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This might be cool https://youtu.be/UccsdQfohSc
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Aug 23, 2017 15:24
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George H.W. oval office posted:Got through the Whites and Franconia Ridge and Washington were rainfests. I fully expect my Katahdin summit to be similar based on getting no views in the major “scenic” areas. Ah, hopefully you'll finish on a high note. Good job, dude. Thanks for keeping us posted!
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Aug 23, 2017 21:00
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I'm definitely tucking in my pant sleeves inside socks from now on, and using tick repellents. Never even seen a tick in my life before, and in Koli national park I found three! ticks from my skin in monday evening. Managed to remove two of them cleanly, but I lost my nerves and the third one came off in pieces. As a bonus I attempted to dig some pieces off the bite place... I think I got everything. If the tick had any illnesses to share with me, I probably got them too. Well I can only wait and see what happens. The wound feels a bit sore and reddened, but I guess it's better to just leave it be unless it stars to ooze or gets worse. I walked only 40km of the planned 60 because I lost all the motivation after this tick crap and continous rain. The Mt. Rainier climb looks fun though, I'm happy you were lucky in the end and found your way to the top!
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Aug 24, 2017 04:18
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I just want to say, you guys doing the mountain climbing and you guys doing the long haul hikes, you're my heroes and I appreciate you posting your stories even if I don't always respond. Thank you for letting me live vicariously through you.
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Aug 24, 2017 04:28
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Ihmemies posted:I found three! ticks from my skin in monday evening. Managed to remove two of them cleanly, but I lost my nerves and the third one came off in pieces. As a bonus I attempted to dig some pieces off the bite place... I think I got everything. Get a tick key, they're cheap and work like a charm. Also the wound will probably remain red and itchy for a few days, try not to worry about it too much. 
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Aug 24, 2017 15:01
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I had a similar tool with a V shape but somehow the last tick always crawled through even the narrowest part of the slot.. maybe the problem was I tried to lift instead of pulling. With that key pulling would be easier, but wouldn't it cut the "nose" from the tick? Anyways, next time I'll bring tweezers like https://www.varusteleka.fi/fi/product/estecs-teravat-punkkipihdit/55509 too, just in case. And try to remember not to squish the tick, just grab it from the head. After this I'd go as far as apply permethrin to trousers but i think it's banned in EU and not available. E: also finally bought a long/wide enlightened equipment 20F quilt with 20D top cloth. My down mummy bag was way too stuffy again, as usual. Ihmemies fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Aug 24, 2017 |
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Aug 24, 2017 16:22
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So I finished the write-up of my climb up Rainier – if you're interested in reading, here's a link to my blogpost: http://mycrookedpath.com/blog/mt-rainier-drat-what-do-i-do-now/ There's more pictures and a neat virtual flyby from my GPX file on there.
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Aug 25, 2017 01:04
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Braincloud posted:So I finished the write-up of my climb up Rainier – if you're interested in reading, here's a link to my blogpost: I did Rainier a couple weeks ago as well, the route was sooo long. I did it two years ago and it had a ton more ladders but was much shorter without that Emmons detour. We technically didn't summit this time, we got to the crater rim after our turnaround time and everyone had summitted before so no reason to push it. It was very strenuous though, that extra descent and gain after the Cleaver took more out of me than just about any other 300 feet of elevation I've done.
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Aug 25, 2017 04:09
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God drat I really really want to get into mountaineering but it's just not really viable when I live in South West England. So incredibly envious of you guys who live in places like the Pacific North West. It seems like my ideal place to live.
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Aug 25, 2017 10:25
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Aphex- posted:God drat I really really want to get into mountaineering but it's just not really viable when I live in South West England. So incredibly envious of you guys who live in places like the Pacific North West. It seems like my ideal place to live. I'm not too familiar with England but isn't there some pretty easy/approachable winter mountaineering opportunities in Snowdonia, Lakes District and up even into Scotland? I realize its not next door but to have something within a half days drive is definitely more than enough to get started. Also, not having to worry about avalanches, massive glacier crevasses or overhanging snow cornices is pretty nice when starting. Even living in Seattle, I usually still need to drive a few hours to get up to most places. Also, if you live in Europe, you have pretty easy access to some of the best mountaineering/climbing opportunities in the world just a short train/plane ride away. If you're seriously interested, I would recommend taking a course, finding a buddy who is into it, or joining a group.
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Aug 25, 2017 17:10
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I want to try getting into some snow travel stuff at least, so much stuff that could be done early in the year if you have the skills to traverse some snow and ice in the mountains
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Aug 25, 2017 17:22
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So... would reapplying DWR have helped?
