Originally Posted by RocketMouse

^^^ completely agree.... as a former desert rat myself... what you carry in any vehicle you drive there as bugout supplies... can be significantly different than what you'd carry in other states. One of the things I always carried besides the first jug of water... were supplies needed in order to continue making more water. The deserts of AZ are no joke. And you've gotta have some Bear Grylls skills to make it... at least the basics for survival. For both heat and cold... yes... cold in the desert... many times I've been in those deserts overnight and seen actual frost on the cactus. When people say AZ they think of nothing but heat...but in reality, deserts around the world have the biggest temperature swings from day to night than anywhere else. Can be 95 F in the day...and below freezing that same night. Just the way it is..so gotta know how to bugout right.

Also like the AR-15 item on the list above...lol
Personally I like my SA-40...but in the desert environment I'd probably go with a revolver...better suited and less issues in heat/sand.

Originally Posted by RocketMouse

kinda gives you a feeling like someone just walked up and kicked your dog right in front of you, and not a damn thing you can do about it. lol.

Originally Posted by Outlaw Star

I drive a truck so....whatever I can fit in the bed and still have room for the cooler.

Originally Posted by Bugout4x4

This is a very good analogy here.

Originally Posted by Bugout4x4

And I don't know why, but even though I have lived here most of my life, the hardest thing for me to remember to grab when it is 120 during the day is a jacket! lol

You get up around 4,500 feet and you WILL need it at night!

Originally Posted by Outlaw Star

I drive a truck so....whatever I can fit in the bed and still have room for the cooler.

Originally Posted by RocketMouse

I remember years ago climbing Picacho Peak there... that it rose up so high from the valley floor that it was actually chilly at the top. I mean you know you're high enough on the side of a cliff when you look out and you see aircraft flying below you. lol...
Here's an idea and this isn't even the top.....

Originally Posted by Bugout4x4

Always wanted to go climb that. One of my kids lives in Phoenix and maybe I'll get the chance while I'm down there someday.

I have a place on a mountain at about 6k. In the summer down in the valley it can be 116 and up on the hill it is 75. But at night it can get down to 50 degrees. That doesn't sound very cold, but to outdoor desert folk who are acclimated for 120 degree weather that is down right freezing! lol

Originally Posted by StealthyMcStealth

I knew my list would stir up some talk. Of course everyone isn't going to pack all that stuff all the time. But the list could make you think of a few items that you never thought to pack. My biggest fear is theft while I am sleeping. Still trying to think of ways to leave stuff in the Jeep and know that it most likely won't be stolen. I guess locked boxes bolted to the floor would work, but that means you can't remove the boxes easily. Still thinking...

Originally Posted by RocketMouse

yep... never thought I'd get used to that heat...and my first winter there people thought I was nuts walking around in shorts and tee-shirt.. and them in their winter coats... It was like 65-70 F.... and I was like this feels great. I was used to it being like -10 below zero in January. lol.
But after I got used to it... I learned quick what was good to keep in the vehicle I was traveling in. And you mentioned about the cell reception. Most don't know how bad the more remote paved roads in AZ can be for either bad or literally NO cell reception at all. So having the phone in your car to call in an emergency was never a sure bet you'd get through if/when it happened... so had to be prepared, all year.

Originally Posted by Bugout4x4

That's why I have an AM/FM 360 watt CB/Ham radio bolted in mine. I can always get someone to make a phone call relaying my location to my friends and family support network already set in place.

In turn... I used to go to Colorado in the summer and need a jacket and long pants when everyone was running around in shorts and a tshirt. lol

Originally Posted by RocketMouse

Not a bad idea... one of the reasons I was thinking of putting a good one back in mine. The PO on mine got it from a city gov. owning it from new..and they put them in all of their vehicles. I like where they had it mounted and then run the antenna up through the same hole in the roof that they made for one. (that is now plugged...in redneck fashion lol)
If I return to AZ, I will certainly be looking at putting one back in.

Originally Posted by Bugout4x4

If you had one like mine I could talk to you in Colorado from here right now if the conditions were right.

One night I talked to a couple of guys in Hawaii for about ten minutes from my mountain property.