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M.C. McMic posted:Wow, thanks. Good info. I guess it never really occurred to me to call the park rangers. Big Bend was pretty similar in needing to pre-select backcountry camp sites and stick to an itinerary. I'm fine with that. However, Big Bend is first come first serve with campsites. Looks like Rocky Mt. National Park takes reservations online. Hopefully it's not too late to plan something. I'll probably call the park today or tomorrow to see what they can recommend. Altitude can be weird and affect people in different ways. Generally giving yourself a few days to acclimate is best but honestly most people don't have time to spend a few days leisurely chilling out at 7k feet before slowly moving up, so really just take it a bit cautiously. If you've been to 16k feet before then you know what to expect somewhat and backpacking just means you'll be doing a bit more strenuous activity so just stop and breath more often if you have to. I can go from sea level to 10k feet in a day without much issue and it's really when you start getting over that too quickly that I think a lot of issues set in (though I think I've heard it's like if you're having altitude sickness issues you should get down under 8k feet?)
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Mar 22, 2017 16:15
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Levitate posted:Altitude can be weird and affect people in different ways. Generally giving yourself a few days to acclimate is best but honestly most people don't have time to spend a few days leisurely chilling out at 7k feet before slowly moving up, so really just take it a bit cautiously. If you've been to 16k feet before then you know what to expect somewhat and backpacking just means you'll be doing a bit more strenuous activity so just stop and breath more often if you have to. My tentative plan at this point is for a five day trip. After flying into Denver, we'll probably spend the day/evening there and just relax. The next day we'll likely leave early for the park and hit the trail after picking up our permits and whatnot. I plan to take it really easy that day, as Verman suggested and maybe just do a few miles to a relatively low-altitude campsite (if they're available) and spend the night there. After that, we'll plan on doing a bit more regular/serious hiking over the next three days (I haven't gotten that far, even in my completely speculative planning).
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Mar 22, 2017 16:50
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I think that's about the best you can do, should be just fine unless you're one of the unlucky people who are real sensitive to altitude I haven't been backpacking in RMNP but mountains are awesome so have fun 
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Mar 22, 2017 17:48
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Just a friendly reminder: Altitude sickness can manifest in ways worse than shortness of breath and a headache. A few years back I had the pleasure of learning first hand that it can also cause vomiting. Luckily I had a guesthouse to suffer in.
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Mar 22, 2017 18:12
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I've had it cause vomiting and nausea, to the point where I was unable to eat. That was my biggest concern because I'm more sensitive than most if I'm not getting enough protein. Sucked. 
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Mar 22, 2017 18:24
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Mine was general exhaustion, feeling out of breath after little effort, slight headache, poor sleep, reduced appetite, and I did feel the need to vomit after eating the first night ... which may or may not have been induced by my first Mountain House dehydrated meal which was unevenly distributed. I got a few noodles and a LOT of the seasoning. My buddy got lots of noodles and almost none of the seasoning. No bueno.
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Mar 22, 2017 18:50
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I felt totally fine for a day and a half of hiking around at 6-10k ft, then suddenly on night 2 (10k ft) while eating dinner I felt nauseous, couldn't finish my meal, and had a bad headache, and felt really fatigued. I was very freaked out that I was getting truly sick 15 mountainous miles from a road! Then I realized it might be altitude, and felt less scared but still lovely. The next morning I felt like a million bucks and thought wow, it really is true that altitude sickness can come on late and manifest in different ways.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:11
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Hey this is kind of interesting as I remember a conversation about soap versus hand sanitizers coming up in this thread in the past. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html Basically, hand sanitizers do not work as well by themselves versus combined with soap and water
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Mar 22, 2017 19:12
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Levitate posted:Hey this is kind of interesting as I remember a conversation about soap versus hand sanitizers coming up in this thread in the past. Thank you. People thinking hand sanitizer is a valid replacement for soap and water is a huge pet peeve of mine 
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Mar 22, 2017 19:21
