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Speleothing
May 6, 2008

Spare batteries are pretty key.

Levitate posted:

Yeah, no reason at all not to sign up as a member, especially if you're outfitting yourself with a bunch of new gear now. One time joining fee and then dividends and 20% off coupons every year

On a similar note, BentGate is running their spring coupon right now. 20% off the whole order for non-sale things.

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Keyser_Soze
May 5, 2009

Pillbug
Ran into another "friendly" Rattlesnake on Saturday at Eastman Lake about 90 min from Yosemite in the foothills of California. This one was much bigger than last year's encounter which was a lil' guy in Kings Canyon. The snake was about 4 feet long and several inches thick. He was sunning himself near the rock on the trail and we got about 7 feet away and he popped up vertically and rattled, hissed but barely retreated. He was pissed off and wouldn't stop rattling for a good 2 minutes. He eventually slunk back over by that tree but we said gently caress it and turned around as the trail had just re-opened for the season and hadn't really been cleared yet past the point we were at and assumed we'd keep hitting more snakes. It was the first really warm 80 degree day of the year and all the critters were out for spring romping.

EDIT: The trail was closed past this point because of Bald Eagle Nesting :911:

http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Media/NewsReleases/tabid/1034/Article/10369/lakeview-trail-at-eastman-lake-closed-to-protect-bald-eagles.aspx

Hopefully he finds another spot to hang out as if he stays there the rangers (or rednecks) will kill him. The trail is much smaller than it looks in the pic (about 24 inches) and snakey spots everywhere.

Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Apr 1, 2013

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
As much as bears and mountain lions keep me alert in the woods, I would much prefer to see a moose or bear or even a pack of wolves versus a poisonous snake.

I absolutely hate snakes for the sole reason that they are a weird form factor and move so fast nearly silently without any legs. Add that with being able to go anywhere up, down, through a tiny hole, through water, etc ... and still deliver a deadly bite ... I feel completely justified in my little girl fear of snakes. Spiders and scorpions don't worry me but for the love of god snakes just creep me out.

If I see a little garder snake I'm not all in a fuss about it and it doesnt bother me. A 5 foot rattle snake as thick as a can of hairspray thats not behind a 1 inch plate of glass in a zoo? For the love of god I would get weak at the knees and dance around like a little girl with diarrhea.

** reloading the thread to see that image even made me cringe ***

Verman fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Apr 1, 2013

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
We ran into this guy chillin' in the middle of the trail last time I hiked in the Grand Canyon

PhantomOfTheCopier
Aug 13, 2008

Pikabooze!

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?
My chronic pain (18-21y/o) was always better every time I went backpacking, and I guess I was pretty busy the first year after having my hernia surgery, but I do recall being relatively active within a couple months of having it. Keeping your core in generally good shape seems to help in the years after these surgeries; I always find that any "swiss cheese abdomen"-related pains seem to go away the day after finally remembering to do the 50lb situps. On the other hand, you still have to be careful with lifting. I'd say the bulk of the annoyance post-hernia-surgery for me has been entirely digestive: Food eaten the day before a hike, timing, and the existence of restroom facilities near the trailhead seem to be a lot more important to my successful hike than they ought to be.

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. :razz:

Mercury Ballistic
Nov 14, 2005

not gun related

PhantomOfTheCopier posted:

My chronic pain (18-21y/o) was always better every time I went backpacking, and I guess I was pretty busy the first year after having my hernia surgery, but I do recall being relatively active within a couple months of having it. Keeping your core in generally good shape seems to help in the years after these surgeries; I always find that any "swiss cheese abdomen"-related pains seem to go away the day after finally remembering to do the 50lb situps. On the other hand, you still have to be careful with lifting. I'd say the bulk of the annoyance post-hernia-surgery for me has been entirely digestive: Food eaten the day before a hike, timing, and the existence of restroom facilities near the trailhead seem to be a lot more important to my successful hike than they ought to be.

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. :razz:

Yeah, I think holding in a massive fart gave me my hernia. Doc told me I can continue to run and hike, just I would have to deal with pain till the surgery.

Once you hit 30, it's like owning an old car, one thing after another fails and needs attention.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
I do a lot of riding and hiking in an area called "the rattlesnake" and thankfully there aren't actually any rattlesnakes there. I did ride within a few inches of one years ago in CA. I only heard about that from the guy behind me a few minutes later. I think that was the same trail where a couple of people got attacked by a mountain lion.

jamal fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Apr 1, 2013

Reformed Tomboy
Feb 2, 2005

chu~~

stupid puma posted:

But that's my point?

