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TouchyMcFeely posted:One thing I learned, poles are great but in packed snow coming down a mountain, a combination of poles and add on traction would have been better. There were a couple of spots that got a little dicey that the added traction would have helped tremendously. My Microspikes get more use than my snowshoes, in general, simply because most ascents start below and cross the freezing line. Less avid hikers get away with using trekking poles on that type of terrain (ice or overnight-freeze+morning-melting), but I don't use my poles much anymore because they slow me down. The spikes are where it's at. I don't know about those spring-looking ice walkers. If the trail is packed, spikes work just as well. Snowshoes really become handy when you have more than 4-6" of fluff, or the snow is balling up on the spikes. To return to the point, however, I hike in the Cascades, so it is necessary for me to point out that: Weather conditions change rapidly, and moisture and precipitation depends on more than the weather forecast. Snow conditions on most peaks around these parts depends on snow loading from overnight wind and temperature conditions, for example, and south exposures can be affected a great deal by daytime heating. A trail that one can ascend may be difficult to descend, particularly if it's turned into a solid sheet of water-covered-ice and one has no traction. It can be quite amazing what humans can survive, but their stupidity is rather equally amazing. Seeing two college-aged guys in jeans and cotton shirts going up Mt Pilchuck, when it's a solid overcast day with 30kt gusts and hailing, with one bookbag between them, and medium avalanche conditions on the south face... is a whole lot different than seeing the dude in full ski gear and goggles on the same day. Neither team made it to the top. I guess the smarts they had going for them was the decision to turn around while they were still alive with sufficient energy to make it to the parking lot. tl;dr: Microspikes are better than trekking poles.
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Jan 2, 2013 06:37
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I'd expect most of the trouble is the high frequencies contained in most form of man-made materials, particularly if they are rubbing together. Sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tent floors, and zippers tend to spew out a rather screechy sound, so they're annoying even if they aren't really that "loud". Low frequency noise, on the other hand, seems to be more easily ignored or actually helps sleeping: Rain, flowing water, wind breezing through the trees are all pretty easy. Of course, any seriously loud sound could be a sleeping impediment. I sleep with window fans on most of the summer, highway noise is generally constant and easy to ignore, some sirens wake me up, but there's nothing like a set of high heels clacking down the concrete to shock one into wakefulness. As much as I love ravens, I must admit that their random cackling could be a severe damper to good sleep.
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Feb 6, 2013 06:04
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Atticus_1354 posted:The Ashley Book of Knots is a also great place to start learning knots and can sometimes be found cheap used. My dad has a copy that will someday be mine. Oh, when I think of the sheer number of ABOKs that I've forgotten... 
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Feb 9, 2013 06:34
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Business of Ferrets posted:Wow, that's a . . . pricey book. List price for $85, Amazon price of $50. What makes it worth that kind of money (versus just using the internet, like http://www.animatedknots.com/ )? If your primary interest is to learn 16-25 basic knots, an online reference or smaller book may well serve the purpose (be careful, I have seen unfortunately many that are incorrect in nomenclature or form, some with potentially hazardous side effects). If you are doing anything climbing related, you should have a book suited to that purpose. If you have an interest in the history of knots, are a knot enthusiast, have an interest in decorative knots, or want to see how these things were or might still be used, you'll probably want Ashley eventually. If you can find it in a used book store, flip through it to see what is there. There are some new knots in existence that aren't in Ashley, but I believe there are very few that aren't a variation on the categories contained therein. Edit: You have noticed that The Ashley Book of Knots is 8.5"x11" and 600 pages in length; right? PhantomOfTheCopier fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Feb 10, 2013 |
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Feb 9, 2013 14:14
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Heners_UK posted:Hey does snowshoeing fall under the hiking banner? It's what I tend to do to scratch the itch during winter. I'm planning a 2 day camp up at Brew Hut near Whistler, BC and will probably do it on snowshoes.
