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Terrifying Effigies posted:They may not be as big as the mountains out west, but the Appalachians get awful pretty in the fall (Mount Rogers VA last weekend): The highlands in Grayson County usually hit their peak foliage beginning October 20th; I took these last year on the 25th     Based on the pictures you took, it might be a little earlier this year, maybe beginning the 17th or 18th.
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Oct 10, 2014 03:47
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Verman posted:Some of my friends can be the same way. I don't think it's necessarily out of laziness but a few different factors. One could be that we're from the Midwest so most guys are used to car camping and not having a reason to wake up early so they want to stay up late chatting and hanging out. Some guys find more fun in sitting around and hanging out than hiking so the thought of waking up early just to go do "work" isn't super enticing. Another thing is that if someone is new they might not understand the importance of getting an early start so that you can get to your destination with enough light to set up camp and make dinner. A lot of my friends see my backpacking trips and ask if they can tag along next time. They think it's like car camping, sitting around a fire and drinking beers but when I tell them the mileage and that we're in bed by 9pm and up by 7 just to pack up and hike some more they quickly lose interest. This is so true. The group I go with is pretty tight knit and have hiked together for years so we know our limits, what we're comfortable with, and how how much mileage we like to aim for. While recently discussing an upcoming 9 day trip one of my friends girlfriend decided then and there that she wanted to go (no prior backcountry experience), and that from our discussion that the trip didn't seem that difficult. That is until we discussed mileage, hiking in rain for days, smelling like a bunch of lumberjacks, and no easy access to a car in case you "had a change of heart". I said that if she did some weekenders through the year (rain of shine) then she was more than welcome to join. That seemed to be the deal breaker. I mean it's not like we're doing expeditions here, but we do like to go out and do what we came to do. She seemed to think we were actively trying to push her out but when I explained that we've been burnt before by others on trips she just pushed it aside and said we weren't flexible. And I thought perhaps we aren't being flexible enough, but then all I could think about was not meeting our goals for the trip. But you know what, at my age with our group having kids, marriages, jobs, and bills I'm not willing to compromise (I mean we do to some degree to get the trip going, trying to plan around life is bad enough). Perhaps this makes us hard asses? But at this stage these trips are becoming a luxury and we don't seem to care, but we are willing to accommodate. Perhaps this makes us terrible people, I don't know.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:04
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If they don't understand that making it to base camp isn't the same as bagging a summit, there's no explaining it. A group who've never done poo poo with you aren't going to change their plans for you.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:21
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Another reason I don't backpack with groups!
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Oct 10, 2014 15:27
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I was solo for the first week of the JMT and I realized I much preferred some company around camp in the evenings. I met several groups along the way and tagged along with them for a while but with everyone on different schedules it was really hard to stick with anyone for more than a day or two. I had arranged tons of logistics for a group of 6 family members to meet me at Red's and hike with me to MTR (5 days) and I'm amazed it turned out as well as it did. I think we were successful because there was one person who was clearly in charge (me) and I set realistic mileage goals for the group. You run into trouble when you have groups where everyone wants to have a say in how far they want the group to hike tomorrow. We had the whole gamut from a retired NPS ranger, a current NPS search and rescue ranger, an avid climber/wannabe mountaineer, two college kids with some backpacking experience, and two girls with zero experience. We did about 8-11 miles with 1,000-3,000 feet of elevation gain per day. There were a few days where morale was low but I think everyone had a clear enough idea about what we were getting into that there was very little complaining and no outright mutinies. It also helped that it was a one way through hike with prearranged logistics on the other end so slowing down or doing less mileage was not an option.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:38
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mastershakeman posted:I honestly wonder if it's a weird midwestern thing - I camp with multiple groups of friends here that don't even know each other, yet the one thing they all have in common is incredibly late starts (on the Appalachian trail 3 years ago we wouldn't get moving until 11 a.m.), and I can't figure it out. I'm guessing it's because there's no mountains and no sense of danger in getting caught in storms. Nope, you just like to be friends with lazy people. Nateron posted:This is so true. Nah, I'm with you. There are different trips for different goals. I car camp way more often than I backpack, because a demanding day hike followed by campfires, fancy camp cookin', and beer is my favorite way to hike. I get that more than anyone. But when I do backpack, then yeah, I'm not really going to be flexible with people who want to take a leisurely stroll and wake up at noon, because that's 100% counter to the entire purpose of why I'm backpacking. BRAKE FOR MOOSE fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Oct 10, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 15:55
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disheveled posted:Nope, you just like to be friends with lazy people. Michigander? If so we have one of the best states for car camping, or camping/canoeing/kayaking. After writing all that up this morning its funny that now I'm the one encountering the same thing with groups of people whitewater kayaking. They're hesitant to take on even someone who'll portage most of the big stuff. However I can understand it, there's a very real risk of injury/death on some if not all of these rivers. It's just funny to be put into that place (though most boaters are pretty chill).
