Questions tagged [hiking]
Hiking is any outdoor walking activity - along trails or across unmarked wild country.
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How dangerous is it to rummage the ground in the mountains of Nevada desert with venomous creatures out there?
I made plans to do some hiking in the mountains of Nevada this weekend. I'll have someone there nearby and a hospital is an hour drive away. We thought it would be fun to uncover rocks and even dig ...
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Can microspikes replace crampons when crossing ice in summer?
When hiking in early summer I often come across patches of old snow. Till now I have managed to cross those by cutting my steps in the snow or walking around. And whenever I had my hiking sticks with ...
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Can a person picky about water taste use a hydration bladder?
I feel like I would find a hydration bladder extremely useful. Especially so when going on via ferratas or multipitch climbs. But even when doing simple hikes it would allow me to have a sip of water ...
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"Official" providers of topographic maps per country
If I want to go to some contry, with no specific region in mind yet, I often have trouble to get good topographical information for hiking beforehand. I usually find it rather difficult to discover ...
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How long can I trust the purity of water in a water bottle?
In the morning on day 1 of my multi-day hike I opened up a one liter plastic bottle of water and drank half the contents. I stored the bottle in a loop on the outside of my pack and promptly forgot ...
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Gear for slush-over-ice
I hike in all seasons and weathers. I love the old adage there is no bad weather only bad gear. My Kahtoola microspikes are excellent when there is hard ice on the trail. Turns a sheet of ice into a ...
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Are trades routes and/or mountain routes still used? [closed]
Some background:
I live in the western part of state of Maharashtra, India. The city of Pune is located on the Deccan Plateau.
Deccan plateau itself is huge. The western section of the plateau has a ...
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How to use DEET bug sprays if I have dogs?
DEET is very toxic to dogs. How can I use DEET-based sprays and not poison my dogs? (my dogs often lick me, and they can get poisoned)
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How to find water in thick tropical forests?
A couple of years ago, we hiked up to a place in the western ghats during the month of December (end of it). Which is actually the end of winter in the Indian subcontinent. The biggest problem we ...
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Are there any exercises that will strengthen my back to prepare for a day hike?
I will go hiking in 2 weeks. Are there any exercises for preparing for it, as last time I carried my pack on a hike for the whole day, my back started to hurt.
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How can I get a GPS location for this tree on a distant hillside?
I want to hike to the base of this tree (circled in red in the photo). That's a hillside full of full grown trees beneath it, and it looks like over a full tree's height sticking up above the other ...
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Is it easier for shorter people to walk the slopes of a mountain due to a lower center of gravity?
Apart from the obvious advantages of longer strides and reach, does a higher center of gravity make it more difficult for taller people to walk the slopes of a mountain? Or in other terms, do shorter ...
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Effective breathing techniques for high inclination, tougher hikes
I've come across a lot of articles talking of breathing techniques while running. However, I've not come across any which talks of breathing techniques for tough hikes (tough in terms of inclination ...
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Should one buy a higher shoe size while buying hiking shoes?
I've heard this multiple times from different people that while buying a hiking shoe, always go for one size larger than what fits you perfectly. The most recent one being a local store where I went ...
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Should one deliberately eat more and put on weight before going on long treks?
Recently I saw a podcast of Alex Honnold with Rich Roll where Alex speaks about deliberately eating up and gaining weight before going on an Antarctic expedition (I'm assuming this is because of the ...
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What is bog shoeing?
This question asks about bog-crossing grades of difficulty, and special equipment like bog shoes. What are bog shoes?
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Finnish maps: bogs easy vs hard to traverse
Bogs on my Lemmenjoki and Hammastunturi map are marked as either easy or hard to traverse. What conditions should I expect from both terrain types in summer (mid August)? Does easy mean one can walk ...
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What does status R mean regarding trail permits on the Mt Whitney lottery calendar?
I lost out on the Mt Whitney lottery--dates I was looking for now say R--does that mean I am out of luck or will some slots be available later, like in the April 1 access date?
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Where is the farthest I can get from civilization while staying in florida?
Yesterday I took my girlfriend with me on a random 40 minute ride to stop on the side of the road to stargaze near a farm. It was a lot of fun being away from the suburbs. I've never been camping ...
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Crossing small corners of a glacier when hiking in summer
I am planning to do a 3-day hike combined with multiple via ferratas this summer in the Brenta Dolomites in Italy. I haven't done the big research yet, but from looking at the (hiking) map I can see ...
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Hiking in Lappland in August - what about animals?
I'm planning to hike/wildcamp in finnish Lappland in August, in Viipustunturit and maybe also in Muotkatunturit.
Is there anything special that I should do about the local animals? E.g. in the ...
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3
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How can I prepare my body for a relatively hard hike?
I'm from Munich, Germany. There is a German highest mountain Zugspitze (2.962m) close to the city (2 hours with a train), and I want to climb it in spring. Base camp is 700m high.
There are a couple ...
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First time snow hiking
I will be going to a ski resort in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It’s also very popular for winter hiking and has a lot of routes set out. Because I can’t go skiing this year I’d like to do some hiking ...
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Do I still need to hang my food if I have two large dogs?
I have two large dogs - a German Shepherd and a Presa Canario. I hike alone with my dogs in black (not grizzly) bear country.
Do I still need to hang my food? Or will the three of us be able to ...
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What are the possible risks of exercising at high altitudes?
Are there any possible risks of exercising (body weight, calisthenics only) at high altitudes? I'm talking of altitudes above 4500m. The whole premise is not to lose muscle mass.
Background: I'll be ...