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Feb 14, 2013 14:30
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i_heart_ponies posted:I eat super healthy at home but my diet goes to poo poo in the name of ensuring I am getting enough calories every day at altitude. It's kinda fun to cheat like that. Time Cowboy posted:What foods do you all like to bring on long dayhikes? I'm always in sore need of an energy boost after a big hill or the first 6-7 miles, but I can't seem to find any snacks or lunches that do the trick. (Mostly because I'm so out of shape.) Anything that I can eat cold, or cook up the night before, and packs a lot of calories -- that's what I want. So... high caloric intake foods? I shall add back some more basic sugary trail mix with Reeses/MMs+nuts, and I might think about adding back in some morning cheeses for the saturated fats, but are there any other suggestions for calorie bombs? "One full chocolate cake with chocolate icing"? 
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Mar 6, 2013 06:32
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Time Cowboy posted:I keep thinking peanut butter and cheese. I want to experiment with... I don't know, cheesy peanut butter rice and potato bake, and pack it in with a spork for the summit. Anything with cheese might not keep so well on a warm or sunny day, though.  Here are the highest caloric contents per gram accordingly (with some similar items removed for brevity):pre:2640 Oil, PAM cooking spray, original (gross, there are lots of oils, but I'll ignore them)
2510 Spices, pepper, black (yeah, but not eating tons of spices for 'calories'; ignoring those)
810 Nuts, pistachio nuts, dry roasted, without salt added
681 Babyfood, crackers, vegetable
666 Peanuts, all types, oil-roasted, with salt
648 Peppers, hot chile, sun-dried
503 Crackers, cheese, regular
479 Nuts, almonds
(sweeteners and raw teas in here)
401 Leeks, (bulb and lower-leaf portion), freeze-dried
396 Nuts, pine nuts, dried
240 Candies, MARS SNACKFOOD US, M&M's Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies
237 Crackers, wheat, low salt
234 Seeds, sesame seed kernels, dried (decorticated)
219 Cookies, chocolate chip, commercially prepared, regular, higher fat, unenriched
214 Seeds, flaxseed
209 Fat, turkey
209 Animal fat, bacon grease :btroll:
200 Fish oil (lots of that here)
(and some random smatterings of things...)
101 Pork, cured, bacon, cooked, microwaved
90 Cheese, parmesan, low sodium
76 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with peanut butter filling
75 Crackers, cheese, sandwich-type with cheese filling
75 Crackers, melba toast, wheat
74 Candies, REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups
38 Peanut butter with omega-3, creamy
22 Beef, bologna, reduced sodium
19 Smoked link sausage, pork
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Mar 7, 2013 04:12
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Time Cowboy posted:I was thinking a hydration pack would be nice, but the prices on some of those models are outrageous. I want something bigger than the Flash 18, since I tend to bring extra clothes in colder months. I'll keep looking on REI and other sites, I suppose.
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Mar 11, 2013 04:03
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Smaert me, I just ran through REI on the way home from the Sunday hike and bought a few more socks. Now I have to go back and buy other things. 
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Mar 19, 2013 03:32
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Heners_UK posted:Has anyone got any really gold recommendations for making your own maps? E. G. Something reasonably clear, 1:20000 or better with 200m contour lines, that you could plot points/tracks on... Preferably vectors/svg for better printing still? To whit, I have always gone directly to the source: http://seamless.usgs.gov There is, sadly, a problem. It seems to have been replaced with http://nationalmap.gov/ and I have no idea if one can still download the National Elevation Datasets (NED), but http://nationalmap.gov/viewer.html says "NED 1- and 1/3-arc-second elevation products are available only as 'staged' data in pre-packaged 1x1 degree cell extents in either ArcGrid or GridFloat formats, while NED 1/9-arc-second elevation products are currently available through" blah blah "formats". So, the answer is, "yeah": "NED data are available nationally at resolutions of 1 arc-second (approx. 30 meters) and 1/3 arc-second (approx. 10 meters), and in limited areas at 1/9 arc-second (approx. 3meters)." But please... this is a public server, and boy is it slow (and I haven't tested this new nationalmap thing). Please please don't try to download the entire United States in one go. Start with a 1x1 degree cell and see if you are  enough to speak ArcGrid.I was three years ago 
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Mar 27, 2013 04:49
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Mercury Ballistic posted:Ouch. Sorry to hear. I am getting out so early due to scheduled surgery for a hernia, so I understand. Can you bike at least? These days if I don't go hiking for three weeks, my knees start to hurt. I guess we know what's getting surgery next.
