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There's a prairie preserve about an hour and a half west of Chicago in a section with some rolling hills and the small chunk they have is gorgeous. My "if I won the lottery" dream would be to start buying up the farmland surrounding it and put as much of the state as I could into the preserve. A proper tallgrass prairie is beautiful but I don't know of any section in the US where you can stand in one and not see signs of development (power lines, silos, roads, etc). There are some large sections of grasslands as you get further west but they're used for grazing so it doesn't really count IMO.
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Jul 13, 2020 14:46
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There are preserves of tallgrass prairie in Kansas that are fairly extensive, but access is in more developed areas so you wouldn't necessarily get to the 'untouched' areas. I was out at Konza prairie this weekend and it was stunning. Recommendations for a large-ish car camping tent for 2? 
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Jul 13, 2020 18:18
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pointsofdata posted:I can't really see an equitable short term solution to overcrowding of wilderness without making more of it. Europe is starting to see some previously worked land becoming wild through neglect (the reasons for this are sad on the small scale, but also offer huge opportunities), and there is a growing movement to make this an explicit part of our environmental policy. I always come back to this graphic: And yet weve worked for ten years in the selway bitterroot and Frank church and other than very specific areas, the idea that wilderness is overcrowded (or even used) would be completely absurd.
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Jul 13, 2020 19:02
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Flambeau posted:Recommendations for a large-ish car camping tent for 2? What are your requirements or desires? Do you want to be able to backpack with it ever? For car camping get whatever the hell you want, IMO. It's not like weight and size really matter.
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Jul 13, 2020 19:15
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Yeah I have backpacking gear, but my wife wants a big comfortable tent for car camping. Ideally something with an awning and 6ft interior clearance.
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Jul 13, 2020 19:29
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i had an msr hubba hubba nx2 for several years before i traded it in and that's an excellent fully two-person tent. it does a cool thing where you can pitch it with just the footprint and fly if you want, which is nice to cut weight and/or use as a sunshade. even if you don't think you will take it backpacking, i'd recommend not ruling that style of tent out from your first pass. e: just saw your update, so this probably doesnt apply!
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Jul 13, 2020 19:30
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thatguy posted:And yet weve worked for ten years in the selway bitterroot and Frank church and other than very specific areas, the idea that wilderness is overcrowded (or even used) would be completely absurd. I mean the Frank Church and Bitterroot's are pretty far out from any decent sized city which limits their access plus just aren't as well known as national parks etc. That said last summer when I was up in the Salmon/Challis forest I was a little surprised at how many people you still see going up with their campers and ATV/Razors to go speed around on the forest roads and stuff. But getting there for anyone who doesn't live in the area is gonna be a 7 hour drive from the nearest city/airport pretty much (I guess Missoula is perhaps closer but not as easy to fly into as Boise or SLC)
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Jul 13, 2020 19:34
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Chard posted:i had an msr hubba hubba nx2 for several years before i traded it in and that's an excellent fully two-person tent. it does a cool thing where you can pitch it with just the footprint and fly if you want, which is nice to cut weight and/or use as a sunshade. even if you don't think you will take it backpacking, i'd recommend not ruling that style of tent out from your first pass. Yeah my wife and I use a NX2 for car camping and backpacking. I love it. I should likely be using my ollllld REI Half Dome 2 for car camping just to not stress the more delicate fabrics of the NX2, but the wall height is nicer. I should set up the Half Dome again to remind myself how it feels.
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Jul 13, 2020 20:47
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Flambeau posted:Yeah I have backpacking gear, but my wife wants a big comfortable tent for car camping. Ideally something with an awning and 6ft interior clearance. We purchased the REI Kingdom 6 plus the mud room attachment last year, and it is a great but expensive tent. True it is a 6 person tent, but we just use it for the 2 of us. We put 2 large cots, small foldable table, chair, and all the gear we want in it. It is really on the verge of glamping, and I think it might be the best car camping tent there is if money is no issue. For backpacking we use the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 instead of the UL2. I am all about space in my tent.
