BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Nov 16, 2016 15:33:44 GMT -8
I just got back from a trip where I was mostly in familiar enough territory to hike extensive off-trail, but I came out by a different way, over a mountain I hadn't previously crossed. These desert trails often follow cobbled stream beds for long stretches, so it's not hard to go astray. Sure enough, eventually I was squeezing through a place it would be hard lead a horse, which I knew was a problem, because the trail I was on gets some horse traffic. There were cairns now and then, but the trail was too faint and it was trending away from the proper heading.
I backtracked far enough to find my mistake and checked some other sources when I got back. The trail I stumbled on isn't mapped, but was discovered by cowboys almost 100 years ago and little used since. They suspected it was used by Mexican miners prior to the 1870s. It's not entirely untraveled now, but there's little agreement on the actual route over much of its length, so it's not exactly going.
Anyway, one of my main principles of navigation is that if something feels wrong, it probably is. Another one is that it's always farther than you think.
One thing
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Post by hikerjer on Nov 16, 2016 20:08:52 GMT -8
A skill I still struggle with is setting up and tearing down camp in the rain while keeping myself and gear dry. Also, pacing myself, especially in cold weather, enough so that I don't get soaking damp from sweat and then get chilled. Both are still tough for me after 40+ years of backpacking.
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amaruq
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Call me Little Spoon
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Post by amaruq on Nov 17, 2016 6:42:35 GMT -8
I had a map, and knew how to read it. That's how I knew where I was. But while there was one trail on the map, there were many on the ground. I had this experience a couple weekends ago. In a non-operating provincial park where the main through-trail is maintained by a volunteer association, one end has been dead-ended by a landowner outside the park and so the trail from the nearest junction -- which forms the end of a popular loop -- to said dead end has fallen into disrepair. Though aware of the dead end, I was unaware of its state of disrepair and pushed onward. The forest is dense, the trails many, and the blazing poor. Occasional bald-rock clearings prove challenging when trying to figure out where the trail re-enters the bush. Long story short, I got onto an ATV trail and followed it to a river crossing. Not unusual as this hiking trail sometimes follows the ATV trails, though the blazes had completely vanished. The crossing seemed to match up with a certain position on the map. After crossing to the other side and losing the ATV trail in an attempt to get to a vantage point for some photos, I returned to the river crossing as my last known position. Another group of backpackers happened by and confirmed they also figured they were at that point on the trail. While they pushed on for their goal, I set up camp in the clearing near the water. It wasn't where I wanted to be, but at least I could follow the trail back the next day. The next morning I set off down the ATV trail making good time until I happened upon a set of blazes again. I spent then next few hours following the blazes and seeing a lot of bush I hadn't seen the day before. Maybe this was the actual hiking trail I'd missed out on while following the ATV trail the day before? Whatever it was, it was tedious; blazing was thin, some places were marked with cairns, others only scant yellow flagging tape (hard to see in autumn) showed the path, and even then I had to explore each of the equally-established and braiding 'social' or game trails before locating the proper one. Eventually the blazing just stopped. I pulled out my phone GPS and found I had been on the trail, but going in the opposite direction *facepalm* rookie mistake. So I cut a rug back the way I'd come, passing over the actual river crossing where neither I nor the other party had been, and eventually found myself without trail. Again. Given it is autumn and the underbrush has thinned, I once more pulled out the phone GPS, as well as my compass, and cut a direct path through the bush to the junction, then followed the well maintained trail from there. I was in no real peril, with warm clothing, decent forecasts, and enough food, but the girlfriend was none-too-pleased with that particular turn of events.
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Nov 17, 2016 8:54:44 GMT -8
When I think back on the people I've met on the trail over the past forty years, there were only a few I was really worried about:
1. A pair of young women in sneakers, tank tops, and shorts who were about five miles up Illilouette Canyon in Yosemite, and wondering why they hadn't reached the cables at Half Dome yet. They had one bottle of water between the two of them--no food, no pack, no other clothes--and they were at least seven miles from the trailhead. So they were lost, and they were going to be dehydrated. We offered them water (which they rejected) and directions. They refused the water, but at least headed off in the right direction.
