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Bagged three 11,000 foot mountains today. Would've had the fourth but I hit my turn around time. Also sprung a leak in my Platypus bladder, not sure if it's fixable or not. Sunrise on the Pioneers  Standing on Redbird, looking back at Lime (loving crazy rock colors going on), twin summit Cabin Mountain in the background. 
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Sep 28, 2015 05:37
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I wish I had more free time, drat school and work. Normally the mountains would be snowy by now and scrambles would be pretty limited, maybe a select few little peaks that get windblasted in the Bow Valley and the rest you need to be outfitted for snow travel. Right now they are loving dry. Light dusting on the biggest peaks and everything else looks like July conditions. If El Niño continues like this through the winter there's going to practically no snow, or at the least it won't be deep, and opportunities will be open all season. Hopefully I'll be out on Saturday because larches are in their prime right now and I don't want to miss it this year.
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Sep 29, 2015 16:58
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Was hoping to get some early fall hiking in this weekend, but we've gotten 1.5" of rain today and are supposed to get another +6" by Sunday  At least we'll finally have some water back in the creeks and waterfalls.
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Sep 30, 2015 03:09
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Did a fun 7 day solo backpacking/packrafting trip to Denali National Park. Spectacular scenery, zero other people and LOTS of wildlife encounters. Unfortunately my jury-rigged solution to try to strap my camera to my head didn't really work, so I didn't capture video of the packrafting section, but here's a video of the rest: https://youtu.be/MwLAFGJIN2Q
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Oct 1, 2015 00:46
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Terrifying Effigies posted:Was hoping to get some early fall hiking in this weekend, but we've gotten 1.5" of rain today and are supposed to get another +6" by Sunday Hah, I am currently bugging my buddy to go storm hiking with me this Saturday. It's great, the trails are empty and if you can catch the beginning of the storm, the fishing can be insane.
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Oct 1, 2015 00:50
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MojoAZ posted:Did a fun 7 day solo backpacking/packrafting trip to Denali National Park. Spectacular scenery, zero other people and LOTS of wildlife encounters. Unfortunately my jury-rigged solution to try to strap my camera to my head didn't really work, so I didn't capture video of the packrafting section, but here's a video of the rest: That looks like an amazing hike. How long until they stop running the buses? I was there last summer, our bus somehow lost the radiator cap and I had to jog back a couple of miles through polychrome pass. Luckily enough there it was, sitting right in the middle of the road. Probably the most beautiful jog I ever had. That and I couldn't wait to get off that loving bus.
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Oct 1, 2015 12:49
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Hiked up to Hidden Basin just below Vesper Peak (Mountain Loop Highway, WA) a couple weeks ago. Been in the process of rebuilding my hiking blog after I accidentally deleted the database. Anyway, here are a few pics. Full trip report here: http://mycrookedpath.com/blog/2015/09/07/vesper-lake-hidden-basin-headlee-pass    Also, I recently completed Section J of the Pacific Crest Trail between Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass (Washington). I'm currently still writing up the trip report on the 75 mile solo trip. It was loving rad.
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Oct 2, 2015 21:00
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That looks like it would be some epic backcountry splitboarding.
