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Post by xiaolichen1988 on Nov 14, 2015 1:21:29 GMT -8
Hello every one, just have few questions come to my mind. I am curious about what was everyone's best backpacking experience? why and where? I think maybe i can found out a lot of to go list for my future trip. also do you think which factor is more concerns you when you pack your backpack? comfort or weight ? will you sacrifice your comfort for less weight? Did you bring any " luxury" item with you? what is that? and why? I am kind of used to go backpacking solo, but curious about what is other people's experiences and what do they bring for comfort or entertainment . Thank you in advance.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Nov 14, 2015 4:05:03 GMT -8
Only thing I bring that might be considered comfort is a pair of camp shoes. I have hiked with some that bring a camp chair.
My best trip was in the Grand Canyon. I have hiked there many times, more than 10, and it always amazes me. The scenery is wondrous, and I am in awe nearly every step. One nice hike for Canyon first timers is down Hermit and across to Indian Gardens. Camping at Hermit Creek allows for running water, and a cooling foot bath.
Nowadays, I seem to hike more in the Yosemite area, as the water is more available. Too many hikes in the Canyon require me to carry a gallon or more, so the weight adds up. In Yosemite, I like the Kerrick - Matterhorn loop in the North section of then park, and the Red Peak Pass loop in the southern portion. Lots of choices, but those are 2 that will give a hiker a nice idea of what the park can offer.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2015 4:07:29 GMT -8
What has been my best backpacking experience? Why and where?
Which concerns me more when packing my backpack — comfort or weight? Will I sacrifice comfort for less weight?
Have I taken any "luxury" item with me? What is it and why have I taken it?
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Nov 14, 2015 4:50:33 GMT -8
which factor is more concerns you when you pack your backpack? comfort or weight ? will you sacrifice your comfort for less weight? Did you bring any " luxury" item with you? what is that? and why? I have pared my weight down to be in the true ultralight category, yet I feel I haven't sacrificed any comfort. A lot of that is to really look at the definition of what is "comfortable" to you. For me, the more I thought about it and analyzed what I actually need, the more I realized that many things are superfluous. In my mind I started breaking down just what activities I am doing while backpacking and gauging what I need for each. For the most part, I'm just walking, and for that I've found that the lightest load also provides the most comfort. I actually have found "lighter" and "comfortable" align rather than compete -- trail runners are much more comfortable for me than boots, for example. The category that takes the second most amount of time is sleeping, and for that I do have some "luxuries" for comfort, because a good night's sleep is essential for a good day on the trail, but have found ways to do that and still be ultralight. I use a NeoAir XLite air mattress and a pillow system, with these I am very comfortable and I'm adding only about 6 ounces over a foam pad and using my shoes as a pillow. A chair for in camp would be nice, but then again I'm fine to sit on a rock or fallen tree with a bit of padding underneath me, or for about the same weight I can carry a bear canister (or in some places I'm required to) and can sit on that. A caveat to all this is that I do most of my backpacking in the summer and shoulder seasons when daylight is long and I hike for as many daylight hours as I can, and most of the time I spend in camp is sleeping -- there's hardly any time left for anything else beyond pitching the tarp in the evening, breaking camp in the morning, and cooking/eating. If you spend more awake time in camp during the longer dark hours of winter then a bit more comfort items could make sense.
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Nov 14, 2015 4:53:38 GMT -8
To a Native American of 200 years ago, almost everything I take would be a luxury item. A Bic lighter, a knife, a piece of chocolate, light-weight boots, a warm sleeping bag — it's all luxury. But in terms of modern life, no, I don't think I take any real luxury items. My gear is all fairly basic. Well put, I agree.
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Post by burntfoot on Nov 14, 2015 8:44:09 GMT -8
Best backpacking for me was the 6 months I spent on the PCT, away from human contact for days at a time in some cases. And, 6 months before looking for my first real job. If I were you, I would head for mountain or wilderness areas almost anywhere throughout the western part of the United States. Yes, I'd sacrifice comfort for weight. I have not taken anything that others would consider a luxury item.
