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Edit: Deal I posted here ended, so um, guess I'll remove it. Hope everyone got any holiday gear requests granted. I'm trying to get out another weekend or two before spring (and crowds) returns, and was thinking about heading to Linville Gorge for a one or two-nighter. Any advice from anyone familiar? I know it's pretty popular in the summer, but I was wondering if there's a bit more solitude in the winter. PabloBOOM fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 28, 2012 21:35
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Add another vote for Marmot bags. Last trip I went on with my 15 degree bag it only ended up getting into I think the upper 20s at night, and I had to sleep with the zippers open since I was too hot just wearing nylon pants and a t-shirt. It's also the only sleeping bag where my feet have never frozen to stone by morning. It's a few years old and it's not light (around 3.75 lbs I think?) and does not compress well. But I happily make those sacrifices for a bag I know I can burrow in if the bottom drops out of the weather forecast without breaking the bank. I think I paid $60 for it on sale.
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Feb 4, 2013 23:56
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Business of Ferrets posted:It does crinkle a bit, but not as much as I expected before trying it. If you're worried about the noise, definitely try it out in a store before you buy. In my experience, it has been no louder than the ambient outdoor noise, but I might just not be sensitized to it as much as others are. You only say that because you're still asleep when you roll over at 3am, while your hiking buddy shoves leaves in their ears.  Granted, that was only on one trip and it was too hot at night to sleep well so I'm most likely exaggerating how aggravating that crinkly thing really was.
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Feb 6, 2013 01:39
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MMD3 posted:I've never really understood how people that are light sleepers deal with sleeping outside on camping trips without some industrial strength earplugs or something. I always read complaints about air mattresses that are too noisy or whatever and for some reason I just can't wrap my head around how something like that would wake someone up when you're sleeping outside with wind/rain/river/animals all around you making various noises. All those noises are just fine by me (unless it's something like a deer that keeps grazing through camp and stepping on sticks, that always bugs me after about 10 minutes). But for some reason that crinkle got to me on that particular trip.
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Feb 6, 2013 02:09
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I've been meaning to ask a question to see if anyone around here knows the answer. Why in the world is there seemingly ancient barbed wire fences along the boundaries of federal lands like wilderness areas, national rec areas, etc. Though I can't seem to recall finding any along the outskirts of actual national parks now that I think on it. I'm presuming it's an attempt to keep the wilderness "wild" and keep livestock/dogs/random critters from mingling? Just my guess though, and I wandered if anyone here knew the actual answer.
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Feb 13, 2013 02:21
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MMD3 posted:are you or anyone familiar with a good iOS offline GPS mapper? A friend of mine was showing me Orux maps on Android and it pulls topos and satellite maps from Google from the looks of it. It'd be amazing if there was something similar for iPhone. I've seen a few offline gps mappers but not sure if any of them are as good and they cost ~$10 so I'd rather get some recommendations before I start purchasing them. I was not aware of Orux until you posted this and went to download it on a whim. Since I don't own a standalone GPS, this is awesome. Still figuring it out to see how useful it will be offline, but it seems promising. Thanks!
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Feb 17, 2013 23:32
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Mercury Ballistic posted:
I've crossed parts of the MST on random hikes and overnights, and would just caution you to make sure you've done your homework on the section you chose. As I'm sure you already know, the trail is not "complete" yet. There are some sections in promising territory, and if memory serves at least a few miles around the Black Balsam area are great. I've never looked up any specifics so I'm not much help, just wanted to make sure you didn't end up walking along a road unexpectedly. Have you looked into the Benton MacKaye Trail in the Smokies? I've heard some people prefer it to the relatively crowded AT in the Smokies, though I've heard you need good maps and orienteering skills.
