Backpacking/Backcounty Camping

[NiteTiger]

I'd be down there tomorrow, but I don't have $$$! Gots ta work.... trips gonna have to wait until summer break.....

Yeah the pacific trails would be nuts! The apalacians are nice and rounded off at least....

Yeah, the family and I were going to go car camping this weeked ( ), just to get them used to the whole idea. Remember, she's never slept in a tent. Then she pointed out the forecast called for the temps to drop to the low 30s upper 20s. When I replied 'So? That's what they make 15 degree bags for', I got a look that would have dropped a mule at 50 paces.

So, I've got to wait for warmer weather myself.

Oh yeah, and I gotta scrounge the cash to buy the equipment

 

[pipeline]

Haha! Yeah women aren't as into the this is cool cuz we're "roughing it" deal...... I love it personally! I camped in Nov in some upper 20's-lower 30's weather! Its really nice actually! You would have a good time I guarantee it. If you went this weekend, and brought plenty of so co and ganja, the wife shouldn't be complaining a bit! But ya never know.... she's never been out before..... gonna be a special nite.... tiger....

 

[Guest]

EDIT:
NiteTiger lemme know how the trip turns out.....

 

[pipeline]

Dr. Bronner's biodegradable hemp oil soap!!!!!!

http://www.drbronner.com/sun_story.html

I wouldn't take a hatchet.... too much weight

 

[The Uncola]

NT- I finally got a new bag after some 8+~years of the old polar guard warrior. The stove I use is an MSR that uses unleaded gas. It would probably function with ETOH as well.

The guy who did the whole PCT also did the AT a year or so earlier. Although it was 1970, he never mentions Viet Nam once. He was planning on starting College in Denver so maybe he was promised deferments?? He did it totally solo too. It sounded like he survived mainly on what he brought. He lost huge weight. Not that he was fat to begin with.

When I get out to Northern CA- I want to hit up Lassen Volcanic. Gotta see that "Bumpass Hell".

 

[Guest]

NiteTiger

I've done a crap load of backpacking. My advise for you would be this: Maybe one of the most important pieces of equipment is what you put on your feet. Whatever kind of boots/shoes you wear make sure they are comfortable & well broken in. Blisters on your feet suck like you can't believe!!! I always pre-wrap my feet with Moleskin or some such thing to prevent them.......& wear at least 2 pairs of socks.

Most interesting place to backpack...........the Grand Canyon......but, you better be really, really fit. hahaha

Have fun!

Bh

 

[pipeline]

The fact that someone else has done somethin like that solo makes me want to go down there on my own for a couple days just to even up with reality......

 

[pipeline]

Yeah Bipedalhominid! First time I went backpacking, I had way too much weight, and was wearing Columbia winter boots! Big mistake!

 

[NiteTiger]

Awesome list Ketchup!

Mirrors the one I put together almost exactly, except I substituted a candle lantern for the glow sticks, and the dehydrated meals. Those I'm gonna make myself (http://freezerbagcooking.com)

Although, I'll admit I'd left off toilet paper

Pipe - Ah yes, can't forget the Doc Bronners Although, I will have to change the so co and ganj - she does neither :smile: A bottle of White Zin would make a warm night indeed though

Uncola- I was looking at some MSR gear the other day, seemed like top notch stuff. Has it worked out well for you?


Oh, and here's a teaser of the NG Topo Program. Bet this will make you run off to your favorite torrent site (it's how I got it). A nice little hike... Note the profile at the bottom :wink:

 

[NiteTiger]

BPH, awesome info! I never thought of prewrapping with the moleskin!

I have learned the importance of good foot gear though - I worked as a 'Safety Ranger' in a shitty little commercial park we have down here. They shut down everything but the amusement area and RV camp, and it was my job to walk the rest of the 300 acres of hills to make sure no one went out of bounds and got hurt. 12 hour shifts. About two months in they gave me a wal mart bike though

Learned really really fast about foot gear Wish I'd known about moleskin back then

I'll bet the Grand Canyon ROCKS! But I got a looong way to go before I can even think about something like that - but it'll make a hell of a goal.

Something tells me I'm gonna be losing a lot of weight this summer

 

[The Uncola]

I've been to the GC a couple of times. Road tripping all the way from Indiana on college spring break. Gas wasn't $2.50+ though.....

