Kegger Chronicle · Fun & Games

When Should the Next Kegger Be?

The most important and most debated question in the Kegger calendar

This annual event happens because people like to drink cold beer on a hot day in the mountains. Also because they like to get in a first backpacking trip early in the year. Simple enough. And yet the scheduling question has consumed more debate, more emails, more campfire argument than almost any other topic in 50 years of Kegger history.

Factors under active consideration every year

How soon will the road open?
When does the river get stocked with fish?
School schedules
Work schedules and project deadlines
Family vacations
Menstrual cycles
Whether the trailhead is open
Teresa's birthday
Father's Day
The moon phase (well-lit rivers are better)
Incoming storm systems
The mosquito situation
Temperature (how hot is "hot enough"?)
Scout camp opening weekend
At least three alternate-site incidents, historically

One of the biggest concerns is to avoid picking a date that is too late because of summer mosquito swarms. June through July can be the worst. It is the most critical decision there is. The key decider, though, is the person who buys the kegs.

The case for June 2026 — a dialogue

"Timing is critical," she said. "The arrangement of the planets. The arrangement of each person around us. June is a time of transition, changes, re-alignments, re-adjustments, re-fulfillments and especially recreations."

"NO!" he pleaded. "Don't mess with a good thing. The 4th of June has nearly no moon. It's too early. Let us convene instead on June 18th. We will be blind by the darkness on the 4th. Wait for the light. Are we to blunder all summer because of impatience? Can we not wait for longer, warmer days? You always wanted to hurry things up." He looked down at her nubile form wrapped in the sleeping bag.

As her eyes looked into his soul she smiled and said only that she wanted the summer to start two weeks earlier, to last two weeks longer. "Justin, get back under the blanket and watch the sun come up with me."

After a long pause he crawled in next to her, but the question of should the Kegger be June 5th to 7th OR June 12th to 14th kept intriguing him in a warm and tantalizing way. In the end he chose June 5th, 2026. But he knew he'd get there on the 4th.

The moon in June 2026

Moon phases calendar for June 2026 — June 2026 moon phases. The Kegger (June 5–7) falls during the Waning Gibbous phase — still enough light to see the river at night. He made the right call.

51st Annual Kegger Backpack
June 5–7, 2026 (arrive June 4th)
Stanislaus National Forest, CA · Subject to road conditions