Hiking/Camping/Backpacking Thread

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Giganotosaurus

Giganotosaurus

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I realized that we didn't have a thread for this so I figured I'd start one!
I like hiking but have only done day trips before, all camping has been on campgrounds for the most part too. These past couple of years I've been wanting to expand into backpacking and overnight camping, in particular I'm wanting to hike a portion of the North Cascades National Park next year.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
No suggestions but happy to join conversation about these activities, not that I do anything like this anymore.

At best, we go for a walk in the park and we did go on a short "hike" in the Columbia River Gorge.

Last time I was in a tent was before kids, and that only a few times with the wife. Before I moved out to Oregon, when I lived in North Carolina, I camped several times a year, mostly in conjunction with going caving. Some of the caving camping was in a cow pasture with no facilities (the first couple times at that place, we did go up to the house to use the outhouse) and one time we even camped in a cave when the weather forecast was freezing rain.

We have dreamed about getting a camper van in the "adventure van" family so we could go camping in a way that would work for my wife (and I could sleep with my CPAP), and allow us to go off the beaten path, but to get what we would want in a van the price tag is like $250k or maybe higher...

Hiking wise, I've never done more than day hikes, and most of those in the 1-2 hour range, but one summer a friend came out from North Carolina and we did a couple more serious day hikes (and I got sunburned at Mt. St. Helens...).
 
I've done some of all of the above. Hiking and camping wise I pretty much did it professionally for 20 years spending 2-3 weeks at a time sleeping in a tent in fire camps around the country. Could also be considered practice for being homeless as other than the fire equipment there isn't a ton of difference between a homeless encampment and a fire camp.



tent city.jpg


I do love a motel these days, but I do kind of miss getting paid to wake up to mornings like this. :wink:

Carlton complex 2014.jpg


I did a fair bit of backpacking when I was younger but it has been quite some time since I've done any serious backpacking.

Suggestions

Get a good pair of comfortable and high quality boots. Wear them for a couple of months before backpacking in them, your feet will thank you.

Type of boot will depend on the trail conditions. If a good well maintained trail then lightweight hikers with ankle support will be fine (think heavy duty tennis shoes, something like the Hi-Tech brand). Not so good trail or some cross country hiking then a good pair of sturdy leather hiking boots, or maybe even loggers might be appropriate. I lived in Nicks and Whites logging boots, but those are $500+ a pair and kind of overkill for occasional use.

Get a good frame backpack, lightweight backpacking tent, sleeping bag and camp stove. Lightweight is the key, because weight adds up fast, good backpacking gear weighs 1/2 or less than your typical quality camping gear.

For a stove I prefer liquid fuel vs gas, simply because you can refill and you know exactly how much you have.

It is far from the lightest out there, but I am a fan of the Coleman type single burner stoves as they are simple, reliable, durable and relatively inexpensive. I like the ones that can use regular unleaded fuel since finding fuel is no issue.

Coleman single burner dual fuel

With the fire conditions in the West do not rely on a campfire, chances are high you will not be able to have one June-Oct/Nov most years, but camp stoves are generally allowed except in the most extreme restrictions.

33 gallon trash bags are your friend, light, and cheap. They can be used for trash (duh), but also many ad hoc uses, poncho, rain fly, water proof cover for gear, a water bladder etc. My Dad and I got caught in a storm during a day hike in the mountains and we spent a fairly comfortable night using trash bags for shelter up against a rock face.

As far as trips, start small, either a one day hike in to a camp to spend a couple nights, or a short 2-4 day hike and camp if your are moving each day. You do not want to get 2 or 3 days into a week long backpacking trip and then be 2-3 days hike out when you are just over it.
 
We've done a fair bit of camping, car camping not backpacking. Although we "car camp" in some out-of-the-way places.

Si2gSQY.jpg

Haven't done it in a few years now, actually. We went to South Dakota a couple years ago, that was fun. We need to get back out there again.
 
I survived two boys in cub scouts and boy scouts (all the way to Eagle). I have done my unfair share of camping, as there were few parents who were willing to get involved in scouting beyond an occasional show up.