MSR's are pretty decent. Cheap to operate since no buying cannisters. I have found tennies to be better than big hiking boots. The blisters I got with hiking boots were nasty and some of my friends fared worse. I don't think I had the best fit but still.
Grand Canyon is amazing. There is clear water some places on the Colorado with nice beaches. The feeling of timelessness is overwhelming. Huge boulders scattered around. Perfect stoner landscape.

I have TOPO maps on CD of most of CO and some of MT and WA. I can stare at those things for hours.

Making jerky for the trip is always good fun. Granola and M+M's.........

 

[Supacalabala]

Hey do you guys know any good sites that help you find trails in your state??
Besides this one.
http://backpacker.trimbleoutdoors.com/backpacker/home.aspx

 

[NiteTiger]

Holy crap, that is absolutely GORGEOUS!

Gonna have to get that info from ya when I get the cash together to make the trip. Unfortunately it'll be quite a while though

Glad you like the freezer bag cooking! Lots of good info on there, and the book he sells just rocks. Be eating like a gourmand in the back country while everyone else is cursing

Been playing with the dehydrator to get my steaks out into the backcountry, but I haven't quite perfected it. Always some tiny bit of fat in there that makes it go rancid in the pack Though, looking at freezer bag cooking gave me some great ideas.

Trying to get a good steak done in a pressure cooker is a bit of a challenge though

 

[The Uncola]

Awesome! Looks like Sequoia or Kings Canyon area somewhere.

 

[trichomefarmer]

I havent seen anyone mention notification.
Always make sure someone knows you are going on a hike/camping and a rough idea of your destination and when you expect to be back.

Hiking in Switzerland is fun there always seems to be a nice little restaurant at the top.

 

[NiteTiger]

Great point TF! For the trips into the Smokies, you have to submit a detailed itinerary of what trails you're taking, where you intend to make camp, and how long you expect to be gone to get your backcountry permit.

On top of that, my mother will be dropping us off and picking us up, and she'll have a printed copy of the map with the route marked from the Topo program.

Plus, she's naturally a bit anxious about me taking her grandkids out into the woods for 'days on end'. If we're so much as 15 minutes late getting back to the trailhead, she'll probably already have harassed 8 rangers into early retirement and have a helicopter on standby

I'll have to take you up on that Swiss hiking offer when I become independently wealthy :wink:

 

[NiteTiger]

Guess what I did Sunday? Finally got the family out on a camping trip! We only did a little car camping, since I was the only one who'd ever been camping before. Kinda had to ease the kids and the wife into it, y'know?

It ruled, even when the temps at night dropped down to about 36F. Wife got all nervous about how cold it was, and that our sleeping bags were 'summer weight', only rated down to 45F. Then I showed her that I did, indeed, know what I was doing, and whipped out the cheapo fleece sleeping bags we got at WalMart. She was a bit confused, until I showed her how to use them as a liner for the 45 degree bags, and increase they're rating by about 20 degrees

So, everyone was happy and warm in their sleeping bags, and slept great - except for me of course. For me, it was like sleeping with a bunch of demented jack-in-the-boxes; every five minutes, one of them would pop up "what was that?!"

One time I had to lie to them though. About 3 am, a coyote decided to cut loose with a good long howl not too far away from us, and all three jack-in-the-boxes popped "WHAT WAS THAT?!" I told them it sounded like a siren, probably just the ranger pulling someone over

There was no way in hell I was telling them it was a howl at that time of night The Mrs. woulda been okay, but the boys I'm less sure about

Then we got up in the morning, had breakfast, broke down the tent, then hiked 4 miles out to one of the backcountry sites that we're planning on using next time, and everyone had a blast. We got to see part of the forest along a lake that a beaver had been working on, and the kids thought that was the coolest thing, until we got to see his dam - then that was the coolest thing

All in all, a great trip, and the kids didn't even realize they'd hiked 8 miles they had so much fun. A great start to our camping season, which, for the most part, will be backcountry from here on out

My wife even made the comment that she wished that my prescription meds weren't the only meds I had. How cool is that shit?!

Plus, it looks like I was right - those 6 mile trips will be no problem. In fact, the wife has taken a keen interest in those 'advanced' 12 and 15 mile hikes I had laid out.

 

[Guest]

It sounds like you have your work cut out for you, good luck.

 

[trichomefarmer]

nice tiger

woohoo

 

[Guest]

For me, it was like sleeping with a bunch of demented jack-in-the-boxes; every five minutes, one of them would pop up "what was that?!"

LOL!