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Oct 2, 2015 21:04
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I camped out with some friends for the REI garage sale last night. Turns out this was the biggest one the Houston store has ever had and it was well worth my time to camp out for it. I was probably 20th in line, which is important because they let the first 40 in at once, then the rest have to wait until someone comes out before someone can go in. There was some drama though. I've heard of this, but never experienced it before today. About an hour before they let us in, when people were breaking down their tents and cots and putting stuff away, a woman came up and got in line a little bit in front of me. People come and go and we have an understanding with folks who have been there and step out for the restroom or to get food, but she had definitely not been there all night like we had. When someone tried to say something to her, she straight-up ignored them listening to her headphones. I knew all it would take was one person acting the fool so I decided to be that guy and loudly called her out, politely at first, but making it clear to everyone around me who hadn't noticed that there was a line. She straight-up didn't care. Nobody was dumb enough to confront her physically over it, but the crowd turned on her and eventually shamed her into calling her boyfriend on the phone. Dude came out and walked up to me like he wanted to fight me. It was all so absurd. I'm 40 years old. I'm not going to fight someone over a spot in line. Sanity prevailed, though, and he called me a pussy and they got in their car and left. We all had a good laugh. As for the sale itself, it was a major score for me. I got a used Osprey 3L hydration bladder that looked in perfect shape for $11. I'll run a water/bleach mix through it and scrub the mouthpiece. I got a string of those multicolored ENO Christmas lights for $6. I wanted a sleeping bag for my wife and I found a Marmot Sawtooth 15 degree down bag for $130 and that fit the bill. Label said "Customer didn't think it was comfortable." There was a pair of carbon fiber trekking poles which my wife already has, but it was priced at $24 because "One pole is missing." There was another matching pole sitting right next to it so I took it up to the counter and explained it to the guy and said "You make the call." He shrugged and rang it up. But the real score was the tent. Remember back in July when I bought those three tents to compare them and then I returned the two I didn't want? Well wouldn't you know the Copper Spur UL1 was set up right there ready for me to snag it. I know it was mine because the return date was at the end of July exactly when I returned it. The damage label description was vague saying "The item does not have tags. Please inspect." Whatever that means. I don't feel in the least big guilty about this either because when I returned the tent, I told them it was never used, I set it up once in my living room to compare tents, and then I carefully packed it back up exactly how it was when I got it. It still had the rubber bands and plastic bags and everything. They could have put it right back on the shelf and nobody would have been any wiser for it. So they took a $380 tent, marked it down to $150 and I said thank you very much. Now I'm grabbing some sleep. This was worth overnighting for.
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Oct 3, 2015 16:31
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Braincloud posted:Also, I recently completed Section J of the Pacific Crest Trail between Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass (Washington). I'm currently still writing up the trip report on the 75 mile solo trip. It was loving rad.   I just finished through hiking the trail on day 150. That section was gorgeous. In fact, I'd say the clear days in Washington were the most beautiful on trail. The wet and rainy days, though, were probably the worst.
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Oct 3, 2015 23:09
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Tigren posted:
That's quite an accomplishment and not a bad way to spend half a year.
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Oct 4, 2015 02:11
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Hungryjack posted:Now I'm grabbing some sleep. This was worth overnighting for. Holy poo poo, glad you had fun and got some good deals. Smart of your local store to limit people like that. I know in the past in Anchorage I've seen a black friday mob descend on the place and total chaos has ensued. The thing that drives me nuts is people carrying poo poo with them then deciding they dont want it, and you have to wait forever to see if they actually end up buying it or not. Anymore these daysI just cant justify waking up that early for an REI sale. I've learned to spot bargains just as good at garage sales, Craigslist, and used outfitters gear. That and Campsaver, Campmor, etc get me plenty of steals on gear. I did go to my local sale today too though after the crowds had thinned out some. Got myself a footprint for another used tent I bought on sale at a boundary waters outfitter for $12, and a nice Primus folding car camping stove. Only thing wrong was a dent in the back and a scratch on the front. Paid $55 for it. I always get a laugh at reading some of the tags of things they put out there. One was a two year old pair of Asolo hiking boots that had been beat to hell. You could tell the cashier was just filled with content when they filled out the return tag. "Customer wore for two years of hard use and was unhappy when they began to wear out". Also saw some hiking poles snapped in half they were still trying to sell. Otherwise lots and lots of good used tents up for sale and plenty of sleeping pads with small patchable holes.
