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Well I hope nobody was planning to go to the NPs as they are all now closed. Apparently anyone in a park has 48 hours to leave but I wonder what happens to people in the backcountry who have no idea whats going on and probably aren't clued in. Is it possible they would actually send rangers in there to round people up?
Verman fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Oct 1, 2013 |
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Oct 1, 2013 16:37
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Verman posted:Well I hope nobody was planning to go to the NPs as they are all now closed. Apparently anyone in a park has 48 hours to leave but I wonder what happens to people in the backcountry who have no idea whats going on and probably aren't clued in. Is it possible they would actually send rangers in there to round people up? Seems like that would just take more time and resources rather than just letting the come out on their own schedule
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Oct 1, 2013 17:16
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Levitate posted:Seems like that would just take more time and resources rather than just letting the come out on their own schedule yeah, I'm sure it more just means that they are closing all services down in the parks rather than actually trying to actively kick people out.
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Oct 1, 2013 17:32
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Verman posted:Well I hope nobody was planning to go to the NPs as they are all now closed. Apparently anyone in a park has 48 hours to leave but I wonder what happens to people in the backcountry who have no idea whats going on and probably aren't clued in. Is it possible they would actually send rangers in there to round people up? If anyone's in the backcountry for more than 48 hours, they hopefully know their poo poo well enough to not be depending on park services to be there when they get back to the trailhead, where they can drive away without paying an exit fee  (if that's how parking works in NPs, I dunno).Unless it's a medical emergency, in which case I really hope they have a phone and service at the trailhead.
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Oct 1, 2013 19:45
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So I just registered for an NOLS Wilderness First Responder 10-day course here in Portland at the end of the month. Has anyone gone through a WFR course that could tell me what I can expect? Other than 10 full days of sitting in the rain in a park running through crazy scenarios? I'm kind of excited that this will be happening over Halloween, seems like whoever's doing wound makeup would have some extra fun for the occasion. In all sincerity though, I'm really looking forward to learning some of this stuff even if I never have to apply any of it. I definitely learned a good deal of wilderness first aid type skills in Boy Scouts but it's been years and years and I'll be damned if I remember any of it at this point.
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Oct 2, 2013 01:04
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There's a surprisingly large amount of classroom-time. Bring snacks.
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Oct 2, 2013 03:43
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Any chance of further updates on the OP? I'm working on my gear right now to move from summer into winter, and a bit more info on sleep and shelter solutions would be nice. As it stands, I'm looking at adding a sleeping quilt and a mylar-layer pad to the hammock and tarp setup I usually use. The ultralight fit-in-a-daypack version with just an insulated blanket was okay overnight at 40, but it's going to get colder real soon, and I don't want to give up overnighting out in my hunting grounds. 
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Oct 2, 2013 05:30
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Speleothing posted:There's a surprisingly large amount of classroom-time. Bring snacks. I'll bring plenty of snacks and a thermos of coffee every morning. Lots of note-taking I take it then?
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Oct 2, 2013 19:02
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SpitztheGreat posted:Just did Hadley Mountain in the Adirondacks. The description that I read had it labeled as a "moderate" hike- and that's bullshit; there's nothing "moderate" about it. I am extremely familiar with Hadley Mountain - my family has a camp just a few miles down the road on Sacandaga and hiking Hadley is our 'we have nothing to do and don't want to go far' activity of choice. I hate to disagree with you, but 'Moderate' is exactly how I would describe Hadley on a scale of easy-moderate-strenuous-very strenuous. It is steep at points, but has no boulders or things to navigate and while there are some exposed rock sections, none are so steep that require scrambling. I will admit that the trail can get lovely in the spring - especially the exposed rock section that turns into part of the stream... But, taken in context of all possible Adirondack hikes, Hadley and Prospect are the easiest mountain hikes I can think of and the only ones I would not question someone going into without more than a bottle of water. I've seen families with little kids and elderly on Hadley. I've seen a large group of Mormon or Mennonite girls climbing Hadley in full-length dresses and bare feet. I laughed at a group of hipsters (I don't usually like the word but if you saw these guys, you'd agree) hiking Hadley in skinny jeans while smoking cigarettes. If it was a high peak, I might stop them and ask them if they know what they're in for - but in this particular case I think the mountain's difficulty is properly labeled. You also went on one of the best fall weekends in years - perfect weather on the weekend at (near) peak foliage. This is going to attract a lot of people who have absolutely no experience but just want to see the sights. I don't think you'd see the same number of unprepared people on a normal day. (I was in the high peaks the same day and the number of people out on the trails was unbelievable!) Gambl0r fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Oct 3, 2013 |
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Oct 3, 2013 19:18
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Anyone hear about the Ursack getting grizzly tested? My dad forwarded me this that was supposedly posted on a yahoo John Muir groupquote:No word yet from IGBC.