We have all the gear and all the skills, just nobody is willing to do it anymore. I think we have scouting fatigue that way.
 
Giganotosaurus said:
Does anyone have any recommendations?
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Two poles approximately 10-12 feet 3-4 meters long (or ones that will connect together to that length). Sling a cloth between them. Have a 5 gallon cylinder cooler of water (often in a round cut out) and maybe a light 72 - 96 hour cooler (that will hold the ice cold for that many hours). You can carry them and some other supplies with the sling. A blanket rolled in a roll on the shoulders and across the back will help you support the poles on your shoulders.

As long as your trail is not too intense, this will let you bring everything you need for days in the field by two people without any short supplies. (Unless you go and learn about the backpacking camping from a more serious expert to maintain things.)
 
Love camping but can't do it as often now as my wife has bad allergies. My favourite was to ocean kayak and camp on islands. Hiking is not my thing though, I'd rather just camp near the ocean, river, lake and swim.
 
Have gone through this for years, might I suggest

Coleman Multi-Panel LED Lantern


These things are tough, durable, long lasting in the field (per battery set), handy to split into walk about lights, and useful features.

Amazon Link here

Worth the investment even if you camp with it once. It is an invaluable part of our power outage kit. (well actually both of them are, we ended up with two.)


81cnoJ4TwbL._AC_SX679_.jpg
 
Oh one last thing one of the kids reminded me.

Practice packing your backpack (and other kit) and walk about with it for like 20 minutes (get used to the little things like straps, banging canteens- where to put it, adjusting the weight distribution).

Then set up the tent (and bags) and figure out where you want to put things in camp (Do you have places to sit down? Do you have enough blankets? Also fire? Do you want to count on fuel on site and do you know how to make a pit? Do you want to carry wood?).

Then pack it all up. (See if you can get it all back in the place you originally put it.)

Ideally, you would do this twice before you take it all into the field. But once might be enough. Familiarity with things and how they will be used can save you from a disaster moment.
 
Voros said:
Love camping but can't do it as often now as my wife has bad allergies. My favourite was to ocean kayak and camp on islands. Hiking is not my thing though, I'd rather just camp near the ocean, river, lake and swim.
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I'd love to try boat camping. In Oregon that pretty much means rivers, we don't have much in the way of lakes and no islands to speak of. Course if one really got into it, there's more options up north.
 
Giganotosaurus Giganotosaurus Off the top of my head...

01). Hiking boots that have been treated for water proofing
02). Breathable socks (multiple pairs). change of clothes etc.
03). Sun block.
04). Sleeping bag.
05). Sleeping pad/roll. (you need this for a few reasons).
05). Good pack that's been fitted to you and that should have locations for both bag and pad.
06). 50 feet of nylon rope.
07). Dry bags, a couple of various sizes. One you'll place food that you'll toss over a tree branch. Important you don't want to keep food in your tent.
08). Light weight dry sealed foods for the trip.
09). lightweight 2 man tent that's been treated for water proofing.
10). Map of the area.
11). Backpacking permit for the area.
12). Multiple canteens.
13). Water purification tabs(filters whatever they've got/are using these days).
14). Emergency kit. Including those safety reflective blanket deals that slip my mind as to the exact name.
15). We used to take a collapsible fly rod (basically pocket) to try to catch some trout etc up on the high sierras. Make sure you have your license for that
because you will get ticketed if you aren't and a park ranger comes along.
16). Bear spray/repellent. I once had a black beer walk across my legs/torso while backpacking in the high Sierras in the evening as I was sleeping in
my bag back in the 1970s. Scared the shit out of me, my brother and father. Luckley our food was up in a tree in a bag which was our standard and
we didn't panic we just stayed still as it moved through our camp. I recommend the bear spray incase things go bad works on cougars too.
17). Good multi tool.
18). Good knife and sheath.
19). A good rain poncho.
20). A collapsible shovel.

edit: Meant to post this when you first asked but honestly I hate finger typing on my tablet so I didn't respond until I got around to using my desktop. lol Sorry about that.
 
