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Pryor on Fire posted:That article is pretty timely for me, I was backpacking last weekend and it was a total shitshow. Off leash dog charged and bit me on wilderness space, then a bunch of frat boys built a huge rear end bonfire at the high mountain lake I was going to camp near and were doing bong rips and throwing beer cans in the lake, so I moved on and found another spot that seemed nice and set up my tent then realized someone had thrown a poo poo ton of food they didn't want to eat behind some trees so that was rotting 20 feet away and I wasn't worried about bears before but kind of was then, whatever it was fine then another off leash dog charged me fortunately this one didn't bite, and then on day three hiking out some dumbshit millennials were flying a drone as annoyingly as possible and thought it would be funny to zoom it over people hiking on the trail then the battery died and it crashed 50 feet ahead of me on the trail and would have hit me if the battery died two seconds earlier, nearly got into a fist fight with them after yelling at them for being stupid dipshits. Is bear spray legal in your state? If a dog ran up to me aggressively and bit me I'd probably spray it down, maybe even if it hadn't bit me depending on the circumstances. There isn't really an excuse for that.
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Sep 1, 2015 21:57
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yeah the only time having a dog off leash is ok is when you know your voice is law, and very few owners achieve that.
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Sep 1, 2015 22:13
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Forest or Wilderness rules in the US are usually "dog must be under control at all times". If your dog is completely under control by the sound of your voice alone, then cool it can be off leash, and I've seen some awesome backpacking dogs that just wanna hike and carry their little packs and they give you a panting smile as they carefully step past you on the trail. If your dog can't do that or it can't not chase after a deer it sees, then it needs to be on leash. The most what the gently caress thing I saw last year was someone hiking in the high Sierra (I think I saw them jump on the JMT around Bear Creek and they resupplied at the Muir Trail Ranch) with a freaking Pomeranian. It must have been like...5 lbs soaking wet. It was half amazing and half  It was on leash and well behaved though so that was alright, except they headed into Kings Canyon after resupplying and dogs aren't allowed in national parks (it legit says it right on the sign next to the trail as you cross the boundary). e: I guess another thing leading to more callous treatment of wilderness areas is that it's easy as gently caress now to jump on the internet and look up some pre-planned trip and print out a map and go, which might be leading to more people in the back country that wouldn't have made it past the trailhead campgrounds or the first popular campsite 4 miles down the trail in the past. It's easier than ever to get a trip planned without actually doing a lot of planning, which is what probably tends to be a barrier in some ways. Levitate fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Sep 1, 2015 |
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Sep 1, 2015 22:22
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Pryor on Fire posted:That article is pretty timely for me, I was backpacking last weekend and it was a total shitshow. Off leash dog charged and bit me on wilderness space, then a bunch of frat boys built a huge rear end bonfire at the high mountain lake I was going to camp near and were doing bong rips and throwing beer cans in the lake, so I moved on and found another spot that seemed nice and set up my tent then realized someone had thrown a poo poo ton of food they didn't want to eat behind some trees so that was rotting 20 feet away and I wasn't worried about bears before but kind of was then, whatever it was fine then another off leash dog charged me fortunately this one didn't bite, and then on day three hiking out some dumbshit millennials were flying a drone as annoyingly as possible and thought it would be funny to zoom it over people hiking on the trail then the battery died and it crashed 50 feet ahead of me on the trail and would have hit me if the battery died two seconds earlier, nearly got into a fist fight with them after yelling at them for being stupid dipshits. Levitate posted:I think there are people getting into hiking, especially thru hiking, because of the "sport" aspect they see in it, like running marathons. Less because of being out in the wilderness exactly and more because of the "challenge". Then again maybe I'm just being a NIMBY and shouting at kids to get off my lawn. This is why I started, a lifetime ago when I was 14 years old and had a little bit of money. I was drawn to the challenge of navigating over these hills and through forests without the aid of trails, to put to good use the compass that had sat on my desk for so long. I did the whole "bushcraft" thing, going out into the woods with very little gear and melting my own water from snow over a wood fire, sleeping on beds of pine boughs under a home depot tarp stretched on a wood frame. Old, cheap gear made for a heavy pack (thus the necessity to discard so much of it and to instead take from the woods), but to young muscles it was a small hardship, incomparable to the delight brought by overcoming it. As far as the groups of dipshit millenials, as one of aforementioned dipshit millenials all I can say is I almost always travel alone, and when not alone the size of the group I am in is 2. It has never, in my lifetime, been larger than 6. I have a hard time imagining how a single group of 35 human beings can NOT ruin their surroundings. It's just a question