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krispykremessuck
Jul 22, 2005

unlike most veterans and SA members $10 is not a meaningful expenditure for me

I'm gonna have me a swag Bar-B-Q
Be really careful, Dr. Video Games.

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MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland
This sounds like a terrible idea... have fun watching your shoes delaminate.

Seriously though, hanging out at Coachella in 110 degree heat (I camped in 2004 when it hit 107 and there was no shade in the campsites) is a very different beast than hiking around in a desert.

Joshua Tree is pretty far removed from any kind of medical centers and there're no EMT's and support staff to help you out. Even at Coachella when it's that hot there are dozens of people being pulled out of the crowd from heat stroke and dehydration. If you really have to explore then do it very early in the morning and don't stray too far from camp.

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

110 F is pretty insane. An entire thread of experienced backpackers are expressing their worry, so hopefully that at least reinforces how careful you should be.

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.
If it's going to be that hot, why don't you just go to the beach instead? Or even hit the mountains where it should be cooler?

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

That would kill me. I can barely handle dry and 70 without feeling like I'm going to die.

MMD3
May 16, 2006

Montmartre -> Portland

Business of Ferrets posted:

If it's going to be that hot, why don't you just go to the beach instead? Or even hit the mountains where it should be cooler?

seriously, drive up to Idyllwild, tons of amazing stuff to see up there and it should be 10-15 degrees cooler. That or just hang out at Pappy and Harriet's all day eating bbq.

Take the plunge! Okay!
Feb 24, 2007



I got pretty close to heatstroke a couple of weeks ago after hiking something like 12 miles in 95 degree heat. I had enough water and ate salty snacks. Don't do that hike dude, you're gonna die.

Also, somebody post the "goon in the well" parable.

hailthefish
Oct 24, 2010

mcustic posted:

I got pretty close to heatstroke a couple of weeks ago after hiking something like 12 miles in 95 degree heat. I had enough water and ate salty snacks. Don't do that hike dude, you're gonna die.

Also, somebody post the "goon in the well" parable.

At least with a well full of piss he'd have something to drink and maybe some shade.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


Levitate posted:



By the time morning came around, this is about where she was:


My tent, with my compression bag, and what looks like my sleeping bag? :stare:

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


I spent two days in Canyonlands backcountry just this week. Don't gently caress with the desert. I hid out in a cliff half of the second day because I was so sick of the sun.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

My tent, with my compression bag, and what looks like my sleeping bag? :stare:

The blue bag? It's a Trailwise bag from the 70's so I'd guess odds are that it's not the same as yours, but what do I know...

The other one is a REI 45 degree Taveldown bag though

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

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

I must be descended from camels or something. I live in Southern California, and I've gone hiking in 110 degree heat many times. I wear light colored pants, a light colored long sleeve shirt, and a light colored wide brimmed hat. Other than that, I don't do anything special besides hiking slower than I usually would. As long as I pay attention to my body, I never overheat or even sweat excessively. I do think it's an important distinction that Southern California tends to be very very dry, so sweating is actually very effective at cooling your body. If it was 110 degrees and humid it would be very different.

7 Bowls of Wrath
Mar 30, 2007
Thats so metal.
Hey there westward-living goons. My wife and I are traveling out to the "Golden circle" area in august for a week and a half of vacation. we have recently gotten into light day-hiking and were wondering which parks in utah/arizona are worth spending a day hiking in. We are definitely going to hike at Zion and bryces, probably will just drive through monument valley, goosenecks, and arches (unless we are missing some great hikes there). I am interested in "The wave", and maybe going to see the delicate arch, but not sure what sort of hike that is.

Are we missing anything really cool and fun out in this area of the US? Any help or suggestions from those of you who live nearby or have spent some time out there would be great. If this question has been posted earlier and I just missed it, sorry for being repetitious.

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

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

The Wave is really cool, but be aware that permits to see it are very limited. Some are available ahead of time via a lottery system, while others are available the day of, but if too many people show up only some people get to go.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


7 Bowls of Wrath posted:

Hey there westward-living goons. My wife and I are traveling out to the "Golden circle" area in august for a week and a half of vacation. we have recently gotten into light day-hiking and were wondering which parks in utah/arizona are worth spending a day hiking in. We are definitely going to hike at Zion and bryces, probably will just drive through monument valley, goosenecks, and arches (unless we are missing some great hikes there). I am interested in "The wave", and maybe going to see the delicate arch, but not sure what sort of hike that is.