Acmegamer said:
Giganotosaurus Giganotosaurus Off the top of my head...


16). Bear spray/repellent. I once had a black beer walk across my legs/torso while backpacking in the high Sierras in the evening as I was sleeping in
my bag back in the 1970s. Scared the shit out of me, my brother and father. Luckley our food was up in a tree in a bag which was our standard and
we didn't panic we just stayed still as it moved through our camp. I recommend the bear spray incase things go bad works on cougars too.
Click to expand...

Luckily black bears are fairly timid, but still 200-300lbs of cute furry but scared bear can do some damage.

My wife and son went backpacking with my Dad one time. My Dad went off exploring with my son (who was about 8) while my wife was puttering around the campsite. A bear meandered into the camp, and my wife chased it off by banging pots and pans together. It went booking out of there and right into my Dad and son who were coming back to the camp. Luckily it turned out OK, just a funny story but could have easily been less funny.

My Dad has been backpacking his whole life so he was less scared of the bear so much as of what was after the bear to make it run like that. :wink:
 
Actually, we ensure we have a "Bear Horn"/ Air Horn or two with us. One the Bear (and like 99% of the wild life) will skedaddle. Two you can use it as a rescue tool (Blow it every hour or so when you are past due or you hear people.) So keep it with you in your day pack (the little non framed fabric backpack you might bring with you so you have stuff (like lunch) on the trail) or at the camp table or an accessible place when sleeping.


Also one more thought: Make sure things can double up. We tend to bring a box of big black trashbags. They become rain panchos (cut head /hand holes), mini-tarps, slings, laundry bags, and of course trashbags. We will also pack some gallon ziplocks/ and some smaller ones in each bag. You never know when being able to isolate something (wet items, messed items, keeping phone and things dry, and leftovers) will be handy.
 
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Toadmaster said:
Luckily black bears are fairly timid, but still 200-300lbs of cute furry but scared bear can do some damage.

My wife and son went backpacking with my Dad one time. My Dad went off exploring with my son (who was about 8) while my wife was puttering around the campsite. A bear meandered into the camp, and my wife chased it off by banging pots and pans together. It went booking out of there and right into my Dad and son who were coming back to the camp. Luckily it turned out OK, just a funny story but could have easily been less funny.

My Dad has been backpacking his whole life so he was less scared of the bear so much as of what was after the bear to make it run like that. :wink:
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Yeah, I'm planning on hiking in the North Cascades next year which is Grizzly country, so bear sprays going to be a must.
 
MoonHunter said:
I survived two boys in cub scouts and boy scouts (all the way to Eagle). I have done my unfair share of camping, as there were few parents who were willing to get involved in scouting beyond an occasional show up.

We have all the gear and all the skills, just nobody is willing to do it anymore. I think we have scouting fatigue that way.
Click to expand...

I'm an Eagle myself, and haven't camped in over 20 years now. I just did it so much that I had my fill for a long time -- we camped almost every month, including a week at summer camp and a 5-6 day canoe trip each year (plus we would do Philmont trips every 2-3 years). I went on several camping trips in college, but then that was it. Didn't help that my significant others haven't been interested in it at all.

Having said that, I am getting the itch to do it again. I think I would appreciate it more now.
 
When I was a kid, my family would go hiking and camping all the time. I loved it. The type of camping my family would do was the "drive to the campsite" kind. My dad would, on rare occasions, go on multi-day backpacking trips with his age-peer friends, where you put everything in your backpack and trek through the woods. I always wanted to go, but was never allowed. To be fair, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up, haha.

I was in the Boy Scouts for a couple years in my early teens and did get to do some overnight backpacking with them. I didn't last long as a scout, because I just wanted to hike and camp, and didn't really care about earning ranks or merit badges. I did stick with it long enough to go igloo camping twice, which was pretty cool. We would go up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier and build igloos there.

