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George H.W. oval office posted:2 months in and the girlfriend is getting off the trail. Foot issues and not getting what she wanted out of it. She doesn't want me to be dragged down with her because of her slower pace. She's bummed, I'm bummed but we'll make due. She plans on getting her car and doing some sections with me and seeing stuff around. This was mainly my trip so the faster I finish it the faster we'll be in Europe jaunting around there. lovely. How long do you anticipate it taking solo? 5 months? Also, do you think you'll feel pressure to really hump it now that she left? My wife and I took our two-year-old on her first trip and hike last week. We flew to Portland to spend time with friends, who were working during the week. So, amongst other things, we hiked up Maltnomah Falls. I knew it was going to be a relatively easy hike judging by the people we saw on the way up and by the people coming down. It was still a bit challenging with a small child who did not want to sit in her carrier and also refused to be carried by her father (me). So, my wife had to one-arm her most of the way up when she wasn't walking. Her walking made me pretty nervous, since the entire trail is a switchback up a steep mountainside, and most people are too rude or too oblivious to allow people with a small child to pass on the inside (just as many were cool about it, though). Whatever... we made it up and down with only one total meltdown, during which I just sat there and snapped pictures of my daughter's tantrum as people walked by. When we arrived back home, our new Dream Hammocks were waiting for us! I set mine up in the park today. It's easy as hell... took like 5 min to put up and 2 to take down. I love it. My next mission is to put it up again with a better hang and actually try to sleep in it a bit. I think the trees I chose were too close together. I'll make sure I'm pretty expert at it before our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in late August. Oh, also I just found out earlier this week that there's a full solar eclipse the week before our trip that's going to pass straight over RMNP! I'm pissed! If I had realized that was the case, I would have planned our trip a week earlier. Oh well.
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Jun 3, 2017 20:14
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| # ? May 28, 2024 02:46 |
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I'll definitely start blasting miles now yea. Ideally I can finish in 4 monthsish. Sitting at The Barn after Marion. Have to average ~15 to make it to Harpers Ferry for the 4th of July. Think that would be fun.
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Jun 3, 2017 20:29
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i'm not a hiker or a backpacker, but i just recently bought a frame that had a mounting for an olympic weightlifting plate that i use when i'm walking the trail behind my apartment. i've just been using some beat-up trainers for footwear, but should i invest in something different? i'm usually carrying between 35-45 pounds but the ground is relatively flat.
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Jun 3, 2017 20:44
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A 50S RAYGUN posted:i'm not a hiker or a backpacker, but i just recently bought a frame that had a mounting for an olympic weightlifting plate that i use when i'm walking the trail behind my apartment. i've just been using some beat-up trainers for footwear, but should i invest in something different? i'm usually carrying between 35-45 pounds but the ground is relatively flat. If you're carrying weight then you should definitely be wearing relatively decent shoes, out of the concern of creating foot issues for yourself. Take care of your feet and they'll take care of you. If the trail doesn't call for any particular style of shoe, then I'd probably just keep going with what seems to be working for you, and pick up some more trainers. Maybe select a hiking-oriented pair if you have a mind to. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/when-to-retire-a-running-shoe/
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Jun 3, 2017 23:32
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Terrifying Effigies posted:Question about fuel: A little thing you can do to save a bit (not much but if it means the difference between 1 or 2 cans of gas then it can be worth it) is to switch water for meals off before it boils. Obviously only do this with water that you know is fine to drink otherwise but you don't need boiling water for oats / dehydrated meals, you just want it hot enough to soak into what you're cooking and still have it warm to eat. 30 seconds less of cook time adds up after a few days.
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Jun 4, 2017 00:05
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Anyone have any thoughts about USB rechargeable headlamps? I'm currently preparing for some cycle touring and plan on taking a solar charger and battery pack. These seem like they could be a good way to go, and I'm curious about their reliability. I do know it could be an issue if I find myself without power for a long stretch. I've used USB rechargeable lights on my bike for commuting and haven't had had issues in terms of reliability or charge time, but I know thats a very different thing.
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Jun 4, 2017 21:57
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I don't know anything about them, but I wouldn't want to do any serious hiking or backpacking without a spare set of batteries for my headlamp / flashlight. I'd rather all of my electronics share a battery type, that way I only have to carry one set of spares and if I need to cannibalize from something else I can. I'm far from an experienced backpacker though, so maybe others have different opinions.