Are we missing anything really cool and fun out in this area of the US? Any help or suggestions from those of you who live nearby or have spent some time out there would be great. If this question has been posted earlier and I just missed it, sorry for being repetitious.
The Fiery Furnace in Arches is awesome, but it does require a (easy to acquire) permit and it can be difficult to navigate. Ranger led tours are a regular thing. The rest of Arches is doable with driving and very short "hikes," as in less than a mile. It is also very crowded. More than a million visitors a year to what is basically a Y shaped road. I can recommend Canyonlands, which is essentially across the street, much more, especially for hiking. Hike in the Needles.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


I just got back a couple days ago from Sneffles, RMNP, the Winds, Tetons, and Glacier. What a crazy three weeks with batshit weather (I was in Glacier when that huge storm that hit southern Alberta came through), falls, bears, and just lovely things.

The really nutso thing is that I came back to found out I've been asked to go make photos somewhere in Alaska. I have no idea where to start. I read through Denali's backcountry info, which is extensive, and found some great places but they read like this: "This area is extremely remote and rugged. There is no easy hiking. There are a few opportunities for multiday expeditions in alpine terrain unless you include glacier travel. The area is rarely visited and the scenery is some of the most spectacular in the Park and Preserve." Which of course makes me salivate.

Any suggestions? Any public land fits my needs, National Park or otherwise. I would love to visit Gates of the Arctic but that's stupendously expensive and would require a guide (minimum $3500, not including getting to Fairbanks and other things). So, maybe nothing quite that remote.

swimgus
Oct 24, 2005
Camlin bought me this account because I'm a Jew!
How acceptable are trip reports in this thread? Because I just got back from 5 days of camping all over Western and Central Colorado, and it was awesome.

My friend was driving from the Bay Area to Austin, so we decided to meet in the four corners and do some car camping. The four corners is 8ish hours from my house in Denver, and I hate driving, so I camped out in the Grand Mesa NF after 3 hours or so. There were seriously clouds of mosquitoes there, but it was beautiful:


The next day I met my friend in Dolores and we spent a couple of days hiking in the Canyons of the Ancients. Here's some Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings:


Then we drove to Pagosa Springs and checked out the newly minted National Monument at Chimney Rock on the way. Really cool place. Then we camped on the Blanco River in the San Juan NF. Chimney Rock ruins:


We split up in Chama, NM the next day, and I drove about halfway and camped in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. I've been here three or four times now; it's one of my favorite places. I've climbed Belford twice and Oxford once, so I went for this guy early the next morning, Missouri Mountain:


I think it looks harder than it is. It was actually one of the easier of the six fourteeners I've climbed. It was maybe 8 or 9 miles round trip and not nearly as steep as Belford/Oxford. The switchbacks at the beginning suck, and there was a slightly sketchy patch of snow on a steep part of the trail but besides that, it wasn't too difficult. I think it took about 7 hours to get up and back.

View from the top:


Then I was really tired and drove back to Denver and took a shower.

I wasn't that outdoorsy until I moved here a few years ago, but I am loving the mountains, and I can't wait to get back out there. We managed to avoid all of the wildfires, saw cool archaeology, and I hiked a fourteener. Best vacation I've had in a long time.

swimgus fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Jun 30, 2013

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

^^^^ Looks awesome! I'm not lord of the thread or anything, but I'd say trip reports are a great thing.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

I read through Denali's backcountry info, which is extensive, and found some great places but they read like this: "This area is extremely remote and rugged. There is no easy hiking. There are a few opportunities for multiday expeditions in alpine terrain unless you include glacier travel. The area is rarely visited and the scenery is some of the most spectacular in the Park and Preserve." Which of course makes me salivate.

Yeah, I've learned to subtract 25% of urgency/seriousness from most literature about hiking, after being misled too many times by claims of "highly strenuous, dangerous conditions" only to find that they meant "you have to walk on boulders and among trees instead of on a nice trail." I guess they write those things for your casual national park tourist?

That being said, alaska don't gently caress around. But like you, I think that sounds amazing.



Also, I hope Dr Vid Games is doing okay, the idea of a long hike in 110F scares the poo poo out of me.

edit:
I think I recall my wilderness first aid teacher saying of heat stroke: douse the person in cool water and evacuate immediately (makes sense), but do not give them water to drink. NOAA agrees. :confused: does anyone know why that is?

alnilam fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jun 30, 2013

PRADA SLUT
Mar 14, 2006

Inexperienced,
heartless,
but even so
Is there a youtube video that goes over basic wilderness first aid?

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


PRADA SLUT posted:

Is there a youtube video that goes over basic wilderness first aid?
It's pretty much "bands aids on things that can be addressed with them, gauze/tape/compression for everything else, and get the gently caress off the mountain for anything worse."