Did one overnight backpacking trip with a church group in my late teens. I don't remember specifically where, but it was somewhere in the Cascades. We really should've checked people's gear before we left. Everyone on the trip had grown up in western WA, and I naively assumed that meant everyone had experience going up to the mountains. My buddy Duane didn't realize that, even though it was summer, it gets cold in the mountains at night. The only upper-body clothing he had brought was t-shirts. No jacket, no hoodies, no long-sleeve flannel shirts, nothing weather-appropriate. Fortunately, we did make it through the trip without anyone having major issues.

I haven't been backpacking since, and that was roughly 28 years ago now, but I'd like to do it again sometime.

Walking in the woods is still one of my favorite activities, and if it's my day off, you'll most likely find me in one of the abundant pieces of Forest Preserve land. I wouldn't really call what I currently do "hiking," because to me, "hiking" implies elevation change, and northeast Illinois, where I live, is really dang flat.

Haven't been camping since the summer after high school, but I still have my gear and would like to go again.
 
My buddy Duane didn't realize that, even though it was summer, it gets cold in the mountains at night. E E-Rocker

That also as an aside is the case in the desert as well. Temperature can drop 50 degrees. heh. Explaining that to folks who have camped or backpacked in deserts is interesting.

Mention to them that also it's important to secure your tent (and other gear) so a snake doesn't come in to use you as a body warmer never was boring because they think you're fucking with them.
 
I just started getting into camping, and am slowly building out my kit to go backpacking. I just went on a trip to Harriman State Park in New York, which was an absolute disaster. Can't wait to go again. :tongue:

I'm still a real amateur. As far as advice goes, I can at least suggest going through the "ten essentials."

  1. Food. You can get into the weeds with hiking nutrition, but unless you're getting real intense or ultralight with your hiking, just be sure to pack enough food to get you through your hike, plus a little extra for safety. That could just mean some extra bars on a day hike.
  2. Water. The rule of thumb is one half liter (or about a pint) per hour of hiking (plus extra for camp). One of the reasons my last trip was a disaster was because we ran out of water on a long hike. I won't be making that mistake again!
  3. Fire. For starting campfires, lighting stoves, sterilizing a needle to pop a blister, or general emergencies. For me that's just a mini Bic lighter. But if you need tinder for a camp fire, cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly are great.
  4. Repair kit. Nothing crazy, I mostly just have some Tenacious Tape to fix a popped mattress or a hole in a jacket or backpack. Regular ol' duct tape can do just fine. I also have a mini multitool on my keys anyway, so that's always going to be in my pack.
  5. First-aid. I mostly just followed Andrew Skurka's suggestions. He's a well-known ultralight backpacker, and while I'm not an ultralight hiker, if a well-respected one tells me something is worth the weight, I'll listen.
    Also, he has a separate section for foot care. The main takeaway from that is to get leukotape (unless you have a latex allergy), or something else for blisters. Despite a brutal hike, the one blister I got was just past where I taped up after feeling some hot spots.
  6. Insulation. Just be ready if it gets a little colder than expected. Layers are always a good way to go. It's also best to avoid cotton, since it takes forever to dry. In the summer that just makes it uncomfortable, but in colder months that can actually get dangerous.
  7. Illumination. I want to shout out the Rovyvon A5. It's a flashlight with a clip, so I can attach it to a baseball cap to use like a headlamp. It has a sub-lumen mode, is super bright, and has a white and red lantern function. Super helpful if, hypothetically, you're stranded after a long hike and walking along the road at night looking for cell reception. Hypothetically.
  8. Sun protection. No one likes sunburn. I'm partial to sun hoodies, and I finally got prescription sunglasses. Sunscreen obviously helps a ton.
  9. Shelter. Overkill if you're in a small park, but I carry an emergency bivy in my daypack and just kind of leave it there. This would just be your tent or hammock or whatever if you're backpacking.
  10. Navigation. Most of the time that's the AllTrails app for me, along with just knowing where I'm going and how to read trail blazes. A paper map and compass also makes for a good backup.
And coincidentally, I just got a backpacking stove in the mail today. A Soto Windmaster. Looking forward to some coffee in the woods this summer. :smile:
 
chuckdee said:
This will be on rivers in white water at times, so nothing that large.
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I guess I'm wrong... the group is doing stuff that has a minimum of a 14' Kayak. I'm not trying those- mostly because the Kayaks I'm looking into for getting started max out at 13'
 
If you are interested in a comprehensive how-to for backpacking, then find a copy of The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. I grew up with the first edition off my dad's bookshelf but I most strongly recommend the third edition - The Complete Walker III "revised, enlarged and expanded" - from 1987. Aside from a great discussion of technical aspects of backpacking and gear, it provides an elegant approach - "the house on your back" - to organizing your thinking about what and how to pack and how to use it all in the field.

