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Mokelumne Trekka
Nov 22, 2015

Soon.

Medieval Medic posted:


Anyone else get extreme lack of appetite and stomach sensitivity when hiking? I find it a struggle to get energy in me during day hikes, usually I might force myself to eat a cereal bar every hour of hiking, but once I get to the end of the trail before returning I see people just munching down on their food happily and I can never bring myself to eat, which is quite terrible, as 130 cal from energy bars every hour when I am burning over 500 per hour is quite the deficit to run and certainly saps my strength.

I'm getting a kick out of this because I thought I was the only one with this problem. It seems to be.... I don't know... anti-evolutionary, to not want to eat while out burning tons of calories?

My solution is Bel-Vida breakfast biscuit crackers. They are very boring, plain food that is extremely easy to eat and provide a few hours of energy. Also potato chips and cookies sometimes. I never feel bad about eating junk on a hike.

I hate seeing people devour their meals/protein bars in a matter of minutes.

gross posted:

Are you hanging with people who really push the pace compared to what you would do on your own, or how hard do you feel like you're working? If I have issues like that on a hike or trail run, it usually comes from keeping the exertion level too high, or just not keeping up with hydration.

this is interesting, because most of my hikes are with someone who sets an extreme, or at least well above average, pace

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Medieval Medic
Sep 8, 2011
Thanks for the replies.

Guest2553 posted:

:same: except for the :420:

I have a pretty slow metabolism and only have snacks unless I'm doing more than a few hours, but it sounds like Medic has something more going on with that description.

What do you mean when you say stomach sensitivity? Like you can't hold down food or start to feel ill? If it's impacting your ability to go ham on the trail maybe you need to see a nutritionist to find a way around it, or sports physician to see if there's something underlying.

Mostly its the lack of appetite, but once or twice I've gotten really bad cramps and had to rush back to the trailhead bathroom. I figure the real bad cases like that were due to heavy breakfast prehike and is not so common anymore after cutting down to a lighter breakfast.

gross posted:

Are you hanging with people who really push the pace compared to what you would do on your own, or how hard do you feel like you're working? If I have issues like that on a hike or trail run, it usually comes from keeping the exertion level too high, or just not keeping up with hydration.

Well, usually I hike alone, and I do feel like I am exerting myself pretty hard, but its tough to say because I have a much slower pace than most other regular hikers/fitter people(my pace is pretty much spot on Naismith rule). I pretty much keep a slow steady pace with few or no breaks, except maybe during really step portions of the trail. I am also 'hotter' than most people, so heat affects me quite a bit, and by consequence I have to pack more water to keep up with my sweaty self.


Mokelumne Trekka posted:

I'm getting a kick out of this because I thought I was the only one with this problem. It seems to be.... I don't know... anti-evolutionary, to not want to eat while out burning tons of calories?

My solution is Bel-Vida breakfast biscuit crackers. They are very boring, plain food that is extremely easy to eat and provide a few hours of energy. Also potato chips and cookies sometimes. I never feel bad about eating junk on a hike.

I hate seeing people devour their meals/protein bars in a matter of minutes.


this is interesting, because most of my hikes are with someone who sets an extreme, or at least well above average, pace

Yeah, it is so weird. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but I do feel like the lack of energy does affect the quality of my hikes. I'll try giving just plain crackers a try next time, see if it helps. I'll also see about quitting my prehike coffee, as other online sources seem to indicate some people may feel discomfort when exercising after having coffee.

khysanth
Jun 10, 2009

Still love you, Homar

On days 3+ of backpacking I literally can not stop eating. The hiker hunger becomes real. I will eat nearly anything edible that is put in front of me.

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
Ive had that problem a lot in the past. Sometimes it still happens but it seems to be at random.

When I started backpacking, part of it was the altitude. We went to colorado because it was close to chicago. The sea level to 9k feet jump in the same day was always a struggle. My appetite was non existent until a few days in. I puked once, had a mild headache, and slept somewhat poorly the first night. We stayed at a lower site for 2 nights waiting for symptoms to pass before we went higher which usually did the trick. At the worst, I was gagging while trying to force myself to eat food knowing I needed the calories. Snacks were much easier to eat versus making a mountian house meal and only being able to eat a few bites. Jerky, nuts, fruit snacks, oatmeal, granola. All super easy to eat and youre not committing to opening a dehydrated meal and wasting it if you cant eat it all. I dont even bring them anymore because I prefer normalish food.