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Oct 4, 2013 04:32
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MMD3 posted:So I just registered for an NOLS Wilderness First Responder 10-day course here in Portland at the end of the month. Are you planning on working in the backcountry in some fashion? If not, I would save your money and just do Wilderness First Aid. Much of the stuff in WFR depends on having professional gear which isn't worth the weight for a layperson.
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Oct 4, 2013 04:35
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The Light Eternal posted:Are you planning on working in the backcountry in some fashion? If not, I would save your money and just do Wilderness First Aid. Much of the stuff in WFR depends on having professional gear which isn't worth the weight for a layperson. I completely disagree. WFA is nothing but common sense and a couple helpful concepts. WFR is where you're going to get real, useful knowledge. WEMT is the over-extreme end of the spectrum.
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Oct 4, 2013 04:43
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Speleothing posted:I completely disagree. WFA is nothing but common sense and a couple helpful concepts. WFR is where you're going to get real, useful knowledge. WEMT is the over-extreme end of the spectrum. I'm actually taking it for the credit hours to apply to a degree, but also just because I do a good amount of hiking & backpacking and figured it'd be a fun way to polish up on some of my safety skills and build a good foundation of safety knowledge to prepare me for any longer trips I may want to take in the future.
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Oct 4, 2013 16:02
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So we had some snow here and I figured I would try to summit a mountain I'd never been up. Holy poo poo, I really got my rear end kicked on this one. It was steep as hell, I think 5000 feet in 3-4 miles. There was brush that was so thick I couldn't get through and had to backtrack several times. The snow alternated between being powder and some really icy stuff so it was always a mystery to see if I would sink a bit or be able to walk across. I ended up turning around after 4.5 hours and getting to the one class 3 area on the mountain. It was a 15 foot downclimb onto a knife edge, wouldn't have been too difficult but the snow was covering too much and I didn't feel like dying. I thought my troubles would have ended but the way back proved to have its own problems. The ground had thawed and was super muddy, ended up wiping out and scraping up my leg. Ran into my last problem about 300 feet from the base when I came upon a cliff. Took a while to find the way down. The early morning approach, though you can't see the real summit. I guess that's why it's called Invisible mountain  Mt McCaleb off to the West, summitted that earlier this year  Goats! I swear these things can defy gravity  Getting close to the false summit  The real summit. I'll have to try again when there's less snow  Mt McCaleb again and to its right is USGS Peak. I've had a failed attempt on USGS as well, maybe I'll knock both mountains out in one weekend next year. 
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Oct 6, 2013 15:26
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Any Alberta goons able to comment on the status of mountains near Canmore? I fear that I may be too late to get one last hike in and wouldnt mind getting Lady Mac or something else relatively easy/not snow covered.
