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I keep socks and gaiters over my pants legs. I have extra long pants legs so they are long enough even while squatting. That way the ticks have a long way to climb up and try to crawl inside my clothes. Sure long trousers suck in hot weather, but a little suck is better than getting some of those nasty diseases. E: my summer pack weight is still 9,4kg. I don't want to give up anything else. Except my 2 person tent for 1p, but I'd have to sew one for myself. Ihmemies fucked around with this message at 14:06 on May 19, 2018 |
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May 19, 2018 13:59
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At least around here, lime disease carrying texts are deer ticks, which are so small that I’ve had them crawl right through wool socks. I’d rather have my legs exposed so I can feel them gallivanting through my leg hair before they latch on.
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May 19, 2018 15:08
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Fall Dog posted:Pretty sure I know how to pack light. My point was that it just seems to be an attitude of hiking is the sole purpose of a vacation or it's not. Apparently you're not entitled to a vacation with a bit of hiking halfway through because that's a crazy idea. Plenty of options, just probably not in the park. We did a 10 day vacation on the Big Island in Hawaii and backpacked to the top of Mauna Loa for a couple days. The rest of our luggage went to one of those U-Store it type places and cost $5 for a secure locker. We chose that over hotel storage since we didn’t have our hotel figured out yet for after the climb.
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May 19, 2018 15:36
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Braincloud posted:Plenty of options, just probably not in the park. This is the situation we're in at the moment. Neither of us are familiar with Utah/Zion and I'll be flying in internationally. We've got several months to work out an itinerary at least. bongwizzard posted:Don’t go to super crowded places? Ok.
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May 19, 2018 23:07
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Fall Dog posted:This is the response I got from the Zion National Park: That's basically what we had to do to backpack Grand canyon--fly into Flagstaff, and rent a car for a week so we could drive an hour to the park and back (and store a change of clothes, which I could have happily just bought at Walmart after we got out). Plus a 200$ shuttle dropping us off, way in the boonies, to backpack back to the park. Another really great trip out that way is Southeastern Colorado and Moab. Moab is hands down the coolest place I've been, and you've got arches, canyonlands, and dead horse point all within 45 minutes. In Southeastern Colorado, Durango & Silverton are cool places to stop (especially Durango), and Mesa Verde is right nearby, plus Pagosa Springs hot springs are great. Plus out of Silverton there's this awesome preserved ghost mining town called Animus Forks, and you can take the Durango - Silverton narrow gauge coal fired train and do a whistle stop to backpack Weminuche Wilderness, which is just an absolutely stunning area. Ooh, out of Silverton there's this awesome gold mine tour too, called the old hundred. 110% work a visit out that way! I'll post up some pictures when I get home tonight
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May 20, 2018 12:08
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I'm taking a 3-night backpacking trip with a friend somewhere in Colorado. I've never been to RMNP, but the backcountry campsite reservation list looks pretty full for the week we're going. What are the chances that we could just show up at the ranger station and get campsites? Any suggested trips instead of RMNP? I did the Four Pass Loop last year in 3 nights--something about that distance (~27 miles) would be perfect.
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May 22, 2018 19:31
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I would never bank on being able to show up and get any permits at NPs during busy seasons. Anyone have any recommendations for Everglades and Biscayne?
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May 22, 2018 19:37
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Some places reserve a certain number of permits for walkups (I think some Yosemite trailheads reserve as many as 40% of the quota), so it is 100% for sure possible to do, but you need to be ready to get their early and wait in line. I think you'd have to check with the specific park though about whether they reserve some for walkups
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May 22, 2018 21:03
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GhostOfTomNook posted:I'm taking a 3-night backpacking trip with a friend somewhere in Colorado. I've never been to RMNP, but the backcountry campsite reservation list looks pretty full for the week we're going. What are the chances that we could just show up at the ranger station and get campsites? Call up a ranger station and be flexible. RMNP fills up fast and early and at this point you might be at the whim of whats available. Sometimes you can show up first thing in the morning and get permits that people didn't pick up in time but then you're playing a waiting game and gambling with your time.
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May 22, 2018 21:06
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Do people not hike/camp on BLM land out west? One of my coworkers made it seem like you can just park your car off the side of the road and just start hiking.
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May 22, 2018 23:04
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bongwizzard posted:Do people not hike/camp on BLM land out west? (Or I'm thinking of something else)
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May 22, 2018 23:22
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PhantomOfTheCopier posted:There are 2000mi of hiking and backpacking trails less than two hours from Seattle. The nearest open BLM land is something like 3--4hr away the last time I checked... and it's in the desert. I wouldn't call Seattle "the west", but, my coworker is from northern Nevada and a quick google;  Seems to show that that area is like 80% BLM land (the yellow bits), so I guess he was just lucky.
