BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Sept 28, 2016 7:57:03 GMT -8
And true luxury is a counter-height rock on which to prepared food, fold clothes, etc. Oh, yes, the kitchen rock is a tremendous boon, as is the sitting log or sitting rock.
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davesenesac
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Post by davesenesac on Sept 28, 2016 8:53:17 GMT -8
Good inputs cweston. A very useful backpacking topic to discuss.
Surprised no one has mentioned a shade for a tent spot? I almost always look for a tentable spot that will have noon through afternoon shade. A bit uneven or unlevel tent spots don't bother me at all. Mid day when light is harsh for photography is when I am most likely to be in my tent after lunch taking a nap, and do not want a warm bright spot. In the High Sierra timberline elevations there are a lot of small tentable sites below whitebark pines. Beside large cool boulders also works.
In the High Sierra on days thunderstorms are possible, camping in a low lightning prone location will also be important.
Always opt for a spot where others have camped before, rather than a pristine site, to concentrate impact on the area.
That recommendation might better be qualified with:
In popular areas, always opt for a spot where others have camped before, rather than a pristine site, to concentrate impact on the area.
I infrequently tent in places others have recently camped because I am often significant distances away from popular areas and trails. I particularly like remote places well above lakes with views and tend to find very few if any used sites in such places. Being away from trails also has much to do with the fact over decades bears have rarely visited my camp spots. Groups rarely will bother to climb up more than 100 feet above a lake to camp where there is no water source.
98% of groups camp at lakes or along trails where larger streams cross. And those at lakes though more than 100 feet from lake edges are usually just beyond that distance. In other words most people have a strong magnetic attraction to camping near lakes. Even more amusing is that at many larger lakes with trails along side sections of shores, groups will hike 8 miles through virtually empty wilderness to get there and then almost all of them will camp along the trail in "communities" along the shore every 100 yards or so in well used sites per the recommendation, while the rest of such lakes shores beyond trails is virtually empty.
Here in the Sierra Nevada there was an earlier era decades ago when there was no 100 foot from lake edge rule and not surprisingly a whole lot of camps areas were right along shores. Unfortunately many of the older camp spots have never been made untentable by burying boulders in old tent spots so not a few groups will still camp at those spots despite knowing better simply because they see signs that others have apparently recently done so. And due to a lack of any backcountry rangers in national forests, groups camping illegally close to lake edges has only become much more common versus a couple decades ago.
David www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/2016_Trip-Chronicles-0.html
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Post by hikingtiger on Sept 28, 2016 9:17:48 GMT -8
Odd that the hitch they show tied to the tent stake isn't remotely a trucker's hitch--looks sort of like a mooring hitch, but it's not that either--while that particular hitch is mentioned in the text. Personally, I prefer the taut line hitch for adjustability on my guy lines.
On future hikes, I'll definitely be thinking about pre-digging cat holes.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 28, 2016 9:30:52 GMT -8
Surprised no one has mentioned a shade for a tent spot? I almost always look for a tentable spot that will have noon through afternoon shade. Another who wants shade if I can get it. Flat and reasonably level does matter to me for sleeping, and I like to be out of sight of the trail. If you do any kind of clearing to make a tent site where there wasn't one before, then yes, you need to put it back. The idea is not to encourage others to camp there and create a new sit. In already-established sites, removing a few recently fallen pine cones and leaving it clear doesn't seem a problem.
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tarol
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Post by tarol on Sept 29, 2016 8:38:35 GMT -8
Time your hike so that you arrive at the camp area long enough to choose the best LNT campsite, pitch tent/tarp/hammock, cook dinner, filter water, hang a bear bag, etc.
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bass
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Post by bass on Sept 29, 2016 9:02:10 GMT -8
Surprised no one has mentioned a shade for a tent spot? and Many areas of the western US have been hit hard by pine beetle blight. Check for "widow makers" before selecting a tent site, paying particular attention to prevailing winds and where a dead tree would be most likely to fall. This is a great thread with lots of good points! I would add when mentioning trees that you should look the trees over carefully for dead branches or tops that might come crashing down on your tent during a wind. Several years ago i had a large dead tree branch fall close to my tent during a rainstorm. So now I carefully inspect the trees!
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tarol
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Post by tarol on Sept 29, 2016 9:04:25 GMT -8
Please carefully inspect the trees! Especially in areas like the Southern Sierra which have a lot of dead trees now, burned areas, when high winds/thunderstorms are expected, etc. See this hazard tree awareness presentation.
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panatomicx
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Post by panatomicx on Oct 3, 2016 13:30:50 GMT -8
Pre digging the cathole seems to make sense. I'm just worried that the beeping noise that the backhoe makes in reverse would bother the other campers.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 3, 2016 13:35:31 GMT -8
I'm just worried that the beeping noise that the backhoe makes in reverse would bother the other campers. I take it you eat a lot of fiber...
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Post by cweston on Oct 5, 2016 7:06:49 GMT -8
I take it you eat a lot of fiber... Or maybe he finds a lot of huckleberries on his hikes.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 5, 2016 7:38:31 GMT -8
Or maybe he finds a lot of huckleberries on his hikes. If so, I'm envious. It's been a long time since I hiked in huckleberry country (and season).
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Post by johntpenca on Oct 5, 2016 14:04:34 GMT -8
Always opt for a spot where others have camped before, rather than a pristine site, to concentrate impact on the area.
In the Sierra, that is a good way to ensure you are camping on the bear trolling highway.
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Post by cweston on Oct 5, 2016 17:41:39 GMT -8
Or maybe he finds a lot of huckleberries on his hikes. If so, I'm envious. It's been a long time since I hiked in huckleberry country (and season). The area around the PCT near Chinook Pass was one of the best I've ever seen in that regard. We frequently took visitors who weren't interested in a long hike to that area when we lived in Seattle. Staggering views of Rainier, and an amazing huckleberry harvest if you hit it at the right time. Very, very slow hiking progress, though.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 5, 2016 19:25:03 GMT -8
The area around the PCT near Chinook Pass was one of the best I've ever seen in that regard. We frequently took visitors who weren't interested in a long hike to that area when we lived in Seattle. Staggering views of Rainier, and an amazing huckleberry harvest if you hit it at the right time. Very, very slow hiking progress, though. Yes! I remember hiking in that area, when I lived up north. And our honeymoon backpack was at Glacier Peak, about 3rd week of August, and we had huckleberries 3 meals a day. Yum!
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