I'd rather buy a pack at REI because if it randomly rips at a seam 3 years from now through no fault of your own you can return it or replace it no questions asked.

Ah. I read your post as you wishing you could return packs, not that it's nice you can. I tend to get all my big-ticket items at REI because of the return policy, even if other places are cheaper.

Levitate posted:

We ran into this guy chillin' in the middle of the trail last time I hiked in the Grand Canyon



That guy looks huge! How loud was he rattling at you?

PhantomOfTheCopier
Aug 13, 2008

Pikabooze!
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.

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.
REI gets a lot of love here, and I like them and buy stuff from them on a regular basis, but for many, many items they are heavily overpriced. You're essentially purchasing insurance, which may or may not make sense, depending on the item. Remember that a number of online resellers, as well as manufacturers, make returns easy or guarantee their products, so it's worth shopping around to see what deals can be had.

Over the years, I've saved probably around 800-1000 dollars going with others instead if REI, and never have been unable to get an item returned or replaced when needed or desired. I like REI, I really do, but that's money in my pocket.

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the cows of war.

REI is also better for car camping, day hiking, and traditional backpacking than it is for ultralight or long distance backpacking.

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland
is it wrong of me to want to return my Garmin Oregon 450 to REI to try to upgrade to something better? My biggest frustration with it is that it takes like 10 minutes sometimes to get a decent satellite lock. I bought it hoping to use it for all of my random weekend hikes so I could keep a running gps log/journal of all of the trips I'd taken but typically when I get to the trailhead and go to turn my gps on nobody wants to wait while I hold it up to the heavens praying for a signal. My iPhone can get a lock in a fraction of the time that this $$$ dedicated GPS unit can. What takes so drat long? Is it realistic to expect that a newer unit might do a better job of acquiring a signal faster?

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
Does it use russian glonass satellites as well as regular? I find that my etrex 20 (orange one) nearly instantly connects and is very accurate with both types activated.

I kid you not I was sitting taking a break on a trail and checking my gps when a guy coming down chatted me up and talked gps. The second I mentioned Russian satellites he went off about how its a scam for the soviets to get information on our whereabouts when and if they ever invade. My eyes were probably bigger than if I had seen a mountain lion and I watched him closely to make sure he walked out of sight.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
We have a 450 and it locks on almost immediately every time. On the other hand I tried to use strava on my phone yesterday and it wouldn't pick up a signal.

he only time there is any sort of a delay is when you travel like 50+ miles and it doesn't know quite where it is. Is the software up to date? Also, when you press on the signal bars when it is searching, is it seeing the satellites?

Also, go into setup->system->gps and make sure it's set to WAAS/EGNOS. WAAS uses radio signals to improve accuracy.

jamal fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Apr 2, 2013

Time Cowboy
Nov 4, 2007

But Tarzan... The strangest thing has happened! I'm as bare... as the day I was born!
This thread needs more pictures. I went on a piddly little hike on West Mountain in Harriman-Bear Mountain SP (NY). It may not be as lovely as all your hikes in New Hampshire and Alberta, but it was a gorgeous day.



Looking toward Bear Mountain.




Looking southwest.




NYC on the horizon.




A vulture.




Climbing back up West Mountain from Timp Pass, along the Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail.

PhantomOfTheCopier
Aug 13, 2008

Pikabooze!
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. :buddy:

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
I am in a basement and just decided to test it out. 17 seconds between pressing the power button and getting a fix.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME

Reformed Tomboy posted:

That guy looks huge! How loud was he rattling at you?

I actually don't remember him being really big, that picture is pretty zoomed in. But yup, just chillin' in the middle of the trail and that brought us up short, but he buggered off into a bush (where the picture was taken) and sat there buzzing for awhile. Thankfully that's probably the worst wildlife situation I've seen while backpacking in my life.

Related to gear talk, does anyone have suggestions on how to get some boots repaired? A place to send them off to or something? The cuffs on mine are ripped up and the soles probably need to be replaced, but I don't really want to buy entirely new boots.

Time Cowboy posted:

This thread needs more pictures.

