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I figured I'd share this with you guys, since it has a bunch of clips from my backpacking trips this year that I posted about in this thread, plus a whole lot of adventure tourism and ecotourism things from Mexico. I made a short film about the benefits of spending time in nature while recapping my crazy year, and it screened at a film fest for my program's department last night and won the best film prize. Hopefully you like it too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dto1tHwlhOU
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Nov 21, 2015 08:36
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any Arizona goons or AZ hiking fans in here? I'll be driving to the Flagstaff and Tuscon areas over Thanksgiving break - first time in the state. looks like there are 90 or so wilderness areas and I'm narrowing down some possibilities (weather may also limit options). I'm interested in hiking up Humphrey Peak if the snow isn't so bad - anyone know how it is this time of year? Saguaro National Park will be a relief from the cold, I expect. Been awhile since I roamed the desert
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Nov 22, 2015 22:57
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Here are some lovely cell phone pictures that I took at Blue Springs Park here in Florida. I couldn't get a good picture of the boil itself sadly. There had been some erosion so they had it roped off pretty hard. http://imgur.com/a/KwDL7 Here are some more pictures, this time of Green Springs Florida. Nothing super fancy, it's a pretty small park. It's a sulfur spring so it smells like farts but it looks wonderful. http://imgur.com/a/ZgXva I'm going to hit up De Leon Springs later today and take more crappy cell phone pictures there. I'll be sure to post them here when I get back. If anyone here is looking for a hiking buddy in central Florida let me know. I tried messaging UglyDucklett from the OP but they didn't respond.
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Nov 23, 2015 12:12
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I'm glad I let a friend talk me into getting a trekking pole otherwise I would have fallen a good half dozen times. I ended up wandering into a big patch of brambles that I would have face planted into otherwise. I did cut the poo poo out of my legs though. I only had time to walk half the trail so there are no pictures of the southern end. It gets all cool and swampy down there with big cypress trees and such. http://imgur.com/a/yYtqg
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Nov 24, 2015 01:15
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I thought I was sold on trail running shoes for hiking in the north east but then I twisted my ankle badly when fallen leaves obscured the terrain and I stepped in some pretty uneven dirt while descending. Maybe I'll keep them for spring/summer hiking. Also they seem to be more lacking in traction on some slippery rocks but I'm not too certain my heavy vibrant-soled boots could have done much better.
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Nov 24, 2015 08:23
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MrTargetPractice posted:Blue Springs Park here in Florida. I would fish all of those nasty smelling springs. Tonight is my first night of cold-weather hammock sleeping. I bought a Kelty 22 degree bag and borrowed a thermrest pad from a friend. I decided to get a cheap synthetic bag to start with so I could see how hot/cold I sleep. It took a bit of doing to get the pad and bag arranged in the hammock but I think I have a workable system now. It is supposed to get down to the low 30's tonight so it should be a good test.
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Nov 24, 2015 23:51
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Options for non-snow camping in Northern California, anyone? Unfortunately the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains are closed till May  but something else on the coast might be fun. We've done Sykes (at Big Sur) and the Lost Coast recently.
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Nov 25, 2015 08:53
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Options for non-snow camping in Northern California, anyone? Unfortunately the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains are closed till May Would love to know this too. Is Big Sur available all through the winter?
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Nov 25, 2015 15:46
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Levitate posted:Would love to know this too. Is Big Sur available all through the winter? Looks to me like the Big Sur-area facilities in Los Padres NF are mostly open, with some drive-in campgrounds closed for the season. This guy has a current trail map, looks to me like you could do a few days' trip in the backcountry. Point Reyes looks like a possibility too. At least it'll be easy to get reservations, with nights below freezing in winter.
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Nov 25, 2015 16:18
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Suicide Watch posted:I thought I was sold on trail running shoes for hiking in the north east but then I twisted my ankle badly when fallen leaves obscured the terrain and I stepped in some pretty uneven dirt while descending. Maybe I'll keep them for spring/summer hiking. Also they seem to be more lacking in traction on some slippery rocks but I'm not too certain my heavy vibrant-soled boots could have done much better. They have their place and I know they're the go to recommendation almost everywhere but for people like me with a weak ankle (with 4 sprains and a resulting broken foot from it) higher and more supportive boots are about the only option. I saw people kicking about Isle Royale in trail runners and it made my ankle hurt looking at them, but they made it. A bigger boot might have helped if the action wasn't incredibly violent. But I've sprained my ankle in a taller (albeit less supportive and cheap boot) so it depends on the type. If you haven't had a history of sprains you should probably be ok. I know after 4 and a break that I don't have the strength down there anymore and I'm more prone to them so I wear accordingly. I imagine terrain dictates that as well. I do most of my hiking out East and besides PA and Canada the trails here are pretty "simple". Out west I'm sure it's a different type of condition.
