That is something I have learned over the years.

For instance:
I prefer to hike in cotton whenever I can. I don't smell as bad, I don't overheat and I am more comfortable. (I do have synthetics to wear in bad weather)

Always bring an extra meal or two.

That I will be cold no matter where I am, or how hot it is outside during the day. That I have to have at least a 15* bag.

That while I have cowboy camped, I just don't like sleeping under tarps or without any way to keep bugs out. I just don't like bugs. I have learned that it is worth it to carry a light tent or tarp tent. It isn't anything I will ever overcome at this point.

I have also learned to hike with others I am compatible with. It is better to hike with slower friends and stroll all day than to feel I will never catch up and feel so stressed that I don't enjoy my trip.

I've learned that a name brand doesn't necessarily equal good quality. The North Face has some excellent products but one of the worst sleeping bags I ever owned was one of theirs.

No matter how good it tasted at home, three days of eating the same thing becomes impossible.

Planning always pays off. If you haven’t planed for an impromptu weekend trip, you can’t go. :(

There are no streams along a ridgeline!!!

Chris,

I'm pretty sure you've just sold your 'Mid, which is a pity. I think you may have over engineered a tad.

Unless you're a really REALLY fat bloke, you probably didn't need an 8'x8' ground sheet. Certainly none of the tents you mention will give you that floor space. You could halve it, and still have more floor space than any of them.

The A16 is not bad, but you're sleeping beside a pole, and under a canopy. Pick up a piece of bug mesh, and drape it from the pole and canopy for about half(?) the weight.

Granted the 'Mid is palatial for one, and "MAY" be too much tent when you're alone, but put 2,3 or 4 of you in there, and you have some serious real estate for the weigh.

Regards, Rod

*A $15 K-Mart tube-tent makes a really great bath tub in the rain. Amazing and how well water will pool up and stay INSIDE the tent.

*Powder drink mix does wonders (to marginal water, delicious when served warm, etc...)

*Dont cut compression straps too short... measure twice, three times, and still allow for an extra inch.

*Heavy pack and a poor hip-belt makes for a horrible time.

*Stop for lunch. Too many times I've tried to press on when the 15 min lunch stop could have made my last 5 miles much more enjoyable

*Headlamps truly are worth their weight. Just find the right one for you (and bring an extra battery).

*Not all wool socks are created equal.

*A small ziplock of candy placed in the bottom of the pack and forgotten about later makes for an amazing boost! It's like finding a $20 bill in your pockets, only you can eat the candy. I've actually shouted with joy that I found 2 pieces of Jolley Ranchers.

*If it gets hot, or your pack is in the sun... remember about the candy and make sure you get it out before it melts. That wasn't so much fun, but it still tasted ok.

*Clean your pocket knife well after you use it to cut your food. Nothing like grime stuck down in a good swiss-army folder that makes it rust and tuff to open.

I have lots... but these are some lessons I've learned.

* Don't trust camping sites noted on maps. Likely, the map makers camped there in the best weather so the spot is flat and close to water but utterly exposed.

* Watch the weather and plan your route accordingly.

* Holy crap, some grizzlies are big. And fast. And, luckily, not eager to eat you.

* Don't over-estimate where you can go from a map in trail-less terrain. And give yourself some alternate routes if that river you plan to ford is unfordable when you get there.

* Take your boots off when you stop. Your boots, socks and feet will dry faster and it feels nice.

* Bushwacking requires more mental and psychological toughness than physical toughness. You need to let go of the need to know exactly where you are and where you are going.

#1: Don't freak out!

This is one incident, that generally brings considerable joy to those who hear it, and added embarressment for me...

1. Jetboil stove used on your first trip with it along, will have suffered damage to the piezo ignitor that is not obvious to you, from friend who borrowed it previously for canyoning expedition.

2. Jetboil with damaged piezo will not light, without matches or other suitable spark.

3. Remember matches before trip whilst packing, but think; Jetboil has piezo; no probs, and I'm sure my experienced buddy will bring some; heck at worst its only an overnighter. 3 seconds of laziness......

