Backpacking

[MikeW]

Bear spray? Is this a relatively new thing? Never heard of it.

My experience with bears (California brown bears) is limited to the Yosemite high country. Up there the bear-bag trick does NOT work...



If they can't figure out which limb its on, they just start breaking them all off till they get the bag down. (Bears love toothpaste, BTW. o.O)

Bear cables work better:



But they're a pain in the ass to set up. Some campsites in the high country have them permanently in place.

One thing that works is a bear canister:



Of course they may play hockey with it all night long so you'll have go searching for your food when you wake up in the morning.

We're all such wimps. I swear, I don't know how humans survived, much less propagated, without bear spray and grocery stores.

[InbetweenDreams]

[MENTION=20947]MikeW[/MENTION] the reason why humans survived is because we outsmarted (most of the time) what would otherwise be predators.

Bear spray is basically pepper spray on steroids (unless you're being sarcastic and know what it is)...

I think hanging the food might not be a bad idea for over here, we just have smaller black bears. The only thing for me since I will on a somewhat primitive trail would be to find a suitable location with a large enough tree that a bear can just pull down or figure out to yank on the string...

Unfortunately I will have to set up whatever deterrent I will use...and I'm not a fan of heights so yeah I'll have to figure something out because that could become a problem.

[TwisttheLeaf]

GET the water purification tabs. Like the first aid kit, it's something you bring because if you need it, it could be a life-and-death situation..... and then have it along but hope you won't need it. In fact, you could add it to your first aid kit and if there's an emergency, they'll then be in the one thing you should be grabbing if you have to leave all your gear behind in a hurry.

After all.... think of this when you consider drinking straight from a stream. You never know what bear, mountain lion, racoon, or dog has just taken a shit (or died and is decomposing, for that matter) just up stream from you. You really want to drink THAT? The tabs might taste horrible, but they can save your life and weigh nothing.

Hanging the food is an excellent idea. And not right over your tent, please. MikeW's advice is spot on with all of that.

[SilverBullet]

Yeah, I agree with twisted leaf... I would definitely bring them and use them even though you should be safe with just the little filter you got (I personally would do both).
You DO NOT want to get sick on the trail days away from anywhere. Or at least have them if your filter breaks.

8$ and chlorine flavored water is a small price to pay vs explosive diarrhea, vomiting, limited toilet paper, dehydration and all the comforts of the miles of forest around you.
It will turn your trip into one of the worst experiences of your life, and it could possibly turn it into one of the last experiences of your life if your sick enough that your mobility is hindered.

Its one thing to eat cookie dough at home where your a phone call away from the hospital or family or friend. But on a multi day trip into a forest, take your health seriously and safe water should be about #1 on your list.

[LJay]

One of the very best resources on htis topic is The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. It is not new but well worth the effort to find.

Pay a LOT of attention to your feet. A bad decision can cripple you. SOCKS should not be cotton!!!! Get moleskin and know how to use it.

Think carefully about raingear. Oddly enough, I have even used an umbrella while hiking in the Apalachians because soe much dampness condeses under raingear. Ponchos are wise.

Study food. If you can afford it Mountain House and the like are great but the grocery store has a lot to offer.

Forget the sterno. It is not hot enough to get water boiled as quickly as you need it and carrying enough to do the job is a heavy propsition. Look in the REI catalog for a lightweight gas stove. You can use it for the bike, too.

Carry a Swiss Army knfie such as the Climber model.

I have done a lot of backpacking in our neck of the woods--Virginia and North Carolina--and I could go on for pages. PM me if you have questions.

[InbetweenDreams]

One of the very best resources on htis topic is The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. It is not new but well worth the effort to find.

Pay a LOT of attention to your feet. A bad decision can cripple you. SOCKS should not be cotton!!!! Get moleskin and know how to use it.

Think carefully about raingear. Oddly enough, I have even used an umbrella while hiking in the Apalachians because soe much dampness condeses under raingear. Ponchos are wise.

Study food. If you can afford it Mountain House and the like are great but the grocery store has a lot to offer.