of cleaning it all up when you're done. Keyser S0ze posted:sad part it included ladies too (bro-ettes?). It seems to me like the real solution is just building more parks. The last new wilderness area around here opened up in 2007, I'm sure if we just open up one medium size park every 5-10 years that should absorb the demand. Like, it's totally cool if someone is being a shithead DURING their trip as long as there are no lasting effects once they leave. All of the unpleasant experiences you described to me are just like mice getting into your food bag; one of the minor problems you run into out there. It's just that the annoying animals in question happen to be wearing pants, usually. To the people asking if I was trolling: Those were exaggerated for effect. I did once, on a wide, mixed use trail right around twilight, startle a horse and rider by passing them at 22mph with Kanye West's "Black Skinhead" playing at maximum volume on the cell phone in my jersey's pockets. In my defense, I had my lights on and was trying to get out of there before darkness fell fully. This would be on whatever that long, mostly-paved trail in between the towns of Banks and Veronia in OR is. Later when passing several groups of cyclists I received some highly spirited feedback regarding my musical tastes. It was about 80% positive and 20% "what the gently caress". Keldoclock fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Sep 1, 2015 |
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Sep 1, 2015 23:34
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Building a new park would cost massive amounts of money and effort to find a suitable place and flatten the poo poo out of some area to put in parking lots, campgrounds, lodges, restaurants, etc, and make sure the road there is decent enough to handle demands. Park Service and all that isn't really rolling in money But really there are plenty of other areas to go that aren't as heavily used as the popular national parks, but no one goes there because they're not as well known or whatever
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Sep 2, 2015 00:18
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Levitate posted:But really there are plenty of other areas to go that aren't as heavily used as the popular national parks, but no one goes there because they're not as well known or whatever And the knowledge of and willingness to go to a lightly-visited park instead of the crowded ones are what separates us from them.
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Sep 2, 2015 00:22
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evil_bunnY posted:yeah the only time having a dog off leash is ok is when you know your voice is law, and very few owners achieve that. I'm so glad I live in PA where off leash is the norm and people that get lovely about dogs are the weirdos.
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Sep 2, 2015 00:47
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Anyone spend a night or two at Shenandoah NP? I plan on going this weekend and was looking to do 15~ miles and camp out. I was thinking doing old rag or hawksbill, anyone have any specific hikes theyve done?
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Sep 2, 2015 01:11
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All the parks around here are tiny as hell but being able to weekday hike means I never really see anyone unless I am within a mile of a parking area. And when I do they are generally affable weirdos like myself who have too much free time and no on to chat with. The only altercation I have been in involved a loving cyclist who took umbrage at my refusal to throw myself into the bushes as he tried to wizz by at like 10mph on a mixed use trail. In hiking news I had been getting a little cocky with the distance progress I have been making so today I went north to find some trails with an aggressive elevation change. Was very much humbled. Three miles up and three miles down about killed me and my legs cramped up so badly I feared I wasn't going to be able to drive home. I didn't even bring my day pack, just a small bottle of water, I'm not sure I could have made it with even my 10lb pack on. I really need to find somewhere close with more aggressive trails or join gym or something.
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Sep 2, 2015 02:48
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prezbuluskey posted:Anyone spend a night or two at Shenandoah NP? I plan on going this weekend and was looking to do 15~ miles and camp out. I was thinking doing old rag or hawksbill, anyone have any specific hikes theyve done? One SNP out and back that I like is parking at Compton (Mile ~10 on Skyline Drive) and hiking down the AT along Mount Marshall to camp near Gravel Springs Hut, then return on Bluff Trail to Compton the next day. There are some great views along the top of Marshall and the trail is nice and easy on the feet while still giving you a good distance (~10 miles out from Compton, ~8 miles if you park at Jenkins Gap instead). Other options - Jeremy's Run with a night at/near Mathews Arm, White Oak/Cedar Run or Three Falls with a night at Rock Spring Hut. Old Rag is going to be jammed packed this weekend and it's hard to find a campsite that's away from the trail and crowds there.
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Sep 2, 2015 03:09
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bunnielab posted:All the parks around here are tiny as hell but being able to weekday hike means I never really see anyone unless I am within a mile of a parking area. And when I do they are generally affable weirdos like myself who have too much free time and no on to chat with. The only altercation I have been in involved a loving cyclist who took umbrage at my refusal to throw myself into the bushes as he tried to wizz by at like 10mph on a mixed use trail.
