Hiking and backpacking
dlarsen1313
Posts: 6 Member
I recently started these two hobbies. Anyone else do them and wanna talk about them?
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Replies
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@midwesterner85 @NorthCascades you are hikers, yes?2
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I do... got a big one (relatively speaking) coming this weekend.1
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I love hiking. Everybody should do it. It's great exercise, and it's great for you to be out in nature.
Absolutely love backpacking, too. I try to find places where I can see the night sky. Above tree line, a meadow, a gravel bar on a river. You can see a few stars from Seattle, but when I get away from the city, there are millions of them. I look up, see the Milky Way sometimes, and think this is what our ancestors did thousands of years ago, for the whole span of human existence.10 -
I love hiking! It acts as an active mediation for me. There is nothing more soothing than to move quietly through nature and take in all that is around me. I go hiking once or twice a week- also love backpacking but havent been in a while.2
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They both are a major passion of mine! My dream is to do both the Pacific Crest and the Appalachian before I turn 55. I just have not found anyone to do them with me yet.5
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I love the out doors especially the mountains. I grew up camping frequently and have always wanted to backpack and Havasu Falls has been on my bucket list for years but I've always found an excuse. Well recently Havasu has been calling relentlessly. So I decided no more excuses. I put a pic if the falls as my lock screen, I went to REI and got fitted for hiking shoes and found a pack I like. I'm slowly acquiring my gear and tackling the weight I need to lose and become fit so I can enjoy that adventure.
I'm a nurse an on my feet all day for long hours, but am trying to get walks in after work and a good day hike on on the weekends. I'm pretty much easy experience level, but improving. My goal is to shed the weight and be trained to do Havasu in fall 2020. For now it's baby steps.
Any advice for this relative newb?5 -
hikinggal11 wrote: »They both are a major passion of mine! My dream is to do both the Pacific Crest and the Appalachian before I turn 55. I just have not found anyone to do them with me yet.
I have a plan in the works to do part of the Appalachian trail with my brother next fall! And I would love to do a Grand canyon R2R, and Pacific Crest some day too. Have you seen the movie "Wild"?0 -
Same here, I love hiking. Just went on a two day hiking trip in the Southern Alps, Germany. We hiked up two summits "Rappenseekopf" at 2,456m and "Hohes Licht" at 2,651m. I'm exhausted, but there's no better way to relax and forget about work for a while.
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I love hiking, I live on the edge of the Peak District in the UK, I hike with my toddler on my back
Not been able to get out as often as I would like this summer, arthritis has been kicking my *kitten*
Hoping to get it under control and be back out there next year1 -
I love hiking, so I decided to make the ultimate goal (for me), and trained hard for 6 months then did everest base camp, it was brilliant, and now back home in Australia, even the steepest mountains are just little hills...5
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Ahhh love my hikes! I want to start overnights so I'm researching packs. Any recommendations? I'm a minimalist when camping so I don't need anything huge or bulky.1
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I try to get a decent hike or two in most years.
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I miss hikingfunjen1972 wrote: »Ahhh love my hikes! I want to start overnights so I'm researching packs. Any recommendations? I'm a minimalist when camping so I don't need anything huge or bulky.
Comfort is key. Chances are if you're only going for a couple of nights, space will not be the issue as to much as weight is, so go for the smallest pack you can fit your stuff into. Also, the smaller you are, the smaller your pack should be. Try your packs on make sure it is comfortable, the fanciest of packs will be no good if it's not comfortable.
Oh, and that pocket at the bottom where you put your sleeping bag into: When it's been chucking it down with rain continuously all day, isn't as waterproof as you think it should be. Take it from me, sleeping in a wet sleeping bag, after a long day's tough hike, it not at all fun. Wrap it in a plastic bag. In fact, line your main compartment with a black bin liner. You'll never regret it
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I love hiking! Unfortunately, in and around Berlin, Germany, where I live, it's pretty flat, so the hiking is not very spectacular. I envy all of you living in the Pacific Northwest or the Rockies! I got one long hiking weekend and one week in this year, but next year, I'm planning a three-week trip to one of my favorite places on earth, South Tyrol in Northern Italy.2
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I miss hikingfunjen1972 wrote: »Ahhh love my hikes! I want to start overnights so I'm researching packs. Any recommendations? I'm a minimalist when camping so I don't need anything huge or bulky.
Comfort is key. Chances are if you're only going for a couple of nights, space will not be the issue as to much as weight is, so go for the smallest pack you can fit your stuff into. Also, the smaller you are, the smaller your pack should be. Try your packs on make sure it is comfortable, the fanciest of packs will be no good if it's not comfortable.
Oh, and that pocket at the bottom where you put your sleeping bag into: When it's been chucking it down with rain continuously all day, isn't as waterproof as you think it should be. Take it from me, sleeping in a wet sleeping bag, after a long day's tough hike, it not at all fun. Wrap it in a plastic bag. In fact, line your main compartment with a black bin liner. You'll never regret it
Lol I know all about wet gear - I learned to backpack in the Army! I'm fairly tall and strong, so I can handle some weight. Comfort is key since I don't have much of my own padding.