I always camped growing up in the midwest but its easy to sleep well because you have a car, friends nearby, all the food you could eat, resources nearby and no dangerous wildlife that will kill you. When I went into the rocky mountain backcountry for the first time, it was both insanely awesome and intimidating as gently caress. I honestly think another part of my appetite issues were fear/anxiety and I'm not even remotely ashamed to admit it. Every stick crack at night would have me awake. I worried about bringing enough food (I brought way too much stuff early on). I worried about food prep being too close to the tent. I worried about the sheer remoteness and getting hurt super far from the trail head and not being able to get help. All that poo poo went through my mind at first. Then the more I got out, the less I worried and I started getting more comfortable. Now its not even an issue. I sleep with earplugs because I dont care if an animal is nearby, I want my sleep.

I live in a place where Im close to the mountains now so I get out hiking and backpacking a lot. I dont really have many appetite issues anymore. The ones I do have are usually exercise related. Its funny because I'm ridiculously hungry when I finish playing hockey, I could eat 2k calories in a sitting and often do. But on slow burn endurance activities like hiking or cycling, my body doesn't scream for those calories like it does in other sports. The other thing is that I'm usually sucking down water all day so that can curb your appetite a bit. I try to eat breakfast in camp like oatmeal, granola or belvita biscuits. I rarely eat a lunch unless its been a crazy exhausting day. I will force myself to keep snacking all day though. We usually consume most of our calories at dinner.

Funny because I thought I was the only one who dealt with this. My hiking buddy thought I was crazy after a 15hour/15 mile day with lots of elevation gain and scrambling and I wasn't very hungry when we got back to camp. I could literally hear his stomach growling on the trail. I had a handfull of cashews and almonds, some gatorade, and a snickers and called it a night.

The moment we get back into town though, its usually a massacre anywhere I go. Fried chicken, barbecue, or mexican are usually what we try to look for when we get out of the woods.

Terrifying Effigies
Oct 22, 2008

Problems look mighty small from 150 miles up.

Question for Picnic Princess - I'm looking at doing some hiking around Banff and Yono in late Aug/early Sept and was interested in checking out one of the guided fossil bed tours. If I had to pick one, would you recommend Burgess or Stephens? I've seen some comments that Stephens has a wider variety of fossils but wasn't sure how accurate those were.

Also super thanks for all the info you've already posted in the thread, it's been a huge help in picking out places to hit.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





The hunger followed me after the AT and I’ve gained everything back that I lost. Quickest gain of 30lb ever. I restrained as much as possible but drat was it hard to curb it immediately.

Tigren
Oct 3, 2003

George H.W. oval office posted:

The hunger followed me after the AT and I’ve gained everything back that I lost. Quickest gain of 30lb ever. I restrained as much as possible but drat was it hard to curb it immediately.

Yep! I started the PCT at about 195, finished the trail around 175, and I'm right back where I started. I hadn't been that light since high school probably.

Mablegrable
Jan 7, 2012
Traveling to Sedona, AZ area in two weeks for a last minute trip. 4 days or so. We’re still trying to decide whether to camp backcountry or just day hike or what. We’ve never been to Arizona so any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

BaseballPCHiker
Jan 16, 2006

First time in a long time I've actually gone to an REI garage sale and walked away with something. Got a nice barely used Marmot 0 degree bag, a car camping chair and a Nemo down quilt for under $220!

DeesGrandpa
Oct 21, 2009

My best rei garage sale was a big agnes fly Creek 2 UL HV with poles still in the plastic, a pair of binoculars, 2 thermarest prolite plus pads (one short for the girlfriend, one large for me), and a hat for 145 or so all in. I've been to four others and I've maybe spent $30 across all of those.

Loucks
May 21, 2007

It's incwedibwe easy to suck my own dick.

I’ve been to one, and it was just a free for all with the first couple of dozen people running through the store collecting armloads of stuff, then making huge piles to go through and keeping everything in good condition. I assume eBay was awash in lightly-used REI gear soon after. Don’t plan to try again.