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Apr 1, 2013 21:53
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The timing was right to pick up a pair of mid-hikers last Saturday, but apparently the Christian G*d was against me or something </easterjoke> After an hour at REI, I left with my full refund intact and my 20% coupon unused. One of the things that concerned me greatly about some of the lighter hiking boots was the lacing construction but, sadly, the Asolo Zion just wouldn't quite fit right. I'm curious if people here have had any troubles with a lack of metallic eyelets on functional hiking boots. I can understand the reduction in weight, and I own sneakers with web-strap lacing and lacing directly through the leather, but I'd worry about that surviving hundreds of miles and rocks and the like. I have seen a metal loop or grommet detach, yes, but webbing seems to rip at a much higher rate. For example, the Asolo Trinity fit the best, but I found it relatively impossible to appropriately tighten near the toes because the flat laces wouldn't move through the piercings; that boot also has a single web strap lacing (third from the top). I almost got them but they weren't as comfortable once I started shuffling around on the ramp; downhill was pretty bad, in fact, and demonstrated the lack of padding for the top of the foot. I have no problem spending $200 on a pair of boots that I won't be wearing year-round, but if they only last a year I might as well drop that to $100 knowing that they'll be shredded after 250 miles. Perhaps I should get in the mindset of returning items to REI more frequently or something. I guess I'll just wear my big clunkies through the summer; more exercise.
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Apr 2, 2013 03:39
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I just don't have the general mindset to be returning stuff unless it's not up to standards. It sounds like your 450 may have a malfunction or isn't set properly for your region.. Three-dimensional accuracy from an initial lock generally takes more time, and some units will attempt synchronization in a round-robin fashion, so one can typically expect startup times from 20 seconds to five minutes. Maybe I'm a slow old man, but turning on the GPS before I put on my boots and visit the facilities is typically enough to lock, even if it's inside interference of my vehicle. Mentally convince yourself that you can honestly state, "This unit does not perform like a $200 GPS designed for hiking; I'm very disappointed with its performance", then go get another one. Don't be surprised, though, if you're in a forest and any GPS you own shows you jumping 5km east in under one minute.
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Apr 2, 2013 06:54
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Chroisman posted:Does anyone have any good suggestions for waterproof 8" tall hiking boots? I feel like I really need them as 8" tall for extra ankle movement restriction because I've got a bad ankle. I had a good pair of 8" tall boots before, but they weren't exactly purposed for hiking and now they're falling apart a little bit. Also they had vents so water would get in. They were also really good for exercise. Translation: They are going to be as heavy as gently caress compared to boots designed just for hiking; my Asolo Power Matics are lighter. The Danner site suggests the lacings aren't the best, so plan to buy some 72" hiking laces somewhere else. Price point is at least 25% above 'hiking boots'. Finally, despite all the talk on the Internet about boots requiring no break-in period, these boots will. You will need to plan on sock variation, taping, maybe separate insoles, etcetera, depending on your feet. Heck, I spent the first 50mi with the Power Matics ripping my feet apart, and probably 200mi before I finally stopped taping so much. I really, really, really tried to love the Asolo Trinity in the last week. I was at REI Saturday and Tuesday. I was ready, after 18mo with the PowerMs, to get some summer hiking boots. Tuesday, after deciding on the Five Fingers I was getting, I tried the Trinity on again. It was very sad that I just couldn't be convinced they were going to work. Back in May 2011 when I got my current boots, I went through pretty much every 'heavy hiker'/'backpacking' boot on the rack. The Asolos were the only ones that even fit my foot shape. The Trinity though, has gone the direction of the other brands, it seems: Very wide in the front, so it's relatively impossible to tighten the front laces enough to prevent ones foot from sliding and, when I finally got them tight enough, the material was bunching up. They also didn't seem to have enough padding for the top of my foot. I'd be the one person in the country having to break in what are effectively moccasins? Screw that. I tried on mid hikers for an hour Saturday, and another twenty minutes Tuesday... but I guess it just isn't going to happen this year. I was mentally ready to add another 0.5-1mph to my summer hikes. Why do these boot companies have to make me sad?
