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I haven't hiked in years, but one of my local parks (Hanging Rock Nat. Park in Danbury, North Carolina) has a "Five Peaks Challenge" where you get a patch if you hit all five overlook peaks in a single day. By god that patch is going to be mine. I gave it a go this past weekend, but only brought a single bottle of water and a single Clif bar with me, so after 11 miles (and only 3 of the peaks), my body was giving out. Not to mention I had another 3-5 miles left and only a couple hours before the visitor's center closed. Also I got lost on the way and ended up going down (and back up) and super steep, super rocky trail. That wiped me out. Man, I forgot how damned fun hiking is! Anyway, my question - does anyone use a GPS to plan or track their hikes? I have an eTrex 20 that's been collecting dust, and I'd like to use it to plan my route so I don't get off track again. Only thing is, I know how to operate it, basically, but I have no idea how I'd go about planning a route on this thing. As a bonus, here's my favorite spot at Hanging Rock, Moore's Knob. Highest peak in the Sauratown Mountains (~2600 ft) 
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Apr 15, 2015 01:33
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T. J. Eckleburg posted:hey i was just there, like a few weeks ago, I posted about it then... we had great weather! Cool! Are you (and husband) from the area? What a small world.
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Apr 15, 2015 02:15
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Speaking of footwear - that was another thing that had me tapping out early. I was given some Salomon shoes by someone who they didn't fit, and turns out they don't fit me either. The hike started off with just a dull sort of "eh, this isn't too bad, just a little tight in the toe box", and by mile 10 I was wincing with every step. So, public service announcement - make sure your shoes fit and walk around in them for a day or so before you go on a long hike!
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Apr 15, 2015 02:57
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Would a trail runner, something like the Brooks Cascadia, be recommended for a 10+ mile hike up and down mountains, and/or for the AT? I know they're highly used on the PCT, but I don't know if that's mostly for flat hiking or not. I'm bad at shoes.
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Apr 15, 2015 17:34
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turevidar posted:Trail runners are great for hiking in the northeast. I have sone some sections of the AT, and in my experience it is pretty easygoing until you get to NH and ME. Even in those areas, I would use trail runners unless it was very cold out. Right now there is still ~2 ft of snow in NH, but the trail is packed well enough that sneakers are perfectly usable. My neck of the AT is North Carolina, so more the southeast  Either way, as long as they're grippy, I think they'd be okay for the hiking I do.
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Apr 15, 2015 17:42
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I can cross one thing off my bucket list now. If anyone is in central NC and is feeling up to it, the 5 Overlooks Challenge at Hanging Rock state park is a blast. All told it's about 11 miles of ascents and descents, and you hit Moore's Knob, Cook's Wall, House Rock, Wolf Rock, and Hanging Rock. Some of my favorite views in NC! Plus if you finish in a day, you get a patch! Took me about 5 hours, totally worth it. The view from Cook's Wall  The view from Moore's Knob 
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Apr 18, 2015 20:25
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Is there a go-to site for finding new hiking spots? I'm sure there are a lot of hidden gems in my area, but there are about 1000 iterations of hike.com/hiking.com/allhike.com/morehiking.com/haveahike.com/etc and they all basically look the same and have the same touristy hikes. At least in my area.
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Apr 20, 2015 19:29
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Tigren posted:Other than EveryTrail, it seems like most sites are regional. Where are you located/looking to hike? I live in the central North Carolina area, but I guess if I want to find some good stuff I'll have to travel to Asheville/Appalachia
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Apr 20, 2015 21:39
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mastershakeman posted:Isn't there a trail that goes all the way to the coast near you? The Mountain-to-Sea Trail, yeah. But actually I'm not sure if it's finished yet or not! I'll have to look into it, I forgot about that.
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Apr 20, 2015 23:37
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I wonder how much of a bump the PCT (and the AT and other thru-hikes) is going to have this summer since Wild came out in December. I know Alaska had a bump in backpackers after Into the Wild came out, and Reese Witherspoon is more of a "popular" actress, so I'm sure a lot of people saw Wild.
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Apr 21, 2015 02:05
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DholmbladRU posted:Not pack out trash, dump on the ground instead of burying it. That's not just bad for the environment, but dangerous for other hikers right? If a bear (or something) finds food, it tends to get territorial over the area, right?
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Apr 21, 2015 18:23
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T. J. Eckleburg posted:This was a while ago, but I have some suggestions for you. Definitely! The triple crown hike looks awesome - looks like the Salem AT parking lot is only about 2 hrs 15 from me. I'll probably try to just hit one of the three spots, so that I can do it on a Saturday/Sunday - and then maybe go back for the whole thing over Memorial Day weekend, assuming I can do it over two nights instead of three. Then again, looks like some of those ascents were pretty gnarly, may have to adjust the trip down a bit for 2 nights. Either way, definitely looking forward to seeing the Uwharrie writeup, it's only 1 hour from me (I'm in Greensboro, BTW) but I've never made it down there!
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Apr 22, 2015 15:52
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T. J. Eckleburg posted:Cool! yeah if you're in reasonable shape and don't have an ultra heavy pack, I think you could totally do the triple crown hike in 2 nights, as long as you got an early start on day 1. After all, we started Day 1 at 5pm and ended Day 4 at 2:30pm, so that's less than a whole day put together, if that makes sense. The only part that was really tough was between McAfee and Tinker Cliffs, and that had more to do with the way the trail was laid out (straight ups with no switchbacks) than the actual difficulty of the elevation. My husband is a weirdo and likes to massively overpack, and he kept up with me with a pack that weighed 53lbs when we left home. You can do it! Thanks for the motivation! I'll definitely give it a try
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Apr 22, 2015 18:09
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hailthefish posted:Considering the stuff sack calls it a "Copper Spur UL 3 mtnGLO", I suspect the lights came with. Yep, the lights come sewn in.
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Apr 29, 2015 13:25
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