2. A young couple half-way up the Snow Creek Trail in Yosemite in winter. They were taking a break on the trail (it's about 3 miles and 3,000 feet of switchbacks) and while the guy seemed OK, the woman was shivering and visibly whole-body shaking. She was clearly hypothermic, and he was assuring us that everything was all right. It wasn't. We suggested taking a longer rest, getting her warmed up, and maybe calling off the trip. He assured us everything was fine.
3. Another young couple in Death Valley about four miles up a canyon. They had water, but no food, and the young woman was really angry and, to my mind, clearly low on blood sugar. We offered food and she angrily rejected it. They were not having fun.
4. A family of five hiking in the very upper end of Virginia Canyon. They were using llamas to carry their stuff, but the little kids were tired, and at least a couple of them were hiking barefoot. They asked for directions for the trail to Green Lakes...and we pointed at the cairn that marked the turnoff. They were unconvinced. But to their credit they were warm, the kids were playing in the creek, they seemed to have enough food and water.
5. A youth group that was cavorting in the pools above Chilnualna Falls in Yosemite. Slippery rocks above a 1500 foot waterfalls. Idiots.
So getting lost is an issue---but so is staying warm and hydrated. And so is staying out of fast water--the biggest killer of people in the Sierra.
Finally, I note so many people who backpack and yet don't follow the basic rules. Building campfires where they are prohibited, leaving your TP where the rest of us will find it, sooner or later, leaving trash....
Now you've got me started. The initial list is people who were actually in some danger due to their mistakes. Those last items won't get you killed, unless I'm really angry.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 17, 2016 9:05:06 GMT -8
t least a couple of them were hiking barefoot. That may not have been an issue at all. My oldest son could hike significant distances barefoot when he was preschool-aged and thus not used to wearing shoes anyway. And tired children? There are ALWAYS tired on the trail, but seem to have plenty of energy once arrived in camp Not saying that parents might not overreach their kids' abilities, but it can be hard to assess. All your other cases are the sorts that have me scanning incident reports after I get home, hoping not to see any report of a rescue or death. And your final point...yeah, I get pretty annoyed at the people who trash the wilderness (or even the not-so-wilderness). I've been known to speak up, even though it's not often helpful.
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davesenesac
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Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
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Post by davesenesac on Nov 17, 2016 9:50:18 GMT -8
It is of course common while hiking named trails to come across use paths that look as heavily traveled as actual trails. Some go to well used campsites, some to fishing spots, some to scenic viewpoints, some may be short cuts to another trail, and other miscellaneous reasons. Also in some areas there are actual trails that are simply not on a map, some are old and some may be too new. And additionally there are a fair number of trail sections routed differently than what topographic maps shows because information sources for trail alignments on maps is sometimes mediocre especially where a satellite image does not show a trail as through forest or if the land surface is hard like on bedrock. All these problems are additional reasons why even hikers and backpackers that only plan to travel on trails can get into trouble if they do not have enough map skills. Although the OP did not ask for advice about specific difficult skills, I'll diverge a wee bit here without being thorough as an example of why that is so.
I've personally come across these trail issues too often over decades and the first thing I do is pull out my map. It is a situation where in this era GPS is a superior tool but any backcountry visitor for their own safety ought also be able to do so just using a map, compass, and visual sighting from where they are. A key bit of wisdom is that the sooner one stops and bothers to figure out where they are after sensing something is wrong about where they are going, the easier and simpler resolving their situation will be.