Luckily the ultralight community is full of people who buy way too much expensive gear and then sell it at a discount soon after. Recently got a great deal on a Lunar Solo that way.

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?
The process has changed (at least at my store). The free for all was a mess and all the good stuff was gone immediately.

Then they did a line and a timed limited group shop where you had 30 minutes (more like 50). They would refresh the gear with new stuff every round so that good stuff existed for every new group. lovely part was that it took forever to get in. I got the exact snow shoes that I was shopping for though ($200 msr) for 65. They had the mountaineering boots I wanted ($100) but 1/2 size too small and they were brand new.

Now they do a ticket system from what I've heard. You show up, get a ticket and come back when its your time. That way you're not sitting in line for hours.

This is also the flagship store so it might vary depending on location.

The outdoor research warehouse sale was infinitely more beneficial to me. It was obvious people were buying to resell on Craigslist though. I still see stuff on there a year or so later. A three year old jacket with tags still on "my loss is your gain" ... bullshit and there are 5 other items from the same seller. All jackets were $50. People were walking out with boxes full of them. I just wanted a ski jacket and a goretex pro shell. I got the shell but its a small and I really need a medium to fit layers underneath.

Oh well, if you want good deals, get there very early.

Ropes4u
May 2, 2009

Verman posted:

It was obvious people were buying to resell on Craigslist though.

I hope all these people get attacked by a rampant ground squirell or badger.

carticket
Jun 28, 2005

white and gold.

Speaking of "my loss is your gain", anyone with size 14 feet want a free gift of new unused winter light hikers? I have been trying to get rid of these things for about 6 years to no avail. Everyone I come across is either smaller (the majority) or needs a super wide boot.

Guest2553
Aug 3, 2012


Medieval Medic posted:

Thanks for the replies.


Mostly its the lack of appetite, but once or twice I've gotten really bad cramps and had to rush back to the trailhead bathroom. I figure the real bad cases like that were due to heavy breakfast prehike and is not so common anymore after cutting down to a lighter breakfast.


Well, usually I hike alone, and I do feel like I am exerting myself pretty hard, but its tough to say because I have a much slower pace than most other regular hikers/fitter people(my pace is pretty much spot on Naismith rule). I pretty much keep a slow steady pace with few or no breaks, except maybe during really step portions of the trail. I am also 'hotter' than most people, so heat affects me quite a bit, and by consequence I have to pack more water to keep up with my sweaty self.


Yeah, it is so weird. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but I do feel like the lack of energy does affect the quality of my hikes. I'll try giving just plain crackers a try next time, see if it helps. I'll also see about quitting my prehike coffee, as other online sources seem to indicate some people may feel discomfort when exercising after having coffee.

Section hiker has an article here about some meal considerations to avoid feeling like butts during/after a hike. Thought of your predicament while reading it, maybe there's something between the article or comments that'll help you out.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Hey megathread,

I'm a very casual hiker. I've been at 10k feet, one trip even had some snow which I managed just fine, but I've never gone on trips longer than a day. I'm playing with the idea of doing a mountaineering seminar in Denali national park next year. It would be 10 days long. There are many things I need to work out before I can commit to this trip, but at the top of my mind is food. What do people typically eat for 10 days in such a climate?

Vivian Darkbloom
Jul 14, 2004


theHUNGERian posted:

Hey megathread,

I'm a very casual hiker. I've been at 10k feet, one trip even had some snow which I managed just fine, but I've never gone on trips longer than a day. I'm playing with the idea of doing a mountaineering seminar in Denali national park next year. It would be 10 days long. There are many things I need to work out before I can commit to this trip, but at the top of my mind is food. What do people typically eat for 10 days in such a climate?

Backpackers eat food that is calorie dense and nonperishable. When I did the John Muir Trail I ate trail mix, energy bars, Nutella, jerky, and other junk, with a packaged freeze-dried meal for dinner. A dehydrator is a good way to make jerky and snacks, and on a long trip variety starts to become important too.