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Mar 6, 2013 03:24
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I generally backpack with around 2 quarts for around 10 miles, but increase it if it's going to be above 85 F or more distance. As far as camelbaks leaking go, even if you do get one that leaks or leaks later on, all you have to do to is fill out the warranty form on their website and send it in. It takes a week or two, but I did this with one that was 3 years old and had developed a tiny leak around the opening. Got a brand new current-gen camelbak, which so far I prefer to the old TubeOfWater design of the old ones.
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Apr 27, 2013 21:17
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PRADA SLUT posted:So a 70L might be overkill for just a few days, I would be better off looking into around 40L if I'm doing ~3 days? Unless you have a real trimmed-down kit for 3 days, you might struggle to fit 3 days of stuff into 40L. If you happen to role with a small tent/equivalent (i.e., tarptent or fly-only setup), and a compact sleeping bag, you can probably pull it off. I have a 58L that I use as my go-to for anything from a weekend year-round to week long trips in the summer and like its versatility, if you can find any around that size if you're looking for one pack to serve multiple trip types.
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May 12, 2013 19:51
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PRADA SLUT posted:For gear that gets taken between multiple packs (compass, knife, matches, etc), does anyone have a system so they don't forget things? Just throw it in a stuff sack and move it from pack to pack? I have a small red stufsack that always has my compass, mini multitool, headlamp, duct tape, and a lighter. I throw it in whatever bag I'm taking, including on remote day hikes. I store those items in the bag so organizing is not a problem since I know those will be there when I need them from my pack.
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May 24, 2013 01:57
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If you want to minimize gear investments for the time being, plenty of folks wander the woods with gatorade bottles. I'd definitely reuse a couple gatorade bottles than hike in jeans personally.
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Jun 4, 2013 01:50
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Levitate posted:This came in the mail yesterday Awesome pack. As far as the unique pattern goes, all I know is they've been like that for years as I have a ULA pack from 2007 or so with the same thing going on. I was hoping to lighten my pack compared to my Gregory back then as well, but tragically mine was before I think they found a sweet spot for ~30lbs of gear since it had no frame to speak of and has tragically been relegated more to duffelbag duties. Hope yours is what you're looking for, I just have one of Gregory's "lighter" packs nowadays that's more middle-of-the-road for me. 7 Bowls of Wrath posted:This is a question I had after reading some of the simple frommers guidebooks for the midwest national parks. Every park from canyonlands to grand canyon to arches all say "hiking is strenuous and difficult" etc. Its freaking my wife out who gets paranoid about these things and I dont think it is nearly as bad as they might make it out to be. Your wife's cautious don't-overestime-yourself mindset is the safer alternative to some in terrain that can get overzealous and under-prepared folks in trouble. I've used trusty Google Image Search for popular trails to get a snapshot of the terrain and basic trail conditions to be able to prepare others accordingly, you might be able to pick a few trails and show her some touristy photos to show trail conditions? Being cautious and turning around on a trail is always safer than pushing on (though also chronically less rewarding).
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Jul 2, 2013 19:55
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Agreed. Any Columbia outer layers I own in Medium are comically huge regardless of how many layers I have on, while my Mountain Hardwear is a perfectly snug fit with barely room for layering.
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Jul 31, 2013 19:18
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tofes posted:I decided not to go with the Marmot since it only has a door on one side, and then I found out my mom has a LL Bean gift card she doesn't want so I think I'm gonna go with one of their tents http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/72837?feat=1096-GN2&page=microlight-fs-2-person-tent&attrValue_0=Pewter&productId=1217293 A buddy has one of these and it's only been car camping, but did shrug off a 5 minute hail storm with decent gusts. We also both brought our own tents, but it looked like 2 people would be very friendly inside, especially in the foot end. Reasonable vestibules on both sides though.
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Aug 24, 2013 14:52
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 16:04 |
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Lava Lamp Goddess posted:So my feet sweat. A lot. Give thin liner socks a try if you haven't already. I have very sweaty feet as well and they help keep my feet from getting water logged and avoiding the related lousy consequences even in clunky barely-vented boots. I don't even day hike without them.
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Sep 8, 2013 13:32
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