Hot answers tagged backpacking
19
Your legs aren't as sensitive to temperture extremes. Right now it's winter here and I'm walking around outside with a regular shirt, a wool sweater, and a wind breaker on my torso. Inside I take off the windbreaker an sweater. However, inside or outside, I'm wearing the same single-layer pants and it's not a problem. My legs don't feel hot inside or ...
14
I see three priorities:
Make sure no one gets hurt
Make sure possessions needed for survival (food, tents) are not destroyed
Make sure the fire doesn't spread further and become a forest fire
If the campsite you're using is an officially-sanctioned one, this last is probably the least likely to be a problem. You have a large group of people, so you can ...
11
Cheese:
Long time. Especially hard cheeses. You can just cut any mold off the edge that might creep up. Cheeses sealed in cheese wax (gouda) are a good bet.
I've had extra-sharp cheddar un-refrigerated in the AZ desert for 8+ days, in the rocky mountains for 15+ days with no issues (aside from sweat.)
Blocks last longer than a pile of shredded cheese.
Be ...
11
Generally I find a three person tent small and light enough that you don't need to split it up when backpacking - indeed I find it's much less hassle to keep it all in one place so when you come to put it up, you know exactly where everything is.
Instead, I'd advocate balancing the weight via other means - distributing food differently is probably the ...
10
A recent article on The Out Side Out blog by Reiner Thoni ("Fast and Light" Plant Based Nutrition for Mountaineering) has quite a bit of detail on this, and goes well into the details of a balanced diet and some options for variety.
The following is quoted verbatim:
Carbohydrates - replacing the glycogen reserves - 4cal/gram
Lets start with ...
10
I am not a doctor, so I can only repeat what I think I understood from lectures by those that do have medical training.
I'm pretty sure I remember Dr Murray Hamlett (I highly recommend attending one of his lectures, if he's still doing them. He is not only a leader and pioneer in cold weather medicine, but also a very good and engaging speaker.) saying to ...
9
The trekking pole should make a 90 degree angle with your elbow. This will be your reference setting that you might want change when:
Going up a hill where you will reduce the length (helps you advance)
Going down a hill where will increase the length (helps slow down or stabilize)
For more information, I found this great image here
9
I'm not sure why pants don't receive the same attention but the layers are available.
You can easily find base, insulating, and shell layers.
Olin's answer gives some good reasons layering pants may not seem as common. In reply:
(2) There are full-side-zip pants for mountaineers (crampons) and wide-opening pants for skiers/boarders and regular boots.
...
9
I haven't tried it, but it looks ridiculous. If you are going to be hiking on flat and mildly rough terrain, why not get a bike with a lot of panniers.
This provides for the same carrying capacity (maybe up to 40 kg).
Probably will be less expensive than the trailer.
There is an obvious advantage when going flat or downhill.
Bikes have larger wheels than ...
9
The two products have some commonality of use but a different focus. Both have their place.
Soap is good for many things.
Sanitiser is an excellent companion when squatty toilets or dead animals in your water supply must be dealt with - read on ...
Soap is used (as I know, you know) for cleaning - it removes contaminants that are hard or essentially ...
8
This has now been brought up on skeptics.stackexchange.com.
Presumably you were looking at the contraindication for before surgery:
Not recommended for:
Upcoming Surgical Procedure
Large amounts of garlic may increase the risk of bleeding by thinning your blood.
Thinning the blood like that is precisely the same effect that makes it ...
8
Here's a few, some are mentioned in comments but I figure I would elaborate.
Clothes This was mentioned and you noted it wasn't particularly worthwhile on a shorter trip because you don't have many clothes. I typically go ultralight, so my spare clothes are close to nothing but I always have some sort of insulation (unless it's going to be 70+ degrees the ...
8
nope
yep (actually, yellow, not purple, thanks Clare)
Not in my experience, but I use clarifiers which remove the flavor in the water.
Also to clarify from comments, we did this for years before we started carrying a filter and it never damaged our containers. The plastic probably gets more damage from the sunlight caught during hiking than from the ...
8
I would say... never.
What is a tarp but something that keeps precipitation off of you. In humid summer months, sure, condensation can cause precipitation under the tarp, but in winter, this is not so much a concern, and you can pitch it lower to the ground. You might get frost inside - but just shake it off when you pack up.
Tents provide a few degrees ...
8
I do deliberate trail maintenence regularly, and unfortunately what you can do is severly limited if you want to do it casually while only carrying something small.