Forget the sterno. It is not hot enough to get water boiled as quickly as you need it and carrying enough to do the job is a heavy propsition. Look in the REI catalog for a lightweight gas stove. You can use it for the bike, too.

Carry a Swiss Army knfie such as the Climber model.

I have done a lot of backpacking in our neck of the woods--Virginia and North Carolina--and I could go on for pages. PM me if you have questions.

I just tried out the sterno stove and yeah I can tell it would be under powered for boiling a pot of water. It was good enough to boil about 350-400 mL of water in about 15~ minutes but if I had an entire liter I would probably still be waiting. What I do think though is I ought to collect some dryer lint and could use some of the sterno fuel...which is condensed alcohol...and easily start a campfire...once going just park the stove over the fire and problem solved. I do have a larger gas stove I originally bought but probably a bit big for backpacking...I'll have to see about packing it in and see how it does...it is a bit heavy with the case and fuel about 5 lbs.

The Mountain House Beef Stroganoff was ok, I probably didn't wait quite long enough as it was a bit crunchy.

Well I guess some utility rope is in order and some practice doing that... I figure anything that has a noticable scent... [MENTION=20947]MikeW[/MENTION] mentioned toothpaste... Hopefully bug spray isn't one of them.
[MENTION=20933]LJay[/MENTION] love to hear more... Not sure if you have heard of Fires Creek, it is located in the Tusquittee Ranger District... I will be doing the hike there, called the Rim Trail....

[LJay]

[MENTION=23180]axle2152[/MENTION], well one thing to consider is the kitchen. Mine consists of a small pot--about 1.5 qts., a tea kettle that holds about a quart (see REI), a Sierra cup or similar cup which is your only dish, and a lightweight spoon that serves for cooking and eating. I also carry a very small pair of gashouse pliers, about four inches long. They are your grippers for the bail on the hot kettle or pot and generally handy. You boil water in the tea kettle for tea, coffee or dehydrated meals and then eat out of the cup while more water is boiling. Eat all of your meal, scraping the cup as clean as possible. Then fill the cup about a third full with boiling water and scrape all the food off the cup. By this time the water has cooled enough that you drink it. Yum. then you do a final rinse with more hot water. Cool it and drink it. This way you are not wasting water and also not throwing smelly food residue around to attract critters. In the morning you just boil the kettle again for oatmeal and go through the same routine again.

Select your food in terms of high carb content as you will be burning a lot while hiking. Also be highly conscious of the weight of both food and packaging, as well as whether the packaging will be messy after use. You should pack out what you pack in. No burning of packaging or garbage...see eat ALL of your meal above. Snack on gorp--mixture of M&M's, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, etc. This is not the time to diet. Long distance packers eat a lot of food and often lose weight at the same time.

The use of a lightweight stove makes cooking speedier and getting that cup of hot broth possible right away after you stop. essentially cooking is centered around boiling ater and maybe making some sort of glop you learn to call stew because stew tastes better than glop. The stove also precludes the building of campfires which, while charming is some cases, can be dangerous and certainly use up the natural fuels that should be left as part of the ecosystem to do as they were intended, that is, to recycle themselves by rotting. As for water containers, I use a collapsible water bag that holds up to about two gallons and slops around in the top of the back. I also have a one-quart Nalgene bottle to use as a canteen. Also have a water filtration system what will filter up to 13,000 gallons of mud puddle if necessary. You may want something simpler. Study REI for suggestions.

You really need a very lightweight two man tent because you need to shelter your pack also. The tent needs a groundcloth to protect its floor and a fly to shield from rain. Do not dig a trench around the tent. Learn to pitch the tent where puddling is not likely. If you really do get into a situation where you must trench when the rain comes, you will be doing it in the dark and in one hellof a hurry because your naked little self will have emerged from the tent and will be getting wet.