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Oct 8, 2013 05:11
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My wife and I finished the New Hampshire 4000 footers on Zealand and the Bonds the weekend of September 28th. We set up a car spot at Lincoln Woods, and got a ride to the Zealand Trailhead. On day one we hiked over Zealand, to the Guyot Campsite, set up our tent, and then headed up to West Bond for sunset. On day two we hit Mount Bond, and Bondcliff, then hiked out back to our car. The weather was perfect, the fall colors were great, and the views were incredible. A total of 22 miles and 5200' of elevation gain. IMG_5861 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5868 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5887 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5900 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5926 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5955 by EPICAC, on Flickr  IMG_5993 by EPICAC, on Flickr
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Oct 8, 2013 18:37
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EPICAC posted:My wife and I finished the New Hampshire 4000 footers on Zealand and the Bonds the weekend of September 28th. That looks about perfect and it makes me realize that I need to leave the midwest. At least I will be heading to the U.P of Michigan next week for a few days of bird hunting. I love when everyone (including my family that I'm meeting up there) gasps when they hear that I'm going to sleep outside in a tent in the UP during late october. Temps usually hit between 20-30º F at night so I've woken up a few times to snow/ice but what they don't realize is how well a down sleeping bag actually works. Its fun to show up when my step dad brings his camper and a truck load of crap for the weekend and I show up with a backpack and a cooler. Unfortunately I won't be doing much hiking on this trip but I will be chasing our dog through the woods for a few days so that will work for me.
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Oct 8, 2013 19:06
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Verman posted:That looks about perfect and it makes me realize that I need to leave the midwest. At least I will be heading to the U.P of Michigan next week for a few days of bird hunting. I love when everyone (including my family that I'm meeting up there) gasps when they hear that I'm going to sleep outside in a tent in the UP during late october. Temps usually hit between 20-30º F at night so I've woken up a few times to snow/ice but what they don't realize is how well a down sleeping bag actually works. Its fun to show up when my step dad brings his camper and a truck load of crap for the weekend and I show up with a backpack and a cooler. certainly a lot different than camping in the UP in say February  sounds like a great trip, at least if you're stuck in the midwest the UP isn't a bad place to escape to. Enjoy!
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Oct 8, 2013 20:01
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Hiked up the Priest last weekend, wandered over to Crabtree Falls, back up to the Priest, slept on the top then back down the next morning. 3100 feet up in 4.5 miles, good climb for central VA. Today the wife and I took the kid up to Humpback Rocks then back down Via the AT. His first AT trip at 3 months. He was a champ and lasted 3.5 miles in the carrier.
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Oct 8, 2013 21:55
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EPICAC posted:
Images like these are the proper response to the people who say "Uuugh, I need to get out west where the real hiking is."
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Oct 8, 2013 23:20
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I took a river trip on the Rio Grande in Big Bend Ranch State Park which isn't hiking, but I figured you guys would like the couple of snapshots I took. We were supposed to do part of the national park, but that obviously didn't work out. 
Atticus_1354 fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Oct 8, 2013 23:25
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TerminalSaint posted:Images like these are the proper response to the people who say "Uuugh, I need to get out west where the real hiking is." While those pictures are magnificent, I could fly to California in the time it would take me to drive from Long Island to New Hampshire. Real hiking does exist here in the east, but it's impractical for all but a select few.
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Oct 9, 2013 04:53
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Defiant Sally posted:Any Alberta goons able to comment on the status of mountains near Canmore? I fear that I may be too late to get one last hike in and wouldnt mind getting Lady Mac or something else relatively easy/not snow covered. I haven't had a chance to get out since the snow started coming down. Kananaskis Public Safety have mostly just been warning people about diminishing daylight hours at this point. I also found this: quote:We have officially transitioned from summer to autumn and the white peaks are a testament to I'm pretty sure things will be fine so long as you're used to a bit of snow. Lady Mac should be safe up until the ridge, but crossing the knife-edge might be sketchy at this point. Depending on wind, there might be slight cornices already on the vertical side (north-facing). Something like Heart, EEOR, Ha Ling, or Grotto might be better options. I'd normally say it would be pretty good since we had a chinook on Saturday and that tends to blast a lot of those routes clear, but the weather today may have dumped a bunch of new snow that I haven't seen reported on yet. Edit: I need to get some photos posted from my official backpacking course I took a couple weeks ago. Totally loving aced it. Easiest credits I've ever received! SulfurMonoxideCute fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 06:11
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Speleothing posted:I completely disagree. WFA is nothing but common sense and a couple helpful concepts. WFR is where you're going to get real, useful knowledge. WEMT is the over-extreme end of the spectrum. WFR is a professional-level course. It makes no sense for someone to spend $800 to learn how to give Os and epi when it's completely impractical to carry those things by yourself. I am an EMT and my first aid kit fits in a snack-sized ziploc bag.