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Apr 5, 2013 03:30
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I have to give my vote to the Platypi as well. My 2L 'Hoser' plus nozzle cover has been sufficient for two and a half years of day hikes, today's being five hours and 0.75L of sipping, all the way up to eight hour jaunts that use up all 2L plus another 16oz of something else in a bottle. The thing froze up in 20F in early January when I ended up doing 30 minutes of running without stopping for a drink (I was in a hurry, running in snowshoes  ), but it only took wrapping it around my neck for ten minutes to get it flowing freely again (fortunately I had mostly blown it back).I generally prepare water based on trip time, plus extra for aggressive ascents or temperatures. Early March saw 1.5L for a 9.5mi, 1500m ascent, half snowshoeing. Early November was all 2.0L for a 5mi, 1350m double summit. July, 1.25L, 13mi, 1250m (it ended up being overcast, yay). I rarely take less than 1.25L anymore, and rarely need more than 2L, so it's the right size. Icky heat usually calls for some wholly unhealthy sugar bomb beverage (Powerade) which makes up for and extra. I'm so happy I don't stock 4-6L for hiking any more. Start with extra until you get a feel for how much you need. (It takes at least a year to determine that due to seasonal variation.)
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Apr 28, 2013 19:42
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I've only ever needled blisters after getting home (waiting a day is not ideal), but it's been a while, and I've never heard of this threading thing. My old boots were seriously a bit oversized, but excessive taping started getting rid of blister problems there. I skipped too many weeks back in March and ended up with a heel blister but it required no attention; my new boots still took ~250mi to break in properly and, though I don't tape quite as much as I used to, I still tend to keep my heels and two silly toes minimally taped. Also, everything started getting a lot better when I added a great deal of magnesium silicate. The ultrafine is awesome. 
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May 16, 2013 22:32
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PRADA SLUT posted:I mean a system to prevent forgetting things in your other pack because you're taking a different one out than last time. Clean out your pack of "transferrable" items after going out and throw it all in a stuff sack? krispykremessuck posted:If I hadn't had my ice axe with me, I'd have probably busted my leg today. Or worse. It is one of the things I love here, though, that if I really want to go snowshoeing, it's pretty easy even in June, and sometimes in July (depending on the destination). I still call it "hiking", even though I was glissading ten days ago, we still have live avalanche chutes to watch, it's probably still snowing in some places at night an hour out of town, and many other beautiful reminders of winter. I have a goon hiking buddy, and I do my share of pushing when we manage to get out, but I believe I already explained my policy: If you question twice that you should be somewhere, turn around and go home. People that don't end up on the back of milk cartons.
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May 29, 2013 22:58
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Anathema Device posted:Right now it's not just the snowshoes - I'd need decent winter boots, pants, a decent jacket, long underwear, etc.... Anathema Device posted:How do you guys decide when you're ready to try a new or challenging hike? I see you planning multiple day backpacking trips or doing big peaks. How do you know where your limits are? What do you do if you get partway in and find that you can't do as much as you thought? If you're bringing less experienced people along, how do you judge when it's safe? I divide my hikes into two categories: Distance or Elevation. Expect additional distance to take a bit more than an equivalent increase in time. That is, if you do the same elevation gain as a past hike but double the distance, it's probably going to take a bit more than double the time. Double the elevation for an equivalent distance... could be impossible depending on the starting numbers. :] Most people tend to work into "total ascent" or "ascent rate" over time. 1000ft/mi used to be my pain marker. These days, I know how long a 500m ascent is going to take (assuming it's not straight up), so it's pretty easy to get an estimate and then tack on extra time for distance, elevation, expected conditions, or known trail issues. Bleh, I really need to finish that GPS App so you can all become members and make your customized hiker's nomograms.