Speaking of wet, remember to carry one or three all purpose bandannas which serve as everything from towel to headband to kerchiefs to hats to whatever. A hot bath consists of dampening the bandanna and sponging one region at a time to remove sweaty grime. Then rinse and move to next area. At the end of the process put one drop of soap on bandanna and slosh with water dribbled from pot until you consider it clean (prayer helps here) and then stretch it out to day. Bandannas wash easily in available water, dry quickly and come in bright colors so that you can play butterfly when no one is looking.

Sleeping?> I have a lightweight down bag that has served me well for more than 40 years. [Lesson: Buy quality. Cheap is not desirable when you are depending on it all alone in the outdoors. In a warm Eastern summer I might carry just a flannel sheet or two. If it gets cold you put on everything you have and get warm. If it is warm you take off everything and sleep cool and comfy. Story: A beloved friend who was a wonderful camper and canoeist was once helping a crew get ready for a trip. Someone asked, "What do you do if your sleepng bag gets wet?" His reply was, "My sleeping bag doesn't get wet." End of discussion. He would get out of the bag, put it into a waterproof cover and cradle it in his arms while huddling over it before he let it get wet because he knew what it meant to need dry warmth in an emergency. His canoe also never overturned. And that's the facts, Jack!

Flashlight. Get a good one, like a MagLite that uses two AA batteries and carry extra batteries and extra bulbs. These lights can be held between the teeth, which is surprisingly necessary when setting up a campsite when you misjudge the mountain sunset. if you are using shelters you can carry a tealight to place in your metal Sierra cup and use for general illumination at night. I have saved aluminum syrup cups from restaurants and put a votive candle in them to make a sort of super-tealight. Was once in a shelter with a couple who had the cutest little lantern you ever saw. They fussed with it for about twenty minutes and could not get it alight. I pulled out my syrup cup and votive and made them hate me instantly. Oh, matches in waterproof container. Bic lighter in something that will not allow its trigger to depress and lose all the gas.

Soap: biodegradable, probably from REI, and carried in a very small bottle. It is used in quantities of one drop when necessary. I had a 16-ounce bottle that lasted more than a decade.

Socks. I like medium weight wool athletic socks worn over a pair of wool dress socks. Cotton sucks the bawanga. It gets wet and stays damp, then it rubs blisters, then it is hard to et dry. No cotton. Wool wicks moisture and retains some loft even when wet. A friend who worked on a road crew fought me when I said get wool. After he finally tried it while working on asphalt in 95 degree weather he was flabbergasted at how well his feet felt at the end of the day. Change socks when you rest. Air dry them by tying them to your pack and rotate accordingly. No one said that backpacking was a Downy-Fresh experience.

Walking stick: Find a piece of seasoned bamboo if you can and bind the end with waterproof glue and heavy thread to prevent splitting.

Hat: If someone will give you a castoff wool fedora, grab it. Wool will shed water and works even when wet. Once went through a 17-day rain in summer camp with my treasured red wool hat that looks like something Gandalf would wear. I was the only one in camp with a dry head, If you ever visit Colonial Williamsburg they offer (at a price!)_ souvenir three cornered hats that work very well. Nice wool felt. You fold down the brim and look like an 18th-century seaman.

Oh yeah, don't forget that you need to keep your pack dry while walking. Look for a good rain cover, often made by the pack maker and/or a packpacker's poncho. contemplate , as you reel at the cost, the joy of rainwater dripping down between you and the pack as you hike.

Clothing: Best avoided but we live in a strange world. In EAstern woods, nettles and poison ivy are not uncommon. I like wearing a paif or syntetic (likce dacron) khakis. They dont hold water, are breatheable, and shield the legs. They also dry fairly fast. Since most packs have a waistbelt avoid complicating the situation by wearing a belt. Pants as reccomended can often be spotted on old men while they mow the yard. If you con't want to mug one and steal his pants, look at WalMart, I guess. Carry a lightweight long-sleeved shirt of similar material as the pants to shiek arms from nettles, sun, bugs and arm fetishists. T-shirts are almost inevitably cotton, but look for something less water retentive. Good luck. In cooler weather try a long or short-sleeved hermal underwear shirt that is designed to wick away moisture., Full suits of long-sleeved fishnet long johns are available and youcan make a hit with them if you wear a bright red jock underneath. {NO, I have NOT! A set of super light thermal underwear is a really great basic layer. You shold plan on paying more that you thought possible for it. Kerchief: See bandanna, but those Cub Scout neckerchief slides are tacky. One of the most valuable things I own is a medium weight wool shirt with full-cut long sleeves. Try and find one with a long tail. All the wicking and warmth qualities of wool in a garment that could save your life as a layer in your wardrobe.