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Sep 2, 2015 14:09
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Get that elevation bunnielab, good job. Not much is gonna help with hiking uphill, other than hiking uphill.
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Sep 2, 2015 16:07
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:Shedding excess weight on your body is better than losing anything from your pack. Absolutely, but I can't lose too much or all my sweet hiking pants will not fit any more. Smoove J posted:Get that elevation bunnielab, good job. Not much is gonna help with hiking uphill, other than hiking uphill. Yea, I figured as much. A gym will help with general cardio though and I need to get my leg muscles improved, I am going to buy a pedal-powered kayak next spring and want to be able to use the hell out of it right away.
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Sep 2, 2015 16:20
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Smoove J posted:Get that elevation bunnielab, good job. Not much is gonna help with hiking uphill, other than hiking uphill. My thoughts exactly. There are other strength exercises you can do, but nothing is as relevant nor as fun as hiking to get better at hiking.
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Sep 2, 2015 16:24
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bunnielab posted:Absolutely, but I can't lose too much or all my sweet hiking pants will not fit any more. Do 100 squats and 150 calf raises at whatever weight you can handle twice a week. Those two exercises will improve the muscle groups hiking uphill requires and doing 100 squats in 3-4 sweats is a hell of a cardio workout as well. I used this same method to get stronger at climbing hills on the bike and it worked wonders for running up them as well. Be sure to stretch afterwards though, or you'll get cramps from hell in the middle of the night and scream so loud you scare your dogs into peeing on your bed 
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Sep 2, 2015 16:39
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I've been looking at packs for about 2 weeks and haven't been able to make up my mind. After having multiple people measure me at REI (where I work) I appear to have an 18.5 inch torso. I'm 5'11" and 160lbs and I can't seem to figure this out. Years ago I bought a gregory baltoro 70 in medium and everybody at work agrees it's too big for me. It rubs on my lower back and literally rubbed my skin off on my last trip. -I tried an Osprey Atmos AG in both small and medium and the hip belt was too small on the small but the shoulders were perfect, and the pack is not customizable so I can't swap small/medium belts. I've now tried a gregory baltoro 65 in small, but the little back plate is uncomfortable. -I tried a gregory z65 in small and something is a little off but I'm not sure what. The shoulder straps are also kind of uncomfortable. I tried an Osprey Aether 60 in small and the shoulder straps are a dream but the hip belt is uncomfortable. Specifically, the way the hip belt comes up over the front of my hip bones makes that area extremely hot within a minute or two of the pack being on, and I experience a mild burning sensation after a few minutes. On long hikes with my current gregory I have shoved a sock into each side of my pelvic V which has pulled the hip belt off my hip bones to ease this discomfort. The most comfortable pack I've tried on has been an Osprey Exos 58. I don't know if this is confirmation bias because I have been looking for lighter packs in an attempt to go all-lightweight throughout my gear or not though. After trying the Aether last night I think this may be because the hip belt is pretty small and doesn't go over the front of my hip bones. I've had 4 employees at my store and one at another try to help me to no avail. What advice do you goons have? Rontalvos fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Sep 2, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 21:27
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Rontalvos posted:I've had 4 employees at my store and one at another try to help me to no avail. What advice do you goons have? Sounds like you have weird pointy hip bones that need extra cushioning or minimal contact or something. So to that end you could go ultralight and just force yourself to have pack weights of 25 pounds or under. You might want to look into the ULA Circut: http://sectionhiker.com/ula-circuit-backpack-review/ It has two hip straps so that you can fine tune the fit of the hip belt which might help you. It's also extremely light. Or you could go the route of gently caress off big padding everywhere and get something like this from Dueter: http://sectionhiker.com/deuter-guide-45-backpack-review/
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Sep 2, 2015 21:53
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Circuit can carry around 35 lb fairly comfortably IMO The hip belt isn't very thickly padded but something like that might be beneficial in your case (possibly even why the Exos felt better) since heavily padded hip belts in my experience tend to be pretty thick foam that can add more pressure (probably stills works better for heavy loads though). A more lightly padded and flexible hip belt might reduce the amount of pain and annoyance.