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At what wind speed is hiking considered unsafe
I have enough experience with mountain hiking, but in the area where I live (the Alps), the wind rarelly gets extremelly strong, so I have no idea about judging when it is actually unsafe to hike ...
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What are the busiest months for hiking in the New Hampshire Presidential Mountains?
I'm planning a 3 day hike (somewhere between early June and early September) in the New Hampshire's White Mountains, specifically the Presidentials.
I'd like to avoid the biggest crowds and would ...
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How did Viking era hikers carry their gear and provisions?
I'm interested in how Viking era1) hikers carried their gear and provisions while out and about on foot. My focus here would be longer walks in civilian life, e.g. to get from farm A to farm B. I.e. ...
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Are statistics about the frequency of crime actually useful in determining how safe a trail is?
We have a question here about how common assaults/crime happen to people hiking the Appalachian Trail which I have answered with basically all of the statistics I could find.
However it doesn't seem ...
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Is it unhealthy to wear minimal footwear?
A couple of friends and I have taken up hiking here in South Africa and they're pretty geared up with their ankle guards, and extreme hiking shoes and what not. They've got their hiking underwear and ...
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How do I make people not be afraid of me and my dogs?
I like to hike, and I have two large dogs (German Shepherd, Presa Canario).
After a long hike I look reasonably homeless (long hair, unshaven, muddy). Combined with two large, potentially dangerous ...
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I am researching the E4 path [closed]
Just a quick question, when hiking are there opportunities to work as you go? Just small cash-in-hand jobs or is it advised to save for a while before setting off?
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Combining a Frontpack with a Backpack while hiking
There is a current trend to carry babies in a pack on your front (Wikipedia does not show it but Google images has lots of hits 'front baby carrier')
If you are hiking with a backpack, is including a ...
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Carrying a bridge camera while hiking with a backpack
I'm looking for recommendations on how I can carry my Canon bridge camera while hiking, so that it doesn't get in the way too much but is easy to get to when I want to take a photo (typically of an ...
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As an outdoor beginner, what features in knife/tool combinations should I look for?
As an outdoor beginner, I was interested in some possible tool combinations for shorter outdoor hiking trips, say, 2-5 days.
From what little experience I have, I reckon that the most common tasks ...
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Can I visit Betatakin in mid-May?
The Navajo National Monument website notes that Betatakin can only be visited on a ranger-guided tour. It states that groups leave daily between May 27 and September 3, and cliff dwellings are closed ...
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Hiking with boots untied?
I recently came across a hiking boot maker with a front page photo showing someone walking off trail in ankle high boots that are untied.
Source
This seems to be a current fashion trend, and if you ...
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camping equipment testing if no yard [closed]
I am looking into getting camping equipment and doing so long term hiking. Haven't been camping in years. How would test my equipment if I live in the city? I would be hiking solo across the USA, How ...
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Mother is attempting full Appalachian Trail next year - how can I help her now and while she is doing it?
So backstory behind the title! My mother is in her late 40's and has decided that next year, starting in April, she is going to hike the full Appalachian Trail. Now I know next to nothing about the ...
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What first aid can be done for Crab Bite?
I occasionally hike in the Sahyadri ranges in Maharashtra (India).
During the rainy season there are a lot of crabs on the trail.
In case the crab bites, what are the first aid steps that can be taken?...
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What's a good overnight hiking loop in New England, within a 3 hour range of Boston?
We're looking for an overnight loop near the Boston area. I've checked out the Pemi Loop Hike in New Hampshire, but it's strenuous and we think it might be a little too much for the more novice ...
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What kind of baby carrier is best for use walking and climbing in the hills?
I'm going to be a Dad for the first time early next year. My wife and I are very active outdoorsy kind of people. I've started looking at a baby carrier so we can take our wee one out on short walks ...
user2766
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1
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How can I attach a patch to a nylon backpack?
I recently got my new Osprey Atmos 65, and I really want to attach some patches that I bought online. Will normal iron patches work or can I sew them on instead?
Will it damage the backpack?
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How best to condition oneself to do day hikes at an altitude peaking at 6,000 to 8,000 ft?
I have hiked in years past up to 12,000 ft but normally topped out around 8,000 ft when doing day hikes.
Problem is that I'm in my 60's, haven't hiked in 3 years and live at an altitude that tops out ...
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Is a full waterproof coat more important than waterproof trousers for hiking?
I've spent most of my working life outdoors (forestry mostly), but have not done much hiking, which I now intend to do. When working outdoors, my clothing consisted of a wool shirt and waxed cotton ...
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Want to climb highest mountains of most European country's, how and where to start? [closed]
As I am always looking for my next challenge I have decided that I want to reach the highest points in some of the European countries.
I am a pretty fit person and I went on some 3-4 day trips in the ...
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1
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How to improve the grip on my boots?
I've got a pair of Keen hiking boots that, at their best when brand new, never had a particularly good grip, and now, a few years later, have simply lost any grip to speak of. They are so slippery on ...
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How can I be sure that I'm ready to do the Three Peaks Challenge?
I'm going to be participating in the UK National Three Peaks Challenge at the end of next month. For those who are unaware; the Three Peaks consists of hiking the highest peak in England, Scotland and ...
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What are the best possible ways of indicating a 'closed' trail?
I live in a region where you have trails that are open any time of the year, some of the other trails are usable throughout the year except rainy (monsoon) season.
There are also rare cases of the ...
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What is this tree with a spiral shaped trunk in Massachusetts?
On a recent hike at the Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton, Massachusetts, my husband came across this tree.
The trunk is twisted in a spiral/curly fashion. It was in a forest of many other ...