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Oct 4, 2015 02:38
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I am relatively new to the world of camping and backpacking. I did a little bit when I was a kid in the scouts. This summer having turned 30, I tried my hand at it again to mixed results! I solo walked on the UK South West Coastal path with a 7-8KG pack including a Coleman Rigel X2 Tent, Sleeping bag and mat, clothes and the usual map, torch, knife etc. I did not carry any food preparation gear as I rarely eat or drink hot things. It was a very pleasant couple of days walking from Dartmouth to Salcombe. Then spent a week at a BnB recovering in Cawsands.  Dartmouth - Kingsweir Crossing. I had a couple of questions! 1. I plan to return to the South west during October half term. However I want still keep as lightweight and avoid carrying heat making apparatus. My sleeping bag will probably be at the limits with the business of keeping me warm as it is just a lightweight one. Could I use an emergency plastic sleeping bag in conjunction with the lightweight sleeping bag I have now to stave off the cold? Bottom line is, I want to stay lightweight as possible and stay warm and dry. What advice can you give me? Is this possible? 2. I have claw like pinky toes which turn inwards and slide underneath my other toes, this caused immense pain to me during my Summer adventures. My pinky toes were both covered in a very hard, very large sharp to touch blister, is there anything I can do bar expensive surgery to prevent this happening again? Toe Seperators? etc. Asomodai fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 00:40
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Asomodai posted:I had a couple of questions! If you cant afford to get a warmer bag there are a couple of things you can try to stretch out it's temperature rating without getting to heavy. #1 is wear warm dry clothes as you go to bed. Do you have any sort of sleeping pad right now? If not even a cheap $30 foam Z-lite sleeping pad will make a significant difference. You can also probably find some used inflatables for fairly cheap that would help too without weighing much. You can also get a liner to use in your bag. There are some that claim to add up 20 degress warmth. I'm not sure about that but they can help a great deal. I would avoid getting one of those emergency blankets. They are so loud that you might as well not even pack a tent or bag because you wont be sleeping anyway. The toe issue sounds like a physical issue, not something I'm sure can be easily fixed. It's probably worth seeing a doctor about. In the meantime there are things you can try like wearing liner socks under your regular socks and perhaps coating your feet with something like bodyglide or bag balm. You could also try preemptively covering your blister spots with moleskins and see if that helps.
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Oct 5, 2015 03:06
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I'd say always wear dry cloths to bed if you have them, regardless of how good your bag is or any of that. Even if you have to change back into wet cloths the next day, it's just going to be a loooot better to sleep in dry cloths and if it's cold out and you have to worry about potential hypothemia then you really don't want to be sleeping in wet cloths You can stretch the rating of your bag by just packing warmer clothes to wear to bed. If you have a down jacket or something already, just wear it to bed. Wear a warm hat, wear warm socks, just bring warmer cloths to keep yourself warm when your bag might not always go that low. I'm not sure I'd try stretching a 50 degree bag down to 20 degrees or colder or something though. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and get a more suitable bag I'd also recommend something like leukotape over moleskin mainly because I've never managed to get moleskin to stay in place at all. What kind of shoes are you using? Are they maybe too tight and that's causing some of that toe pain, or is this just a physical issue that you deal with on a day to day basis regardless of activity? Having a wide enough toe box to let your toes spread out rather than having them pushed together by a tight fitting shoe might help depending on the answer to that question.
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Oct 5, 2015 03:52
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Asomodai posted:2. I have claw like pinky toes which turn inwards and slide underneath my other toes, this caused immense pain to me during my Summer adventures. My pinky toes were both covered in a very hard, very large sharp to touch blister, is there anything I can do bar expensive surgery to prevent this happening again? Toe Seperators? etc. You might try looking for disposable gel toe sleeves/toe caps/toe separators/toe spacers at the drug store - they go by a lot of different names but the ones I've seen are little elastic gel-filled sleeves that go around individual toes. I know some folks who use them to get around issues with specific toes rubbing or chafing on hikes that moleskin couldn't address.
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Oct 5, 2015 04:20
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Asomodai posted:
My middle toes get blisters from stepping on eachother. What I do for long hikes is wear the toe socks, like Injinjis. Really helps prevent blisters from forming. deong fucked around with this message at 06:16 on Oct 5, 2015 |
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Oct 5, 2015 06:14
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Does anyone here have a Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed sleeping bag? There is one on Massdrop right now and I am thinking of picking it up. I have been looking at them for a while and they seem to be perfect for the way I like to sleep in the hammock. It's a bit heavy but hopefully with a pad I can avoid having to get an under quilt.
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Oct 5, 2015 16:20
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Asomodai posted:
A plastic survival bag will keep you warmer, however they are not breathable whatsoever and you will find that you are your sleeping bag will be quite soggy with condensation in the morning. If you have an hour in the morning (and the weathers good) to dry your stuff out then that might be a suitable compromise. You can get a proper Bivi bag that's more breathable, but they can be a bit pricey. Or you could get a sleeping bag liner, cottons ones are cheap and pack down considerably small and don't weight much. As mentioned above, a carry mat, even the cheap ones that are just a big piece of foam make a massive difference. They are bulky but again don't weigh much and can usually be strapped onto your rucksack somewhere. For sleeping wear bringing long johns and a long sleeve tshirt are a good idea, you might not look sexy, but you will be warm, and they can be worn while walking on cold days as well. If you have the cash, clothing made with merino wool is really warm but rather expensive.