10 days in the wilderness is quite a commitment. Would you be resupplied during the trip? If not, you're looking at carrying something like 15 pounds of food.

a foolish pianist
May 6, 2007

(bi)cyclic mutation

theHUNGERian posted:

Hey megathread,

I'm a very casual hiker. I've been at 10k feet, one trip even had some snow which I managed just fine, but I've never gone on trips longer than a day. I'm playing with the idea of doing a mountaineering seminar in Denali national park next year. It would be 10 days long. There are many things I need to work out before I can commit to this trip, but at the top of my mind is food. What do people typically eat for 10 days in such a climate?

The seminar should have a packing list, and they'll probably provide food for you.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Vivian Darkbloom posted:

Backpackers eat food that is calorie dense and nonperishable. When I did the John Muir Trail I ate trail mix, energy bars, Nutella, jerky, and other junk, with a packaged freeze-dried meal for dinner. A dehydrator is a good way to make jerky and snacks, and on a long trip variety starts to become important too.

10 days in the wilderness is quite a commitment. Would you be resupplied during the trip? If not, you're looking at carrying something like 15 pounds of food.

The seminar will provide some of the food, but I would at least be responsible for lunch. No resupplies for my lunch, I would only have what I bring. I could keep most of it in base camp.

a foolish pianist posted:

The seminar should have a packing list, and they'll probably provide food for you.

They have a packing list for gear, but only vague suggestions for food. I'm sure they could give me some inspiration if I reached out to them (they have been very responsive to my other questions), but I wanted a realistic goon opinion first.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that a 5-day trip to Mt. Rainier would be a better first mountaineering experience. I'll have spend more time thinking about this.

Braincloud
Sep 28, 2004

I forgot...how BIG...

theHUNGERian posted:


The more I think about it, the more I feel that a 5-day trip to Mt. Rainier would be a better first mountaineering experience. I'll have spend more time thinking about this.

If you do a guided trip on Rainier, they should be supplying all your meals. If you haven’t done ANY mountaineering, I’d suggest doing Baker first. Rainier is a BIG mountain and a lot of people don’t quite grasp that fact and underestimate the skill and stamina needed. That said, a guide service will most likely get you to the top of you’re reasonably fit and conditions allow. I’ve seen people on guided teams who have gotten to Muir and could tell they completely underestimated what they had signed up for.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Braincloud posted:

If you do a guided trip on Rainier, they should be supplying all your meals. If you haven’t done ANY mountaineering, I’d suggest doing Baker first. Rainier is a BIG mountain and a lot of people don’t quite grasp that fact and underestimate the skill and stamina needed. That said, a guide service will most likely get you to the top of you’re reasonably fit and conditions allow. I’ve seen people on guided teams who have gotten to Muir and could tell they completely underestimated what they had signed up for.

Stamina:
The first time I hiked Mt. Baldy, I was in poo poo shape and I was severely under prepared. An hour from the top I was already feeling AMS (nausea). While I pushed on and made it to the top (t took me 4h30m), I did not feel like the trip was a success because of all the mistakes I made. So I prepared for another trip. This time, I got in shape (four 10k runs per week) and I prepared more/better liquids (with electrolytes) and better food (smaller, but more frequent snacks). On my next trip up Baldy I made it to the summit in 3h15m without feeling anything. I didn't even feel any soreness the day after. These days I swim 40-60min 5x per week, and I feel more energetic than ever.

But you bring up a good point about traffic on Rainier. I picked the dates of my trips up Baldy to coincide with a workday, so I would not have to deal with people. I enjoy solitude. Rainier would probably be more overrun with people than the Alaska seminar. :( Looks like I'll have to make a compromise one way or another.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Mr. Powers posted:

Speaking of "my loss is your gain", anyone with size 14 feet want a free gift of new unused winter light hikers? I have been trying to get rid of these things for about 6 years to no avail. Everyone I come across is either smaller (the majority) or needs a super wide boot.

Fellow Sasquatch reporting in, pm sent :)

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal
Just finished a six day backpacking trip from South Bass through the Gems and up Boucher Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, and holy hell, I see why everybody puts off that section. We only saw one other person (going the other way) for the entire week.

For one, water was a pothole or puddle every other day or two (until Boucher Creek), with a very difficult half day scramble down to the river in a few side canyons if those puddles were dry (which they may be in a week). So, we had to carry ~2.5-3 gallons water at all times. Also, water below the trailhead might mean anything from a mile trek down the canyon, to a 20 foot pour-off slot canyon, where you have to climb down and back up to retrieve anything.