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2017: Still trying to convince humans to use soap.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:41
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I don't really understand the point of hand sanitizer in general. I think I would only use it if I worked in a hospital or a daycare.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:42
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The Hennessey hammock stuff has already been pretty well covered, but I would like to add that and having removed the hanging straps on mine and replace them with Whoopie Slings, I found that the weight savings in no way make up for the enormous pain that is dealing with the slings. I wanted to make mine absurdly long, because I was fairly worried about finding suitable trees at the places I was going to do. But the Amsteel that the Internet told me to use is incredibly hard to get a good grip on the cinch anything down tight in a reasonable manner. I broke it off my rear end and plan a trip for the spring, I'm going to remove the baby slings and replace them with about 25 feet of like 5-6mm amsteel line just use figure 8 lashes. I hope that the slings would allow me to trim each end independently without retying a knot but it such a massive pain in the rear end to loosen them under tension that I think my life can spare the extra 20 seconds to redo a lash. I also made a tarp line out of some even more ridiculously thin and steal that uses these cutesy little titanium lashing cleats. Good in theory, but with cold wet hands they are also a giant pain to deal with and will also be replaced with a much thicker line. As much as I like the idea of hammock camping, I have thus far been unwilling to drop $500 on a quilt set and I've already spent enough nights freezing my rear end off trying various workarounds. I'm starting to think that buying a small bivi sack and just drugging myself to sleep every night might be the best option. It would probably save a lot of weight too.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:57
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I don't really understand the point of hand sanitizer in general. I think I would only use it if I worked in a hospital or a daycare. It's good for a quick touch-up if your hands are mostly clean and you e.g. just rode a subway or something germy like that and are about to eat a food. But people use it way beyond its capabilities. I once had to explain to my work's facilities managers why it was extremely not okay to put hand sanitizer in the bathroom SOAP dispenser, which granted they had done by accident but they didn't think it had to be fixed.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:59
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bongwizzard posted:As much as I like the idea of hammock camping, I have thus far been unwilling to drop $500 on a quilt set and I've already spent enough nights freezing my rear end off trying various workarounds. I'm starting to think that buying a small bivi sack and just drugging myself to sleep every night might be the best option. It would probably save a lot of weight too. Quilt set? I've slept at 35F in my regular 35F bag with my regular foam sleeping pad under me (getting it into position under me took a little doing) and been totally fine 
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Mar 22, 2017 20:02
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I get that amsteel can suck for making reliable knots that you can untie because it is slick and has no core, but I'm not sure I understand your problems with splided woopie slings for hanging a hammock. The only knot I can imagine is a larkshead at the fixed end. The adjustable end should be pretty easy to adjust. E:vvvv I found my closed cell pad to be warmer on my backside than my underquilt. The problem was my shoulders and, even with a two layer hammock, keeping my entire body on the pad. CopperHound fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Mar 22, 2017 |
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Mar 22, 2017 20:09
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alnilam posted:Quilt set? I've slept at 35F in my regular 35F bag with my regular foam sleeping pad under me (getting it into position under me took a little doing) and been totally fine Bro you might generate enough body heat to become a renewable energy source. I have like a 30f bag and an inflatable pad and I was freezing at temps around 40-50f. Even in the summer with a lovely $20 amazon bag I was shivering all night. I live in a wooded spot and will sometimes hang my hammock like 50y past my driveway to test different bag/pad combos and I have never been warm enough without like have a bag that is at least double the lowest expected temp.
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Mar 22, 2017 20:13
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If you're looking for a bivy sack, I would recommend the Borah snowyside bivy. Light, waterproof, cheaper than any other eVent bivy I could find. It will sit on your face and you will get condensation inside if you sleep with it closed.
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Mar 22, 2017 20:15
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bongwizzard posted:Bro you might generate enough body heat to become a renewable energy source *typing this post from underneath an array of Stirling engines* it is my curse....
