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Backpacking
- Thread starter Ziltoid
- Start date
Make room for your coffee gear.....and wine gums.
-Mike
I doubt I'll be able to squeeze some hitchhiking in my schedule before next spring, and Seattle is far man!
Not for me, for you bro. Don't even tell me you live in a land that sells wine gums and you don't partake.
-Mike
-Mike
It can work. I've done overnights with a 30L day pack. The biggest factor will probably be how compact your sleeping bag and cooking gear are.
Or you threw an empty box in a warming fire and get to haul a 5-gallon jug for the entire next day's hike as penance (and that was a long one).
They finally told me I could toss it off a cliff 3/4s of the way there but no way was I ditching it at that point.
Get yourself a nice touring bicycle man. Surly LHT or something like that. More fun than hitchhiking and with the right tires you can go to crazy places.
40l is enough for a week if you're willing to get a little primitive and 55l isn't enough for an overnighter the way some people pack. You follow?
If a 40l is good for a weekend and you want to do a week straps and stuffsacks can greatly increase capacity. If you add weight symetrically and not to the back you can avoid balance issues. But it's not like 40l isn't plenty for what you're wanting to do.
Cool deal. I'll try to go to the local MEC (think Canadian REI) tomorrow or next week. I'll check out my tents (I have two for some reason I can't recall) this weekend while I'm at my parents' to see if one of them fits the bill. I know my sleeping bag doesn't. That thing is huge.
Sleeping bags...another good place not to skimp. Unfortunately, the more you pay, the better they get (I.e. lighter and more compact.
Before I destroyed my lower back, I did a good amount of backpacking and hiking in the Colorado rockies (around Estes park). The longest trip was 7 days 6 nights, and we hit 2 peaks above 13k. In full packs.
Best investment: broken in boots. Also wrap your nalgene with duct tape so when you get a blister (or any other problem... it's duct tape!) You can take some off and apply. I put on over 100mi using a cheap pack, an open flame cheap alcohol stove, a super heavy Costco sleeping mat, and literally nothing else that was light or gortex or fancy or anything.
Put all of your cash in your feet. I've made some amazing memories and gone places I can physically no longer go (ever), and it's because I got acclimated and had worn in boots.
To those of you who can still go backpacking: do it! I never missed it until I was too injured to do it anymore. Best of luck, and may your feet be clear of blisters!
Best investment: broken in boots. Also wrap your nalgene with duct tape so when you get a blister (or any other problem... it's duct tape!) You can take some off and apply. I put on over 100mi using a cheap pack, an open flame cheap alcohol stove, a super heavy Costco sleeping mat, and literally nothing else that was light or gortex or fancy or anything.
Put all of your cash in your feet. I've made some amazing memories and gone places I can physically no longer go (ever), and it's because I got acclimated and had worn in boots.
To those of you who can still go backpacking: do it! I never missed it until I was too injured to do it anymore. Best of luck, and may your feet be clear of blisters!
Also, depending on your locale, streams that exist on maps may be dried up for some/most of the year.
Running out of water will kill you. Carry more than you think you need. It's heavy but a good safety thing. I've gotten myself into bad spots not packing enough water and drinking it religiously. If you're thirsty you're behind the 8-ball on hydration.
Running out of water will kill you. Carry more than you think you need. It's heavy but a good safety thing. I've gotten myself into bad spots not packing enough water and drinking it religiously. If you're thirsty you're behind the 8-ball on hydration.
On the subject of sleeping bags, I have found that the circumstances of location, and season dictate the most appropriate bag, and no bag does it all.
I own numerous bags, and always put some thought into what bag to take. I have spent a few uncomfortable nights because I was too cold. That is why I started carrying the merino wool long underwear, and bag liner mentioned earlier. I'll add that except for the hottest season/climate, I often carried a light knit cap, (like you would use in the winter), and found it, and a pair of winter-weight wool socks helped when using a very light bag.
I have a couple very light down bags, and even more synthetic bags, and if I was shopping for a new lightweight bag, I might go with synthetic instead of down now.
One drawback I found with down bags is that I was always worrying about making sure it would not accumulate moisture, especially in damp weather. I felt that I had to drape it out in the sun, and breeze regularly.
The synthetic fillers are getting better, and high quality down is very expensive.
I own, and have been very happy with sleeping bags from: Mountain Hardwear, (now owned by Columbia?), Big Agnes, and Marmot.
None are cheap, but they are good.
Getting good sleep contributes to the enjoyment of the backpacking experience, so I consider the expense of owning multiple bags worth it, so I can have the right bag for the trip, (without carrying too much weight, or bulk).
Packing tip: leave the stuff sack in the car. Size your pack to hold the bag.
I own numerous bags, and always put some thought into what bag to take. I have spent a few uncomfortable nights because I was too cold. That is why I started carrying the merino wool long underwear, and bag liner mentioned earlier. I'll add that except for the hottest season/climate, I often carried a light knit cap, (like you would use in the winter), and found it, and a pair of winter-weight wool socks helped when using a very light bag.
I have a couple very light down bags, and even more synthetic bags, and if I was shopping for a new lightweight bag, I might go with synthetic instead of down now.
One drawback I found with down bags is that I was always worrying about making sure it would not accumulate moisture, especially in damp weather. I felt that I had to drape it out in the sun, and breeze regularly.
The synthetic fillers are getting better, and high quality down is very expensive.
I own, and have been very happy with sleeping bags from: Mountain Hardwear, (now owned by Columbia?), Big Agnes, and Marmot.
None are cheap, but they are good.
Getting good sleep contributes to the enjoyment of the backpacking experience, so I consider the expense of owning multiple bags worth it, so I can have the right bag for the trip, (without carrying too much weight, or bulk).
Packing tip: leave the stuff sack in the car. Size your pack to hold the bag.
A note on nalgnes, has anyone ever had a problem with them leaking? We all bought a couple from the camp store and most had problems. No matter how tight you screwed it on it still leaked. We found if you wet the rim it mostly stopped but it was still annoying. I never had that before. Bad batch at the store mayby?
I've never heard of a leaking (or broken for that matter) Nalgene and I've dropped them hundreds of feet down rock faces.
I've actually been itching to get back into backpacking and hiking. I still have most of my gear and once I get a new pack, foam pad, and boots I'll be set.
So I've learned. Foam pads are still cheap but by god boots and packs have gone up since I was in high school
So I've learned. Foam pads are still cheap but by god boots and packs have gone up since I was in high school
Yeah, I noticed that too. Evil marketing ploys. At least there's REI and MEC.
My Rule #1 for backpacking gear: buy used! A used pack will carry gear just as well as a new one. You might want a new pair of boots though. Gear swaps and REI garage sales can be gold mines for camping/hiking/backpacking gear.