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Jun 23, 2013 02:31
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Most of the comments regarding guidebooks have matched my observations as well. Even online communities will have reviews that are biased by the posters --- the standard problem of the meaning of "4 of 5 stars". Those guides and warnings have to be written to provide legal standing in situations where people think they're entitled to take their Dachshund walking group and babies strollers to McClellan Butte "for the pictures". Remember also that these guides should be taking the weather into consideration. I expect they're allowed to assume that people won't start hiking if the lightning is twelve yards away in the middle of a deluge --- How many people actually know the correct formula for "counting" the distance to a lightning strike? I wonder --- but many in the crowd will start a hike with, "Oh, that's just a little rain cloud; it might drizzle for a few minutes", and then slip on the trail and break a leg or get stuck at the top of a hill that's turned to a solid wall of mud. People saw Stallone hang half upside down from a wire with one hand, so they know they can do it in an emergency. Plastic snowshoes from the nearest discount sporting goods store are enough to cross glaciers on Rainier if Captain Kirk can escape from Rura Penthe. Any ice axe bought on sale from REI is sufficient to ascend any slope in Courmayeur. A Jeep can drive anywhere, those big logging trucks can just plow up the hill through the trees in a real emergency, and a helicopter can land anywhere or airlift anything. Yes, I'm sure the rangers and guidebook authors have seen the movies too... and maybe cried a little inside for the next season of emergency rescues.
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Jul 4, 2013 05:19
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I finally clicked the button. I was so far behind in this thread that I would never be able to catch up. So then, apologies in advance for those silly questions I ask that were just discussed.HarryPurvis posted:Ran into a guy headed into the Sierra High country this last summer. Noticed how small his pack was and asked what kind of bear canister he was using. He replied that he never used a canister and never had a problem with bears. So I asked, what about Marmots getting into your food? "Oh yeah, those little shits have torn my backpack up several times!" Yet people are always posting trip reports and comments about bears and goats on or near the trails. I guess those are the smelly hikers.
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Jan 30, 2016 07:19
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I wear gloves all year for "reasons". For most three-season hiking, I wear something like the Damascus DRE25 leather rappelling glove. There's always branches or logs to jump over, and they work really well for high class 2 / class 3 trails. I always carry a pair of runners mittens that are very thin and light. If it's below 40F and raining, sometimes I can't keep the leathers warm. Likewise if it's dry but variable temperatures dropping near 25F during the day, I might need them. They are presumably very water resistant, but with the sweat it doesn't matter; they tend to be soaked by journey's end. Winter (in the Pacific Northwest) is still confusing, glove-wise. I meant to use REI dividend money to get some new gloves this year, but I never did. I have a pair of neoprene gloves that I wear when I'm digging through the snow (i.e., snowshoeing up to summits), but I typically have to wear cotton liners with them because they leak in cold and water. I also have a pair of skiing gloves ($5 mountaineers auction), but the material is really stinky and they only really work while dry, so it would have to be 0--15F and not raining for me to take them on a trip. Whilst walking around town, to and from work, on the bus, I wear either fingerless or fingered standard leather gloves. I'd say that people stare at me because I'm hot, but it's probably because they're not used to seeing someone wearing fingerless gloves unless they're on a bike. Whelp, they aren't biking gloves because the palms aren't padded.
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Feb 18, 2016 14:20
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Verman posted:Yeah I would take sub freezing temps and dry versus 30-40 and rain. Good luck though, now that I'm out here, I need to take a course. I've been an avid hiker for years and, having been a college instructor for a number of years, people always tell me I should teach hiking classes in my spare time. My usual response is to look at them and blink, confused about what that would entail. I think about it at times while hiking, but short of a few basic tips that one can easily find online, I'm typically left laughing to the notion of a class where people learn "It puts the right foot in front of the left foot, transfers weight, then...". Which leads to two questions:1. What are people hoping to learn when they go to a course? 2. What do people find they actually learn when taking these courses? I would take a climbing course to ensure basic belay safety, or a skiing course to get a streamlined intro, or a scuba diving course to be told appropriate levels at which to swim without blowing up my blood vessels. But three hours on 'how to hike' or 'how to snowshoe'... I don't understand. Goon friend did some stuff with the mountaineers in Seattle and I've not heard him complaining(*). I went to one of their public events, and their online events calendar reveals when you can show up and get info. There's a Meet the Mteers on Monday, Feb 22, at 18:30. (*) Either a lack of complaints or sufficient Koolaid.