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Mar 22, 2017 20:20
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CopperHound posted:I get that amsteel can suck for making reliable knots that you can untie because it is slick and has no core, but I'm not sure I understand your problems with splided woopie slings for hanging a hammock. The only knot I can imagine is a larkshead at the fixed end. The adjustable end should be pretty easy to adjust. I used such a thin line that it's incredibly hard to get enough purchase on it to pull it tight. I'm often having to hang it on trees 20 to 30 feet apart so there's a lot of slack line to take up. The lash knots are kind of a pain to tie with a super long tag end, but I think I can just do the head of the Hamic with like an alpine butterfly and then make all my adjustments at the foot end so I'm only really ever trying to adjust one side. The appeal of the slings was to avoid having to time knots at all, just clipping the carabiner to my straps and then to the loop of the sling and pull them tight. Practice this is turned out to be more difficult than just tying a knot or two. Despite having worked with rope and cable most of my adult life I had never come across a hollow core line until I started messing around with hammocks, and I think I was just overly exuberant. A ton of my camping gear and pocketknives have a little spliced leashes on them now too. As for the pad vs quilt issue, my pad is a lightweight and narrow inflatable one, and I can never actually stay on it. A buddy of mine has a very wide close cell foam one that I think will wrap around me like a little cradle. Once I get a few days off work I'm going to set the Hamic up in the woods and give it a test, but I feel like that's gonna be my last shot at messing with hammocks. At the end of the day the Hamic, straps, and torque hallway as much or a little more that a good light weight two person tent and heavy to carry a top and bottom quilt is going to add so much bulk and weight that I don't think the increase in comfort is going to be worth it. I so loving hate being uncomfortable when I sleep that I am honestly starting to think that A handful of NyQuils and a bivi sack might be the most practical option.
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Mar 22, 2017 20:52
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Christ that does sound like a nightmare I've done SO much research on hammocks these last few months, and it seems to me that they're amazing and more comfortable than a tent IF you spend a lot of money AND do tons of research. There was no way I was using a pad, I don't want that slipping and sliding around for 4 months, so UQ it is (bye bye $200). Sleeping bag? Nah that's uncomfortable! You need a quilt (bye bye $270 oh god). And then there's the sheer amount of choice in stringing the thing up. I mean in theory it's all so easy: just a 30 degree angle at chair height. But between lashes/hitches/straps/carabiners/spikes/clips it's enough to drive anyone insane. And that's not even getting into changing the webbing/suspension for different materials, which can create a whole host of positives and problems. I thought I had it all figured out with Atlas straps even though it adds another 300g and a big selling point of all this was to be lighter than a tent, but now I'm thinking of just trying the Becket hitch. Well, until I change my mind again in a few days.
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Mar 23, 2017 01:47
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Alan_Shore posted:Christ that does sound like a nightmare Don't stress too much about all of this stuff. There's a reason the standards are what they are. Within a week or two on the trail you'll have figured out what works for you. You'll be so tired by the end of the day that you'll figure out which knot ties the fastest for you and that 30 degrees vs 25 degrees doesn't stop you from instantly passing out as soon as you lay down. Hike your own hike, gently caress the haters, and enjoy!
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Mar 23, 2017 02:27
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Alan_Shore posted:Christ that does sound like a nightmare Are you planning on updating this thread at all once you start your hike? I've been noticing your prep posts for a while now, and it would be really cool to see occasional updates rather than 6 months of silence.
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Mar 23, 2017 02:33
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Tigren posted:Don't stress too much about all of this stuff. There's a reason the standards are what they are. Within a week or two on the trail you'll have figured out what works for you. You'll be so tired by the end of the day that you'll figure out which knot ties the fastest for you and that 30 degrees vs 25 degrees doesn't stop you from instantly passing out as soon as you lay down. Thanks! That actually makes me feel better haha. I'm sure I'll get the HANG of it *smiles smugly, is stabbed to death by mob* Fitzy Fitz posted:Are you planning on updating this thread at all once you start your hike? I've been noticing your prep posts for a while now, and it would be really cool to see occasional updates rather than 6 months of silence. Yeah, of course! I'll definitely update and let you all know how everything is working out when I get wifi. And lots of pictures and trail gossip hopefully. I wouldn't leave you all HANGING *chortles, is painfully erased from existence by time travelers*
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Mar 23, 2017 03:18
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I vowed a complete disconnect of technology while on the AT. I wonder what I'll miss in the world. Only a week and a half left!