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May 22, 2018 23:33
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Here's a map  It mostly depends on the state. Here in washington we have almost no BLM land but we do have national forest and state forest which is mostly along the mountain range. There's a lot of privately owned land in the state. There are places you can just drive up and set up camp which I like to do. There are a lot of logging and forest service fire roads which are nice because the average person isn't going to drive up there with a honda civic. It usually requires high clearance, 4x4, and the understanding of brush is likely going to scratch your car. But for that you get solitude. There are also a lot of hunters and people shooting on recreation land. Some hikers are super opposed to guns but the hard part about recreation land is that its meant to be used multiple ways, shooting and hunting being one of them. Dirt bikes, horses, quads, ORVs and snowmobiles are another. It takes a little more research to get out into lesser known wilderness lands and the average person wants to go online, reserve a campsite and be done with it. The best part about an internet age is that people tend to stick to whats popular. Just avoid those places. There's a lot of wilderness out here, work a little bit harder than the average person and you get to see a whole lot more without the crowds.
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May 22, 2018 23:39
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bongwizzard posted:I wouldn't call Seattle "the west", but, my coworker is from northern Nevada and a quick google; Yeah as people said it depends on where you are and honestly what kind of terrain you'd like to visit. Seems like most of the mountains are National Forest land or Parks, lots of the deserts and lower lying scrubby areas are BLM land.
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May 22, 2018 23:52
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Verman posted:
There is a little spot like this where I live, but it is just normal park land (although the park was abandoned and left to rot years ago) but I believe the police kinda leave it alone as a way to keep all the dirtbikes, atvs, muddin trucks, and redneck parties contained and off the streets. It's like a couple hundreds acres of it and it's great. I go back there to fish as there are some sick fuckin bass ponds but I am too chicken to drive in, so I hike a few miles. It amazes me when I tell dudes about this place and they are like "oh no man, I don't want to walk that far".
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May 23, 2018 00:00
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Levitate posted:lower lying scrubby areas no u r
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May 23, 2018 00:00
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GhostOfTomNook posted:I'm taking a 3-night backpacking trip with a friend somewhere in Colorado. I've never been to RMNP, but the backcountry campsite reservation list looks pretty full for the week we're going. What are the chances that we could just show up at the ranger station and get campsites? Maroon Bells Snowmass Loop is in the same area, and a couple of miles of the same trail, as four pass loop but is well worth the time. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/maroon-bells-snowmass-wilderness-loop We really enjoy the up and back on Barr Trail - pikes peak - but it isn’t for everyone.
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May 23, 2018 01:58
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OSU_Matthew posted:That's basically what we had to do to backpack Grand canyon--fly into Flagstaff, and rent a car for a week so we could drive an hour to the park and back (and store a change of clothes, which I could have happily just bought at Walmart after we got out). Plus a 200$ shuttle dropping us off, way in the boonies, to backpack back to the park. Just wanted to post up the pictures from Southwestern Colorado/Moab area... definitely an amazing place for a trip. I desperately want to backpack Weminuche Wilderness and do a whistle stop on the train. Canyonlands:  More Canyonlands (Island in the Sky)  Garden of the Gods (technically Eastern Colorado near Colorado Springs)  Pikes Peak (also near Colorado Springs)  Train from Durango to Silverton and back (Weminuche Wilderness area)  Another shot of the train:  Colorado National Monument (on drive back from Moab to Denver Airport)  Mesa Verde:  More Mesa Verde (Southwestern Colorado):  Dead Horse Point (near Moab)  Old Hundred Gold Mine (mine tour near Silverton)  Monument Valley (Arches National Park near Moab)  Mesa Arch (Canyonlands) 
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May 23, 2018 03:19
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My only complaint about Moab, the actual town, is how loud it is even at night. It attracts a lot of off-roaders, and I made the mistake of camping at a RV/tent park that was full of them. So in the end it was my fault. Still I loved Moab overall, and I wished I could have spent more time there (we camped 3 nights there). Also there was a couple that camped like 40-50 yards from us, and I swear the male was the loudest snorer in history. He would wake us up in the middle of night. We would gather with other campers in the morning and share our disbelief at how the loud the guy was. I felt super bad for his wife.
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May 23, 2018 03:28
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I fuckin' love Canyonlands. Here's another view from that spot just to the left with the La Sals in the distance Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 04:00 on May 23, 2018 |
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May 23, 2018 03:57
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We camped at some eco-co-op in Moab that turned out to be only like 200 yards from the road with no real sound break, but the thing that wound up being most frustrating was the kid that had croop or something a few tents away from us. Traffic noise I can get used to, but a toddler sporadically coughing and crying all night long sucks.