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Oct 9, 2013 06:11
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Weather chat! One skill I realize now that I never formally learned, and have gotten lucky with, is dealing with harsh weather in the back-country. I don't mean "oh man it's raining," I mean lightning and/or flash floods, or maybe snow, but I usually don't do winter backpacking. Maybe high winds, too. So let's start with lightning I guess. Lightning storm starts up! What do I do? I think traditional National Weather Service wisdom is, get away from trees and lay down in the middle of a field, but is that really the best thing if I'm 2 days from civilization and carrying everything on my back? Lucky for me, I've never had it start lightninging while I was very far from a permanent shelter, though I've definitely been out in it in the city. And then there's flash floods. I've heard horror stories of people getting swept away in their tent by one. How do I read the terrain to prevent this? It's something that I consider when placing my tent, but the best I can come up with is "I dunno, don't put my tent in the bottom of an obvious ditch/draw" and I feel like there must be some better ways to go about it. Does anyone have advice on this, and also, how close is too close to a running stream? High winds - besides staking your tent very well and putting weight inside it, I guess you probably want to find a place leeward of a rock, or alternately, windward of any trees that might drop debris at you? Or the leeward side of a hill could be good, too. Not something that happens quite so often here in PA, though it does sometimes, and either way I'd like to know the best practices. I'm sure you Rocky Mountain region folks have some advice, I've heard there can be some mighty afternoon storms on those mountains.
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Oct 9, 2013 15:04
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alnilam posted:So let's start with lightning I guess. Lightning storm starts up! What do I do? I think traditional National Weather Service wisdom is, get away from trees and lay down in the middle of a field, but is that really the best thing if I'm 2 days from civilization and carrying everything on my back? This is kind of what I learned but keep in mind that a lightning storm can last a while. However I came across a boy scout troop who had a few cases of hypothermia because they got in lightning position without putting on rain gear and jackets. So be smart and read the conditions around you also. Also when lightning strikes close enough for you to feel the charge in the ground and air it is an awesome rush.  
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Oct 9, 2013 15:36
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I've heard to separate yourself from your pack to make your "footprint" smaller. I'm not sure if the metal in your pack makes a difference but if you are in enough of an "oh poo poo things are getting real" kind of moment, any potential benefit wouldn't hurt in my opinion. I also imagine that if you are preparing to deal with lightning, you probably should have your rain jacket handy.
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Oct 9, 2013 16:26
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In a densely wooded area is a person that much more of a target than anything else though? I would think a tall tree, well grounded and full of water is a better lightning target than a 5-6 foot tall person in rubber soled shoes. I can understand crouching on a bald or in the desert though.
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Oct 9, 2013 18:53
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The only time I really get worried is when I'm near or above the tree line, even though technically lightning can kill whenever, its usually more of an issue at high altitudes when you're the tallest feature.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:17
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Atticus_1354 posted:I came across a boy scout troop who had a few cases of hypothermia because they got in lightning position without putting on rain gear and jackets.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:45
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evil_bunnY posted:That's pretty priceless. It is a good story now, but at the time I was pissed that I had to babysit a bunch of idiots on my days off. They all did end up fine in the end.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:51
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Atticus_1354 posted:It is a good story now, but at the time I was pissed that I had to babysit a bunch of idiots on my days off. They all did end up fine in the end.
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Oct 9, 2013 19:58
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evil_bunnY posted:Right. It's just so such a typical "GOTTA PREPAAAARED" situation, where indoctrinated risk management makes them ignore common loving sense. Where there's smoke there's fire, and guess what? Where there's a real risk of lightning, chances are it's dumping. Well that is the joy of working with boy scouts. You get everything from the ultra prepared groups to crews from inner city New York who had never been hiking before and prepared by hiking up and down the stairs in their apartment complex.