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Oct 5, 2015 16:33
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bunnielab posted:Does anyone here have a Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed sleeping bag? There is one on Massdrop right now and I am thinking of picking it up. I have been looking at them for a while and they seem to be perfect for the way I like to sleep in the hammock. It's a bit heavy but hopefully with a pad I can avoid having to get an under quilt. That looks good. I need a new bag since one of mine got lost this summer. The reviews look good on the websites I have visited.
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Oct 5, 2015 18:00
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bunnielab posted:Does anyone here have a Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed sleeping bag? There is one on Massdrop right now and I am thinking of picking it up. I have been looking at them for a while and they seem to be perfect for the way I like to sleep in the hammock. It's a bit heavy but hopefully with a pad I can avoid having to get an under quilt. That is extremely cool. I really don't need anything else for my sleep system, but I'm tempted to get that for car camping/heavyweight backpacking with friends/etc. Looks incredibly comfortable.
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Oct 5, 2015 19:22
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I know, it looks so awesome! But it is so loving heavy. 5 hours to decide.... These are the other ones I have been looking at: http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/sierra-sniveller/ http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/convert/ http://www.undergroundquilts.com/renegade/default.html http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/revelation-in-stock/ They are all mostly cheaper and lighter, but man that SD one looks so comfortable.
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Oct 6, 2015 02:09
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I highly recommend either EE quilts, but you should also look at the MLD Spirit quilts. http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=133 I had a 20 degree and 40 degree EE quilt, and I sold both and got a 28 degree Spirit quilt and it's just way, way better than down. No cold spots, it's better in the damp, still stupid light, and it's cheaper than anything comparable with down insulation. e: I got the xlarge because the weight gain isn't enormous, and I'm picky enough about sleeping comfort that I like having lots of extra quilt to tuck under me, and more than enough length to really get my head covered if I want. At some point in the near future, I'll be getting the 38 as well. Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Oct 6, 2015 |
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Oct 6, 2015 02:28
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bunnielab posted:I know, it looks so awesome! But it is so loving heavy. 5 hours to decide.... I just did it. Hopefully I don't regret it, but I imagine that if nothing else it will be good for sleeping in the bed of my truck and on shorter hikes.
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Oct 6, 2015 03:34
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So I'm signing up for the winter survival course for my program. It's optional but I'm going for it. I get to spend a night in the Canadian wilderness in January with only enough supplies I can fit in a coffee tin. Should be interesting. But I admit I hope El Niño is going to make for a mild winter again because it will seriously suck if it's -40 out that night.
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Oct 6, 2015 07:59
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Picnic Princess posted:So I'm signing up for the winter survival course for my program. It's optional but I'm going for it. I get to spend a night in the Canadian wilderness in January with only enough supplies I can fit in a coffee tin. Should be interesting. But I admit I hope El Niño is going to make for a mild winter again because it will seriously suck if it's -40 out that night.
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Oct 6, 2015 08:04
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Picnic Princess posted:So I'm signing up for the winter survival course for my program. It's optional but I'm going for it. I get to spend a night in the Canadian wilderness in January with only enough supplies I can fit in a coffee tin. Should be interesting. But I admit I hope El Niño is going to make for a mild winter again because it will seriously suck if it's -40 out that night. That sounds...daunting. What's the solution to the hypothetical situation of -40 and a coffee tin worth of supplies? My first instinct would be to fill it with trail mix, life straw, some pseudo-ephedrin, and just keep walking all night. Other option might be trail mix, life straw, bivy bag, rope, knife, fire making tools. And hope you ever wake up again.
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Oct 6, 2015 08:39
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You wouldn't want a life straw in the winter. The coffee can is there to melt snow in, and that's why you always bring a metal cup on winter excursions. Otherwise you're putting yourself in danger trying to find running water and retrieve it from under the ice.
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Oct 6, 2015 15:12
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For one night I kinda agree with the "tweak out and keep walking" plan. A more "fun" course would be a variable number of days, so you are never quite sure how long you have until rescue.