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Jul 13, 2020 21:24
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I kept passing on cheap Kingdom 6 tents at the REI garage sales, I briefly owned a four person huge marmot tent, but even that just felt like too much room to feel like camping. I'm currently using a Marmot Tungsten 3p for my car camping tent, I'm 6'2 and change and it fits a partner and me great.   It was also pretty cheap, and while not a concern for me now it was nice to have a smaller packed tent when I had a sedan instead of a pickup. Now for some reason I'm trying to fit all my car camping stuff into a mid sized pattagucci duffelbag so I'm just using my copper spur 2p for everything, but that might change just for saving potential damage on a nice tent. 
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Jul 13, 2020 23:44
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Levitate posted:I mean the Frank Church and Bitterroot's are pretty far out from any decent sized city which limits their access plus just aren't as well known as national parks etc. That said last summer when I was up in the Salmon/Challis forest I was a little surprised at how many people you still see going up with their campers and ATV/Razors to go speed around on the forest roads and stuff. My point was adding to useable managed lands for rec is important, adding specifically to wilderness is pointless. If you're talking the feds, they can't and won't buy land close enough to city centers to appeal. If you're talking about using wilderness areas to protect it from mineral extraction, youd be better served by using land trusts. The idea that the feds manage the tiny eastern wilderness areas better than non wilderness is plainly on its face, ludicrous. They can barely manage the non wilderness, the rest is mainly just abandoned due to funds and lack of personnel. And if your goal of wilderness areas is just to make them unwelcome to visitors, then there are far better vehicles for that also.
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Jul 14, 2020 11:20
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DeesGrandpa posted:I kept passing on cheap Kingdom 6 tents at the REI garage sales, I briefly owned a four person huge marmot tent, but even that just felt like too much room to feel like camping. I'm currently using a Marmot Tungsten 3p for my car camping tent, I'm 6'2 and change and it fits a partner and me great. What changed it for me was buying 2 of these cots: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0073WJACW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 We wanted to upgrade our sleeping experience for car camping as we got older and our Sierra Design 4 person tent was just a little too crowded with 2 cots. So the size of the 6 plus the ability to be able to stand up in the tent was exactly what we needed. Not for everyone, and if we are not bringing our cots we go either with our Sierra Design or even our Big Agnes. So I dig what you are saying, but I still standby it is an amazing tent (well worth the money). Also we are thinking about moving away from car camping in the next few years and make the leap over to a camper. We have looked at hiker trailers and campers like the AirStream Basecamp. We are in our 40's and we have spent many nights sleeping on the ground (hence why we got cots). Still we backpack, so we will still have our nights on the ground (current setup: EE Revelation quilts, Nemo Tensor pads). Also for the person that asked the question, here the guide I started with when looking for a new car camping tent last year: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-camping-tent I didn't just use that one, it was just the one I started with, but I did end up with their top choice (I almost went with the Wawona but it is single walled).
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Jul 14, 2020 13:37
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nate fisher posted:
A camper came up recently in my household too. My wife's back is hosed, and she'll probably never backpack camp again. We've been looking at tiny teardrop trailers. Then I brought home one of my work vans, a 4x4 Sprinter, and mentioned people use those as conversions and motorhomes, and now she's been talking that up. Not so much for "camping" as extended road trips.
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Jul 14, 2020 14:12
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Anyone ever do any dispersed camping or hiking in Vedauwoo, Wyoming area? Anything you'd suggest?
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Jul 14, 2020 14:34
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Those of you using a cot in a tent, do you find that the legs chew up the tent floor? I've worried about that and so I haven't ever tried it.