I already do weekly 15 mile hikes (really a cardio walk...I finish in 3.5 hours) with minimal weight (water bottle, dry socks, snacks, phone, utility tool) in a simple string bag. Its time to increase pack quality and weight.
I know technology has advanced since my Army days (almost 30 years ago *gulp*) so I'm curious what's out there. I guess I need to go shopping!0 -
Yes, love hiking, backpacking, trail running... there are a lot of differences from region to region, season to season, and even among different parks.
In fact, this weekend, I plan to hike/backpack, and hunt. I'm going out with another person on Fri. evening after work, will camp out Fri. and Sat. evening, hike and shoot some rabbits and squirrels on Sat. and Sun. Going home at the end of the day Sun. so I can sleep at home and go to work Mon. morning. I might even bring a collapsable / telescopic fishing pole with me in case we find some ponds in the area. There is a creek as well, which may be high enough at this point to have fish.0 -
i don't get to do as much as i would like but Wisconsin and the surrounding area has some nice trails. nothing overnight yet.
i want to camp but only go once a year thus far
when i get more financially stable, i would like to go to the pnw more often0 -
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Hiking and backpacking are absolutely my two favourite activities. I put a lot of money into it at first to make sure I got great gear, and I'm still using almost all my original equipment from 5 year ago. Trying to work my way over to the PNW in the U.S. I wanted to full-on hike the A.T., but wasn't able to take that kind of time off from grad school and work. Did section-hike it, though. Would also love to backpack through Europe at some point. Wanted to hike this weekend, but expecting a lot of rain from hurricane Florence.
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I love hiking! Nothing better to recharge the batteries. I stepped it up this year and went once or twice a week to prep for the Inca trail which I did about a month ago. Spectacular! I definitely want to get into more backpacking next year2
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Nearly all my vacations and trips are backpacking! I have a special affinity for backpacking in the mountains. That redcoat is me, and yes, my backpack is missing. The porter has it at that elevation because breathing was an enormous difficulty, lol:
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hikinggal11 wrote: »They both are a major passion of mine! My dream is to do both the Pacific Crest and the Appalachian before I turn 55. I just have not found anyone to do them with me yet.
There are so many people on both trails you don't need to have a partner. You will meet many others who are moving at the same pace. Many will become friends. Some may become partners. You won't be alone unless you work at it.2 -
I was a hiker and backpacker for about 30 years. For years we hiked or did trail work every weekend. I thruhiked the AT and CDT twice and the PCT and GDT once each. Unfortunately, my husband can't backpack any more, so we only do short hikes these days. I became a runner so I can still spend time outdoors, but it isn't the same. I miss hiking.3
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Loved backpacking in the late 60s & 70s. Wore down two pair of hiking boots in the Sierras and the trails around Los Angeles. Haven't tried the latest form-fitting packs but it's obvious, I'll be wearing them on my hips like a frame pack. The way I carry it, straps are just for balance. My vote too for trash bag/plastic liners if you're going to get wet. I've spent too many storms in a plastic tube tent and shared sleeping bag with too many hypothermia victims to let it happen again. (Although, one was a partner. That was scary at first... then pleasant )
At 60+, I'm exercising around some health limits so the backcountry is... off the table UFN. Can't wait to get back out there though.2 -
This is my favorite trail, in North Cascades National Park.
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NorthCascades wrote: »This is my favorite trail, in North Cascades National Park.
One of the reasons I like hiking, especially in different parts of the country, is how different the terrain can be. I've never been to the PNW, but I've seen a lot of your pictures - that's very different than what I have here in the northeast which is also very different from what I've hiked in both California and Arizona.
Hiking in the Adirondacks -
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I live in the PNW just outside Seattle and I've been hiking for just over a year now. One hike a week usually. I've turned into what is called a peakbagger. I climb mountains. I love it! Did 61 miles and 8 mountains in August. I used to be really slow and couldn't do the longer hikes but now 15 miles is easy even with 4-5k feet in elevation gain. It's been very motivating to see the progress (and the glorious views)! 3
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i don't get to do as much as i would like but Wisconsin and the surrounding area has some nice trails. nothing overnight yet.
i want to camp but only go once a year thus far
when i get more financially stable, i would like to go to the pnw more often
Hiking in the PNW is awesome but you have the Ice Age Trail in WI. I grew up hiking that every summer!2 -
I love hiking but I live in a small state so I only do local hikes that take 2-3 hours.0
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I live in the PNW just outside Seattle and I've been hiking for just over a year now. One hike a week usually. I've turned into what is called a peakbagger. I climb mountains. I love it! Did 61 miles and 8 mountains in August. I used to be really slow and couldn't do the longer hikes but now 15 miles is easy even with 4-5k feet in elevation gain. It's been very motivating to see the progress (and the glorious views)!
Have you been to Little Giant Pass yet?1
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