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Sep 2, 2015 22:33
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Terrifying Effigies posted:One SNP out and back that I like is parking at Compton (Mile ~10 on Skyline Drive) and hiking down the AT along Mount Marshall to camp near Gravel Springs Hut, then return on Bluff Trail to Compton the next day. There are some great views along the top of Marshall and the trail is nice and easy on the feet while still giving you a good distance (~10 miles out from Compton, ~8 miles if you park at Jenkins Gap instead). Very cool. Yeah I wasn't going to go near Old Rag. The three falls hike looks great and so does Compton. Is Hawkbill Mountain worth it? Im an elevation nerd.
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Sep 3, 2015 01:09
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Rontalvos posted:I've been looking at packs for about 2 weeks and haven't been able to make up my mind. Larger packs like those generally have beefier hipbelts, and you should probably be looking at one with thinner belts (less padding is actually a more comfortable fit). I'm 5'11" and 165, so pretty similar to you, and swear by the ULA Conduit. If you're trying to fit in the store, one of the 40-50L Ospreys are pretty comfortable. And make sure to try out the women's version of the pack, because they will probably fit better.
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Sep 3, 2015 01:29
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prezbuluskey posted:Very cool. Yeah I wasn't going to go near Old Rag. The three falls hike looks great and so does Compton. Is Hawkbill Mountain worth it? Im an elevation nerd. Hawksbill is definitely worth a trip, although I tend to like going in fall/winter when the leaves are down and the humidity is out for the best views. If you're an elevation nerd you should head down to Mount Rogers to find some decent altitude. I'll admit that Virginia doesn't hold a candle to the mountains out west, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some nice views.
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Sep 3, 2015 03:20
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Anyone have strong preferences for a rain jacket? I'm looking at this list http://www.rei.com/c/mens-multi-sport-rain-jackets?ir=category%3Amens-multi-sport-rain-jackets&pagesize=90&r=c&page=1&stop_mobi=yes Really leaning towards the Beta AR... but I haven't been looking too long. Mammut Crater, Kuhl Parachute, I don't know. I'd want it all seasons, snow/rain/wind protection, breathable, doesn't need insulation.
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Sep 3, 2015 20:35
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Smoove J posted:Anyone have strong preferences for a rain jacket? I'm looking at this list http://www.rei.com/c/mens-multi-sport-rain-jackets?ir=category%3Amens-multi-sport-rain-jackets&pagesize=90&r=c&page=1&stop_mobi=yes I'd say separate snow protection from rain/wind protection. A good rain jacket is too light-weight for real snow protection (meaning beyond just keeping you dry), and vice versa. I've got a Marmot Precip and it's great and I love it. Some people love their bird gear, but I don't see how the Arc'teryx stuff could possibly be worth the 400% premium.
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Sep 4, 2015 02:02
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Kaal posted:Some people love their bird gear, but I don't see how the Arc'teryx stuff could possibly be worth the 400% premium. I felt the same way but after a lot of looking around I ended up buying one of their softshells and could not be more happy with it. A few months later I bought one of their lightweight insulated jackets and it might be the best coat I have ever owned. Their stuff, imho, works best when it is something that is narrowly focused in design and concept. Their general stuff is much closer to average but still great.
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Sep 4, 2015 03:15
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Working with the Utah Conservation Corps and for the next 3 months I'll be in Bryce, just finished my first 4 day hitch and it was loving gorgeous, too bad I have to spend most of the day with a 30 pd backpack filled with Ranger Pro trying to kill Smooth Brome. Really enjoyed hiking down Tower Bridge during the sunset.
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Sep 4, 2015 03:37
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Kaal posted:I'd say separate snow protection from rain/wind protection. A good rain jacket is too light-weight for real snow protection (meaning beyond just keeping you dry), and vice versa. I've got a Marmot Precip and it's great and I love it. Some people love their bird gear, but I don't see how the Arc'teryx stuff could possibly be worth the 400% premium.
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Sep 4, 2015 11:58
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evil_bunnY posted:I have a beta AR and it's a great rain jacket, and a great snow jacket with a thick as need be mid under it. I don't understand why you'd want 2 separate shells. And dead bird stuff is basically guaranteed for life. I had some velcro patches replaced a while back before they'd actually failed, for free and with zero hassle. They also have the best hoods period. The hoods are the one thing I don't like, but a hood designed to go over a helmet isn't going to work well with a bare head. I just keep a folding ball cap in the pocket of my shell, hooking the lip of the hood over the brim of the cap keeps both of them in place in very high winds. The hoods on the mid layer I have is not ment to go over a helmet and is pretty great.