Even the Tonto trekking was difficult, and we lost the path a good number of times because it's not well traveled (maybe a hundred people do that section a year). A good number of the side canyons you had to trek through had extremely precipitous trails and climbs, with the path being at a 45° angle and frequently right next to the exposed cliff face, with loose gravel footing. I spent more time staring down at the next few feet in front of me than the incredible beauty around me. The mileages were all off too, we did about 50% more than the park listed to get to our destinations, so I'm sure that area has never really had a good survey. In fact, there was a surveyor's tool centered over a marker at the South Bass Trailhead when we got arrived.



And that doesn't even begin to describe the Boucher Trail. I'm sure you guys have hiked plenty worse and I'm just an Appalachian weenie not used to such exposure, but holy hell I was completely freaked. It's not a built or maintained Park trail, but a path from Louis Boucher down to his cabin, and even still has iron stakes and hundred year old bits of wood from him bracing the trail in some places, to get to his mines



The rest was very exposed, very steep, and almost entirely loose lovely gravel or dirt, usually sloped towards the adjacent cliff face.





At one point, the old miners left behind several hand grips near a mine, which were extremely helpful:



Going down, especially if there was any precipitation, would almost certainly be suicide.

The last night's camp right underneath Yuma Point wasn't much better either. Completely spectacular views, but very exposed with 50-60mph winds, ad surprise freezing precipitation in the middle of the night.





Because I packed at the last minute, I missed my bivy, and only had my tyvek ground sheet and down quilt. So once the sleet hit, I scurried over from my camp to some partial cover in an overhang with tons of rodent nests, which possibly means I might have hantavirus, which is 38% fatal (former park biologist died that way--we even passed an abandoned backcountry ranger outpost on the way in that was closed after soil samples revealed high levels of hantavirus). To make camp even better, I had a cascading series of gear failures that culminated in my REI Flash sleeping pad deflating 3-4 times a night, waking me up with horrible lower back pain and having to re-inflate it every few hours. My water filter also clogged up (my fault, I didn't bleach or check it after letting it sit all winter), and one of my trekking poles snapped at the tip after wedging it in a rock the last day (thankfully after we got back onto a benched in, established trail). I can say though, DWR treated down actually works, my quilt dried out (possibly from the wind), and even though it was a cold night, I didn't die and was even occasionally warm enough to fall asleep (at least until my pad deflated or tarp blew off me and I had to try and tuck it around me again). I think I impacted one of my wisdom teeth a bit from all the shivering throughout the night.

The guy that planned the trip used to work for the park service as a field archeologist, so he was constantly talking about having done much worse stuff, but the trail was apparently much worse than he thought it would be (he'd never done that section before either, and he'd even hiked new routes on the North Rim with Ken Walters). I'm sure Verman, Phantom of the Copier and the rest of you mountain climbers have done way scarier and much worse, but I'm just not used to this level of exposure, where one little slip or loose gravel means death.

All that being said, there was a bunch of really amazing stuff out there--we found a bunch of unsurveyed ruins and artifacts out there, such as this Mezcal roasting pit and granary:





Just as a side note, I didn't realize that Navajo were invasive to the Hopi people, only arriving after 1600 CE. Because the Navajo actually advocated for reservation land, they were awarded the larger bulk of it in the sixties with barely a postage stamp left to the Hopi, whose attitude had always been "this is our land, we've been here forever, why should we argue for it?" Even worse, the word Anasazi roughly translates to "ancient enemy", so it's somewhat of a racial slur to the Hopi people. Navajo also occasionally block Hopi (the descendants of the Peublo who lived in the American Southwest) from pilgrimages to sacred sites and stuff. Navajo National Monument is also a Peubloan/Hopi cultural site, but the Hopi got legislatively hosed because they didn't advocate for themselves like the Navajo did. Just interesting stuff, and not something you hear much about because of how reserved the Hopi generally are as a people. It's also funny that the Hopi house in Grand Canyon Village sells largely Navajo stuff as you walk in the door.

And the scenery was unbelievably spectacular! Photos do no justice, it was like being in a Planet Earth panorama, with distant canyon walls moving away slower than closer formations, just unbelievable.