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Jul 14, 2020 14:57
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pumped up for school posted:A camper came up recently in my household too. My wife's back is hosed, and she'll probably never backpack camp again. We've been looking at tiny teardrop trailers. It is not a cheap hobby. We watch MTB YouTube videos, and a lot of those guys live out of conversion vans. So we have had that conversation too. A lot depends on selling our house in the next couple of years and how much we get out of it. Also I will point out those cots I linked above have a thin mattress on top of the cot. Sleeping on them is closest I have come to sleeping on an actual bed in a tent. It is a small investment if you guys want to at least car camp in the near future. armorer posted:Those of you using a cot in a tent, do you find that the legs chew up the tent floor? I've worried about that and so I haven't ever tried it. I have not noticed any issues with the cots I am currently using. If you look at the picture of them in the link you will see they have bars that support it instead of true legs, so I assume that helps distributed the weight. I wouldn't use them in a UL tent, but they wouldn't fit in an UL tent. I am not trying oversell these, but the $140 I spent for those 2 cots is one of the best investments I made for car camping. Only real negative is they do take up space (in tent, in vehicle, and in storage). nate fisher fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Jul 14, 2020 |
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Jul 14, 2020 15:00
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My dream is to get a Delica and convert it to a camper. A 4x4 van that manages 20mpg? That's about as close to perfect as technology can give us currently. If you're willing to stick to softroading and can tolerate 2WD you can get stuff that approaches 30mpg but that's a big sacrifice imo. If you need something more eco friendly put a mattress in the back of an Outback instead.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:10
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I could never get into cots. I just fail to see the point in them. I guess they get you off of the ground but all the ones I've ever slept on have been as firm as board. We use this car camping now and its wonderful: https://www.rei.com/product/113720/exped-megamat-duo-10-sleeping-pad Fits the wife and I, and our 60 pound dog just fine. Its incredibly comfortable. Plus it has an R value of 8 so we can use it into winter just fine.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:13
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BaseballPCHiker posted:I could never get into cots. I just fail to see the point in them. I guess they get you off of the ground but all the ones I've ever slept on have been as firm as board. I was in the Marines and I have experienced some restless nights sleeping on a lovely cot. That is the reason I went with one that came with a mattress. Still that Exped pad is amazing, and it would be something I would consider if I do replace my cots. It is just as comfortable, but takes up less storage/transport space. Only reason I didn’t buy that last year was the price in comparison to those cots I found. drat you are making me consider getting one when REI has it next 20% sale. I could let friends/family that go camping with us borrow it (they borrow our gear a lot because I got way too much gear), and it would be great to use when I don’t want to lug the cots. xzzy posted:My dream is to get a Delica and convert it to a camper. A 4x4 van that manages 20mpg? That's about as close to perfect as technology can give us currently. I have slept out of my Outback, but I wasn’t a big fan of it. It did help we had special nets that allowed us to keep our windows down without letting bugs in, but overall too cramped for two people.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:30
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nate fisher posted:I was in the Marines and I have experienced some restless nights sleeping on a lovely cot. That is the reason I went with one that came with a mattress. Still that Exped pad is amazing, and it would be something I would consider if I do replace my cots. It is just as comfortable, but takes up less storage/transport space. Only reason I didn’t buy that last year was the price in comparison to those cots I found. drat you are making me consider getting one when REI has it next 20% sale. I could let friends/family that go camping with us borrow it (they borrow our gear a lot because I got way too much gear), and it would be great to use when I don’t want to lug the cots. Yeah I picked ours up with a 20% coupon about 3 years back. Well worth it at that price. It is big and bulky packed up, I think its about 10 pounds. But we just throw it in the roof carrier when we go car camping to get it out of the way. I've had zero leaks with it as well, even with the dog walking all over it. We use it every once in a while as a guest mattress if we need an extra bed at home, its that comfortable.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:38
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nate fisher posted:I have slept out of my Outback, but I wasn’t a big fan of it. It did help we had special nets that allowed us to keep our windows down without letting bugs in, but overall too cramped for two people. It's certainly not great but fuel economy is a valid concern and I don't know of anything with a reputable AWD that gets better mileage than a Subaru. Obviously if you ignore fuel efficiency the array of options for a camping conversion open up dramatically.