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Jun 4, 2017 22:00
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Well, thats sort of the idea, is that all of my electronics would be USB. I'm not sure if thats a good idea though. I may also get a dynamo hub that could recharge things. The trip is not going to 100% wilderness either, so I should have access to outlets here and there.
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Jun 4, 2017 22:04
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Sorry if this has been covered before, but my friend is planning to do the PCT trail soon and wants to get a solar charger. Is there a goon recommended one? When I backpacked last and was looking for one, all of the ones I've seen had in the fine print that they weren't supposed to be primarily used as solar chargers so would be useless for him. He's planning to get a regular power brick as well but since he's doing the full trail he wants to get a solar one as well Thanks in advance!
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Jun 4, 2017 22:05
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I've heard good things about this one. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YUJJM8 Literally just got it an hour ago for my birthday, I'll try and report back after I use it.
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Jun 4, 2017 22:11
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eSporks posted:Well, thats sort of the idea, is that all of my electronics would be USB. I'm not sure if thats a good idea though. I may also get a dynamo hub that could recharge things. The trip is not going to 100% wilderness either, so I should have access to outlets here and there. It sounds cool, and probably will work fine. I use all USB gear when I travel, for precisely the same reason. Batteries are a pain to source and replace. You'll want to carry a power bank of some kind, though your dynamo hub sounds really cool too. I don't know enough about the dynamo hub to say whether it would be an appropriate replacement for a mobile 8000 mAh backup.
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Jun 4, 2017 22:13
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eSporks posted:Anyone have any thoughts about USB rechargeable headlamps? Petzl makes some headlamps that can run on either AAA batteries or a (sold separately) rechargeable pack. I've only used my Tikka with batteries so far, so I can't tell you how reliable the pack is, but it would at least give you a fall-back option if you had no place to plug in for a while.
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Jun 4, 2017 22:16
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eSporks posted:I've heard good things about this one. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerPort-iPhone-Galaxy/dp/B012YUJJM8 Thanks! Please do let me know. Reading the specs it looks super legit. Psychobabble! fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Jun 4, 2017 |
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Jun 4, 2017 22:59
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eSporks posted:Anyone have any thoughts about USB rechargeable headlamps? I have the black diamond revolt and it takes AAA batteries and can be recharged. It claims to need the black diamond batteries that come with it but as mine still hold charge fine right now I haven't had a need to see if that is actually true or not. You can easily swap in normal batteries if you're out of juice and nowhere near a USB port. Pumps out a bunch of light too for such a tiny thing.
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Jun 4, 2017 23:05
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Kaal posted:It sounds cool, and probably will work fine. I use all USB gear when I travel, for precisely the same reason. Batteries are a pain to source and replace. You'll want to carry a power bank of some kind, though your dynamo hub sounds really cool too. I don't know enough about the dynamo hub to say whether it would be an appropriate replacement for a mobile 8000 mAh backup. gross posted:Petzl makes some headlamps that can run on either AAA batteries or a (sold separately) rechargeable pack. I've only used my Tikka with batteries so far, so I can't tell you how reliable the pack is, but it would at least give you a fall-back option if you had no place to plug in for a while.
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Jun 4, 2017 23:11
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Psychobabble! posted:Thanks! Please do let me know. Reading the specs it looks super legit. I don't have that Anker solar charger but I will vouch for the company as a whole. Any third-party charging accessories I have are made by Anker, and if I was in the market for a solar charger I'd probably pick one of these up without a second thought.
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Jun 4, 2017 23:29
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eSporks posted:Anyone have any thoughts about USB rechargeable headlamps? Good enough for a thru-hike or a long bike tour for sure. I've done some long trips (> 1month) with both the Petzl Reactik+ and the BD Revolt and both worked great. Never had issues and they were more than enough for some occasional night hiking/climbing/mountaineering and camp duties. Only bad things is the Reactik+ is silly expensive. There's some others out that are cheaper and can either take rechargeable or disposable batteries as well, I think the Ion? Let me know if you have more specific questions but they were very reliable and held a charge well, I always recharged them in town and carried a 14400 amh anker battery as backup for my phone/headlamp. Psychobabble! posted:Sorry if this has been covered before, but my friend is planning to do the PCT trail soon and wants to get a solar charger. Is there a goon recommended one? When I backpacked last and was looking for one, all of the ones I've seen had in the fine print that they weren't supposed to be primarily used as solar chargers so would be useless for him. He's planning to get a regular power brick as well but since he's doing the full trail he wants to get a solar one as well One suggestion - he may want to reconsider the solar charger. It's fairly unnecessary weight for the PCT. My personal experience is that most people get rid of them at some point in the trail because they carry a battery and between that and charging in town, the solar panel becomes obsolete. When I do gear shakedowns it's often one of the first things to go, because it's an additional hassle to manage and there will be plenty of days where it's a struggle to get a good charge off it. That's not to say that people haven't thru-hiked with them and found them useful, just that for many hikers the gains are marginal for the additional weight. If he/she definitely wants one, a lot of thru's have the Anker or Goal Zero panels.
