cute one-piece, doubled it as a top sometimes, and would throw these shorts over.

Towel — After swimming at the waterfalls, you’ll want a towel. This full-size shower towel is surprisingly compact and lightweight. Also, it comes with a travel case and carabiner that clips conveniently onto a backpack.

Hat — Packaging a hat isn’t necessary, but Brett wore his. I didn’t bring a hat or sunglasses, and I was fine.

Jacket — Check the weather forecast before your trip and plan accordingly because you’ll want something warm depending on the time of year. We went in early May, and it was still chilly for me in the evenings.

Face Mask — When we went (May 2023), they still required wearing face masks in the village of Supai.

Food

Whenever Brett and I talk about this part of our trip, we laugh hysterically because Brett severely overestimated how much food we needed. We highly recommend putting together a realistic meal plan to minimize the possibility of overpacking. There are also food stands near the campground and a cafe back in the Supai village (about 2 miles one way from the campground), but I wouldn’t depend on those options.

Here’s a rough outline of what we had:

• Breakfast — bagels + to-go peanut butter
• Lunch — salami + crackers + string cheese
• Dinner — We split one of these every night (we did not need one for each of us).
• Snacks — beef jerky, chex mix, CLIF bars, dried fruit, trail mix

Jetboil + Fuel — You’ll need a cooking system that heats quickly for dehydrated meals, coffee, etc.; this is our favorite.

Collapsible Water Container — Depending on where you set up camp, it can be a walk to the spring. This jug made filling water bottles and cooking meals significantly more convenient. We bought the 2.6 gallons, filled it once daily, and filtered it at our campsite as needed.

Water Filter — Some people didn’t filter their water, but we didn’t want to take any chances. I’m also weird about water taste, so I preferred it filtered.

Water Bottle — I didn’t think this was necessary, but Brett insisted we each bring one. If you have space to pack one, it’s lightweight and convenient to throw in a daypack. Otherwise, you’ll have the water bladder, and the water filter can also double as a water bottle.

Cutlery — Don’t forget to pack cutlery for dehydrated meals. Brett just turned on the spigot on our collapsible water jug to rinse our cutlery after dinner.

Food Storage — Although we encountered hardly any critters, storing your food from potentially destructive and hungry rodents is always critical. We kept our food in odor-proof sacks that we placed inside a ratsack, which we suspended from a tree with a utility cord and a carabiner.

Odor Proof Sacks — We used two 12×20″ sacks that fit perfectly into the ratsack. As our food dwindled, we used one of the sacks for trash.

Toiletries

Sunscreen — Protect your skin and reapply throughout the day, as you’ll spend a lot of time in the sun.

Toothbrush + Toothpaste

Wipes — Since you won’t be showering for a few days, these wipes are a quick and easy way to freshen up in the morning and wipe down before bed.

First Aid Kit — I strongly recommend packing a first aid kit for this trip. Our feet were blistered after the hike-in, and the kit came in handy for blisters.

Note: We did bring bug spray, but surprisingly, I never needed it while we were there. Also, we took out the toilet paper due to lack of room in our backpacks, and it’s supplied in the bathrooms, so it’s a personal choice to bring extra.

Miscellaneous

None of these are necessary, but we did bring the following items. The only things we didn’t pack that we wish we did were a book or a deck of cards, something to keep us entertained in our downtime.

Camera — If you have a high-quality camera, it’s worth carrying the extra weight as endless photo opportunities exist.

Wide Angle Lens — Brett mainly brought his wide-angle lens to shoot the waterfalls because they’re taller and more challenging to fit into the frame.

Tripod — A tripod will help produce sharp photos for long exposure shots. For example, Brett used his tripod to capture the silky waterfall for this photo.

Filters — These filters help reduce the light entering and allow a longer shutter speed without washing out images.

Portable Charger — We kept our phones charged for snapping quick photos, checking the time, and setting alarms (remember to put it on vibrate so as not to disturb your neighbors!).

Hammock + Suspension Straps — I loved having our hammock to curl up and nap in when relaxing at our campsite.

Daypack — An ultralight daypack to carry essentials for the day while out exploring. We were pleasantly surprised by how small yet handy it was.

Dry Bag — Depending on the hike, there may be river crossings, so a dry bag can help protect valuables like cameras and cell phones.

Stuff Sack — Unnecessary, in my humble opinion, but it helped organize and declutter our miscellaneous items.

Lantern — It’s great for hanging in a tent to stay up and read or play games after the sun sets.

Utility Cord — Our campsite just happened to have a utility cord already, but you’ll want to bring one for food and to hang wet clothes.

Carabiner — Surprisingly practical for clipping miscellaneous items to the outside of our backpacks and suspending our food at our campsite.

Cash — Bring some money as there are concession stands where they sell drinks and snacks like their frybread.

If you’re headed to Havasupai, I hope you found this packing list helpful. If you’ve been to Havasupai, what was on your packing list that I didn’t bring? Please share with us in the comments! xo