There is no set of tools you can reasonably carry, even if you go out only for that purpose, that will cover more than maybe 3/4 of the problems you find. My preferred weapons for deliberate ...
8
When I get to the "simmer" part of cooking on the Whisperlite, I take the pot off the stove, put the lid on, and wrap it in a towel including underneath and on top. Whatever I am cooking will stay simmery for at least 20-30 minutes that way. It's great for making a sauce with dehydrated ingredients. While the sauce is sitting aside staying hot, I can cook ...
8
"Fast pack" refers to setting up a tent with just the fly, tent poles, and usually a groundsheet. You leave the inner body behind. For example, here are the fast pack instructions for the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 tent, which is designed for this setup.
Fast packing saves a significant amount of weight, but makes you more vulnerable to insects and cold.
A ...
8
A fuller history: They are were approved for a few years (2004-2007) for use in Yosemite, which is a proving ground for bear-resistant containers. In 2007 I believe there were a couple incidents where bears were able to puncture an Ursack and "suck" food out of it. This led Yosemite to ban them from the park (and ultimately some other national parks ...
7
My favorite for this is Clear Duct Tape. Put down one piece of tape, write on it with your permanent marker, and put another layer on top of it. You don't have to worry about the ink rubbing off and if you change what's in it you can swap tape easily.
7
I'll answer a question in the comments:
I will be curious to know what is the average amount of Co2 produced by a stove vs the average amount of co2 generated by human breathing. My guess would be that stove will win but I heard of people suffocate in closed cars while sleeping
To make things simple, lets assume assume your body burns 2,600 ...
7
Peanut butter has good calories. Dried beans are good too though they take a long time to prep and cook. You can home dry any vegetable - carrots, tomatoes, corn, mushrooms etc. I also take tomato leathers - mix canned tomato sauce and paste then prep like a fruit leather - and add to boiling water to make tomato sauce. I believe you can also buy dried TVP ...
7
In addition to great strategy advice by Kate Gregory and berry120, there are some technical points.
Take a deep breath
If there is no immediate health/life risk, take a deep breath and think a little. 1-5 minutes of planning beforehead will help you do important things first, and avoid doing unnecessary or dangerous things.
At this time, you will decide, ...
6
I am not really an expert in winter camping but I do live in the northern part of the Appalachians. You should base your decision on the following criteria:
Snow: what is the amount of snow that you could expect in one day? If it is more than 10 cm, you should probably choose a 4 seasons tent because snow accumulation can make a roof collapse
Winds: will ...
6
There are relatively well known steps to dealing with this out in the wilds. One online resource with pictures is at Backpacker Magazine.
The basic steps (that are detailed there) are:
Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (which you should do with any sprain, wherever you are)
Bandage reasonably tightly - not so tight that you cut off circulation, but ...
6
Yes you can. And more to the point, you should (save weight, and leave no trace).
I have not found a backpacking cooking mess that could not be cleaned with a combination of (in this order):
Tongue
Finger
Water + Finger (drink it -- truly "Leave No Trace" (its not as bad as you think))
Snow (when available)
Pine Needles / plant leaves / grass stalks / ...
6
I use a film canister for salt when backpacking. I have had people tell me that same story about poisons leaching from the plastic into the food, but nobody is able to substantiate that. The canisters I have are labeled HDPE (high density polyethelene). Plenty of food-touching things are made from HDPE, so that by itself shouldn't be a issue. Of course ...
6
Nylon, among other synthetics, is an ideal material for clothing for most outdoor pursuits for several reasons. I will use the example of cotton as the traditional fabric for comparison:
Durability: Nylon itself can come in several varieties, some of which are more durable than others due to different weights and weaves. The fabric can handle abrasion, ...
6
I believe that the best material is the same as you backpack is made of, though you may want something tougher if you are planning more scrambling over granite boulders.
There is a plenty of Cordura varieties which will meet your requirements. Make sure to choose waterproof Cordura (with a waterproof glistening film on one side, which will be the inner side ...
6
See the llamas looking at them weirdly at 2:10? That's because the llamas know how ridiculous it is!
I'm not just referring to how it looks, I'm referring to the fact that in anything other than nice terrain it just doesn't look like it'll work. Fancy pulling that through a marsh? Even assuming the ground is solid (big assumption in the wilderness) the ...
6
Compare the size of those wheels with the size of the wheels of outdoor vehicles, and you'll see that such small wheels can't work well in hard terrain!
Probably even on dry meadow the energy you'll have to use to drag that device, which will constantly catch on blades of grass and other plants, would be much more than that you'll use to carry a backpack.
...
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