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Jun 5, 2017 04:29
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So I wanna spray both bugspray and sunblock on my legs, will this work and if so does the order matter?
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Jun 5, 2017 04:36
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It may not matter which order you do them in, but personally I'd do sunblock first and bugspray outside that to be sure that the sunblock got applied properly.
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Jun 5, 2017 06:17
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forkbucket posted:It may not matter which order you do them in, but personally I'd do sunblock first and bugspray outside that to be sure that the sunblock got applied properly. I am more afraid of ticks then sunburn if that matters.
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Jun 5, 2017 14:22
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While ticks are not to be taken lightly, I'd be more worried about skin cancer in the long run. 1 in 5 Americans develop skin cancer in their lifetime and being outdoor enthusiasts likely increases our odds. Apply sunscreen first, then bug spray. http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts
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Jun 5, 2017 17:27
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I bet Lymedisease.org has a different opinion  And having known guys with both, I would take some skin cancer on my legs over chronic lyme. But in any case, so long as there is no chemical reaction I have to watch out for, I will stick to my current plan of sunblock before I leave home and tick spray before I leave the car. My legs rarely get burned when walking, but I got a little red from water reflection while fishing a rock dam a few weeks ago and despite trying it every year, I cannot stand wearing tights in the summer.
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Jun 5, 2017 18:23
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Growing up in south Florida, you put sunblock on first and then bug spray. Or just get sunblock with bug spray in it. https://www.amazon.com/Bull-Frog-Sunblock-Repellent-Mosquito/dp/B000HQKZM0
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Jun 5, 2017 19:27
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How do I meet people who are into hiking? I tried joining a Facebook page for the hiking club in my city, and got banned by an admin for asking about a hike. Its a mountain with 2 peaks. everything online says both peaks are similar difficulty, and both are 2 hours from the saddle. I've been to the East peak, and asked if the west was much different. A few people said yes, a few said no. The admin in particular said he climbed the east peak 2 days ago in 7.5 hours from the carpark and that it would definitely take someone lesser than him 11 hours to do the west  . I asked for more details about the hike and why he thought it would take so long. He took it as a massive personal insult that I would dare question him, melted down, and banned me. I dunno where else I can go to meet people who aren't spergy assholes.E: I think he got made admin because he goes hiking multiple times a week and posts poo poo constantly on the page. Whenever someone else posts he acts like a cocky rear end in a top hat about whatever they are doing. There was a woman from Canada who posted on the page looking for a hiking buddy, he creeped on her and she just vanished. I was looking forward to hiking with her too, she seemed cool. underage at the vape shop fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Jun 7, 2017 |
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Jun 7, 2017 02:48
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Lure people into the woods and maybe some of them will like it!
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Jun 7, 2017 02:56
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Maybe try meetup.com?
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Jun 7, 2017 02:57
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Meetup.com can be good depending where you are. Any other not-on-facebook local hiking forums? If there are any local climbing clubs that offer classes that's a great way to meet people and/or future spouses. The organized group thing isn't for everyone (I hate it) but a mountaineering or scrambling course or just a group hike will introduce you to a ton of people you can take your own trips with, and once you have one or two hiking buddies your outdoors network will expand quickly.
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Jun 7, 2017 04:12
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Meetup.com is the most reliable. A local hiking club is wonderful to have but not everywhere has an active one -- it's hard getting trained volunteers to lead hikes!
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Jun 7, 2017 06:44
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Local REI or other stores (we have Sports Basement and they're cool) usually have groups that go out. You can see if there are groups organized by your local / state parks, call the rangers and see if they can point you at someone. Depending on whether you want to work, a lot of volunteer trail maintenance groups also exist, V-O-CAL is the one I know hut your state might have its own.