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Oct 9, 2013 20:03
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Christmas came early! Been doing some light bike camping, but filled out my kit nicely with some Amazon credit.   Here's what I picked up; Marmot Mica Rain Jacket Sea-to-Summit Premium Silk Travel Liner with Pillow Insert Injinji 2012 Performance Original Weight Mini Crew Toe Socks Acadian Men's Merino Lightweight Boxer Brief ALPS Mountaineering MicroFiber Camp Pillow High Sierra 1.5 Liter Reservoir Isolation Men's Merino Midweight 1/4 Zip Outdoor Products 3-Pack Ultimate Dry Sack Suisse Sport Adventurer Mummy Ultra-Compactable Sleeping Bag High Sierra Classic Series 59401 Sentinel 65 Internal Frame Pack Kershaw Chill Pocket Knife ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 1 Tent: 1-Person 3-Season Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Trekker Mattress Merrell Road Glove 2 (for running and easy trails where boots aren't needed) Can't wait to test it all out this weekend! Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 20:24
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Mercury Ballistic posted:In a densely wooded area is a person that much more of a target than anything else though? I would think a tall tree, well grounded and full of water is a better lightning target than a 5-6 foot tall person in rubber soled shoes. I can understand crouching on a bald or in the desert though. I've heard the advice of "do NOT take shelter under a tree" about a million times, including from the national weather service, so I think there must be some reason behind it. My guess is there's a lot of collateral damage from lightning striking a tree, both in the electrical sense and in the debris sense. Also lightning striking a nearby tree may induce serious ground currents. Anyway, thanks for the lightning advice all! Anything on the flash flood and the high wind stuff?
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Oct 9, 2013 22:22
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alnilam posted:Anyway, thanks for the lightning advice all! Anything on the flash flood and the high wind stuff? You really want local knowledge on the flash flood and high wind risks. An arroyo in the Southwest looks totally different from a Northwestern watershed creek, and the weather that causes them to flood can be totally different as well. It's hard to come up with general risk mitigation strategies. Keep your head up when you're hiking, and pay attention to the weather on the horizon. Be willing and able to change your plans (i.e. avoid putting yourself into the position where you have no alternative but to tramp through weather in order to reach food/shelter/responsibilities). Don't camp right next to water or a creekbed - give yourself a 20 foot minimum distance (also to avoid trampling the riparian areas). Heavily forested areas can protect you from high winds, but lightly forested areas can be blown away and introduce a flying object risk - that depends on the type of trees as well. Similarly, a draw or small valley can protect you from a storm, or it can channel a mountain's worth of wind and water down the center of it. It just depends on the local geography. I could tell you all about how to make a brush windshield out of material here in the Northwest, or how to tell the difference between a seasonal creekbed and a game trail, but it'd be pretty useless for other areas. The best solution is to find an experienced local hiker and pick their brain. Also, carry some rope and a decent hiking knife if you're going off-trail - between the two you can generally mitigate any risks you come across through jerry-rigging (i.e. tie your tent down, build a rain-shelter, secure your gear, etc.). Oh and your thoughts about lightning are absolutely spot-on - don't stand under trees. Kaal fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Oct 9, 2013 |
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Oct 9, 2013 22:53
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I've kayaked through thunderstorms which I'm pretty sure is incredibly dumb.
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Oct 9, 2013 23:39
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Mercury Ballistic posted:I would think a tall tree, well grounded and full of water is a better lightning target than a 5-6 foot tall person in rubber soled shoes. 100,000 amps of current doesn't jump a few miles out of the sky to give a poo poo about a little bit of rubber. The height differential is the big thing in reducing the likelihood of direct strikes, you get balled up with minimal contact with the ground to try to mitigate the likelihood that you die from the charge flowing through the ground from a nearby strike.
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Oct 10, 2013 00:19
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mastershakeman posted:I've kayaked through thunderstorms which I'm pretty sure is incredibly dumb. I did this on the Shenendoah River. We took shelter from the storm under a bridge. Not sure if it was any better than being on the open water.
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Oct 10, 2013 00:22
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single-mode fiber posted:100,000 amps of current doesn't jump a few miles out of the sky to give a poo poo about a little bit of rubber. The height differential is the big thing in reducing the likelihood of direct strikes, you get balled up with minimal contact with the ground to try to mitigate the likelihood that you die from the charge flowing through the ground from a nearby strike. Crouching down also reduces your profile in the event that a nearby tree gets hit and explodes.
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Oct 10, 2013 00:23
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