I'm hoping to do a hike to this area in Idaho later this summer. Not entirely sure though, might do something in the Tetons instead. These are from the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness



Some lake we just always referred to as the "frog pond" because it has a lot of frogs



Sky High lake



Some mountain meadow around there

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

jamal posted:

We have a 450 and it locks on almost immediately every time. On the other hand I tried to use strava on my phone yesterday and it wouldn't pick up a signal.

he only time there is any sort of a delay is when you travel like 50+ miles and it doesn't know quite where it is. Is the software up to date? Also, when you press on the signal bars when it is searching, is it seeing the satellites?

Also, go into setup->system->gps and make sure it's set to WAAS/EGNOS. WAAS uses radio signals to improve accuracy.

I'd never heard of the WAAS/EGNOS setting so I just switched it to that from Normal.

It acquired a signal really quickly in my house just now, I'll give it a try out on the trail in the next week or so here and see how it performs, thanks for the tip!

PhantomOfTheCopier posted:

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. :buddy:

Yeah, I honestly have never really abused the REI return policy and have pretty much the same mindset as you. I can't even remember the last time I returned something to REI, I was really just starting to feel like that pretty much, this doesn't perform like what I'd expect from a $300 dedicated GPS, I would think it would acquire signals faster and be more accurate.

I'll give it a try again after changing settings but I'm not going to rule out trying to exchange it for a newer or higher end model if it's still having trouble. The hikes I'm doing are mostly in heavily forested areas and a good amount of them will be in the Columbia River Gorge which has some pretty steep walls so I'm expecting that will effect it to some degree but then that's why I got a dedicated GPS and wasn't just using my phone.

While we're on the GPS topic, I just started playing around with Basecamp (was using MapSource up until now) are there any ways to visualize your track data in-app? I'd like to be able to see elevation graphs and speed heatmaps or whatever they call them but I can't figure out a way to do it in the app itself, I would think it should be able to do exactly that. Also what's the deal with the birdseye maps, you have to have a Garmin subscription or something to use those? Is it worth it? why can't I just pull satellite map imagery from Google or Bing or something?

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the cows of war.

Speaking of REI, http://www.rei.com/share/adventure-kitten-gear.html

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Oh Dear God. A winter of not having a chance to get out has left me so out of shape. I pulled out my bike and tried to bike to university, and could only make it half way. Granted I attempted a 22 mile round trip, but I did it a bunch of times lest fall, after a summer hiking. My legs are like jello. So shameful.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire

MMD3 posted:

I'd never heard of the WAAS/EGNOS setting so I just switched it to that from Normal.

It acquired a signal really quickly in my house just now, I'll give it a try out on the trail in the next week or so here and see how it performs, thanks for the tip!


Yeah, I honestly have never really abused the REI return policy and have pretty much the same mindset as you. I can't even remember the last time I returned something to REI, I was really just starting to feel like that pretty much, this doesn't perform like what I'd expect from a $300 dedicated GPS, I would think it would acquire signals faster and be more accurate.

I'll give it a try again after changing settings but I'm not going to rule out trying to exchange it for a newer or higher end model if it's still having trouble. The hikes I'm doing are mostly in heavily forested areas and a good amount of them will be in the Columbia River Gorge which has some pretty steep walls so I'm expecting that will effect it to some degree but then that's why I got a dedicated GPS and wasn't just using my phone.

While we're on the GPS topic, I just started playing around with Basecamp (was using MapSource up until now) are there any ways to visualize your track data in-app? I'd like to be able to see elevation graphs and speed heatmaps or whatever they call them but I can't figure out a way to do it in the app itself, I would think it should be able to do exactly that. Also what's the deal with the birdseye maps, you have to have a Garmin subscription or something to use those? Is it worth it? why can't I just pull satellite map imagery from Google or Bing or something?

I'm pretty sure going to a newer/more expensive garmin is not going to improve anything. Really the difference between the 450 and the 550 is the camera, and then the Montana 650 gets a bigger screen. Functionally I think they are all identical.

In basecamp you can see an elevation and speed graph by opening up the data window (double click on the track in the left bar). And yes, you have to pay to use birdseye, but there is a way to make your own satellite overlays. If you haven't yet, go over to gpsfiledepot and get yourself some better base maps, plus there are tutorials for making your own.

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

jamal posted:

I'm pretty sure going to a newer/more expensive garmin is not going to improve anything. Really the difference between the 450 and the 550 is the camera, and then the Montana 650 gets a bigger screen. Functionally I think they are all identical.

