Today, I'm going to be sharing a fantastic hike in Scottsdale, Arizona, just north of Phoenix. I'm also going to be sharing a very cool piece of Vaucluse equipment, the Ultralight Backpack Ventilation Frame, that helped keep my back cool and dry on this hike in very sunny weather out in the desert, so let’s dive in.
Hi, I'm Brice, the president of Vaucluse Backpack Ventilation Gear, where we love to sweat less and explore more. I've got a great hike that you can do out here in Scottsdale and a great piece of equipment that really helped in this warm and sunny weather. So let's dive in, and I'll show you where I went!
Hiking Review - Reach 11 Recreational Trail in Scottsdale, Arizona
Looking at the map, you see all my trails here (I’ll share these with you - see below), plus screenshots of the maps available from the Scottsdale, Arizona government website. I hiked the Trailhead Reach 11 Recreation Area Trail out in northern Scottsdale. Scottsdale is a northeast suburb of Phoenix but actually has a lot of outdoor activities. Many people think all Scottsdale is known for is spring baseball and golf, but there are many outdoor activities because Scottsdale is home to a 44,000-acre preserve called McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It's a permanently protected sustainable desert habitat, and if you're in Scottsdale, you can reach this preserve within 15 minutes and have a lot of space to go hiking.
The trailhead is at the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Princess Road, across the street from the Audi car dealership. I didn't go to the Preserve. I just stayed inside Scottsdale, where several short and long trails intersect. The main trail I took was called Ring Tail Loop, which follows the Arizona Canal. This canal is over 50 miles long and over 100 years old, and what's really cool is there are a lot of trails to the north and south and plenty to do around the canal, which is great. So regardless of where you live in Scottsdale, more than likely, the canal is near you. As for my hike, it was fun, flat, and had tree protection from the sun. The total length of the hike was just over five miles, and the elevation gain was 59 feet. So flat, fantastic, and very easy. Total time was just under two hours.
Now let's talk about the gear I took.
AllTrails Tracking: You can review the trail on my AllTrails account by clicking here.
Backpack Ventilation System - Sweat Less when Backpacking
Now let's dive into the gear that I took with me, starting with just a very simple day pack, my Osprey 18-liter, that I equipped with a Vaucluse Backpack Ventilation Frame and a Govee (us.govee.com) Bluetooth thermometer so I could track my humidity and the temperature of my back.
Here is our Backpack Ventilation Frame. It attaches in seconds to any backpack. I attached it to a day pack. You can attach it to your backpack. Whether it's a day pack, a 30-liter, 40-, 55- or even 65-liter pack, this attaches within seconds and weighs just under 3.5 ounces. So super light and – if you know frames on backpacks – they are either quite heavy (like you really want that between you and your back) or light and flimsy. Then if you have a lot of weight and attach it, the curve or gap collapses and you lose any relief (or air flow) between you and your backpack.
First, let's look at the numbers the Govee Bluetooth thermometer recorded and see how this frame performed on my hike in Scottsdale. We're going to look at the outside temperature (76°F) gradually increasing to 78°F. Not too hot but, for a two-hour hike in bright sunlight, it definitely got pretty warm.
Second, let's look at the humidity on my backpack. As I mentioned, I attached a thermometer but it also tracks humidity. The humidity hovered around 30% to just over 40% a few times. This means my back was pretty dry because the humidity recorded on my back was low.
Third, let's look at the temperature/degree of warmth directly on my back. There was a gradual increase in my back temperature that hovered around 82°F (just a few degrees above the outside temperature). This is pretty good for a two-hour hike in the sun. When you don't have a backpack ventilation frame on you (and I've got more videos that compare and contrast when you have it on and when you don't), the temperature of your back can increase more than 10°F. If you think about the hike that I was on, at 78° F, that notches up to 88° possibly 89°F. The temperature starts increasing and that's the root cause of discomfort. You're obviously sweating and there are risks involved in getting too hot, like dehydration or heat exhaustion.
So if you want to increase your backpack’s ventilation system and find a solution that's light and practical that you can use on your favorite backpack, check out our website at VaucluseGear.com. Check out our Ultralight Backpack Ventilation Frame. I think you're really going to like it and you're going to enjoy hiking those trails, whether in cold weather or hot, with this Ventilation Frame on your backpack.
Thank you so much! Here’s to sweating less, and see you on the trails!
You can read our 5-star customer reviews by clicking here. Yes, this gear works.