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Sep 4, 2015 13:36
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Is it your bald noggin that's the issue? Even without any kind of hat I can cinch it down to where it won't ever move, and I have full peripheral vision.
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Sep 4, 2015 13:55
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Levitate posted:The most what the gently caress thing I saw last year was someone hiking in the high Sierra (I think I saw them jump on the JMT around Bear Creek and they resupplied at the Muir Trail Ranch) with a freaking Pomeranian. It must have been like...5 lbs soaking wet. It was half amazing and half
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Sep 4, 2015 13:57
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Kaal posted:I'd say separate snow protection from rain/wind protection. A good rain jacket is too light-weight for real snow protection (meaning beyond just keeping you dry), and vice versa. I've got a Marmot Precip and it's great and I love it. Some people love their bird gear, but I don't see how the Arc'teryx stuff could possibly be worth the 400% premium. I agree with you on Arc'teryx. I don't know all of the cheaper gear that I've bought has always worked well enough for me. The price premium is just to high for me, when I wore my friends rain jacket from Arc'teryx he had it was nice but not that much nicer. I think it's been beaten to death here already but in my opinion rain gear is mostly for thermal regulation and not necessarily staying dry. No matter what you can end up sweating any jacket out eventually. That said the Precip is good and I recently got a Patagonia Torrentshell that I've been pleased with.
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Sep 4, 2015 14:01
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I got the Beta AR last night. I love the lifetime guarantee, minimalist look, we'll see. Thanks for the thoughts you guys.
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Sep 4, 2015 14:40
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evil_bunnY posted:Is it your bald noggin that's the issue? Even without any kind of hat I can cinch it down to where it won't ever move, and I have full peripheral vision. I never thought of that, but it could be it. Without a hat the hood always slumps down over my eyes eventually. I have a huge head too so idk. I also thought the sleeves were too long until I wore it with gloves in the snow and then I realized their greatness. I have been dogging the poo poo out of this jacket, wearing to work, on the farm, and plowing through brush. Other then some grease stains and a tiny tiny little snag from a ragged metal edge, it has held up 100%.
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Sep 4, 2015 16:42
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Saint Fu posted:Haha I met that guy too. Dog was cute but the guy didn't really seem like he knew what he was doing. Funny, he must have been on the trail longer than I thought. I think you were a week or at least a couple days ahead of me. I thought he might have come in from a side trail somewhere near Bear Creek like I said. Seemed to have met up with a bunch of people near Muir Trail Ranch and had a big ol' group camp and fire that night around there and then we dropped them after that. Dog kinda looked like it wanted to die but I guess it's pretty impressive it made it that far
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Sep 4, 2015 17:47
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bunnielab posted:I never thought of that, but it could be it. Without a hat the hood always slumps down over my eyes eventually. I have a huge head too so idk. bunnielab posted:I also thought the sleeves were too long until I wore it with gloves in the snow and then I realized their greatness. I have been dogging the poo poo out of this jacket, wearing to work, on the farm, and plowing through brush. Other then some grease stains and a tiny tiny little snag from a ragged metal edge, it has held up 100%.
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Sep 4, 2015 18:24
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evil_bunnY posted:That's really, really unusual, do you use the rear adjuster (under the halo, that pulls the whole hood back)? I do but now I am curious to see if I am adjusting it wrong. I'll get it out and post a picture tonight. Sadly the only store around me that carried their stuff closed, it is so much better to be able to check layering fit without shipping stuff back and forth. There is an Arcteryx store in DC but it was like 40% skiing stuff, 40% size S Valience stuff, and only a small selection of the mainline, a lot of which is their more street wear stuff.
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Sep 4, 2015 19:07
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bunnielab posted:% size S Valience stuff, Who the goddamn buys that stuff. I looked at their selection and it's almost all super terrible looking jackets that cost $1000. Do they look better on people aren't super twink-ish models?
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Sep 4, 2015 23:37
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I found me two good trees.
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Sep 5, 2015 01:07
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We made it to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, which means nobody in Texas was higher than me. except Willie Nelson
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Sep 7, 2015 01:14
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Elwood P. Dowd posted:Who the goddamn buys that stuff. bunnielab posted:I do but now I am curious to see if I am adjusting it wrong. I'll get it out and post a picture tonight.
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Sep 7, 2015 09:13
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3 miles, 2700 feet of vertical. Mystery Peak was a good recovery hike. 
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Sep 8, 2015 03:08
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