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Aug 26, 2017 07:07
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Verman posted:I'm not too familiar with England but isn't there some pretty easy/approachable winter mountaineering opportunities in Snowdonia, Lakes District and up even into Scotland? I realize its not next door but to have something within a half days drive is definitely more than enough to get started. Also, not having to worry about avalanches, massive glacier crevasses or overhanging snow cornices is pretty nice when starting. Even living in Seattle, I usually still need to drive a few hours to get up to most places. The closest one to me would be Snowdonia which is around 4 hours drive away, and it's never guaranteed to get snow even in the winter so it's not the most reliable place to learn. The highlands are a much better opportunity but they're 8 hours away. I would love to do a course in the winter in the highlands but then once I've done it I won't really get more practice in for months at a time honestly. Also it's never guaranteed even up in Scotland that the snow will be reliable anyway which is a shame. I would absolutely loooove to go to the alps and do some mountaineering. My main goal for the next couple of years would be do an ascent of Mont Blanc. But obviously that depends on when I could get time away somewhere to actually do a course and practice enough to be able to take something like that on, even though Mont Blanc isn't that technically challenging.
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Aug 26, 2017 15:03
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Practiced for a week long trip by doing 18mi yesterday, around 4000ft ascent. Hiking buddy and I we're going to get in 12mi today; I've never been on more than an overnight so I wanted to get that practice. We got to the lake and it was crammed with weekend warriors. Otay, we'll just put in the extra 6mi to get back to the car. Oh dear. Blisters started to pop, it was 80F outside, we couldn't drink enough water to stay hydrated, muscles thinking about cramping. Just   
PhantomOfTheCopier fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Aug 27, 2017 |
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Aug 27, 2017 06:54
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Has anyone here had any experience backpacking with kids? Besides outfitting them and doing less miles, more snacks, have stuff to do... Any other tips you guys could think of? I'm planning a hike across the UP and the sons want to join for some of it.
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Aug 28, 2017 14:46
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How old are you talking? I don't really have experience but it's something I've been thinking about...I think you always have to plan for shorter and easier days than you'd expect, be ready to stop more often, etc. My parents backpacked with me a lot when I was a kid and probably succeeded by having those shorter days and stuff to do with me in camp (fishing, etc)
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Aug 28, 2017 17:42
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Levitate posted:How old are you talking? I don't really have experience but it's something I've been thinking about...I think you always have to plan for shorter and easier days than you'd expect, be ready to stop more often, etc. My parents backpacked with me a lot when I was a kid and probably succeeded by having those shorter days and stuff to do with me in camp (fishing, etc) My parents made my sister and me pump water through our stupid hand-pumped filter. We did not enjoy it, but I see now it was probably a way to get us out of their hair while they got camp set up. Plus we got to mess around near the lake or river or whatever we ended up at.
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Aug 28, 2017 17:57
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Nateron posted:Has anyone here had any experience backpacking with kids? Besides outfitting them and doing less miles, more snacks, have stuff to do... Any other tips you guys could think of? I hiked a few miles into Grand Island with a 6 year old this past spring. 3 miles seemed to be his max. I was conservative with my mileage, but he hiked way less than I thought he could. Then he went in the tent, colored for 20 minutes, and fell asleep. Once he woke he was all good and we hiked the beaches and had fun. I had lots of snacks, a variety of snacks, and a variety of meal options. Whenever possible I had him help me, even if it was just laying stuff out for dinner. We just did a 3000 ft elevation gain hike in Alaska and the key to getting through that hike was having him explain Pokemon to me.  That and the fossil bed waiting for us at the end. And goldfish. Lots of goldfish. 
Yooper fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Aug 28, 2017 |
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Aug 28, 2017 18:12
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My oldest is 7 and by next year he'll have grown and put more "hiking" miles under his belt, but not packing. As it stands he can do about 6 miles in an area with plenty of distractions (porkies, smokies, waterfalls in the west etc...) but I just know asking him to throw on a backpack is gonna cut he miles by half at least. My other son would hike all drat day but he's 5 and still prone to not listening and is built like a flagpole. I have a Katadyn Hiker and now I know exactly who can put that to use, good idea! Yeah I was thinking packing in poles, and even ball gloves cause they can do that for a while. But yeah I was just wondering what other people's experience has been. I know it's do able, but with kids there's always collateral that needs to be accounted for. And goldfish. Jesus Christ don't forget the god drat goldfish.