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Oct 10, 2014 18:17
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If you're hiking as a group, it's totally okay to arrange a meeting point and split up, especially if you get going at different times, like if the other people in the group want to sit in camp and have a leisurely coffee and oatmeal, and you just want a granola bar and to get going. Just make sure that you're not stretching mileage goals, keeping in mind the slowest person's ability. Stick to the trail, make sure there is a map in both groups, etc. It is really annoying waiting for people to get going on the morning when you could have been enjoying the sunrise from the next peak and they still want to spend an hour cooking, eating, cleaning, and packing before you finally hit the trail, which is why solo backpacking is the best backpacking.
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Oct 10, 2014 21:46
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That is the best way in my opinion. Hike your own hike, etc. Have to be careful with people new to backpacking though as they might take offense to you dusting them. Our big group agreed to reconvene at trail junctions but to otherwise hike at your own pace.
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Oct 10, 2014 22:32
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single-mode fiber posted:The highlands in Grayson County usually hit their peak foliage beginning October 20th; I took these last year on the 25th A little later in September but close enough...I was surprised by the amount of color already out at that point. Those are some great pics, I'd like to try going up in the wintertime with snow on the ground at some point.
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Oct 10, 2014 23:32
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Nateron posted:She seemed to think we were actively trying to push her out but when I explained that we've been burnt before by others on trips she just pushed it aside and said we weren't flexible. And I thought perhaps we aren't being flexible enough, but then all I could think about was not meeting our goals for the trip. But you know what, at my age with our group having kids, marriages, jobs, and bills I'm not willing to compromise (I mean we do to some degree to get the trip going, trying to plan around life is bad enough). Perhaps this makes us hard asses? But at this stage these trips are becoming a luxury and we don't seem to care, but we are willing to accommodate. Perhaps this makes us terrible people, I don't know. Nah, a 9-day backcountry trip is a pretty significant hike for a completely unknown quantity. If she's a natural backpacker, great, but if not then it makes the whole thing into a strain. I've been on trips like that, with neophytes who don't know how to pace themselves, or simply can't keep up with any reasonable pace, or take absurd risks and end up with twisted ankles miles from any road, or people who just can't get into the backwoods mentality. Usually it's not so bad for a weekend hike, but there's no way I'd want to have that stress on a week-long adventure. Doing a couple short trial hikes ahead of time was a reasonable compromise, and I think that if she wasn't chomping at the bit to do those then I'd be doubtful that she'd succeed at the full-length one. It seems to me that you were being flexible by offering her a way of joining the group, and she was being inflexible by demanding that you'd accommodate her every wish. Crisis averted I'd say. Kaal fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Oct 12, 2014 |
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Oct 12, 2014 03:29
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Nateron posted:Michigander? If so we have one of the best states for car camping, or camping/canoeing/kayaking. WW kayakers are a weird bunch in my opinion. If they are running stuff that is at the limit of their ability they prefer to be with people of greater ability. When they are running stuff that is below their ability they are willing to drag along people that have no business being out there. This can be a bad thing if it's you that is being dragged out to a place where you really shouldn't be going. I've had people try to convince me to go run stuff where the crux rapids are west coast V-V+ and the tweener rapids are IV-IV+. Since I pretty much tap out at IV+ and maybe short pieces of V this seems like a really bad idea. The short of it is, if you're dealing with someone who cannot self evaluate their preparedness for a certain activity, it's your duty to do so. Taking out someone with no backpacking experience of a 9 day trip is dangerous for all involved. Similar to taking a class III boater out on a class IV+ river, you're exposing the entire party to risk. The lovely boater fucks up and swims, everyone else has to risk themselves to bail that guy out. It's no different on a long backpacking trip if you've got someone who is poorly prepared physically and skills wise to be out there.
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Oct 12, 2014 04:54
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It's getting cold, but there's still mountains to climb in the Idaho backcountry! Moose!  Oh no I'm falling!  I'm tempted to try out some snowshoeing this winter but it would appear that there's a lot to learn about proper snow conditions. I don't know much about it.