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Nov 25, 2015 16:28
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Looks to me like the Big Sur-area facilities in Los Padres NF are mostly open, with some drive-in campgrounds closed for the season. This guy has a current trail map, looks to me like you could do a few days' trip in the backcountry. Yah, Point Reyes is pretty close to me. I could retrace the Cross Country Goon Expedition's steps  Nateron posted:They have their place and I know they're the go to recommendation almost everywhere but for people like me with a weak ankle (with 4 sprains and a resulting broken foot from it) higher and more supportive boots are about the only option. I saw people kicking about Isle Royale in trail runners and it made my ankle hurt looking at them, but they made it. I've sprained the poo poo out of my ankles playing frisbee a bunch and still find trail runners to be great for backpacking, so I think it really depends on the person and your comfort level. Boots can also tend to promote rolling of ankles since they sit higher up from the ground because of the thicker soles, etc. TBH if you have really weak ankles it might be worth looking at ankle braces, but I think that'd be better advice for someone who has cronic trouble with rolling their ankles while hiking even with boots. That's all to say, I think footwear is verrrry personal and its worth trying different things if you need to find something you like. Trails in the west vary greatly depending on location and amount and type of travel. Most of the JMT is in pretty great shape, but smaller less traveled trails in the Sierra can be rougher. One trail I hiked on in the Wind Rivers was pretty much poo poo and jumbled rocky torn up by stock travel. Levitate fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Nov 25, 2015 |
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Nov 25, 2015 19:15
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Oh man, I forgot about that guy. How far did he make it? Anyone have a link to the thread?
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Nov 25, 2015 19:18
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Saint Fu posted:Oh man, I forgot about that guy. How far did he make it? Anyone have a link to the thread? I don't have the link anymore but I think he made it to Pantoll campground and gave up there because he was sick or something e: are you out in the Bay Area too now? I seem to remember seeing you were moving out here
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Nov 25, 2015 19:26
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Levitate posted:e: are you out in the Bay Area too now? I seem to remember seeing you were moving out here
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Nov 25, 2015 19:46
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Picnic Princess posted:I figured I'd share this with you guys, since it has a bunch of clips from my backpacking trips this year that I posted about in this thread, plus a whole lot of adventure tourism and ecotourism things from Mexico. I made a short film about the benefits of spending time in nature while recapping my crazy year, and it screened at a film fest for my program's department last night and won the best film prize. Hopefully you like it too! This is neat, thanks! E: did you do the Aurora Borealis lapse? Beautiful. That's one thing I want to see in my lifetime.
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Nov 25, 2015 20:01
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Saint Fu posted:Oh man, I forgot about that guy. How far did he make it? Anyone have a link to the thread? It's a long thread but the last thirty pages are people just making fun of him after he already failed. He starts the hike around page 23 or 24 or so. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3714480 I think he hiked for like two days, spent a day resting at a ranger station, and then a passerby called him an uber home on the morning of day 4, something like that.
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Nov 25, 2015 20:06
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Desmond posted:This is neat, thanks! E: did you do the Aurora Borealis lapse? Beautiful. That's one thing I want to see in my lifetime. I did! I just set up my GoPro on a little tripod on a rock and let it shoot while I took real photos. A guy from an aurora chasers group I'm in showed up in the middle, hence the car lights.
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Nov 25, 2015 23:16
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Looks to me like the Big Sur-area facilities in Los Padres NF are mostly open, with some drive-in campgrounds closed for the season. This guy has a current trail map, looks to me like you could do a few days' trip in the backcountry. I was here winter before last (Ventana Wilderness) and it was perfectly lovely! If you bring your dog, the ranger did mention being followed for days once by a cougar interested in his. for me winter packing will be Los Padres, Death Valley, socal six-pack including Cactus to Clouds. Also interested in thru-hiking the Backbone Trail of the Santa Monica Mtns. Can I be added to the goon list? LA area
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Nov 26, 2015 00:45
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Picnic Princess posted:I did! I just set up my GoPro on a little tripod on a rock and let it shoot while I took real photos. A guy from an aurora chasers group I'm in showed up in the middle, hence the car lights. Where did that happen? I think we are both some of the few Canadians in the thread. I live near Vancouver. We have not been north too much, hopefully someday. Every chance of there being an aurora like that, it turns out to be cloudy here. 