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Jul 14, 2020 15:41
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pumped up for school posted:A camper came up recently in my household too. My wife's back is hosed, and she'll probably never backpack camp again. We've been looking at tiny teardrop trailers. My cousin has a camping-converted 4x4 sprinter and it’s really cool; I’m not sure what it cost him but the base 4x4 model will run you a pretty penny and are hard to come by in the US. There’s a wait list in a lot of places. Are you able to get the sprinter 2nd hand off your work? We have a 4x4 sprinter as well but it’s not converted to a camper. We have a lift for our daughter’s wheelchair and luxury custom interior since it’s mostly for driving around town and road trips. With the van, lift, and customizations it costs as much as a small house. I would imagine the camper conversion gets into similar territory cost-wise. We’re looking at something like the airstream basecamp to pull behind it and do some long trip/rv style camping in the next couple of years.
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Jul 14, 2020 18:38
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I too have looked at some vans/trailers etc and there are so many options I dont think I could make up my mind. The all encompassing adventure van is really awesome but something usable enough for two people to camp in ends up being really tall and long, not to mention expensive. I like the small hardsided trailers because you can escape the elements and "live" in it very easily when the conditions suck (skiing/downpour) but they are usually heavy, lack the ground clearance/maneuverability for off road. The smaller off road capable trailers are neat and wildly flexible in terms of what you put on them but its not a livable space, its a sleeping box and you're still doing everything but sleeping outside. The tiny railers which are basically a camp kitchen/storage with a roof top tent are cool too but if I'm going to sleep in a tent, why spend thousands on a trailer just to keep sleeping in a tent? Not a bad problem to have I suppose. Thankfully we're trying to buy a house in the next year so this won't be a problem for me as our disposable income will be non existent.
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Jul 14, 2020 19:54
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thatguy posted:My point was adding to useable managed lands for rec is important, adding specifically to wilderness is pointless. If you're talking the feds, they can't and won't buy land close enough to city centers to appeal. If you're talking about using wilderness areas to protect it from mineral extraction, youd be better served by using land trusts. The idea that the feds manage the tiny eastern wilderness areas better than non wilderness is plainly on its face, ludicrous. They can barely manage the non wilderness, the rest is mainly just abandoned due to funds and lack of personnel. And if your goal of wilderness areas is just to make them unwelcome to visitors, then there are far better vehicles for that also. I think I was trying to say (and perhaps misinterpreting what you were saying) is that talking about very remote areas being underutilized seems...I dunno if pointless is the right word, but when we're talking about how some wilderness areas are overcrowded and what to do about that pointing out the underutilized remote areas seems less useful? I dunno. Like I said, perhaps I was just not understanding what you were trying to say.
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Jul 14, 2020 21:29
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it will probably never happen now that america has become Plague Nation, and also im poor, but i always wanted to visit the extreme end of the taiga they say the air has a different composition from all the trees and lack of animal life
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Jul 15, 2020 03:47
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I wanted to do my first international hiking trip next year. I was gonna go to Switzerland 
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Jul 15, 2020 03:51
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I love Switzerland. I wish I hiked more while I was there.
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Jul 15, 2020 06:55
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Chard posted:it will probably never happen now that america has become Plague Nation, and also im poor, but i always wanted to visit the extreme end of the taiga Spent a lot of time working in Wales, Shishmaref, St Lawrence Island, etc in Alaska and the air definitely feels cleaner and different. Really miss living in that area sometimes, a lot of things I dont miss too. Never made it to Kobuk Valley which was always a regret of mine. Would love to go back one day and hit that and Gates of the Arctic.
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Jul 15, 2020 13:38
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testifeye posted:I'm planning on doing the Wonderland...Any tips or thoughts to share? do a good tick check the night after you pass by the Carbon Glacier terminus
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Jul 16, 2020 08:58
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Been dreaming of an AT NOBO thru hike for years. Now I have the time because I lost my job but who knows what the 2021 AT season will look like. If the winter months for the virus are as bad as people say they are going to be, I worry that everything will be locked down in the spring next year.
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Jul 16, 2020 14:06
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LordAdakos posted:Been dreaming of an AT NOBO thru hike for years. That's how I'm looking at it. It's the safest way for everyone.