For several years of my life I spent 100+ nights a year sleeping outdoors, most of them out of a backpack, and Fletcher's principles stood me in good stead for all of them.

1704772173175.png

I would also recommend spending some time learning the 7 principles of Leave No Trace. LNT provides online courses so that your fun isn't to the detriment of other backcountry visitors and the backcountry itself.

1704772620313.png

When I was a park ranger, I explained my job thusly: "to protect the people from the park, the park from the people, and the people from each other." Leave No Trace is a great tool for the last two.
 
Didn’t know about this thread. I do love me some hiking and camping. My son is in scouts and camps a fair bit, but I rarely go, largely because I go camping for different reasons than the scouts I think. However, I think he and I will be heading out and doing some backpacking this summer sans mom. Gotta have guy time.
 
In caving we modify "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, and kill nothing but time" to "..., leave nothing but footprints, and as few of those as possible, ...". Many areas in caves have no dynamic that will erase your footprints, and in fact, many cave formations can be permanently damaged by so much as a fingerprint. I never caved anywhere so sensitive that we needed to use pee bottles, and never caved long enough to need a burrito bag. In some caves, folks strip down and pack their clothes in a dry bag to swim across underwater lakes.

Of course the leave nothing but footprints doesn't really reflect the impact trails have...

I recall at least one cave where the trail was a canyon in the clay/mud that was more than a foot deep...

I do have picture proof of how much mud was taken from some caves... :-) (where you turn the creek outside the cave brown for 20 minutes while trying to reduce how much mud you bring back to the car).
 
Love camping and hiking and general woods wandering. Growing up the family would go on a camping trip every summer to either the Smokies or the Ozarks.

I live in the DeSoto national forest (south MS) and go on an overnight canoe trip every year. But this year instead of a canoe trip I’m going overnight hiking in the spring with just a tarp and hammock.

Edit: probably go on day hikes 2-3 times each month.
 
I have not but it’s on my list.

I got reservations for granite park chalet, which is a 7 mile hike in glacier park with a bed and blankets at the other end.
 
Spent a lot of my youth in the woods, fields and mountains. Was seriously into backpacking in my 20s, 10 day trips, orienteering to get to the best places on the map, one of our criteria was to be at least a day hike from the nearest ranger station, preferably 3 days. Once flittered with the idea of being a guide for a living. For serious backpacking the key is weight.
With the internet these days pretty easy to find all the info one needs on planning trips.

On thing would love to know is how far in your experience you'd hike in a day with a pack, more for rules around travel in an RPG.
 
xanther said:
On thing would love to know is how far in your experience you'd hike in a day with a pack, more for rules around travel in an RPG.
Click to expand...

iirc, the furthest I've done in a day was about 20 miles. I don't recall the details, but I'm sure it was somewhere in the Cascade Mountains and was a 10 miles in, same 10 miles back out situation. That was just carrying a day pack, though. I probably wouldn't have gone as far with an overnight pack.
 
E-Rocker said:
iirc, the furthest I've done in a day was about 20 miles. I don't recall the details, but I'm sure it was somewhere in the Cascade Mountains and was a 10 miles in, same 10 miles back out situation. That was just carrying a day pack, though. I probably wouldn't have gone as far with an overnight pack.
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Cool. Do you recall the elevation gain, difficulty of the trail etc.?
 
It was 20+ years ago, so details are pretty fuzzy. I think I would have rated the trail as moderately difficult. Don't recall any specific numbers for elevation, but I think the trail went something like short uphill, medium downhill, long uphill. And vice versa on the way back out, of course.
 
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