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Oct 12, 2014 05:05
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Snowshoeing is awesome and there's plenty you can do without getting into avalanche territory. In a lot of places there's popular snowshoe trails so you don't even have to break trail (unless you want to). If you stay in the trees, go with a buddy, and bring food/water/extra layer/space blanket/flashlight/firestuff on longer excursions you reduce the danger factor a heck of a lot and can still have a great time. I've been doing it my whole life and have never felt like I was in a remotely dangerous situation. Get a pair and start small and you probably won't go wrong. If you want to bag exposed summits - yeah. Approach that stuff as winter mountaineering and prepare accordingly. Edit: Don't get me wrong, you should definitely take avvy classes if you're going into the backcountry. My point is simply that the barrier to entry for garden-variety recreational snowshoeing is pretty dang low. You probably don't need an AVY1 cert to go hike around in the trees with your buddies. Spime Wrangler fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Oct 12, 2014 |
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Oct 12, 2014 06:53
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I've been day hiking for a couple of months now and feel i want to try to do some over nights one. What essential equipment do and need and what should i be aware of as a solo hiker doing my first overnights. I do all my hike locally (southern sweden) but I'm thinking about keep doing the hikes during winter season).
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Oct 12, 2014 18:34
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fritzov posted:I've been day hiking for a couple of months now and feel i want to try to do some over nights one. There are plenty of articles or videos to watch online which can provide this information. The amount of gear you bring will be dependent on how comfortable you want to be. Generally the items below are non-negotiable. Sleep system +tent/hamock +sleeping bag +sleeping pad cook system +stove +pot +spoon backpack waterproof +pack cover +jacket or poncho First aid kit
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Oct 12, 2014 20:04
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This is going to make me sound like I'm insane (probably), but I think I've found my favorite backpacking pants. http://amazon.com/gp/product/B006YFVY1O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I bought a pair of them for work to wear underneath bib overalls when it started getting cooler out (sweatpants are too warm for fall under bibs, work pants are just too bulky). I build trails professionally, and needed to do a quick walk about 3 miles and back, took off my bibs and just wore the scrub pants so I could move faster, and it was sort of a sun shining through the clouds moment. I'm not afraid of cotton in the summer/warmer sides of shoulder season, particularly not only %35 cotton, so I'm going to start wearing these for some day hikes and then try them on some backpacking trips next spring and see how they do. They're certainly pretty durable and dry fast, and are ridiculously comfortable.
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Oct 12, 2014 21:06
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Saint Fu posted:3/4 length was definitely a part of it. I did have a 1/8" gossamer gear foam pad (which I mainly used to wrap my bear can in to protect the cuben pack and use for whatever else) that I used under my feet when sleeping. With the footbox of my quilt tied up so it was closed, it was usually my core/butt getting cold first which seemed to lead to my feet getting cold. I wish there was a slightly thicker CCF pad because I love not having to worry about punctures and being able to toss it down anywhere anytime without blowing it up. I've had good luck with, of all things, marrying an aluminzed reflector like you see in car windshields to my ccf pad. It bounces a lot of heat back up, which really helps.
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Oct 12, 2014 22:17
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Spime Wrangler posted:Snowshoeing is awesome and there's plenty you can do without getting into avalanche territory. In a lot of places there's popular snowshoe trails so you don't even have to break trail (unless you want to). If you stay in the trees, go with a buddy, and bring food/water/extra layer/space blanket/flashlight/firestuff on longer excursions you reduce the danger factor a heck of a lot and can still have a great time. I've been doing it my whole life and have never felt like I was in a remotely dangerous situation. Get a pair and start small and you probably won't go wrong. Well I'm definitely into peakbagging so I'll look into taking some avalanche safety courses before going out. The only time I've ever snowshoed was on a ski slope on Mt Hood so there wasn't too much danger.
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Oct 13, 2014 02:42
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A Kpro posted:Well I'm definitely into peakbagging so I'll look into taking some avalanche safety courses before going out. The only time I've ever snowshoed was on a ski slope on Mt Hood so there wasn't too much danger. Another thing worth considering. Feel free to use backcountry huts on snowshoes. I've done 5 trips on snowshoes up to huts and it's great!
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Oct 13, 2014 03:06
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Liquid Communism posted:I've had good luck with, of all things, marrying an aluminzed reflector like you see in car windshields to my ccf pad. It bounces a lot of heat back up, which really helps. Does this work best underneath your pad or do you just lie right on top of it?
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Oct 13, 2014 12:08
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Liquid Communism posted:I've had good luck with, of all things, marrying an aluminzed reflector like you see in car windshields to my ccf pad. It bounces a lot of heat back up, which really helps.