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Nov 26, 2015 00:52
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bunnielab posted:Tonight is my first night of cold-weather hammock sleeping. I bought a Kelty 22 degree bag and borrowed a thermrest pad from a friend. I decided to get a cheap synthetic bag to start with so I could see how hot/cold I sleep. It took a bit of doing to get the pad and bag arranged in the hammock but I think I have a workable system now. It is supposed to get down to the low 30's tonight so it should be a good test. Yea, that didn't work. It got down to like 35 and while I was fully zipped into the bag and on the pad, I was toasty. But the second I tossed around and slid off the pad I would wake up. Admittedly I was only wearing a light baseleayer on my legs and a medium one plus a fleece on top. In any case, it has become clear that I cannot sleep zipped into a mummy bag so it looks like a pair of quilts is in my future.
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Nov 26, 2015 02:41
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bunnielab posted:Yea, that didn't work. It got down to like 35 and while I was fully zipped into the bag and on the pad, I was toasty. But the second I tossed around and slid off the pad I would wake up. Admittedly I was only wearing a light baseleayer on my legs and a medium one plus a fleece on top.
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Nov 26, 2015 02:59
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cheese posted:What is it about the mummy bag that keeps you from sleeping? FWIW, I used a quilt this summer and will probably go back to a bag next year, as my arms always seemed to make their way out of my quilt and onto the cold ground. I sleep on my side, knees drawn halfway to my chest, with a comforter in twined between my legs and then kinda draped over me. I also roll over like two dozen times a night. Maybe I should get a mule and just carry a cot.
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Nov 26, 2015 04:14
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Options for non-snow camping in Northern California, anyone? Unfortunately the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains are closed till May If you've already done the Lost Coast, the Humboldt Redwoods are also possible in the winter as long as you don't mind rain (~5.5"/month). Pinnacles, the youngest National Park, is right by Salinas and has mild winters with a small chance of snow. Haven't been to either one yet, but Pinnacles seems worth a day hike.
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Nov 26, 2015 04:14
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A Horse Named Mandy posted:If you've already done the Lost Coast, the Humboldt Redwoods are also possible in the winter as long as you don't mind rain (~5.5"/month). Pinnacles, the youngest National Park, is right by Salinas and has mild winters with a small chance of snow. Haven't been to either one yet, but Pinnacles seems worth a day hike. I have been to Pinnacles, before it was a National Park. Definitely worth the visit, it's got those weird quasi-cave tubes made by rockslides. I will look at hikes in Humboldt, thanks.
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Nov 26, 2015 04:48
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Desmond posted:Where did that happen? I think we are both some of the few Canadians in the thread. I live near Vancouver. We have not been north too much, hopefully someday. Every chance of there being an aurora like that, it turns out to be cloudy here. That was on November 4, I think. I was at Ghost Lake Reservoir just west of Cochrane and Calgary. It was an insane night! There were green bands south of Calgary, which I had never seen before. I could see them overhead as well. I also had never visibly seen the solar winds travel through the pillars before. Imagine a grassy meadow with gusts of winds blowing across it, it kind of looks like waves. It was like that only bands of light brightening the ribbons and pillars. The scale and speed is unimaginable too. Those winds were travelling at 700km/h and it would take a couple seconds to cross the sky. It really showed just how tiny we are compared to something like that. There's no way to capture a sight like the solar wind gusts. It has to be seen in person. The aurora chasers group I'm in is ridiculously well-educated on interpreting the data they get from NASA and the NOAA so next time a solar storm or CME is due to hit us, I'll be ready. If another instance like early November happens when they were overhead down to the 49th parallel, I'll update this thread with info and how far south it's likely to be seen. Even a 10-20 minute hike in the dark to a good viewing location for auroras counts as a hike in my mind!
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Nov 26, 2015 08:20
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Have all y'all considered just sleeping on your back
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Nov 26, 2015 16:18
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mastershakeman posted:Have all y'all considered just sleeping on your back Twenty years of girlfriends prodding me over to my side to prevent snoring is a hard bit of training to shake off.
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Nov 26, 2015 17:02
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Consider a Hammock, I would try and borrow one before you invest though. At home I am a side sleeper, and I toss and turn from side to side all night long. I wake up with all the blankets twisted around me like a tootsie roll. There is something about the way a hammock cradles you that is incredibly comfortable for me. I can sleep the whole night through on my back without waking up at all.
