Bigfoot 40 gear

In hindsight, a lot of this seems excessive, but, I've said it before and I mean it, I don't want to get lost or be that guy who isn't properly prepared.

Bigfoot 40 was my first race over 31 miles, and is pretty remote and exposed, you get 2 aid stations and most of the day is spent in the middle of the eruption zone where nature has not yet recovered (only ash and lava rock)

I'm responsible for myself, and with these distances, better safe than sorry.
- Start:   mile 0
- Aid 1:  mile 12
- Aid 2:  mile 28.8
- Finish: mile 43.5



Here's what I carried:
  • Ultimate Direction PB Adventure Vest 3.0  (16L capacity)
  • 3L CamelBak Bladder (full of water)
  • 1 x 600ml soft bottle (for my electrolyte mix)
  • 1 x Katadyn BeFree Water Filtration System (empty, for filtering creek water)
  • Iodine tabs (just in case)
  • Poles
  • Gaiters
  • Small pocket knife
  • Sunblock
  • Bug repellent wipe
  • Micro First Aid kit (tape/band aids/Benadryl/Tylenol/chaffing cream/etc)
  • Compass & waterproof paper map
  • Pace chart (with mileage marks and timing calculations between points)
  • Digital map & details downloaded to my real phone, packed away on airplane mode/ultra battery saver mode (Samsung S9+)
  • Digital map & details downloaded to my old waterproof phone which I use as my camera & main map source (Samsung S6 Active)
  • Headlamp & spare batteries
  • Travel wipes & TP
  • Battery bank & cables to charge my phone & Garmin watch if needed
  • Hat & a few buffs
  • Thin gloves (I get cold quickly sometimes)
  • Spare socks
  • Salt tabs
  • Electrolytes (Nuun & Tailwind)
  • Food, a ton of calories - Trail mix, Honey Stinger waffles, Jelly Bean Sport Beans, a bunch of gels & chews, etc. 
  • Plus extra food stuffed in the back & a cliff bar and trail butter.
  • Emergency blanket
  • Light windbreaker
  • Headphones



I didn't use much of this, but it was all easy to carry and if things went bad or it took me longer to finish, I would be alright.

I didn't have to touch my maps once, the course was marked well and honestly there aren't that many trails out there so following the path is easy (and I obsessed over the course prior to the race).

Since I accidentally split my bladder, the water filtration bottle ended up saving my skin by being an additional bottle to carry water, since this event, I make sure to have an empty bottle available, it's almost no weight, and I'd rather carry 2 oz of weight instead of run out of water!









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