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Feb 19, 2016 14:42
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Thanks for the constructive replies. Indeed much of this was on the course curriculum lists that I've been compiling over time. I still wonder how much people actually learn, versus merely being reminded of something that they've already realized, versus simply succumbing to advertising/upselling (sorry retailers). I also wonder how many walk away from these courses feeling functionally entitled to "do anything now that I have the gear!!" One that consistently amuses me, and was mentioned above, is "navigation". As an advanced topic it makes sense to point out blazes and cairns and typography and such, but " stay on the trail " should be enough (slight bias from local trails here, probably, as no one should be getting lost in their first year or two). Tips like "don't go snowshoeing unless you've been there without snow" would be helpful, I guess. In general, I can see that some people have a learning style suggesting a class as the best option. That's certainly different than someone hiking for a year, realizing that they want to go off the beaten path, then researching how that can be safely done. But yeah... derpy unprepared people are commonplace.
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Feb 20, 2016 00:10
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bongwizzard posted:... being able to stop and make coffee/tea every two or so hours really helps me pace myself and slow down. A few years back I was going numb and almost passing out for lack of food coming down from double summits and such. I've since started eating more, but I still haven't managed low intake recovery after hikes. I'll do my 8--14mi day hike, 800--1500m ascent, and if I have tofu and vegetables that evening, I just want to die the following day and can't get any work done. If I have a pound of Thai, pizza, or burgers and tater tots, plus a double martini, I wake up feeling good the next day. This is one of the reasons I'm kinda scared about trying to do an overnight. 
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Mar 3, 2016 00:37
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Tashan Dorrsett posted:It actually takes quite a bit of conscious thought to make trekking poles worth bringing, but with practice it becomes second nature. You know you're doing it right when your arms and chest burn after a hike. Next you have to keep adjusting lengths if you're not on consistent terrain. They're in the way if you're climbing up or down. And then you're so concentrating on dealing with positioning four legs, you start smacking into trees. On top of all that, if you're using them on the uphills, you're rerouting a significant portion of your energy delivery from your legs to your arms. Now your body has more muscles to recover more quickly, so your heart rate goes up along with your breathing. Levitate posted:I just use one pole because I'm a freak. It's still handy for a lot of things but I don't like having both of my hands occupied while hiking,... I still carry both poles for safety and emergencies. If one is tired, poles are better than smacking into the ground, and at that point you're done setting speed records anyway. If the legs start to weaken, poles help on downhills so you don't tumble and cramp a calf (or two). When you've overworked and your upper hamstrings lock up with every step and you can't figure out how to stretch them but you have to go up a hill to get home (yeah, this has never happened to me, clearly)... poles. When you're snowshoeing and you can't maintain balance any longer, poles help. When you need to set up an emergency shelter, yay two free tent poles. Etcetera. tldr: Poles aren't bad, but you have muscles that want exercise.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:55
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Actually, this is something I would teach in a course (see back a few pages); well it would be on the quizzy: You're descending a very steep hill with partial flotation, so you can descend laterally to improve grip. When you get to the side of your self-created zigzag, how do you properly "switch back" to start heading the other direction?
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Mar 15, 2016 23:04
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I don't know that I've ever been part of a group hike where someone didn't get injured. Seems like it should be a tagline for GeorgeDonner.com, but it's the sad reality. People become so distracted that they don't notice immediate concerns or the development of chronic situations with the usual advanced notice, so they go unmitigated. Even in a party of two, I've asked several times if the buddy is okay, wants poles, etcetera, only to find out a week later that they've set an appointment with the doctor. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups (2 or more, I guess). It doesn't even have to be peer pressure or machismo; I may know I can hike back a 6mi route, but without experience a group member may not realize until mile eight that they can go no farther... and then what do you do? People think they'll be fine if they just reach the summit... and then it turns out that descending is slippery because of afternoon heating. Literal "stupid", lack of intelligence about one's own skill level. Not to mention people that behave idiotically. Good that the kids made it without injury. Feel free to read some trip reports online before you go, and see how many of them are people learning lessons, crawling back toward the parking lot an hour after dark, "we could have made it to X if Y, Z", we should have turned around when we ran out of W, and so forth.
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Mar 17, 2016 23:37
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OSU_Matthew posted:Ok, so it sounds like clear containers are the way to go... Thanks! I keep telling myself this is the last thing I'll ever need when I buy new gear, but the pile just keeps growing and growing, like it's alive. Doesn't help that backpacks are bulky and uncompressed sleeping bags/quilts turn into the stay puft marshmallow man, absorbing everything in sight.