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Nov 26, 2015 17:33
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Bunnielab is using a hammock
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Nov 26, 2015 19:52
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Picnic Princess posted:That was on November 4, I think. I was at Ghost Lake Reservoir just west of Cochrane and Calgary. It was an insane night! There were green bands south of Calgary, which I had never seen before. I could see them overhead as well. I also had never visibly seen the solar winds travel through the pillars before. Imagine a grassy meadow with gusts of winds blowing across it, it kind of looks like waves. It was like that only bands of light brightening the ribbons and pillars. The scale and speed is unimaginable too. Those winds were travelling at 700km/h and it would take a couple seconds to cross the sky. It really showed just how tiny we are compared to something like that. There's no way to capture a sight like the solar wind gusts. It has to be seen in person. It's inspirational. Thanks for all the info. I would love it if you posted the stuff here. I have this thread bookmarked.
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Nov 27, 2015 00:55
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Options for non-snow camping in Northern California, anyone? Unfortunately the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains are closed till May Update: The state parks are not closed, only the campgrounds. Looks like Skyline-to-the-Sea is still a winter possibility.
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Nov 27, 2015 00:57
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eSporks posted:Consider a Hammock, I would try and borrow one before you invest though. You probably mean like a twizzler or lollipop (the helical kind). Tootsie rolls are relatively cylindrical. Suicide Watch fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Nov 27, 2015 |
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Nov 27, 2015 03:29
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Nah, I meant how the wrapper gets twisted around the ends of one, but the other examples work too. Anyways, I love my hammock, I am honestly thinking about hanging it in my room.
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Nov 27, 2015 04:11
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Since we just moved to seattle in August we didn't have any plans for thanksgiving so we decided to hike instead. We drove up to lake twenty two for a quick one. Once the road turned around to the shadow side of the mountain everything was frosted over. I got the truck sideways twice on black ice which exercised the pucker muscle. The hike was nice but a little chilly, around 30°. There was a bit of water on the path at first. Lots of slick invisible ice all over the rocks and wooden bridges. My wife and I both slipped and fell a few times. We encountered some crusty snow at the top and heard a few rock slides while we were up there. All in all it was a perfect hike. Or puppy handled it well and crashed hard the moment we got home.     
Verman fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Nov 27, 2015 |
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Nov 27, 2015 20:25
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Who are some good thru-hike vloggers? I already lucked into finding Will Wood (Red Beard) and Joe Brewer on youtube, who are competent at putting together videos, even if their presentation skills could use some work. Everyone else I've found so far, though, is either not good at the videography (Crystal Weaver) or just super annoying to have to watch (Sam Ducharme, Fronkey Adventures). I realize this is all subjective, a matter of personal taste, etc., but with GoPros becoming ubiquitous, there have to be some more non-annoying thru-hike vloggers out there, right? E: I should mention that which trail doesn't matter. I'm looking for daydream fuel and pretty videos, that's all. Time Cowboy fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Nov 28, 2015 |
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Nov 28, 2015 19:07
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You've pretty much found all of them. Joe Brewer is/has been my favorite because he's super relaxed and doesn't yell at the camera like Will Wood.
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Nov 29, 2015 05:26
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Hypnolobster posted:You've pretty much found all of them. Joe Brewer is/has been my favorite because he's super relaxed and doesn't yell at the camera like Will Wood. Dang, I didn't expect that "scene" to be so small. Thanks for the reply. (I personally prefer Will Wood, because he would at least try to provide some context and information about where he was at, even if he was wrong half the time. Joe Brewer ran out of things to say about two videos into his CDT hike and started saying "That's pretty weird" for everything.)
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Nov 29, 2015 05:38
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Search YouTube for Jester PCT or Jester AT for some good stuff.
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Nov 29, 2015 06:18
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Yesterday I finished up the 48 4k New Hampshire list on Mt. Moriah. Feels kinda weird, I've been chipping away at them almost every summer or fall weekend (except when on call for work) since June last year. It started out as an abstract goal that may or may not get completed eventually and now it's actually done. Think I'm gonna take a break from lists for a while and do a lot of backcountry camping/remote peaks next year since they generally were the most fun to do.
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Nov 29, 2015 15:40
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talktapes posted:Yesterday I finished up the 48 4k New Hampshire list on Mt. Moriah. Congrats! I'm currently working on finishing the winter 48. I'd like to finish this winter, but I don't thin it's likely since we have a one year old at home. I'm not able to get out most weekends like I was in the past. Plus I've left myself with some difficult peaks for the finish. I should be able to get Moosilauke and the Osceolas this winter, but completely time and weather dependent are Zealand and the Bonds, and Monroe, Washington, and Jefferson. We took our baby up to Lonesome Lake Hut on Friday, and I'm getting the itch.
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