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Jul 16, 2020 19:29
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:I'm not backpacking for the first time in ten years. It sucks, but I'm using the time (and time away from work/most other obligations) to train like an insane person. Next year, or whenever, I can make up time. I feel like I'm not training nearly enough. Before the quarantine hit, I was at the gym 5 times a week, mostly heavy lifting, some cardio. Since then I've been walking a few miles a day. Any suggestions on how to prepare?? Just find a hilly area and throw on my pack and walk up and down for a few hours?
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Jul 17, 2020 00:19
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LordAdakos posted:I feel like I'm not training nearly enough. Before the quarantine hit, I was at the gym 5 times a week, mostly heavy lifting, some cardio. I know it's overkill for your purposes (and it's also $300), but I wanted to share this because it's kind of hilarious: https://outdoorsmans.com/collections/atlas-collection/products/weight-frame-system
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Jul 17, 2020 00:24
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A gym I went to for a while had this middle aged lady that would show up with a frame pack stuffed to the max, would alternate between a treadmill at max incline and the stairmaster. Is all I ever saw her do, and she was absolutely ripped.
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Jul 17, 2020 00:36
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Doing stairs with a heavy weighted pack will go a long way into building them legs into tree trunks. Just work up to the weight gradually and do other exercises as to not strain your knees and to avoid muscle imbalance.xzzy posted:A gym I went to for a while had this middle aged lady that would show up with a frame pack stuffed to the max, would alternate between a treadmill at max incline and the stairmaster. lol I read "middle aged lady" as  showing up with crude a wood frame strapped to her pack full of rocks on a stairmaster.
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Jul 17, 2020 01:08
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Mostly cardio—running on and off pavement. I‘d also load down my pack with water bottles, a cheap 25# bag of aquarium gravel, and some towels to help distribute the load; 10-15 pounds heavier than my heaviest pack day, and just speed hike a rolling trail as fast and as long as I could go. Made sure to work on strengthening stabilization muscles: planks, lunges, standing on a bosu ball. I got my cardio and legs to where I could string together as many 6-8 RPE miles as I wanted to do. It worked out really well for me in preparing for a strenuous thru hike.
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Jul 17, 2020 01:54
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LordAdakos posted:I feel like I'm not training nearly enough. Before the quarantine hit, I was at the gym 5 times a week, mostly heavy lifting, some cardio. Literally just do the dang thing gently caress training. My fiancee and I had a "training hike" and "shakedown" that ended up being just 6 miles before she developed some really bad blisters in flat rear end north of Houston forests. No cardio, no nothing prior other than getting kinda fat as I prepped to leave my job. You'll get your trail legs in the first week or so and be good. Just make sure your shoes fit. I went the entire trail with nary a foot issue other than the one time I got a new pair and forgot to take out the insole and shoved my Super Greens in. That slight raise on my heel absolutely destroyed it for 2 weeks. It was gnarly but I managed to still hike on it after I figured it out and pulled the insole. Once the shoes were the right fit again my stride was painless*.  It looks way worse than it felt *I had a lot of ibuprofen those 2 weeks George H.W. Cunt fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Jul 17, 2020 |
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Jul 17, 2020 02:04
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I bought new insoles for my Merrells because the factory ones were totally compressed. New ones raise my foot just enough to not fit the little heel grooves and I would have destroyed my feet if I didn’t pack the old worn soles just in case. Can I buy factory Merrell insoles? They work fine I just murdered mine and the rest of the shoe still has so much to give. Edit: ooooh they’re only 8 bux. Rolo fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Jul 17, 2020 |
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Jul 17, 2020 02:29
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Anyone have a recommendation for insoles? I’ve got some hella flat feet and some extra arch support probably would be nice on a long backcountry hunt and possibly heavy packout
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Jul 17, 2020 03:42
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George H.W. oval office posted:
Jesus Christ that looks deep. I would worry about something like that not healing properly over days of repetitive use and getting infected.
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Jul 17, 2020 04:05
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