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Mar 26, 2016 18:09
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One thing that hasn't come up is that most first aid equipment can be used for other purposes. While I do have a couple of Band-Aids, I mostly just stick with athletic tape, which ends up being cheaper overall and does a better job of staying in place on one's feet for blisters and such. Temporary repair for a slight tear in cloth... tape on both sides. Scissors... not needed because you have a pocketknife. Nail clippers... probably not needed because you have teeth. Alcohol swab... try a bar of hotel soap. Most cuts tend to do fine if you let them bleed a bit, but a bandaid isn't going to prevent mud from getting in there as you continue down the trail, so the alcohol is going to waste. If you slice or lacerate to the bone somehow, even a bottle of liquor won't clean it out well enough; you need to prevent excessive bleeding, stay hydrated, and find a place for stitches... and they're probably going to stab all sorts of liquid near the wound just to be safe. You all forgot qtips. Stuffing a twig in your ear is no fun and when your ear canal itches... gah. They can also be wetted and used to remove debris from eyes. (Maybe finger splints as well?) Latex gloves can be used for many things because they're waterproof and stretchy. You can chop off fingers and slide the glove up a leg to cover/hold gauze, protect it from mud, and so forth. Alas they aren't the most stretchy, so you won't be able to cover large areas. Take a condom for that.
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Mar 30, 2016 21:15
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Jumbo: I don't buy the argument that more people should have easier access to the lands for a very simple reason: 95% of the DNR gates within 120mi of here are locked.
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Apr 1, 2016 00:58
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I 'hiked' Lands End, Glen Canyon, and Mt Davidson last week (le Mon, G+MtD Wed). 9.3mi total, 875m ascent (but that includes sidewalk time between Glen Canyon and Mt Davidson, and back again). Yeah, I was out of town in San Francisco for a few days. :]
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Apr 4, 2016 23:18
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Wait, how is an ice flow on the trail a problem? You just put on your spikes and go faster.
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Apr 11, 2016 23:29
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I can't claim those two-mile-high destinations, but here's a nice, flat 14.5mi 4300ft ascent hike:  Or give this fun a try at 14mi and 5800ft ascent, including deep snow leading to the first, and snow turning to slush on the second:  nate fisher posted:While not super high elevation wise, I am doing a day hike to Mt. Cammerer in the GSMNP tomorrow. It has an awful first 3 to 4 miles. PhantomOfTheCopier fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Apr 15, 2016 |
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Apr 15, 2016 23:17
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Does anyone else find that there are very few people in the world who have the "stamina" to be hikers? It obviously takes a while to collect data, because hiking is a "slow process", but I can't seem to find a hiking buddy that can manage more than a season or part of it. My current buddy has probably done 50mi this year, but only 8mi with me and I wanted to use the improved weather to get him back to snowshoeing, but he went up to Baker and broke a rib instead. Last year when he was starting, I recommend building slowly, alternating distance and elevation hikes... and he did a few 15 milers then was at the doctors for RSI, knee injury, ankle issues (because he was convinced trail runners were the best choice).Previous buddies... Yoga destroyed knee, can't manage 5mi. Wants 1mi with awesome pictures of peaks. "Class 3 looks about right, anyplace we can basically drive to that's like 20min from the parking lot?"  Yeah I'm being purposefully cruel, and placing some blame on people for accidents. Yes I try to help them start slow, mix views wth exercise. Shrug.Also, hello again thread! Just caught up. Been too busy with stuff. Trying to get to 300mi this year, and it's gonna be close. Currently at 285mi, with 115kft ascent.