We also caught the catcus and agave in full bloom, which was incredible:







Between the rocky undstable footing and preponderance of prickly catcus, I'm glad I had my leather Lowa boots, anything else would have been miserable. Peter (the guy that organized the trip) wore completely through a brand new pair of trail runners, and was constantly picking out barbed cactus needles from his shoes, which was funny because he explicitly told me to wear full boots.

Anyone else looking at backpacking the Grand canyon, I would recommend Bright Angel to Monument to Indian Garden and back if you're a newbie like me. The park supplies water (assuming their pipeline doesn't break, which it often does), and even though you have the same climb back up, the trails are well established. I plan on doing that route next time. Backpacking to Phantom Ranch plus day hikes would also be great, since there's reliable water there. April is also a perfect time of year to visit, since it's not too hot, but not fully winter. Also, do not trust Park mileages, especially the further out you get from the beaten path. Anything not surveyed by the railroad a hundred years ago is likely suspect in terms of accuracy.

My main goal on this trip was to not get published in this book (which is a fantastic read by the way):



On a more positive note, this little guy decided to pose for me :3

snappo
Jun 18, 2006
Wow, I've never even heard of those trails. I did a Rim to Rim a few years ago, down Bright Angel and up North Kaibab. It was a pretty wild experience due to a tropical storm that caused sketchy trail washouts, rock falls and a couple of "omg I'm going to die" lightning moments. Your experience sounds insane and incredible, I'm glad you lived to tell the tale and share the awesome pictures.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
I'll have to ask my dad if he's heard of/hiked that trail, he's done a lot in the Grand Canyon but not sure if that's a trip he's been on. Looks like a pretty rough trail so yeah if you're not prepared for that stuff that was probably mentally tiring as well.

Everyone should go out and backpack the Grand Canyon at least once though, pictures don't do it justice no matter how good you are at photography

Verman
Jul 4, 2005
Third time is a charm right?

OSU_Matthew posted:

Just finished a six day backpacking trip from South Bass through the Gems and up Boucher Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, and holy hell, I see why everybody puts off that section. We only saw one other person (going the other way) for the entire week.

Wow, that trip looks awesome. I've been out west for a few years now but I haven't managed to get south to any of the desert areas yet. I've just been exploring Washington so maybe its time I start leaving the state (there's still so much to see and such a wide variety of scenery). The desert also scares the poo poo out of me from a survival aspect as well as the whole poisonous snakes/scorpions thing. Carrying that much weight in water is hard. Also, not knowing the status of the next water source is terrifying. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking though and I can't imagine a camera doing any of it justice.

OSU_Matthew posted:

The guy that planned the trip used to work for the park service as a field archeologist, so he was constantly talking about having done much worse stuff, but the trail was apparently much worse than he thought it would be (he'd never done that section before either, and he'd even hiked new routes on the North Rim with Ken Walters). I'm sure Verman, Phantom of the Copier and the rest of you mountain climbers have done way scarier and much worse, but I'm just not used to this level of exposure, where one little slip or loose gravel means death.

Its healthy to be nervous around exposure. It means you respect the danger of falling off and you're likely going to take your time and be careful. I've known guys who can bounce around on a knife edge ridge like a goat and other people who can't look down. Just do what you're comfortable with and know when to walk away if you get in over your head. We had to back out scrambling a peak once because it got way too sketchy for our comfort level on the last push to the summit. One of the guys really wanted to get to the top because he hates not completing a challenge, I was somewhere in between, and my other friend was done. We backed out, finished the rest of our backpacking trip and everyone got home safely. It was still a great trip and I don't regret not pushing it. Also, loose gravel can be a bitch. Its one of natures surprisingly effective lubricants.

OSU_Matthew posted:

On a more positive note, this little guy decided to pose for me :3


:3: Thats the best photo of the whole bunch. The timing, the sign ... its perfect.

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





That’s a great trip report. I definitely want to hit up Grand Canyon one of these days.

My mom has done Grand Canyon trips tons of times and even got the shoot the rapids with my grandfather back in the 70s and I’m extremely jealous.

gohuskies
Oct 23, 2010

I spend a lot of time making posts to justify why I'm not a self centered shithead that just wants to act like COVID isn't a thing.