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Oct 13, 2014 13:54
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This weekend some friends and I completed an epic trip in the Grand Canyon. We hiked in to a remote part of the canyon following sketchy trail to the head of the Shinumo Wash narrows. From there, we suited up in wetsuits and completed a technical canyoneering descent, using swimming, downclimbing and ropework to descend the canyon into the Silver Grotto, a spectacular slot canyon that is usually only seen from the bottom by the most adventurous of rafting parties. At the mouth of the canyon, the technical section was over, but there was still no hiker's trail, so the only choice was to inflate small packrafts and raft the Colorado River downstream to Fence Fault, where a tough scramble led up through the Redwall to connect with the trail again. From there it was just an "easy" hike back out to the rim. One of the most adventurous trips I've taken in a long time.   And here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULpV-kB-bpI
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Oct 13, 2014 16:10
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I got your larches right here:  This is Maple Pass, which is probably the easiest hike in Washington relative to the quality and variety of scenery it delivers (a 7-mile loop that starts at a major highway). I strongly considered calling in sick last week and doing this hike while the sun was out, but the change in the weather actually made things more interesting by giving the larches a nice white background. Fall is my favorite time of the year to hike, assuming I can actually find a nice day to do it.
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Oct 14, 2014 02:32
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Fall hikes are the BEST hikes. Roamed this weekend with some friends, and....gently caress me. Every time I have a lovely week, this just...melts it away. Colorado is my Mecca.    
Squiggle fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Oct 14, 2014 |
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Oct 14, 2014 04:29
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Are the North Face Thermaball jackets any good, or is down just better overall? I'm looking for something lightweight and fairly slim, if possible. I'll be using it as just a day-to-day in above-freezing weather, so I don't need a gigantic puffy thing. Packable is a big plus as well, hoping for it to fit in my bicycle pack. I was considering this, but my only reservation is that North Face tends to make jackets to fit fat people: http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/mens-jackets-vests-insulated-goose-down/men-8217-s-quince-jacket.html I should be staying out of the rain for the most part, but I live in Portland, so you never know when it might start. I wouldn't need waterproofness for anything planned though, I have a rainshell for that. PRADA SLUT fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Oct 14, 2014 |
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Oct 14, 2014 07:06
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PRADA SLUT posted:Are the North Face Thermaball jackets any good, or is down just better overall? Watch steepandcheep for a while, they've been having a lot of down/winter jacket type stuff on sale as winter rolls around. Down's going to be your most packable, and they're not all super puffy. Being able to try it on would be good though.
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Oct 14, 2014 15:55
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Do one lb propane fuel canisters expire? I've had some for at least eight years and I'm just getting around to using them this weekend.
me your dad fucked around with this message at 11:10 on Oct 15, 2014 |
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Oct 15, 2014 11:06
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Shouldn't. Nothing in there will degrade/decompose. Only thing I can think of is if there's a small leak and the more volatile components leak out leaving you with the heavier components; these wouldn't work as well in the cold. But if they're still in new condition I'd highly doubt they're any different from the day you bought them.
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Oct 15, 2014 11:12
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Thanks. I was actually coming back to edit my post to say I found this on the Coleman site:quote:An un-opened container of Coleman® Fuel stored in a dry area with no rapid extreme changes in temperature will remain viable for five to seven years. An opened container stored in the same area will remain viable for up to two years though will be at its best if used within a year. Coleman® Propane Cylinders can be stored indefinitely in a dry area. The propane fuel inside the cylinder will not break down. I suppose that first sentence refers to Coleman brand fuel in a third-party container? And the last sentence specifies fuel stored within their own branded containers.
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Oct 15, 2014 11:19
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This may be the wrong thread to ask this but are there any brands of walking/hiking shoes that are more comfortable than Keens? They're the best brand I've run across but I'm wondering if there's really anything better.
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Oct 15, 2014 11:37
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me your dad posted:I suppose that first sentence refers to Coleman brand fuel in a third-party container? And the last sentence specifies fuel stored within their own branded containers. England Sucks posted:This may be the wrong thread to ask this but are there any brands of walking/hiking shoes that are more comfortable than Keens? They're the best brand I've run across but I'm wondering if there's really anything better.
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Oct 15, 2014 12:49
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England Sucks posted:This may be the wrong thread to ask this but are there any brands of walking/hiking shoes that are more comfortable than Keens? They're the best brand I've run across but I'm wondering if there's really anything better. Minimus
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Oct 15, 2014 14:38
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PRADA SLUT posted:Are the North Face Thermaball jackets any good, or is down just better overall? I don't know how slim a fit you're looking for — down doesn't tend to really do slim — but for Oregon winter when you're okay carrying a shell, the Uniqlo UL jackets are 1/3 the price and will do the job just as well.
