Packing & Info
What to bring · Group gear covered · What you'll regret forgetting
🎒 Group Gear (Already Covered)
You don't need to bring these — they'll be on-site for everyone.
Jon Cordoba is bringing
Ryan Grimes is bringing
⚠️ Everyone Needs to Bring Their Own
🪑
Camp Chair
🎣
Fishing Gear
🔦
Lights / Headlamp
🍺
Lots of Beer
🎣 Arizona Fishing License — Buy Before You Come
You must have a valid Arizona fishing license to fish Woods Canyon Lake. Buy it online before you leave — printing on-site costs an extra $5.
Buy AZ Fishing License →1-day license ~$15 · Annual ~$37 for AZ residents
💨 Dust at Camp — Lessons from Last Year
Bare-dirt sites + wind = dust on everything (coffee machine, coolers, lungs). A 3-walled canopy alone does not stop it. The fixes that actually work:
- Cover the appliance directly — invert a clear plastic tote over the coffee machine between uses
- Outdoor rug under the chair circle so feet don't kick dust up
- Weight canopy walls to the ground with sandbags or rocks — closes the under-wall draft
- Mist bare patches with a pump sprayer morning and pre-dinner
- Raise the kitchen to waist height — dust is worst near the ground
⛺ Shelter & Sleep
- ☐ 20°F Sleeping Bag — Non-negotiable at 7,500 ft
- ☐ Sleeping Pad or Cot — Ground is cold
- ☐ Pillow — Compressible travel pillow packs small
- ☐ Wool Blanket — For campfire lounging
👕 Clothing & Layers
- ☐ Warm base layer (wool/fleece) — Nights drop to 35–45°F
- ☐ Mid-layer fleece or hoodie
- ☐ Rain jacket or shell — Afternoon showers likely
- ☐ Beanie + gloves — Morning fishing is cold
- ☐ Camp clothes (2–3 days) — You're camping, not impressing anyone
- ☐ Hiking boots or waterproof shoes
- ☐ Camp shoes / sandals — For around the fire
- ☐ Sunglasses — High elevation UV is no joke
🍳 Food & Cooking
- ☐ Lunch food + snacks — Dinners all 3 nights are covered — you only need lunch & snacks
- ☐ Beer — Bring your own for the weekend
- ☐ Coffee / French press — Two Blackstone grills on-site for morning cooking
- ☐ Reusable plate, bowl, utensils
- ☐ Water bottle (32+ oz)
- ☐ Clear plastic tote w/ lid — Invert over coffee machine + store food — keeps dust off when sites are dry
🥪 No-cook lunch ideas
🎣 Fishing Gear
- ☐ Fishing rod + reel — 2027 theme is TBD — watch the group chat before you pack a themed lure
- ☐ Fishing license (AZ) — REQUIRED — buy at azgfd.com before you leave
- ☐ Tackle box / lures / bait
- ☐ Net — Optional but clutch for Moriarty
- ☐ Pliers + line cutters
- ☐ Scale + measuring tape — For official contest documentation
- ☐ Cooler / stringer for catch — Catch-and-release or take home — your call
🔦 Lighting & Power
- ☐ Headlamp + spare batteries — Essential for 3am bathroom runs
- ☐ Personal battery pack + charging cable
🧴 Personal & Hygiene
- ☐ Sunscreen SPF 50+ — Reapply — high altitude burns fast
- ☐ Bug spray (DEET) — Mosquitos appear near dusk
- ☐ Toiletries + toothbrush
- ☐ Toilet paper + hand sanitizer — Vault toilets — bring your own TP
- ☐ Small towel
- ☐ Prescription medications
🛠️ Odds & Ends
- ☐ Camp chair
- ☐ Day pack / backpack
- ☐ Trash bags — Pack it in, pack it out
- ☐ Firestarter / lighter
- ☐ Multi-tool or pocket knife
- ☐ First aid kit basics
- ☐ Outdoor rug or turf mat (9×12) — Under the chair circle — kills dust on dry windy sites
- ☐ Microfiber cloths — Wipe dust off gear way better than paper towels
- ☐ Pump sprayer or watering can — Mist bare dirt to tamp down dust on windy afternoons
- ☐ Cash / card for AZ fishing license
- ☐ Photo ID
"It's butt-cold out here and I'm fresh out of beer."
— Grandpa Gustafson · your future self if you under-pack
🚫 Banned Items — Effective 2027
The following items are prohibited at ManCamp, enforced starting next year. Jon Cordoba's ruling is final.
Reaper Beef Jerky
You know what you did. Banned for the protection of all involved.
Malört
No one wants it. No one asked for it. It tastes like a campfire made of regret.
🌲 Leave No Trace
Pack it in, pack it out. We've had great sites for 5 years because we leave them clean. Let's keep it that way.