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May 23, 2018 03:58
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Bottom Liner posted:I fuckin' love Canyonlands. Here's another view from that spot just to the left with the La Sals in the distance Holy crap that's an incredible photo!! Huh, I never noticed the noise in Moab... We got a cabin at Moab Valley RV and cranked the AC, so that was all we heard. Great deal though, the cabin itself was pretty new, the showers and bathrooms were nice and clean, the pool and hot tub had a neat view of the canyon walls, and it was only freaking 65$ a night! I couldn't even get an econolodge around here for that price! I can't imagine setting up a tent out there and letting it bake in the sun all day...
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May 23, 2018 04:46
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Bottom Liner posted:I fuckin' love Canyonlands. Here's another view from that spot just to the left with the La Sals in the distance I would put this on my wall. I would love to experience this in person.
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May 23, 2018 05:28
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George H.W. oval office posted:I would put this on my wall. I would love to experience this in person. I'm having a 48" print made of it for my office next week 
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May 23, 2018 05:30
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I climbed the Belton Hills outside West Glacier. All the good stuff (Stimson, St Nick, Going-to-the-Sun Road stuff) was covered in clouds so that sucked. But I was up there to scout a route I have in mind for Walton Mountain, and the route looks promising. There was one tick crawling around my backpack when I got back.    Walton Mountain is one of "five" technical peaks in Glacier National Park. I use scare quotes because there are several more than five; the five are just the particular mountains that Pat Caffrey talks about in his book Climber's Guide to Montana that all the climbers reference. Anyway. Walton is one of the five, and it is considered so because the main route has you cross a crevasse-lined hanging glacier to get there. I got some beta on a new route that follows the ridge from Jackson (one of Glaciers six 10k-foot peaks) to the base of Walton. We'll see. Going-to-the-Sun Road is still covered in snow, so I won't be able to try until June or July. 
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May 23, 2018 14:18
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Oh man.. spreading butter on top of my bread is so nice while hiking. I bought a butter can. It's made from aluminium, metal insert, lacquered lid and a rubber seal. Keeps the butter cool enough during daytime, keeps it inside the can. It cools down during night and is again ready to go next day. The can is 170g, fits 170g of butter. 720kcal*1.7/3.4 = 360kcal/100g calorie density is good enough for me.    I hadn't used my saqwyer squeeze for half a year. So it didn't work on this trip, no flow at all. I thought it was blocked so back home I gave it another go and it seemed to work just fine after just one backflush syringe. Or mabye I just didn't give enough time for the filter to get wet. I had katadyn chlorine pills & could cook the water so it wasn't that big of a deal luckily. You guys have so many interesting places to visit in USA. Seems like a great country to hike in
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May 23, 2018 21:55
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Random Virginia goon here. While I'm not really any kind of true hiker, and I don't really care for overnight camping / ticks / rattlesnakes / bed bugs / all that other fun stuff you can run into, I really enjoy getting out on a nice long trail for about the space of a day and just exploring the trails. If anybody else here is from around Richmond, I often enjoy hitting up spots like the James River trail system or the Dutch Gap Conservation Area. Places big enough to take you several hours, but not enough to call you any kind of outdoorsman. Clearly marked and not overgrown. I'm a total lightweight, but I'm comfortable with that. My question is this: I've been thinking about tackling the Old Rag trail in Shenandoah. Nine miles is on the long side but I can pretty comfortably do seven around the James. The verticality is a bit intimidating, but I'm in reasonably good shape and would like a slightly greater challenge anyway. If there are any other Virginia goons around, is Old Rag good for a day trip? If it sounds like it'd be a bit much for me, are there any others nearby that might be good for a relative novice? Oh, and because I saw it come up earlier this page: I actually did go out to Zion myself about three years ago. It's unbelievably gorgeous. A lot of variability regarding trail difficulty; there are plenty of really really easy trails, but there are also some really rough / dangerous ones. A lot more crowded than I'd have expected; that park has gotten pretty ludicrously popular, apparently.
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Jun 3, 2018 16:19
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If you do any hiking at all you should be fine tackling Old Rag. I took a group of people who basically never hike and I was able to shepherd them all through in a day with no problems. I would recommend getting there a little early because it can get crowded, but go for it! The scramble is fun and you'll probably have a blast.
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Jun 3, 2018 18:44
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So water filtration, the Sawyer Mini is good? Seems popular and reasonably priced.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:23
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Mini is fine but the squeeze is superior in every way for a few bucks more.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:26
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Bottom Liner posted:Mini is fine but the squeeze is superior in every way for a few bucks more. Cool yeah I was wondering about that. The mini seems to be stocked here in australia but the squeeze not so much (except maybe as part of a kit that costs twice as much). I'll have to have a look around and see if I can find it, or see how much International shipping is. I'm doing a 90 minute survey where I'm getting paid supprisingly well to try frozen pizzas (I lied and said I both enjoy and regularly eat frozen pizzas) so got some cash to burn
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Jun 4, 2018 04:35
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I had the mini on the AT and I hated it so much that I went filterless for 3/4th of the drat thing. Get the regular. The flow rate is so much better that it’s worth the few extra bucks and slight bulk. It is bad for one person and lol what am I doing with my life this is awful for two.
