Field boots
Day pack
Water bottles for 3-4 liters of water. Fill most of these the night before and put them in the freezer so you start off with them frozen on the trip.
Sun hat and sunglasses
Gloves to protect your hands from the sun (optional)
"Cool tie" to put around your neck, if you already own one (these will be supplied to students who need them)
 Sunscreen
 Hand lens
 Rock hammer:  either a sledge hammer w/separate chisel, or a lighter pick hammer
 Field notebook & pencil
 Optional:  camera, binoculars, pocket knife, hand magnet
 Optional:  field case for carrying notebook/pencils
Optional but highly recommended:  camelbak or platypus-type water bag with a tube and bite valve, so that you can drink water hands-free any time. If you bring one of these, you can fill it with ice cubes before the trip starts, so that you have cold water to drink.
 Optional:  personal first aid kit and/or snakebite kit to carry in your day pack

Camping equipment ( We may be wilderness camping in which case there will be no facilities of any kind available; please plan accordingly) :
  tent or bivy sack (optional, depending on the weather; tents can be borrowed; see note below)
  foam pad or thermarest (can be borrowed; see note below)
  tarp to sleep on, or to pitch your tent or bivy sack on
 lightweight sleeping bag (can be borrowed; see note below)
  cot (optional)
 flashlight or head lamp
 
Obviously you also want clothing, toiletries, socks, a towel.

Temperatures:
   Check the weather forecast for Barstow, California. The weather will probably be similar in terms of temperatures, wind, cloud cover.

Terrain:
 The terrain is desert. Some slopes have loose rocks. Please wear sturdy footwear.   There are bees and rattlesnakes in the vicinity.
 

 If you don't have a sleeping bag, tent or foam pad you can arrange to borrow (rent) one from the Caltech Y. In this case the GPS Division will pay for the cost of the rental. You are not allowed to sleep in the field vehicles.
 

Please make sure you have filled out the online emergency contact information form and submitted it to the Division Office. Please fill out another copy and bring it with you to the field in a sealed envelope with your name written on the outside. This envelope should also include information concerning any medications you are taking, and anything else that an emergency room doctor might want to know about you, in the unlikely event that you have a medical emergency. The envelope will be carried with us in the field and only opened if necessary. Otherwise it will be returned to you unopened at the end of the field trip.

Last updated March 5, 2013 by J. Stock .