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Mar 23, 2017 03:23
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Alan_Shore posted:Thanks! That actually makes me feel better haha. I'm sure I'll get the HANG of it *smiles smugly, is stabbed to death by mob* 
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Mar 23, 2017 03:23
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George H.W. oval office posted:I vowed a complete disconnect of technology while on the AT. I wonder what I'll miss in the world. You'll probably catch up on stuff in town or talking to other people unless you actively avoid all that too
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Mar 23, 2017 13:42
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Alan_Shore posted:Christ that does sound like a nightmare Dude, please bear in mind that I am just a titanic baby about sleeping comfort, even a hammock that is hung totally wrong will likely be more comfortable than a pad on the ground. In any case, the first time you discover a tick stuck to your nutsack, any worry about "the ideal hammock knot" will quickly fade from your mind. For real though, bring a lot of tick repellent.
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Mar 23, 2017 14:15
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Tick check every night mang
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Mar 23, 2017 14:32
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alnilam posted:Tick check every night mang Every night? I try to do a pretty thorough one every couple of hours. But I also tend to wade through more waist high brush then most people I suspect. And a true tick check involves someone willing to inspect my taint. The big dog ticks I really don't worry about, it's the super tiny deer ticks that will gently caress you up and they are very hard to find by feel, assuming you are hairy and covered in scratches.
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Mar 23, 2017 15:04
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Yeah I always backpack with someone else and lol if you're backpacking with someone prude enough to refuse to look at your taint FWIW ticks take 12+ hours to attach so it's probably safe to do one check at night, though it doesn't hurt to casually check socks and pants when taking a break
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Mar 23, 2017 15:16
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Speaking of ticks its probably a good idea to give an overview of my tick prevention and see what others here do. Here's my prep and routine: 1. All of my hiking clothes and shoes get treated with a good dose of permathin. 2. Pants and long sleeves to keep my body covered. 3. Use Dr. Bronners peppermint soap, probably not all that useful but I've heard, and first hand there seems to be some truth to it, that bugs dont like the peppermint smell. 4. Bug spray day of pre hike and re-applied as needed. 5. Thorough tick inspection head to toe before going to bed. 6. Because I hike with my dog, I make sure to check her as well as she is a tick magnet. Make sure she's up to date on her Frontline as well. A. Worth mentioning there is a rocky mountain spotted fever and lyme disease vaccine for dogs. It's two shots and worth the piece of mind if you're outdoors with your dog a lot.
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Mar 23, 2017 15:17
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 This was just one side of my foot, after I had wiped a lot more off with a hand sanitizer soaked rag. I walked/jogged like 5 miles in an hour to get back to my car to get said hand sanitizer. This happens to me about once a year.
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Mar 23, 2017 16:49
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bongwizzard posted:
 Where is this? I've pulled plenty of ticks off of me but never more than 6ish at a time and they're usually on the outside of my sock or above it, how did so many even get under your sock so quickly? 
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Mar 23, 2017 16:53
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Why are you walking through tall grass when you know you're gonna get covered in deer ticks? I've stayed the hell away from those spots ever since I had a brush with those things.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:00
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alnilam posted:
The lovely coastal marsh that is central Maryland. They are nymph ticks, so just born babies waiting in a clump for the first warm-blooded sucker to walk by.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:02
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Why are you walking through tall grass when you know you're gonna get covered in deer ticks? I've stayed the hell away from those spots ever since I had a brush with those things. Pretty much everything that isnt a well-worn trail around here is a giant mess of brush and or thorns. Buy some coincidence, the best fishing spots tend to be places where there is no clear well worn trail down to the water.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:03
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I'm out in the west now and in the mountains are far less tick infested than the forests of the mid-atlantic or new england I treat my cloths with permetherin but that's more for the mosquitos. Then I just usually swim/sponge off every evening and do a basic check. I'd probably be more thorough if I lived in the east again.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:10
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 tick prevention: 1) get the hell out of the northeast ploots fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Mar 23, 2017 |
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Mar 23, 2017 17:31
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That's Lyme disease, not ticks. Ticks are goddamn everywhere.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:46
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if you want to avoid ticks getting out of the NE is a good idea though. There are so goddamn many of them. When we visited my in laws on Cape Cod and let our dog out to whizz she'd come back in with like 10 ticks on her every loving time, and this was just in a back yard e: hm I might inherit my dad's tarptent moment (old single wall version). That'd be cool Levitate fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Mar 23, 2017 |
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Mar 23, 2017 18:16
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