If one is at a visually blocked location, one may need to continue to where one can see surrounding land forms even if that is a bit off a trail. And one needs to expect that sometimes even after trying to figure locations out that one will still end up going the wrong way thus need to be flexible minded enough to stop and backtrack if necessary. If one is on a trail the first thing to do is ascertain if the general compass direction is correct versus what a map trail shows. Lacking nearby visual landmarks or a compass, recall of where one has just traveled, a watch for time of day, Sun location, and shadows may be useful. For a trail that is not straight but rather has turns, an obvious strategy is to try and match map turns to the recall of what one has just hiked Likewise matching the variations of uphill and downhill just traveled versus map elevation contour lines. And if that is not enough one may need to hike further through more trail direction changes and continue to do so. Then is much more about making sense of actual topographic maps.
David www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/2016_Trip-Chronicles-0.html
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Nov 17, 2016 13:37:47 GMT -8
Dave: You left one more possibility out: There are trails on the map that do not exist on the ground. And I've looked for a couple of those over the years...without success!
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Post by cweston on Nov 17, 2016 14:01:12 GMT -8
Dave: You left one more possibility out: There are trails on the map that do not exist on the ground. And I've looked for a couple of those over the years...without success! For sure. But I don't think I've ever encountered a trail on the map that just flat-out didn't exist at all. Usually there's some trace of it, although it may be impossible to find in places and impossible to follow in places. If you can find the route, my experience is that you'll usually encounter some traces of the trail eventually.
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balzaccom
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Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Nov 17, 2016 22:15:34 GMT -8
I've found at least two. One in the Carson Iceberg wilderness. Upon returning from our hike the ranger told us: "Oh hell, I don't think we've maintained that trail for over forty years, and it wasn't much to begin with." Good to know.
And there is trail out of Ranger Lake in the Jennie Lake Wilderness that the ranger told us: "Yeah, we took out that section of the trail because nobody was using it..." Literally tried to hide it and take it apart. They did a pretty good job. It was harder than hell to follow, and we finally gave up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2016 4:22:31 GMT -8
I think, another skill a backpacker should have is shape. My shape of choice is round. I train myself to carry my round shape and my backpack through 10 miles per day, making backpacking an all season affair. I spend, throughout the year, days in the gym working out with weights and jogging. I found being in shape helps me hit the ground running with the first backpack of the season and gives me the endurance to handle the rigors.
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tarol
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Redding, CA
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Post by tarol on Nov 18, 2016 4:34:50 GMT -8
Booking wilderness reservations - there are a lot of different processes, deadlines, and systems out there for permits. I wish there weren't - I'm a big proponent of recreation.gov It's not perfect, but having been on both sides of the counter for so long, I think it's the best system there is.
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RumiDude
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Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Nov 18, 2016 10:47:20 GMT -8
Skill? I think navigation is the most difficult because most of us are accustomed to navigation in towns and cities over streets and roads. We are used to signs and such. Some people pick up navigation faster and better than others, but most people can do decently if they apply themselves.
Managing food is also a skill which has a learning curve attached to it. Also it is a highly individual thing which varies quite a bit among people.
Rumi
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2016 15:04:53 GMT -8
but the girlfriend was none-too-pleased with that particular turn of events. This is a great closing sentence! Haa With ALL this being said, I think this might be the perfect thread to ask all those who have missed the trail at one time or another... which GPS model do you use and/or recommend? My phone is just useless out there. I have added this to my Christmas list.
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crawford
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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.--Edison
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Post by crawford on Dec 1, 2016 15:17:32 GMT -8
A Garmin Rhino is still working for me. The Etrex is also a solid performer.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Dec 1, 2016 15:29:51 GMT -8
which GPS model do you use and/or recommend? I have a Delorme inReach SE. It's more than most people need, but now that I have it it's hard for me to justify spending more money to get something simpler when I only need/want a smaller set of capabilities. I use it mostly for overseas/solo travel. If people see me moving (they can track you on a map on their computers), they know I'm OK. I can send and receive short twitter-like messages. It has a worldwide SOS/SAR button. But it's not just a global device - it works perfectly fine here in the U.S. And yeah, it also has GPS - the SAR team may not speak english, but they'll be able to find you. And.... it looks like SPOT products are 50% off for the holidays! They must have new models coming out. If the old models work for you, it looks like a darn good time to buy one. See this thread.
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