Easy ways to stretch the camping season...
The desert, with its expansive landscapes, towering red rock formations, and intricate slot canyons, is a backpacker's paradise. This unique environment, however, requires careful planning and the right gear to ensure a safe and enjoyable adventure. Here’s a comprehensive guide to what you need for desert and canyon backpacking.
Utah’s desert regions, including famous spots like Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands, offer some of the most stunning and otherworldly landscapes in the United States. The terrain varies from vast open spaces and rugged mountains to narrow, twisting canyons that beg to be explored. The isolation and beauty of these areas provide a profound sense of peace and adventure.
There are two things to keep in mind when gearing up for backpacking in the desert: 1) While the cost of the gear can be expensive up front, once you have it, backpacking is basically free; and 2) buying used gear from the Durango Outdoor Exchange can be a very smart way to get your gear.
Here is why buying used gear is so smart: High-end camping gear is not cheap, but it does depreciate quickly, meaning you can get a great tent, backpack, or stove for about what you’d pay for a department store version, only the quality is vastly better. Further, most camping gear is lightly used—even hard core backpackers may only be out a dozen nights a year, meaning that you are getting great, lightly used gear for a fraction of what you pay new.
But where to get good used gear in Durango? TheDurango Outdoor Exchange is packed to the rafters with seasonally appropriate new and used gear, including everything you need for backpacking in the desert. Stop by or call today.
The time’s come. You’ve got your lightweight backpack, a comfy sleeping bag (of quilt), a sleeping pad that doesn’t (yet) leak air, a cool tent, a nifty little stove, and a hankering to get out and use it all. Let’s go!
Public lands need your help now. Durango Outdoor Exchange has compiled this handy list of regional organizations that you can support while federal budgets are slashed and land stewards are laid off.
We’ve all read the disappointing headlines and shocking Facebook posts, and we maybe have even encountered problems of our own–national parks and other public lands in the U.S. are being impacted by severe federal budget cuts. These cuts have resulted in locked gates, reduced services, and loss of support for these lands that mean so much to us.
This means more than longer lines at entry stations. In some cases, there is legitimate concern that budget cuts will lead to impacts on historic sites and natural landscapes. This is a scary time to be someone who dearly loves our public lands, but there are ways that everyone, including you, can make a difference.