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Oct 15, 2014 17:51
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PRADA SLUT posted:Minimus In my experience you're going to run into late day foot fatigue using the Minimus as a trail walker. I had great results using Altras this summer. They're essentially Keen running shoes and they have two trail runner models that work great: Lone Peaks are the go to for many people, but I ended up liking the Olympus for the huge padding. Beware that they are zero drop shoes so they take a little getting used to. Also, the Olympus model gets you pretty high off the trail and you might roll your ankle a little more than a normal trail runner.
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Oct 15, 2014 20:50
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The Precious posted:Does this work best underneath your pad or do you just lie right on top of it? On top of the pad. I hammock it and use a quilt, so hammock - pad - reflector - me - quilt. I don't see any reason you couldn't use it under if you've got an air pad, but I have a closed cell foam pad, so it doesn't store much heat in the first place. Got the idea from a friend, who picked it up from cavers, who've been doing this with foil emergency blankets if they have to rest on a long run. Just make sure the shiny side is towards you. Space blankets are great for this, but you have to get the heavier weight ones if you want to use 'em more than once. Saint Fu posted:Yeah that's kind of confusing. I didn't know Coleman had their own fuel line- it shouldn't matter whose brand is on the fuel itself since it should all meet national standards/specifications. I would imagine that an unused can of any brand would be good indefinitely. Opened cans would be more likely to have a slow leak. Either way I'd say you're good to go. You could always test it out before leaving. Probably talking about their Coleman branded kerosene lantern fuel. Liquid Communism fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Oct 16, 2014 |
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Oct 16, 2014 00:13
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disheveled posted:I don't know how slim a fit you're looking for — down doesn't tend to really do slim — but for Oregon winter when you're okay carrying a shell, the Uniqlo UL jackets are 1/3 the price and will do the job just as well. I mean the inner part. Like I should conceal a few a babies under them. I know they're sized correctly, but they've got room for the gut of a man 50 lbs overweight in them.
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Oct 16, 2014 00:59
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PRADA SLUT posted:I mean the inner part. Like I should conceal a few a babies under them. I know they're sized correctly, but they've got room for the gut of a man 50 lbs overweight in them. The Thermoballs are really nice. I'd say the cut is more boxy than anything else but if you live in Portland there are a ton of outfitters to try one on. They definitely aren't baggy like some of the more casual TNF fleeces and ski jackets, they're meant to be a slightly more technical piece.
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Oct 16, 2014 07:11
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I'm going to get some new snowshoes, my old MSRs were thrashed this past spring, I've had them for a decade and a half, it's time. I was going to go with Evo Ascents or Lightning Ascents, but I see that these got good reviews in the new Backpacker: http://www.tsloutdoor.com/en/product/composite-snowshoes/expert-symbioz-elite-hyperflex-concept/246/tsl-symbioz-elite-m Anyone have experience with those? They look too weird to live, but kinda neat.
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Oct 17, 2014 14:40
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Smoove J posted:I'm going to get some new snowshoes, my old MSRs were thrashed this past spring, I've had them for a decade and a half, it's time. I was going to go with Evo Ascents or Lightning Ascents, but I see that these got good reviews in the new Backpacker: http://www.tsloutdoor.com/en/product/composite-snowshoes/expert-symbioz-elite-hyperflex-concept/246/tsl-symbioz-elite-m I can tell you I am happy with my Lightning Ascents. I got the 30s with the tails because I'm a big guy. The tails are overkill except breaking trail in really loose snow. A flexible snowshoe would seem to defeat the purpose somewhat, as your weight is no longer evenly distributed over the whole area. There is a higher pressure area in the middle where it flexes. I would imagine floatation is significantly less and I'd be a bit concerned about traction on an icy or smooth patch while ascending. I don't have issues with an unnatural stride, but usually I'm not going on long flat treks. Uphill I'm not heel striking nor do I want to, and downhill I would be a bit concerned about grip, since the heel will flex and put less pressure on the toe. I'm actually having a hard time finding reviews for them. One says they're complicated with lots of customization and has good traction, but low floatation. The other frames it in terms of walking and not mountaineering. If I were a lighter guy I'd probably have opted for the Evo Ascent, but it looks like those have been replaced with Revo Ascents (comparable). Those plus the tails would be a good combo that is much lighter than the Lightnings.
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Oct 17, 2014 18:26
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