Bears: I am not one for advice other than to laud MikeW's cable idea above and to say that I have heard that wearing a cowbell or rigging ou cookng spoon and Sierra cup to function similarly may help to warm them away. I don't know much at all about ears except to knw that they are completly unpredictable and that when I have seen them in the woods I have become vewwy, vewwy, vewwy still and vewwey, vewwy, vewwy quiet while keeping distance and letting the bear do whatever it wanted. They just wandered away. After I while I did humbly likewise.

Get maps. Talk to rangers. Study weather.

It is time for dinner so I must go, but I hope this helps a bit. Ask about anything. Really. Please forgive typos.

[Camfer]

Hey Ax you should try convincing LJay to go with you!

[LJay]

[MENTION=23180]axle2152[/MENTION], forgot parachute cord--the lightweight rope of champions--two balls required and pun intended, one of 100 feet for the bear cble rig and one of 59 feet for other things. Try never to cut them. Ends sealed with your handy Bic, of course. the shorter ball is great for tarp rigging which is a fun thing to do if you pitch camp early and want to waste time being a back country architect. In the right situation a tarp with a peak about three to four feet high and open sides about 6 inches from the ground is a really comfortable shelter with nice ventilation and a view into the night.

[InbetweenDreams]

[MENTION=20933]LJay[/MENTION]

Here's everything I have got, some items you may gawk at but at the time they made sense...Maybe I should have a yard sale. Seems I have a lot of failed ideas and hobbies...

I have a 47 liter backpack. I have been able to, so far, fit everything I have inside it or use carabiners.
I have a 1 person tent which while a bit cozy should fit my pack inside. I will need to test this to be sure.
I have a folding sleep mat.
I have a sleeping bag which is rated to 40 degrees...I don't at this point plan on doing any cold weather camping.
I have a cookset which consists of a pot and several bowls and 2 sporks.
I have 2 stoves...
One is like this... http://www.webstaurantstore.com/1-burner...E10SL.html It works well but is pretty large, probably too large to pack?
The other one is the sterno stove I gave a test run last night....



The folding stove takes a lot less room and carrying a couple cans isn't a bad idea when making a campfire isn't happening, say it is very wet and there aren't any pine trees with dead limbs to snap off...

I have a Sayer mini water filter, good for 100,000 gallons and removes bacteria/protozoa. I will get water tablets as a backup.

I have a 2Liter hydration baller (my camelbak) and a 1 liter water bottle... So I will be able to start off with 3 liters roughly of fresh water.

I have 2 light sources (not including my phone...that would be an ultimate last resort). I have a 250 lumen flashlight and a headlamp which I think is rated at 50.

I have 2 lighters, one is a butane lighter, very effective as it is wind resistant and is a regular bic.

I have trekking sticks. I have yet to use them, plan on doing so, figured they would be useful on steep grades.

I do have a pair of boot I plan to use, will have to look at socks as I am pretty certain all of mine have some amount of cotton.

I have some wipes, I forgot the name and brand but they contain alcohol among other things in a resealable pack. Plan on bringing a trowel and TP. Also, speaking of things not being Downy fresh, I literally did lookup how to take a shit in the woods, yeah there is a wrong way...last thing anyone wants to do is step in someone else's shit. However I read that it is recommended to keep your used TP in a ziplock bag, some recommend using baking soda or powdered bleach to reduce the odor...

May need to look into getting a hat or as [MENTION=20941]Camfer[/MENTION] recommended a bug veil.

Also considering a pair of binoculars, for sight seeing mostly although I suspect there would be other uses as well.

Let's just say my pack will be full lol