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Aug 28, 2017 18:33
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Hey everyone, long time no post. I kind of fell behind on this thread after being severely sick for almost half a year while discovering I'm allergic to forest fire smoke and hardly leaving my house out of fear of being hopsitalized. But I have been up to some stuff so I have things to show you! Early June I went up the non-touristy trail of Sulfur Mountain in Banff. Which is far superior and even a lot of locals don't know about it. They all take the switchbacks in the forest underneath the gondola which is a lovely trail rather than the old road used to build the gondola on the other side of the mountain. It also includes a stop at Cave and Basin National Historic Site which has an underground spring as well as a pool for the Banff Snail which is an endangered species and only found there.     Rugose coral, a common fossil here   Golden-mantle ground squirrel taking in the scenery   Then a few weeks ago I went back to a little backcountry site called Quaite Valley which is only 2km from the road so it's basically car camping and we head out in the evenings. There's a fire burning in Banff/Kootenay/Assiniboine Parks, and we get smoke from it really bad here.   Fortunately that smoke didn't quite go where I was, which is dead ahead and behind the first ridge in the above photo, and I could get some star shots.  The following morning we headed for Tyrwhitt Cirque as an easy day hike. It's an unofficial trail so we hardly saw anyone all day.     I've summitted Mt. Tyrwhitt twice and once I got mild altitude sickness and the other a seized IT band and lost toenail. It doesn't treat me well.  We may not have seen many people but we did get to see a grizzly!  Smoke made golden hour particularly photogenic. A week and a half ago I went to one of my favourite places, Commonwealth Creek, with a friend who was looking for something relatively unknown. It's an unmaintained trail but popular enough you don't need to do any route finding. Until this year. There was an abnormally high snowpack last winter and a lot of avalanche paths overtook their normal boundaries, and we were faced with some fairly tricky debris pile crossings that were on the opposite side of the valley from the trigger points. So all the trees knocked over are pointed uphill.      All the brown looking areas beyond the shrubs in the cirque is down forest.  The avalanche came from the slopes on the right.  When I find snow I have to sit on it, it's tradition. And yes I was in a hiking skirt which made clambering over fallen trees fairly awkward. I would have dressed more appropriately if I had known what kind of damage I would be facing.  My friend among some of the smaller fallen trees. Then last week I did the backpack to Three Isle Lake which is only about 12km one way but includes a 400m headwall and about a kilometer and a half of trail distance. It was steep and scrambly in some places, not something I'm used to with a full backpack.  We had about 80% eclipse coverage where I was. I cut 4 circles of photo filter paper in red, yellow, green, and blue and shoved them inside the lens hood of my telephoto and it worked well enough for me!  My husband and I watched it from a rockslide pile on the shore of Upper Kananaskis Lake.  Saw some Franklin's grouse while en route.  About halfway up the headwall, looking back from where we came.  We're in a drought so the islands aren't islands right now.   Fun with forced perspective.  The aurora showed up in the middle of the night while up there. And after this I dropped my camera and broke my landscape lens. But at least I got out some, I had a bad case of pneumonia for over a month and then with the bad reactions to smoke I wasn't sure I was ever going to get hiking this summer.
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Aug 29, 2017 01:43
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WTF is this glorious rock? I must climb it!
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Aug 29, 2017 05:58
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Braincloud posted:WTF is this glorious rock? I must climb it! Elpoca Mountain! From what I can see it is technical, but done in a day, no bivy required. If there is a scramble route, no one's discovered it yet. https://stevensong.com/canadian-rockies/kananaskis/elpoca-mountain/
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Aug 29, 2017 07:10
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That is some dense forest. I need to fly up and explore some Canadian wilderness.
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Aug 29, 2017 19:34
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Picnic Princess, all of your pictures are absolutely gorgeous. It's always nice hearing about your adventures.
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Aug 29, 2017 19:38
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I always like in landscape photos when the forest canopy looks like grass. No wonder people get lost going to take a piss.
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Aug 29, 2017 19:38
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khysanth posted:That is some dense forest. I need to fly up and explore some Canadian wilderness. These mountains are awesome. They've been protected since the late 1800s and there's hardly any infrastructure. Banff, for example, is 6,641 square kilometers and has one 4 lane highway and one two lane highway running through it, plus a couple of small internal access roads. There are only 4 entrances by road into the park. Where there is infrastructure is a poo poo show because it's so famous, but it's entirely possible to go for days without seeing another person in the deep backcountry.
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Aug 30, 2017 03:59
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Do you live in the area? I'm in Vancouver right now but my job is 100% remote and I dream of convincing the wife to pick up sticks for the mountains in a couple of years.