Braincloud posted:

If you do a guided trip on Rainier, they should be supplying all your meals. If you haven’t done ANY mountaineering, I’d suggest doing Baker first. Rainier is a BIG mountain and a lot of people don’t quite grasp that fact and underestimate the skill and stamina needed. That said, a guide service will most likely get you to the top of you’re reasonably fit and conditions allow. I’ve seen people on guided teams who have gotten to Muir and could tell they completely underestimated what they had signed up for.

Not sure if it’s still needed info but Rainier guides do not provide your food FWIW. It’s a very strenuous climb but doing a guided trip up the Disappointment Cleaver requires essentially zero skill.

a foolish pianist
May 6, 2007

(bi)cyclic mutation


This is the kind of trail I have nightmares about.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME

a foolish pianist posted:

This is the kind of trail I have nightmares about.

Now just add snow to it and have a snowfield end in a freezing lake

a foolish pianist
May 6, 2007

(bi)cyclic mutation

Levitate posted:

Now just add snow to it and have a snowfield end in a freezing lake

Snow is less scary than dirt or scree to me, at least so long as the snow is deeper than six inches. It's easier to make solid-feeling steps in.

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna
I spent the past week in Zion and doing an ultramarathon on the surrounding mesas. Angels Landing and The Narrows both lived up to their hype and then some. It was incredible. Huge pic dump:

Race photos from my phone

Zion 100 Race Report

First 2.5 miles were up a paved road towards the first mesa top, which was a reverse of the normal course because of the rainy weather.



Sun was coming up in time to see this view at the end of the paved section



At around mile 3 things got nasty. We turned onto a dirt road that was already a mess, with thick mud making every step a slippery hazard and sucking your shoes into the earth. It felt more like skating than walking because no matter how you stepped you would slide. This would be our nightmare for the next 7 hours.



People were falling constantly, especially on the ups and downs. I don't know if being behind all the 100k runners made the trails worse or better, but they all seemed to be beat up by it later on as well.













At the top of this mesa we got a little relief from the mud, with the slickrock making up portions of the trail.



Unfortunately, it was a short loop then back into the mud. I stepped right out of my shoes a few times, despite tightening the laces more and more. Getting mud caked on your socks is a bad time. My shoes weighed at least 5 lbs each too, which was killer on my legs.



The sun peaking through and giving a nice view at the top of Flying Monkey. That's the valley we started in below.



Mile 15 check in. Spirits high. Feet soaked. First sock change. I honestly felt like I had already ran 30 miles, the mud really killed my legs and forced me to use muscles that don't typically get used.



Starting the descent



One of the best sections of trail of the day aside from the mud. You can't see in the pictures, but it was still raining.



The rope section, which was sketchy as hell soaking wet.



Seriously beautiful trail



A look at the next target



Stream crossing, usually you can stay dry but the rain made it a good 8 inches deep. Felt great to wash the mud off my shoes finally.






Started the climb onto the next mesa. This was a 3.5 mile fire road that got pretty steep in sections, and it was still raining steady, but this was a little more runnable aside from a few sections that got slick.







It finally stopped raining when I reached the summit of the second mesa. The wind was still really cold though, and I actually kept my jacket on the entire day.



One of my favorite views, the backside of Zion park.



This was the first of many loops on all slickrock. It was a great change from mud and gravel, but also brutal on the body since it was constantly up and down and the consistency of pavement. Luckily even when wet shoes stick to it like tack, so we were able to pick up the pace and make great time around this loop.





My poor waterlogged feet. Can't imagine how bad they would have been if I didn't have wool socks. Very happy with how well the Darn Tough socks performed and how my feet held up even in the grueling conditions. My Saucony Nomads were great too.



Back down the fire road



33 mile check in. Was pretty beat up before this aid station but another sock change and shoe dump did wonders. Ate a ton of food again and got moving pretty strong now that the rain stopped and it was warming up.



Back across the valley towards the next beast



Snow capped peaks in the distance



The only wildlife sighting of the event



Now onto Gooseberry Mesa, a ~9 mile climb culminating in a vertical mile of very technical 33% grade. Once on top, it was a 30 mile loop then back down to the desert. This was the only time of the day that actually got warm, I unzipped my jacket and sweat a little. Almost ran out of water during this section, but the aid station was at the top so I knew I would be ok.







