Have you ever risen early, walked into the Grand Canyon and watched God paint a grand picture? We just returned from our annual Grand Canyon backpacking vacation adventure and though I am familiar with most parts of the canyon, it never disappoints. Instead of worrying about battery power, this year we went all rechargeable batteries for the first time. A Brunton Restore portable solar battery did the trick.
Hiking to the edge, onto the trail, gray morning gives way to brilliant reds yellows and browns, the tints and hues of all the colors begin to blend into the perfect light. As we backpacked into the wilderness below, the sun moved higher in the sky flooding the our desert with color that seemed to explode before our eyes.
Solar powered hiking the Grand Canyon means you have embraced the simple life shaking off your man focused world. You discover that the tools you have carefully chosen are all that you have for the outdoor escape. Though you are only a few miles below thousands of people peering down onto your vista, they do not exist when you look up.
Countless hours are always spent sitting on a carefully selected rock or ledge doing nothing more than canyon watching. (Of course, that is after you spend countless hours doing what my friend from Iowa calls bolder walking.) Adding your favorite music with an i Pod only serves to enhances the experience. Since I was traveling light, I took along a Brunton Restore to recharge my i Pod and camera. It always amazes me how quickly rechargeable batteries can discharge which is decidedly inconvenient when you are trying to capture that special moment in time to tell the story to your friends.
My Brunton Restore, portable power solar panels, performed its duty flawlessly. You have the option of recharging the battery using solar power, but I did not find it necessary the 4 days I spent in the park.
I found my Brunton restore portable solar panel charger very lightweight at 7.2 ounces. The Brunton Restore has a rubberized case and feels really solid like it could be dropped off a roof and survive. It’s water resistant too. It flips open too and exposes two rather large panels, making it easier to operate than the three-panel Solio charger.
There’s a handy design to this whereby you can plug in a USB cord to charge up anything attached to that, or you can pull out the male USB plug and insert it into the device. Or pull out the other end of the cable instead and it goes into a mini-USB slot like you see on Google phones for example. There’s an adapter for micro USB as well, which other devices use. So basically you’re okay charging up any portable music player, communication device or camera, provided it uses some version of USB.
Solar powered camping, backpacking the Grand Canyon or a mountain vacation getaway is something everyone should experience. Choosing the right equipment only serves to enhance the good time you are sure to have.