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Jun 4, 2018 04:52
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Ruptured Yakety Sax posted:So water filtration, the Sawyer Mini is good? Seems popular and reasonably priced. I had the mini and the amount of work you have to put into getting more than a liter at a time is atrocious. I really love the Khatadyn BeFree filter. It's the same .1 micron hollow tube kidney dialysis filter membrane as the Sawyer, but the key difference is that the filter media sits up in the water bag, so it has exponentially more surface area and filters like you're filling from a faucet, only a gentle pressure required. Plus the water bag is part of the unit and fills much easier with the wide mouth. I love the Sawyer bags by themselves though for hauling water. Like if you need to carry a gallon plus for a dry camp or something, they weigh nothing and are super handy to have on hand when you need to camel water. I used them to carry 2.5-3 gallons in my pack while hiking the grand canyon recently. Oh, also be sure to bleach or chlorine your filter if you're not going to be using it again for awhile. I learned the hard way that stuff grows up in the and clogs it otherwise.
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Jun 4, 2018 17:55
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Dissenting opinion: I have a mini and find it adequate for solo use, but wouldn't want one as primary treatment method for groups. I haven't used a squeeze for comparison though.
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Jun 6, 2018 21:41
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Any John Muir Wilderness hikers here know what the penalty would be for not adhering exactly to a wilderness permit entry point? To be specific: I got a permit for Bishop Pass entry at South Lake. Sabrina Lakes entry is preferable, I realized, much later. They're somewhat near each other and I don't think it matters where I am once I'm out in JMW. But, what if I'm caught entering in spot not in permit....?
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Jun 7, 2018 02:36
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The bigger issue for the wrong pass is where you'll be leaving your car. Is it the same trailhead?
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Jun 7, 2018 04:19
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Spikes32 posted:The bigger issue for the wrong pass is where you'll be leaving your car. Is it the same trailhead? They're talking about different trailheads. Do they make you put a license plate number on your permit? That'd probably be the thing I'd worry a bit about...if they check cars and license plates. On the other hand, it's not like a NP so I doubt they'd be all that strict about it. I guess in theory they could fine you and tell you to get out but I doubt they'd actually hike you back out to the trailhead or something. There's probably a 90% chance you'd be fine and never see a Ranger but they have the trailhead quotas for a reason. I assume the Sabrina Lake trailhead is full up for the time you want? Otherwise you could probably just cancel one and get the other.
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Jun 7, 2018 04:32
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You don't need a permit to park there and you aren't required to put license plate info on the wilderness permit. For what it's worth, though--and this is probably just bad luck--I have encountered a ranger within a couple miles of the TH literally every time I start out of either South Lake or Sabrina Lakes. Is your intention still to go over Bishop Pass, though? Or do you just want to change your trip to fool around in Sabrina Basin instead?
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Jun 7, 2018 18:42
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Morbus posted:You don't need a permit to park there and you aren't required to put license plate info on the wilderness permit. For what it's worth, though--and this is probably just bad luck--I have encountered a ranger within a couple miles of the TH literally every time I start out of either South Lake or Sabrina Lakes. I'm not surprised that you saw rangers near the THs, based on their popularity. We intend to do some mountaineering and possibly get to Darwin Glacier, which is closer to Sabrina Lake than South Lake. (Need to read RJ Secor's The High Sierra to see if there's a feasible route). Otherwise I'm more than happy sticking with Bishop Pass/John Muir Trail.
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Jun 7, 2018 19:27
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:I'm not surprised that you saw rangers near the THs, based on their popularity. Nice! From Sabrina you can take the common route to Darwin's NE ridge, from which Darwin Glacier will at least be visible and may be covering the north side of the ridge depending on time of year. You can probably descend down to the other side the from the NE ridge but I've never done it. I know people ascend the NE ridge from that side so it ought to be possible. The bottom of Darwin Glacier can be approached from the north via Lamarck Col, but that is best started from North Lake. Although, since the non-campground parking for North Lake is like a mile and a half from the TH, just walking there from Sabrina Lake parking isn't much worse (~2mi). You can also do North Lake -> Piute Pass -> Keyhole by Muriel Peak but that's longer. For what it's worth I really like the view from Lamarck Col, and Mt Lamarck is an easy side trip if you go that way.
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Jun 7, 2018 20:23
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