By the way, I am assuming that you are talking about wilderness backpacking away from civilization.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 14, 2015 9:19:29 GMT -8
By the way, I am assuming that you are talking about wilderness backpacking away from civilization. She is. I have quite a few "best" backpacking trips. Some are wonderful because of the family memories--the first time we were able to do multiple nights with our boys and no help (they were 4 & 5). But the ones that were great in their own right, so to speak... --going way back, in 1990 when I was 27, I hiked the PCT from Canada to US 2 (about 2 weeks). It's through amazing country, but I also loved the feeling of just walking a really long way. That was a solo hike, before I met my husband. --The Pariah River in Utah. Amazing look into the Canyon Country, though it is much more heavily used now and hard to get a permit :( We did it in 1995. --The Wind River trip we did in 2012--see description here: www.ninjalibrarian.com/2012/08/wild-walking-in-winds-part-one.html--and two recent trips to the Evolution Valley area in the Sierra. --that doesn't include the international trips we've done to New Zealand and Peru, both of which including hikes that were mind-blowing. For me, packing is always a balancing act between comfort and weight, especially since pack weight weight directly impacts comfort! I've been happy that we've been able to upgrade gear and improve planning to allow for lighter packs while still having more clothes than many take (warm stuff--I don't like being cold!), and sleeping comfortably (usually). I do bring a few things at least some people will call luxuries. The chair kit (converts sleeping pad to chair) is definitely a luxury. Camp shoes and fleece pants are at least sort of luxury, and many would say the same about a 1-lb camera, though for me those are all necessary. Ditto for the journal and the ereader (I like to read and write in camp; we seldom hike for more than 5 or 6 hours out of a day, usually stopping around 1 or 2 p.m. to bathe, nap, and relax). I guess that tells you some of what I like to do in camp, too--I like to wash up after each day's hike, and rinse my hiking clothes. I like a nap, and I keep a journal, which I sometimes illustrate with pencil sketches or, if I'm REALLY hauling extras, water colors. And I read. How often at home do I get to lie in bed and read for a couple of hours? Love to have a book on a rainy afternoon in a tent
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davesenesac
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Post by davesenesac on Nov 14, 2015 9:34:30 GMT -8
Since you are really asking for ideas, a more productive tact would be to explain what kinds of backpacking you personally have interest in and enjoy and then let we experienced folk offer some suggestions. Otherwise there are simply too many reasons we enthusiasts like or dislike, or find interesting or not on our trips that would only make sense with longer explanations than you are likely to see as responses. And that starts with general categories. The long distance thru trail hiker, the short weekender, the week long get way out enthusiast, the on trail foot pounder, the off trail explorer, the base camper, the seeker of remote solitude, those who enjoy being within groups, the soloist, the trail runner, the fisherman, the peak bagger, the photographer, the ultra lighter, the naturalist, the easy going, the strenuous athletic challenger, and more.
I've averaged over 4 backpacks a year for over 4 decades so have too many exceptional experiences to label any one Best but can provide advice. A good start would be to know what region you live in. Since you live in SF, the Sierra Nevada is your obvious near region. The easiest way to get up to speed with what is possible would be to buy the classic Wilderness Press guides of Sierra North and Sierra South. And use the book complemented with Google Earth and online topo map sites. Then once focused besides this BP board's regional sub-forum might start asking questions on the highsierratopix dot com board. And would find lots of images of these Sierra places on summitpost dot org.
David www.davidsenesac.com/2015_Trip_Chronicles/2015_Trip-Chronicles-0.html
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ogg
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Post by ogg on Nov 14, 2015 9:41:46 GMT -8
One backpacking experience several years ago that stands out most in my mind is a 6 day solo hike exploring Humphrey's Basin and French Canyon in the Eastern Sierra. It was my first experience with off-trail hiking above the timberline and also my longest trip. I've done several spring time trips to Henry W. Coe State Park (California, near the bay area), a really wonderful place in the spring, I'm always sad to leave.
A book and a chair kit always find their way into my pack. Planning around having some to kick back and read is almost always part of the itinerary.
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markskor
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Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
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Post by markskor on Nov 14, 2015 12:08:42 GMT -8
Like many here, just too many trips made over the last .4 century (God that sounds like a long time!) and too many backpacks carried - all trips certainly had their moments.
If forced to pick one "favorite," my best backpacking experience...(Pardon my ramblings).
Could have been my brief soiree PCT 1992 where learned: the humble ways of a true Dirtbag...and to never again be slave to any trail ever again. (ADZPCTKO, Campo to the Seiad Valley pancake challenge)...the California section.