Unless you have some sort of EMT/Combat training and then you can do crazy poo poo but the next step is always "get the gently caress off the mountain and to real help."

e: and I sure as hell wouldn't go off of anything on Youtube

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:

It's pretty much "bands aids on things that can be addressed with them, gauze/tape/compression for everything else, and get the gently caress off the mountain for anything worse."

Unless you have some sort of EMT/Combat training and then you can do crazy poo poo but the next step is always "get the gently caress off the mountain and to real help."

e: and I sure as hell wouldn't go off of anything on Youtube

There are things you can know to help get someone more evac-ready, and there are things you can do to save someone's life in the short term so that you can actually get them off the mountain. I highly recommend taking a 1 or 2 day wilderness first aid class to anyone who gets an opportunity, as it focuses entirely on these things.
Also you learn some preventative care.

pizzadog
Oct 9, 2009

I love trip reports! I escaped the hundred degree heat wave yesterday on the highest mountain southern california

Took the momyer creek trail to San G, its an over 26 mile round trip route with 7000 feet of gain, as opposed to the much more crowded/popular viviam creek trail route which starts at higher elevation and so is much shorter.


Summit with just repainted/varnished sign. The peak was so crowded, never seen so many up there, vivian creek must have been very crowded. Good day to be up so high I guess!


wildflowers bloomin


Plummer Meadows I think


Pale swallowtail at one of the three running water sources on trail


Sunset over Mill Creek

Tons of people past that trail junction, almost nobody on the same trail we went on all day. Hiked before dawn to dusk, lovely 70 degree weather, maybe 80 at the most. Eat that, heat wave!

Longest distance day hike I've done so far, ended up with some blisters. I'll try liners and changing them/socks mid hike next long day. I think the big one on the bottom of my pinky toe that's unopened I have to open myself so it can heal before my next hike in 5 days.

pizzadog fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jun 30, 2013

that Vai sound
Mar 6, 2011
Any wide-brim hat recommendations? This is my current choice, but I'm afraid I'm going to pick something dorky looking on my own. I'm looking for something to shield my head/bald spot from the sun, and to provide more shade than a baseball cap. This would be day hikes.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


Get a cheap one because I've lost three loving hats

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

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

I've been using the same Tilley hat for ten years now. It still looks brand new.

Hotel Kpro
Feb 24, 2011

owls don't go to school
Dinosaur Gum
On my hike today I see these falls, thinking how much it would suck to tumble down that



Then I get to the top of them and see the trail on the other side



The Sawtooths can be a sketchy place.

krispykremessuck
Jul 22, 2005

unlike most veterans and SA members $10 is not a meaningful expenditure for me

I'm gonna have me a swag Bar-B-Q
Climbed up to Hawk Peak, from Tull Canyon near the Tubal Cain Mine in Olympic National Forest/Buckhorn Wilderness area in Washington to escape the ridiculous heat down at sea level.

Summit Panos




This is a pano from the meadow we ate lunch in. On the right side is the Hawk Peak false summit looking underwhelming when compared to Mount Worthington on the left side. I might be doing Worthington soon, I had to scrap my big plans for a more prominent mountain for the year.



This last shot kinda shows the snow slope I glissaded down in the lower right. Nice packed snow with a soft 2-3" on top made glissading nice and quick, but not out of control. A good day today. Kind of a short hike, like 12 miles or so, and only about 3000' of elevation gain. Also I think Seattle is in this picture.

PRADA SLUT
Mar 14, 2006

Inexperienced,
heartless,
but even so
Are there biodegradable wet wipes or do you just get regular ones and haul them out with you? I'm getting conflicting options from Amazon.

alnilam
Nov 10, 2009

I've used earth-friendly cotton wipes with tea tree oil 'n poo poo on them. You can find them in a food coöp or some such place. Like TP, I felt okay burying them in a pit far from water (which is where you should be pooping anyway), but I wouldn't just toss them into the woods or anything.

Reformed Tomboy
Feb 2, 2005

chu~~

PRADA SLUT posted:

Are there biodegradable wet wipes or do you just get regular ones and haul them out with you? I'm getting conflicting options from Amazon.

Even if it's biodegradable, please just pack out your trash. TP is too, and yet every year I find old TP stuffed under rocks or buried behind a decent tree.

BeefofAges
Jun 5, 2004

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

What do you even need wet wipes for? Just relax and be dirty. Also, if you use snow, leaves, rocks, or sticks, you don't even need TP.