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Oct 6, 2015 15:41
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Hypnolobster posted:I highly recommend either EE quilts, but you should also look at the MLD Spirit quilts. That looks pretty great, overwhelmed with choices. Atticus_1354 posted:I just did it. Hopefully I don't regret it, but I imagine that if nothing else it will be good for sleeping in the bed of my truck and on shorter hikes. I chickened out. The weight was so high I was afraid I wouldn't use it much. If I had a truck/van to sleep in I would have gone for it, but my Mobile Kayak Fishing Command Center is still but a dream.
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Oct 6, 2015 15:44
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theroachman posted:That sounds...daunting. What's the solution to the hypothetical situation of -40 and a coffee tin worth of supplies? My first instinct would be to fill it with trail mix, life straw, some pseudo-ephedrin, and just keep walking all night. Other option might be trail mix, life straw, bivy bag, rope, knife, fire making tools. And hope you ever wake up again. Bring a bunch of fire making stuff. The trip I did to Yellowstone over new year's was really demoralizing because I've always succeeded at making fires and totally failed that time, and still can't figure out why.
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Oct 6, 2015 15:47
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A coffee tin filled with gasoline.
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Oct 6, 2015 16:10
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Tsyni posted:A coffee tin filled with gasoline. It'll keep you warm for the rest of your life.
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Oct 6, 2015 16:18
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This is a little beyond backpacking, but this still seems like the right thread to share. As the hiking season slows down for the rest of the country, the Grand Canyon is just hitting prime time. This weekend I led a group down Tatahatso Wash, an obscure side canyon in the Marble Canyon section of the Grand. Accessing this canyon required miles of offtrail boulder hopping and scrambling before hitting the head of the technical section. From there, we descended the canyon using technical canyoneering techniques. On hitting the beach, we blew up lightweight packrafts in order to travel downstream to a point that the Redwall could be breached. After running a few minor rapids, we landed at Eminence Beach, where it was "just" a simple scramble back to the rim via the Eminence Break route - 3000 feet of elevation gain in 2.5 miles! This was one of the most epic overnights I've ever done, and is getting me seriously excited for this year's Grand Canyon season. https://youtu.be/qFR_N8lIyKQ
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Oct 6, 2015 19:23
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MojoAZ posted:This is a little beyond backpacking, but this still seems like the right thread to share. As the hiking season slows down for the rest of the country, the Grand Canyon is just hitting prime time. This weekend I led a group down Tatahatso Wash, an obscure side canyon in the Marble Canyon section of the Grand. Accessing this canyon required miles of offtrail boulder hopping and scrambling before hitting the head of the technical section. From there, we descended the canyon using technical canyoneering techniques. On hitting the beach, we blew up lightweight packrafts in order to travel downstream to a point that the Redwall could be breached. After running a few minor rapids, we landed at Eminence Beach, where it was "just" a simple scramble back to the rim via the Eminence Break route - 3000 feet of elevation gain in 2.5 miles! This was one of the most epic overnights I've ever done, and is getting me seriously excited for this year's Grand Canyon season. This is awesome. Did you do it with a guide trip? doesn't look it from the video?
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Oct 6, 2015 19:43
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deong posted:This is awesome. No guides. Half the group were former professional guides for river outfitters and for outward bound, but this was just a group of friends getting together. I'm not aware of any guide that is taking people tech canyoneering in the Grand Canyon. Honestly the experience is so physically punishing I can't imagine how you'd make a business out of it.
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Oct 6, 2015 20:09
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I've never done rope climbing and I have a really basic question about it. When a group descends by rope like in the video, how does the last person get the rope loose from the bottom? Surely you don't just leave a perfectly good rope behind every time.
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Oct 6, 2015 20:45
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They're rigged so both ends are on the ground.
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Oct 6, 2015 21:12
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Hungryjack posted:I've never done rope climbing and I have a really basic question about it. When a group descends by rope like in the video, how does the last person get the rope loose from the bottom? Surely you don't just leave a perfectly good rope behind every time. There's a couple ways to do it. The classic climber's way is to "throw and go," toss both ends of the rope, rappel double strand and then pull one end from the bottom. To rig for single line, you need to have a static block in the line, so if you pull one end of the rope, its anchored and you can rappel on it, but if you pull the other end it moves freely and enables you to retrieve your rope. This website explains it well http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/techtips/biner-blocks-pull-cords-and-all-that-stuff/
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Oct 6, 2015 21:33
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That all requires an existing anchor point right? (didn't read the article)
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Oct 6, 2015 21:37
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