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Aug 30, 2017 05:14
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I'm in Calgary, so very close. An hour driving gets me to Kananaskis, hour and a half from Lake Louise.
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Aug 30, 2017 07:15
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khysanth posted:That is some dense forest. I need to fly up and explore some Canadian wilderness. I thought that was grass until you pointed it out  Picnic Princess posted:I'm in Calgary, so very close. An hour driving gets me to Kananaskis, hour and a half from Lake Louise. I used to live there but never appreciated the proximity to the foothills/rockes until I moved away from home 
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Aug 30, 2017 23:56
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Guest2553 posted:I thought that was grass until you pointed it out There's likely a few bears down there, there was a warning for the trail and I have since seen radio collar data for one grizzly that placed her right in the area where we were that day. Within a kilometer for sure. quote:I used to live there but never appreciated the proximity to the foothills/rockes until I moved away from home It's the only reason I didn't move away yet to be honest. So many awesome places in the world but my heart and soul belong in the Canadian Rockies.
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Aug 31, 2017 03:42
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Thanks for posting all these kick-rear end pictures and adventures! Makes me really want to get up to Canada and Alaska. I was half wondering why I hadn't seen any posts from you in awhile! I'm glad you're feeling better... Smoke from forest fires are no joke... Even campfires are hella bad for our respiratory system.
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Sep 1, 2017 19:27
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khysanth posted:I'm married to a professional photographer and like to cover distance quickly. I've learned to bite my tongue on hikes while internally screaming. I'm the photographer in the hiking duo and she likes to cover great distances and push everything physical to the limit. I tend to understand her preference over mine, however, as we are still young. The way I see it, stopping and setting up the perfect shot will be waiting for me in two or three decades. For now - max out, keep moving!
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Sep 2, 2017 01:09
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If we're regurgitating photo chat, all of my shots are quick draw, often while walking. I usually only get one chance, and I've missed a lot. I just deal with underexposure or tilted horizons in post. If I'm in a car it's really hard to get people to stop because I never drive, so I've learned to be loving fast. Two of my favourite photos ever were from moving vehicles, just pure loving luck and a fast finger. 
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Sep 2, 2017 06:13
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How inadvisable would it be to do the Annapurna Circuit at the end of January/beginning of February?
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Sep 3, 2017 01:04
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Winter is cold, but extremely clear. There is (usually) little precipitation during this time, as Nepal gets most of its rain/snow in the monsoon season. There will be a lot less people, which has advantages and disadvantages. You won't have to worry about getting rooms, but at the same time a lot of places will be closed. If you can handle the cold, and have adequate gear for it, it is entirely doable.
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Sep 3, 2017 18:41
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Just arrived in Cusco, headed out in the Salkanyay trail on Wednesday, excited to see some cool poo poo!
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Sep 3, 2017 20:01
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bonds0097 posted:Just arrived in Cusco, headed out in the Salkanyay trail on Wednesday, excited to see some cool poo poo! There's a family that lives along Salkantay, can't remember their names off the top of my head, but they work closely with one of my profs on providing a sustainable and family owned stop for hikers along the way. A lot of places are being taken over by corporations or being sold to the government, so it's become a major life project for my prof to help this local family continue and maintain their livelihoods instead of giving up and just moving to the city like everyone else. He travels there every May to assist them in any way they need and runs a field school every two years. A bunch of my friends have met this family. I'll have to get the names if my prof is around to answer a message.
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Sep 4, 2017 03:07
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Cheesemaster200 posted:If you can handle the cold, and have adequate gear for it, it is entirely doable. Thank you! By the above, do you mean an ice axe/crapons (or microspikes)?
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Sep 4, 2017 15:39
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You most likely won't need ice axes or crampons, although it's possible that Thorung-la is blocked due to snowfall and you may have to turn back. I did the AC last October and there was no snow whatsoever. I think it would be pretty great to do it at the end of January. Just remember to bring warm, lightweight outerlayers.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:54
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Picnic Princess posted:There's a family that lives along Salkantay, can't remember their names off the top of my head, but they work closely with one of my profs on providing a sustainable and family owned stop for hikers along the way. A lot of places are being taken over by corporations or being sold to the government, so it's become a major life project for my prof to help this local family continue and maintain their livelihoods instead of giving up and just moving to the city like everyone else. He travels there every May to assist them in any way they need and runs a field school every two years. A bunch of my friends have met this family. I'll have to get the names if my prof is around to answer a message. That sounds cool, definitely let me know and I'll stop and buy some stuff.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:38
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