Could have been our Yosemite 5-slam, 2012...a nineteen day/ 95 mile odyssey in an attempt to hook all five species of trout found in the park on one trip...(BTW, Had to be 12" or better to count as a fish caught). Trip included a mule-supplied food drop mid-way, Voglesang, a few dinners and breakfasts at two HSC's, 10 nights of back-country trout dinners, and a successful 5-Slam...mission accomplished.
Could have been this year - a fifteen-day fishing trip through the Sawtooths... started out on horseback, spot-packed in 14 miles. We both carried one-man rafts, fished/ threw big lures deep at 25+ different lakes, and caught multiple Cuts and 'Bows well over 20". Remember my buddy calling out to me, lamenting, "Just another 16-incher." My best catch that trip, a 26 1/2" Cut-Bow...a tailwalk-er!
Could have been our "Visit the Bears" trip a few years back, another spot-pack beginning - 15 days off-trail out of Pine Creek near Bishop. 2 weeks of ridge hopping above 10,000', fishing for big Goldens...awesome!
A few years back, met my current hiking buddy, Mike; we were both out solo, ~26 miles in, off-trail Yosemite...fishing. Turns out, he an ex-backcountry Ranger SEKI...his dad also was a Ranger, his Uncle an ex wilderness Ranger too, his dog?... Anyway, he has access/ deep connections to fishing knowledge Sierra - the secret places only whispered. The bad news is that he is a real basshole, opinionated, the "has to lead", A-type personality...plans everything, (anal that way), hates crowds and people. Coincidentally, he being a fisherman too... carries almost the exact fishing and camping gear that I also carry - WM, Z-Rays, Tilley, Shimano, Weekender, TT, etc. Best of all, always chooses the most amazing routes, and once out there, turns trail flexible..sort of a Jeckel and Hyde backpacker. For some reason, he now invites me along (the last 7 years anyway...4 - 6 weeks)...if only because I laugh easily and can cook - trout proficiently...he can't cook fer chit. (He calls me Hop Sing?). Better not to even ask where we are going anymore, just where to meet up and how many days...and bring along the plastic...My share can get a little pricey recently.
My best backpacking experience would always be the next one, hopefully with Mike ...I wonder where we are going.
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Post by trekkerman on Nov 14, 2015 13:23:26 GMT -8
Discovering the Wind river Range
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Woodsie
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Post by Woodsie on Nov 14, 2015 16:39:05 GMT -8
Best backpacking experience: By far the 2004 Glacier NP 4-day backpacking trip was the BEST! I went with a group of people from the Forums, and it was a great trip. We dubbed ourselves "The Glacier Gang." Glacier is a very special park. The 2004 trip was my first time to GNP, and I was not disappointed. Plus backpacking with such a great group of folks made it all the better.
Comfort or weight: Both. I have given up on ultralight backpacking. No matter what I do, the weight is always the same.
Luxury item(s): A book, and ALWAYS my camera.
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mk
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North Texas
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Post by mk on Nov 14, 2015 19:30:55 GMT -8
I've only backpacked three times -- all to the Grand Canyon -- so my experience is much less than most of the people on the forum. I absolutely loved the Rim-to-Rim hike we just did in September. Started on the North Rim, stayed a night at Cottonwood Campground and a night at Bright Angel Campground before hiking out the Bright Angel Trail. This is a popular trip so there is no solitude. You also need a permit from the park service. But the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Best time to go is early spring and late autumn.
I consider coffee and a camera necessities -- my luxury item is an Ipod to help me relax and fall asleep.
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Post by ndeewoods on Nov 14, 2015 23:24:42 GMT -8
Wow...so many to choose from. If I don't think about it and just pick what comes to mind then the first time I did the High Sierra Route South section. Saw noone for so many days and the challenges of navigating were so fun...it was our first really long off trail trek. The next time we did that one it was a highway and we almost didn't have to check the map there were so many people you just watched where they were going and remembered the way.
I sacrifice some comforts for weight as lighter weight is a comfort in and of itself, and consider my biggest luxury item a slighter warmer sleeping bag (Western Mtneering versalite)
For entertainment a light camera and an old fashioned black and white kindle. I can read 6 books on one charge on my kindle and it weighs only 7 oz. I used to bring books but the kindle is lighter....
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Post by Lonewolf on Nov 15, 2015 4:36:36 GMT -8
The Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier (93 miles) is considered by many to be the single best all-around backpack in the lower 48.
I take what I want and within reason don't worry too much about the end weight. Most of my trips have been solo.
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