Tips and Suggestions (Solo Camper)
Before The Trip
- Don’t pack what you don’t need. I brought with me almost 70lb and had a hard time getting up to the campsite.
- Reduce as much weight as possible as the climb up that hill to the campsite will sweat you out.
- One gallon of water per day per person. I brought two gallons and another liter of water for about 2 days since I don’t get to the island till Saturday @1 pm and we left on Monday around 12 noon.
- Note that the hike to Point Bennett and back, I drank pretty much half a gallon.
- Food, it depends on how hungry you are but I was exhausted most of the time and I ate a lot of fruits and nuts.
- I got a lot of freeze-dried food from REI and they have a good selection of them. I got snacks, protein bars, and some perishable items from Trader’s Joe. One of the campers brought along a cooler and he carried 500 feet up with it.
- Don’t forget lots of hot chocolate! You will need it for the cold night.
- Pack for Cold and Windy. Some days, the wind was like 20 mph.
- Tent, I would recommend getting low profile tents and ones that can withstand the wind. I had one night the wind was blowing so hard, I thought the tent was going to blow away. Make sure to deploy all your pegs and tile them down well.
- Longjohns, it does get very cold at night especially when the wind is blowing hard.
- Sleeping bag and blowup mat, you will definitely need them.
- Cooking utensils including burner and fuel. I was able to use 1 x 3.9 oz (110g) fuel which I got from Big 5 sporting goods for 2 nights and 1-morning cooking. I believe I still got about another night and maybe breakfast left of gas.
- Sanitation wipes from REI were great as there are no showers onsite.
- The outhouse actually comes with toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
- Get some Garbage Liner to keep your clothes and stuffs dry in your backpack. I am sorry but the rain cover for the bag won’t cut it as your bag will be soaked in the pool of saltwater on the skiff.
- Don’t forget what you bring to the island, you will need to bring out with you. so a little garbage bag to hold all the used items.
Getting on and off San Miguel Island
- If you watch the video, our primary mode of getting on and off the Island Packer to the San Miguel island is via a skiff.
- We were lucky the first day we arrived, it was sparkling blue water and a very calm sea with no wind. However, on our back, we encountered white caps water and it totally soaked all of us on the skiff.
- So wear clothes which dry easily or put a spare change of clothes in your carryon bag.
- if you carry a small backpack, it might be good to have one that comes with a rain cover as you will get slash with saltwater while wearing it on your back.
- Bring sandals or Teva on top of your hiking shoes. You will get wet on the skiff.
On the Trails
- I would recommend wearing a decent hiking shoe when climbing up the Niveder Canyon from the beach to the campsite.
- Be prepared for the Point Bennett Trail as it will be a full day hike and you will need as much water as possible depending on the temperature of the day. Recommend at least 1/2 gallon of water or more depends on the temperature.