In basecamp you can see an elevation and speed graph by opening up the data window (double click on the track in the left bar). And yes, you have to pay to use birdseye, but there is a way to make your own satellite overlays. If you haven't yet, go over to gpsfiledepot and get yourself some better base maps, plus there are tutorials for making your own.

awesome, I'll try that out. I just noticed the Oregon 650 came out but if they aren't changing the antennas at all then I suppose it doesn't matter if I have a bigger screen or whatever.

I used gpsfiledepot to grab the set of maps I'm using now, I think I've got these two loaded:

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/412/
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/27/

as well as the US 100k map.

Miron
Dec 2, 2006

MMD3 posted:

While we're on the GPS topic, I just started playing around with Basecamp (was using MapSource up until now) are there any ways to visualize your track data in-app? I'd like to be able to see elevation graphs and speed heatmaps or whatever they call them but I can't figure out a way to do it in the app itself, I would think it should be able to do exactly that. Also what's the deal with the birdseye maps, you have to have a Garmin subscription or something to use those? Is it worth it? why can't I just pull satellite map imagery from Google or Bing or something?

Double clicking the track or right click->open brings up the detail window that has the elevation and speed graphs.

I believe you do need a subscription for Birdseye. You may be able to make your own satellite photo maps, but I haven't looked into it.

I have a GPSmap 62s and the lock time can take a bit after travelling a long distance since last powering the device on but once on I've never had any issues. The 450 says it has a high sensitivity receiver but I don't believe it is the same quality as most of their "on the trail" products which are better suited for environments with a lot of interference and sky cover.

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

Miron posted:

Double clicking the track or right click->open brings up the detail window that has the elevation and speed graphs.

I believe you do need a subscription for Birdseye. You may be able to make your own satellite photo maps, but I haven't looked into it.

I have a GPSmap 62s and the lock time can take a bit after travelling a long distance since last powering the device on but once on I've never had any issues. The 450 says it has a high sensitivity receiver but I don't believe it is the same quality as most of their "on the trail" products which are better suited for environments with a lot of interference and sky cover.

ahhh, got it, thanks. I was trying to click on the tracks in the top left under Library > My Collection, didn't realize you have to click on them in the bottom, not sure I totally understand why it does that but I'll try to play with it some more.

SirPhoebos
Dec 10, 2007

WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED!

Levitate posted:

We ran into this guy chillin' in the middle of the trail last time I hiked in the Grand Canyon



Reminds me of when I visited the Grand Canyon with a tour group. We were hiking 2/3rds down the Canyon. While we were resting at the low point of the trail, a few folks saw a snake and suddenly everyone was huddling around it to take a picture. I took one look at it and said "Um, that's a rattler. You might want to back away...:ohdear:"

TerminalSaint
Apr 21, 2007


Where must we go...

we who wander this Wasteland in search of our better selves?
That reminds me of an incident at work. A bear wandered near a trail and a small crowd formed looking and taking pictures. One of our rangers was hiking off duty and came across the scene. She, having more than two braincells, knew this was not an ideal situation and started clapping and yelling to scare it off. At this point one of the slack-jawed gawkers told her to stop because she was going to scare it off, and then started walking off trail to get closer for a better photo.

Mercury Ballistic
Nov 14, 2005

not gun related
Was driving through the smokies near Clingmans Dome and saw several cars pull over to look at a junior bear (maybe 50 lbs). People were getting out of their cars and running at the bear with their iphones held in front like some sort of charm. The bear wandered off in short order.

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
Situations like that make me wonder about people sometimes. Either they are so stupid and unaware of the potential danger of wildlife or they are so dense that they would rather get a YOLO bro pic with the bear on instagram than worry about their toddler in the car watching its family get mauled to death.

Friends of my wife were out in California (my wife not included thankfully) and ran into a bear cub, they all tried getting closer to take pictures of it because well aww its cute. So they tried to feed it. At this point I wanted to stop listening because I started sweating and wanted to scream WTF. The mother came into the scene and the girls apparently all break out into a full on run down the trail.

I saw the pictures, it was definitely a cub that crossed into the trail eating something. Embellishment on the story or not, I'm amazed they got out of there without anything worse happening.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

Walter.
I know you know how to do this.
Get up.


It's education. It's common sense to some people not to approach a small bear or other cute fuzzy animal, but only because they have been educated. Others have been educated by seeing Jack Hannah handle a cub on Letterman or something similar.

They're not stupid, but their behavior is foolish and they would agree if they knew why.

Chroisman
Mar 27, 2010
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.

PhantomOfTheCopier
Aug 13, 2008

Pikabooze!