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Jun 7, 2017 14:41
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One of my relatives is going into the eastern sierras alone for four nights next week. Is there a certain phone that gets great reception? They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. Are phones reliable for help if something goes wrong in these modern times? They are skilled but a wise person in this thread once said "hiking alone is how you die of dumb poo poo" Edit: to clarify. This is essentially John Muir Wilderness, off trail Mokelumne Trekka fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Jun 10, 2017 |
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Jun 10, 2017 02:53
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:One of my relatives is going into the eastern sierras alone for four nights next week. Is there a certain phone that gets great reception? They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. Rip
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Jun 10, 2017 03:06
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Is there a certain phone that gets great reception? Mokelumne Trekka posted:They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. Mokelumne Trekka posted:Are phones reliable for help if something goes wrong in these modern times? Mokelumne Trekka posted:They are skilled but a wise person in this thread once said "hiking alone is how you die of dumb poo poo"
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Jun 10, 2017 03:10
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:One of my relatives is going into the eastern sierras alone for four nights next week. Is there a certain phone that gets great reception? They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtEpirb
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Jun 10, 2017 04:55
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SeaborneClink posted:Doing dumb poo poo while hiking... is how you die... Mokelumne Trekka posted:They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. Most people that go hiking return safely. Most people that go hiking alone return safely. Many mountain fatalities are correlated with groups that fail to prepare for averse weather conditions, or that are undertrained/underprepared for the hiking conditions. Cellular telephones are reasonable for one's final video, will, and testament. People with satellite transmitters or transceivers certainly increase the odds that their bodies will be found in cases of unplanned expiration.
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Jun 10, 2017 06:55
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Two things. Yes, get a PLB or something like it if going out alone Second, this person better have a lot of winter camping and snow travel and route finding experience, there's still a lot of snow if they are heading to any kind of altitude.
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Jun 10, 2017 10:54
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:One of my relatives is going into the eastern sierras alone for four nights next week. Is there a certain phone that gets great reception? They are making like 4g means they can use internet "anywhere" but I think this is bullshit. There's a couple places where you can get reception, like the top of Whitney. Verizon is the best in the Eastern Sierra but there is no service in the Muir Wilderness. Also, it is pretty gnarly out there right now if you don't have some snow skills or swift water skills. Check out these two posts from people thru-hiking the PCT just recently: https://www.facebook.com/anya.ivanova.12/posts/10154721613198105 https://www.facebook.com/marcus.mazzaferri/posts/10209213010268845 I would show those to your relative, make sure they understand that there is zero reception on trail and it's not smart to be out on some of the passes and creek crossings solo at the moment.
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Jun 10, 2017 22:13
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thanks everyone. There's no chance I'll be able to get this person to reconsider. I'll ask them to leave me details on their route, possible "plan b" routes, and recommend a device. He is very experienced with good judgement but a bit of a luddite on technology as you can see the rough conditions out there are not surprising, he says he knows what to avoid and when to turn back. my feeling is he'll hike at lower elevations upon seeing what he's in for here's what the nutjob will attempt: http://www.summitpost.org/scimitar-pass-to-southwest-chutes/161396 - I mean, no way this is happening with the snow level
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Jun 11, 2017 17:42
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He's not that experienced if he's asking about cell phones. This is how people die, FYI.
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Jun 11, 2017 18:19
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I mean if he's an experienced mountaineer I guess he could be doing high country passes this time of year with this amount of snow? but attempting a class 3-4 pass with these conditions solo seems a bit much. I'm not very experienced in high altitude climbing in snow though
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Jun 11, 2017 20:48
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| # ? May 28, 2024 02:46 |
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I'm trying to get into hiking instead of just mountain biking, with the goal of doing some proper overnight backpacking later this summer. Did about a ten mile loop up Little Devil's Tower and Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills. Felt pretty good cardio wise, although I'm feeling all the muscles that I don't use when biking today for sure. Didn't actually get the very top of Little Devil's tower though, there was some legit rock scrambling at the top that I didn't feel up for.  P6100014.jpg P6100088.jpg Feeling like I should get some hiking boots sooner rather than later though, scrambling over rocks with no ankle support didn't feel great (I've got some under armour trail runners right now which were mostly ok though), and I'm trying to keep my streak of not spraining my ankle going. e. A good hat is also on my shopping list Dr. Despair fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jun 11, 2017 |
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Jun 11, 2017 21:02
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