JAY ZERO SUM GAME
Oct 18, 2005

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


reported for trolling

krispykremessuck
Jul 22, 2005

unlike most veterans and SA members $10 is not a meaningful expenditure for me

I'm gonna have me a swag Bar-B-Q

PRADA SLUT posted:

Are there biodegradable wet wipes or do you just get regular ones and haul them out with you? I'm getting conflicting options from Amazon.

Wet wipes are great, they'll stop you from getting mudbutt. Pack out your trash.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
This came in the mail yesterday :dance:



It's a ULA Circuit. I really wanted to get a lighter pack, even though I liked my old Gregory a lot, and the ULA seems a pretty good balance of lightweight (I think you can get it down to almost 2 lbs by taking off some of the extras) and sturdiness that some other packs like the Gossamer Gear Mariposa seem to lack a bit. I also wasn't confident that I'd be able to consistently get down below 30 lbs on a long trip with my equipment so I wanted something that could handle 30-35. Hopefully will get to test it out in the next couple of weeks at least on a day hike.

Levitate fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Jul 2, 2013

Business of Ferrets
Mar 2, 2008

Good to see that everything is back to normal.
What is it with the graph-paper motif of all the UL stuff? It looks like pants I had in the 80s. Or contact paper from my mom's pantry. Does the fabric only come in one style? Or is it visual branding so that everyone knows it's ultra light?

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
I believe it's because they often use ripstop nylon fabric, which has that kind of pattern to it. Just a characteristic of the material. You can obviously do some other patterns or colors on top of that, but the checkered pattern comes from the material itself

mystes
May 31, 2006

I guess if you want light and don't like the look of ripstop, the solution is to get super-ultra-light stuff made of more exotic materials (e.g. cuben $$$$$) that aren't reinforced in the way ripstop nylon is.

However, ripstop nylon is the sweet spot in terms of price, weight, and durability for most people, so it's ubiquitous in mass produced ultralight gear.

mystes fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Jul 2, 2013

7 Bowls of Wrath
Mar 30, 2007
Thats so metal.

alnilam posted:

Yeah, I've learned to subtract 25% of urgency/seriousness from most literature about hiking, after being misled too many times by claims of "highly strenuous, dangerous conditions" only to find that they meant "you have to walk on boulders and among trees instead of on a nice trail." I guess they write those things for your casual national park tourist?


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.

What are the things we should prepare for if we hike in Utah / Arizona in early August? Presumably water is the biggest thing. Does anyone have any feel for the actual difficulty of most day hikes in that area? (needles, fiery furnace, bryces, zion)

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN 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.

I think there are things to be worried about when you're in remote areas with relatively rough trails (narrow, rocky, not constantly maintained)...mainly, you could trip or slip or twist an ankle and fall and hurt yourself. The constant pounding on your feet can hurt and become a big problem if you're not used to it, some altitude gains and losses can also be hard on you (going downhill and causing problems with your knees, etc) and so on. But hiking itself is really just walking, and if you take it at the right pace and rest when necessary, it's not a big deal *most of the time* (sometimes there are issues like altitude sickness that can trump anything else and you just have to be aware of).

That said if you're in decent shape and have good equipment, you'll usually be fine. Bad equipment, poorly fitted footwear, and not knowing what you're getting into is when bad things happen. Not to mention weather and needing to know how to handle it (heat, cold, flash floods, etc)

edit: I think they say that hiking is strenuous and difficult in order to try to keep people from thinking like it's just going for a walk around the block or something like that. It's usually not hard if you're prepared but every year people have to be rescued from the Grand Canyon because they think they can just stroll to the bottom and back during the middle of the day without water or anything

quote:

What are the things we should prepare for if we hike in Utah / Arizona in early August? Presumably water is the biggest thing. Does anyone have any feel for the actual difficulty of most day hikes in that area? (needles, fiery furnace, bryces, zion)

Probably will be hot as balls with really harsh sun but I don't really remember what the hiking itself is like...sometimes sandy, sometimes slick rock?

Levitate fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Jul 2, 2013

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pizzadog
Oct 9, 2009

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.

What are the things we should prepare for if we hike in Utah / Arizona in early August? Presumably water is the biggest thing. Does anyone have any feel for the actual difficulty of most day hikes in that area? (needles, fiery furnace, bryces, zion)

Unless you're heading high into the back country from the main zion/bryce canyon trails I don't think you will probably find much that's honestly strenuous. Water is definitely an issue, and heat, but most well published trails in those parks are probably easy to moderate touristy loops. Grand canyon could definitely be strenuous, if you did rim to rim or something.
I can't speak to the other areas.

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