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.
I wore what would now be these Danner "Fort Lewis Uniform Boots" for 10 to 15 years, including my 400 miles from 2009 through mid 2011 (and who knows what back in 2003-2005). The things are beasts: GoreTex, Thinsulate (0,200,600 depending on your needs), 10" tall, shank, pretty versatile lacing, shiny, and hard enough in the toes that I never needed steel there. They were tall enough to tying down GoreTex pants was sufficient; no gators needed. They were solid enough to work well on snowshoes, and I imagine I would have trusted them on partially flexible crampons. You could go through streams, mud flows, and pretty deep snow like nobody's business. The soles are thick, and the tread is great.

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?

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.

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.

Are you looking for hiking boots or backpacking boots? If the latter, and if you would also consider a 9-inch boot, you might look at the Lowa Tibet GTX. I have the non-Gore-Tex version, and I love them. Ditto comments above about weight and needing to break them in, but the flip side is that these things are bombproof. Being handmade in Germany, they're not cheap. Lowa makes a wide version, too, which was a godsend.

stupid puma
Apr 25, 2005

In A Walk In The Woods, Bill Bryson talks about some story where a mother puts honey on her kid's hand to have a bear lick it off at some campsite iirc. People are dumb.

Ehud
Sep 19, 2003

football.

Thanks to everyone who recommended going into REI for a shoe fitting. I went in thinking 10.5 Merrell Moab Ventilators and came out with 9.0 KEEN Voyageurs. Definitely worth my time, and I didn't mind spending a few extra bucks to buy the shoes in store since they did such a good job finding me the right fit.

And I got a little cheapy REI branded day pack. I'm thinking of waking up early to hike Table Rock here in upstate SC today. I want to try out my new stuff :haw:

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
I was on a busy bike path last year and spotted a bull moose in the bushes just off the trail. I took a look and then got out of there, but then like 5-10 people stopped and started taking pictures.

Rooted Vegetable
Jun 1, 2002

Ehud posted:


And I got a little cheapy REI branded day pack. I'm thinking of waking up early to hike Table Rock here in upstate SC today. I want to try out my new stuff :haw:

Was it the REI Flash 18 by any chance? I whole heartedly recommend them if your pack doesn't have a detachable lid that turns into a small pack of its own. I needed one for summiting and this was perfect. I use it as a pack in its own right now.

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Between this thread and using GPS devices in my GIS/remote sensing class, I finally decided to get one of my own. Especially for my upcoming trip. Luckily for me, the government of New Zealand decided that free, fully geo-referenced topographical maps for their country is a human right or something. So I'm getting a bunch of those for my planned hikes around Akaroa and Franz Josef.

Ehud
Sep 19, 2003

football.

Heners_UK posted:

Was it the REI Flash 18 by any chance? I whole heartedly recommend them if your pack doesn't have a detachable lid that turns into a small pack of its own. I needed one for summiting and this was perfect. I use it as a pack in its own right now.

Yep, that's exactly what I got!

I went on my second adventure today. Table Rock in upstate SC. 3.6 miles one way, so 7.2 miles total. The elevation raises about 2000 - 2200 feet during the hike.

My first real view of the summit.


Neato boulders towards the beginning of the trail.


Heeeeey, what are you doing up here?


This is around the point I realized that this was going to be a pretty tough trail for my second hike. Most of the trail looked something like this...


The steps to what I thought was the summit, but I was actually about halfway done.


Around the corner from the fake summit. Things continued like this for almost the rest of the trail. The last half was pretty intimidating for a beginner.


I made it :haw:


Nice view. About 9:45am. I hadn't seen anyone on the trail at this point.


Another view from the top


Boulders on the way down.


Waterfalls on the way down.


More waterfalls on the way down.


Cyah later mountain!

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Chroisman
Mar 27, 2010

Business of Ferrets posted:

Are you looking for hiking boots or backpacking boots? If the latter, and if you would also consider a 9-inch boot, you might look at the Lowa Tibet GTX. I have the non-Gore-Tex version, and I love them. Ditto comments above about weight and needing to break them in, but the flip side is that these things are bombproof. Being handmade in Germany, they're not cheap. Lowa makes a wide version, too, which was a godsend.

Yeah I was actually going for backpacking boots, thanks for pointing that out. What's the general consensus about commercial (e.g. Lowa, Asolo, Salomon etc.) vs military boots (Danner, Altama etc.)? Like if they all have Gore-Tex linings, Thinsulate, good shank/midsole and treads, would there be any particular reason to pick one over the other?

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