That's the road we started on before the climb



Nice view of the full course, with the first two mesas in the distance and the desert below





Some of my favorite views and pics of the day









Another runner at the end of the mesa enjoying the view









Zion photos from my camera




















SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Terrifying Effigies posted:

Question for Picnic Princess - I'm looking at doing some hiking around Banff and Yono in late Aug/early Sept and was interested in checking out one of the guided fossil bed tours. If I had to pick one, would you recommend Burgess or Stephens? I've seen some comments that Stephens has a wider variety of fossils but wasn't sure how accurate those were.

Also super thanks for all the info you've already posted in the thread, it's been a huge help in picking out places to hit.

Glad to be of service!

I admit I haven't been to the Walcott Quarry (Burgess shale proper) but I've learned so much about it and know a few people who have, so I can give some advice.

Walcott has more biodiversity but from what I hear the fossils aren't abundant because it tends to be picked clean by researchers. There's a bunch they left for visitors. Stephen has a mind-blowing number of fossils, I'm talking thousands. You can't walk without stepping on a trilobite or some kind of fragment. But the number of species is small with little variety, there's trilobites and their molts which is 99% of the fossils there, anomalocaris jaws, tube worms, and a couple other small critters. Walcott has more of the really bizarro species that made the Burgess shale world famous.

So if you want to see a bunch of rare and weird little Cambrian creepies, go to Walcott. If you dig trilobites and anomalocaris, do Stephen.

Hike wise, Stephen is short and very steep. There's no switchbacks, you just hike straight up a lateral moraine. I have done about half of the Walcott hike when I climbed Mt. Burgess, it's less steep because it's much farther and has 52 switchbacks. My topo map just has a line drawn that says (52 switchbacks) beside it.

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

That's amazing! I really want to learn night time photography, but I'm never actually out that way with a dslr and tripod, just my phone.

That ultramarathon sounds nuts... It's incredible what people can do. Meanwhile people around me circle in their car for ages trying to find a spot 3 spaces closer in a parking lot.

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

OSU_Matthew posted:

That's amazing! I really want to learn night time photography, but I'm never actually out that way with a dslr and tripod, just my phone.

That ultramarathon sounds nuts... It's incredible what people can do. Meanwhile people around me circle in their car for ages trying to find a spot 3 spaces closer in a parking lot.

You’d be surprised how easy Milky Way shots are when you’re somewhere really dark. 90% is that planning and patience with weather. My go to settings those were shot at: 20mm, f/1.8, 13 seconds exposure, ISO 3200. Focus manually and use the timer and bam, perfectly exposed galactic core.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
Seems like every time I go backpacking it's around a time when the moon is full or nearly so. Can't see poo poo except that big spot light in the sky

SirPhoebos
Dec 10, 2007

WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED!

I'm spending a long weekend in Door County, WI next weekend. What hiking trails do you goons recommend?

George H.W. Cunt
Oct 6, 2010





Levitate posted:

Seems like every time I go backpacking it's around a time when the moon is full or nearly so. Can't see poo poo except that big spot light in the sky

When we went out of West Texas a month ago we managed to snag a ticket for the McDonald Observatory star party. Would have been a great night for it since it was a new moon but alas there was an absolute blanket of cloud cover. Same thing happened whenever we went to Big Bend a few years prior. I want my pristine star gazing weather damnit! :argh:

Catatron Prime
Aug 23, 2010

IT ME



Toilet Rascal

Bottom Liner posted:

You’d be surprised how easy Milky Way shots are when you’re somewhere really dark. 90% is that planning and patience with weather. My go to settings those were shot at: 20mm, f/1.8, 13 seconds exposure, ISO 3200. Focus manually and use the timer and bam, perfectly exposed galactic core.

:eyepop:

No poo poo, thanks man! I'll give that a shot next time I'm in a dark sky area! Much appreciated!

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SimplyCosmic
May 18, 2004

It could be worse.

Not sure how, but it could be.
This Milky Way Exposure Calculator may help as well.

One of these days I'm going to make the drive from NE Ohio to the dark park at the Cherry Springs State Park in PA just to get some good shots.

SimplyCosmic fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Apr 27, 2018

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