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Dec 18, 2016 08:19
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tldr: Mere Bloviation.Guest2553 posted:Anecdotal, but relevant cross-post: "Man's got to know his limitations", says Dirty Harry, and in hiking everyone has them. Speed differences amongst hikers must be significant before leading to buddy problems, because every hike will invariably come with variations; there are days where you're tired and slow, others where you're energized but methodical, and some where you throw fury to the wind along with the attempt to outrun it. Such daily differences are unlikely to matter if average paces are close enough to permit something akin to a coordinated arrival. What appears to matter more is "the definition of hiking". I've tried to find words to quickly describe what it is I do, but it seems that there's no way to comprehend "advanced hiker" if one doesn't even understand "hiking". When I say "marathon hiker", people usually start to grasp why my preparation for a Saturday morning starts with food I eat Thursday night and why I don't go drinking Friday night. When they discover that I carry spikes and snowshoes, they start to see that hiking might be more than walking a gravel path in a city park for thirty minutes and gaining five feet of elevation. When they learn that most of my hikes start a few minutes before dawn, then they feel silly for asking to go with me. This weekend is a good example of why I even bother the search. I had no inspiration, but had a buddy existed, accountability for a quick five miles would have kicked in. I try to choose places that are extendable with buddies, so we can get up there and realize we want to keep going. I checked MeetUp a couple months ago and found no calendar entries for the hiking groups. Everyone has given up for the year because they imagine the Seattle grey sky means they won't be able to win the contest for "best picture of Rainier taken from a poor trail that is overused". Perhaps this is one of the reasons I generally have not taken pictures, to avoid giving people a false impression of hiking reality... that the views are always great, but it's not a matter of going to a particular spot to be rewarded with a particular view, it's a matter of immersing oneself in an environment that is saturated with things to see. (I did start taking pictures on September, more on this some other time.) I'm happy to see people in city parks, to see that trails closer to town represent well spent money on maintenance and upkeep needed from heavy use. On days where I'm lazy, I will pass some of those users on my way back. On the other hand, perhaps hiking has been good training for the lack of hiking buddies. Over 250mi this year were solo, and I usually don't see anyone except near the end of my hikes. In my snowshoeing so far this year, there have been no tracks, no signs of recent hikers. I have done short 4mi hikes, double summits, even a few triples, gone farther than planned, had two days with unplanned second hikes , given up and turned around early. I have found new trails, abandoned paths, ongoing construction. I have glanced downward knowing that I'll pass people on their way up, but they never appear. I have passed those starting their 3mi RT and smiled secretly as I finish my 14th mile. I have seen full parking lots, but have greeted Lone Rock twice (2/14 and 11/24 ). I have looked down the 300ft dropoffs and known that my body would never be found, I have greeted slugs and birds and snakes drinking from streams that disappear with the crowds, and I have stood in places deserted for days or weeks and seen the perfect alignment of clouds and fog to make a perfect picture for a calendar and just closed my eyes and committed the view to memory.I am a hiker. As the mountains remain, so also shall I be there.
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Dec 18, 2016 17:59
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Thanks for the positive feedback and suggestions. It's certainly more productive than the thrashing I've come to expect on SA.  I push hard when I'm hiking alone, but relax a great deal and lower my expectations with others. Which means "let them lead and I'll just be able to coast". That seems enough to get started. Everything else is about making sure they don't topple the mountain down on you, and that the bears only find them tasty.
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Dec 19, 2016 01:12
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Hiking and backpacking: Stoners petting fuzzy outdoor creatures.
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Dec 21, 2016 00:27
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Return them. Adding insoles changes the fit of the foot in the box, and then you end up scraping off the top of your feet instead. That said, I'm convinced no boot will ever work without modification and adjustment. Definitely try some drug store cheepos, because they may just work. When I got my new booties, my feet were sliding around until I remembered to transfer the heel lifts. I just have some heel cushions but they're enough for my foot to lock into the boot. I still tape in places, but taping the entire bottom of your foot is not right. vvv I have some solid rubber heel inserts, they have little holes presumably to let air through, but they aren't gel. They feel a little bit weird because your heel is elevated slightly, but they push my foot up enough so that I can lock it in place tying across the top of my foot. You should be able to mostly keep your foot stationary without using the lacing on the upper/above ankle part, though of course that helps on steep uphills. I'll try to remember to check for a label later. PhantomOfTheCopier fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Dec 22, 2016 |
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Dec 22, 2016 00:29
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For some reason I keep coming back to the idea that there is probably a really lightweight solution involving a thin liner sock, an insole insert, a really warm pair of socks, a plastic bag, and a pair of microspikes, but I can't quite seem to frame the solution.
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Dec 24, 2016 08:58
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 16:28 |
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I see a boot attachment or GoProCodpiece in the future.
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Dec 28, 2016 00:20
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