4. When you finally give up on hike on getting Jetboil to lite, after about 500 clicks of the ignition, and decide to put cold water in freezedried kungpow chicken meal, so that hopefully after an hour or so it will rehydrate enough to eat...and your mate decides to have one last go at the Jetboil...IT WILL LIGHT. He will subsequently have nice hot meal.

5. Just putting cold water in freeze dried meal packet of x (I forget) brand, will not rehydrate meal in foreseeable future.

6. Continually emptying kungpow chicken of cold water to add small amounts of warm water only succeeds in slowly rehydrating it (forcing you to eat it later on moral grounds) and diluting the flavour to the point that you decide to add the hot spice flavour packet that came with it.

7. When directions on Kungpow chicken hot spice sachet say "add to taste" they mean it.

8. Realising that with increased hot water dilutions, your meal still isnt rehydrating properly, do not think back to your survival training and remember that your groin is a warm area, and think; I can put my freeze dried meal down there with its fancy zip lock to keep warm and rehydrate. The zip lock WILL OPEN, after you have forgotten it is there, in your jocks, spilling tepid water, laden with potent spice in your precious nether regions, along with bits of freeze dried meal.

9. While you are standing by a bush painfully (trust me Kungpow chicken hot spice stings down there) removing bits of food, and your mate is rolling around in the dirt laughing; remember that you are still hungry and have to eat after a long hard day off track setting rogaine checkpoints.

10. When eating tepid, barely hydrated Kung pow chicken, refer back to point 7 "When directions on Kungpow chicken hot spice sachet say "add to taste" they mean it". Drinking 5 litres of water while consuming this farce will not help it go down any easier.

11. Mate, no matter how trustworthy, will tell all about this on your return to civilisation. Cute girls you have never even met before will come up to you on the train giggling and say: "Are you the kung pow chicken guy? Hilarious!"

12. Subsequently never use jetboil bushwalking again, and cringe at the thought of eating anything freeze dried that seems remotely related to Kung Pow chicken. Prefer to eat damp rice laced with chilli powder instead.

> 6. Continually emptying kungpow chicken of cold water to add small amounts of warm water only succeeds in slowly rehydrating it (forcing you to eat it later on moral grounds) and diluting the flavour to the point that you decide to add the hot spice flavour packet that came with it.

Did it never occur to you to chuck the whole lot into the pot and bring it gently to the boil?
Blimey.

Not at the time Roger. It was the first time I had used freeze dried meals (I remember now-Backpacker's Pantry-I've tried a few and they generally seem quite nice)-I got them for free from the 2006 Sea to Summit Roadshow in Adelaide. I don't know what I was thinking at the time...

I am hoping I never repeat such a shocking run of shenanigans whilst bushwalking.

I was thinking of doing a reader review on Jetboil, but really, I am never going to use the thing bushwalking again (its too heavy for my liking anyway and I just don't need the power), and my one time usage that is relevant to the BPL community was skewed by my stupidity.

Blimey indeed.

Don't assume your partner has the spare water.

Grizzly bears with radio collars have attitude...

Hi Adam

> I was thinking of doing a reader review on Jetboil, but really, I am never going to use the thing bushwalking again (its too heavy for my liking anyway

Way too heavy. Try a light upright like Snow Peak GST100 or Vargo Jet-Ti and a light Ti pot - a fraction of the weight for any length trip.

Lesson learnt:
Really, its OK to bring an extra 1 or 2.

Lesson: Don't hike Bonney Pass (Wind Rivers, approach to Gannet from Titcomb basin) in the dark after waking up from a poor nights sleep at 3:30 just to wander/suffer up 2,000 vert of fluid talus in the dark only to get onto the glacier and find Gannet buried in cloud and it starts to snow. So, we turned around, not feeling like climbing wet class 3-4 rock in a cloud while being cold..... so, back we went, up and over Bonney Pass again and all the way back down 2,000 vertical feet of steep talus....

1. Go with what you are comfortable with, whether it be trip route, daily destination, food packing or gear packing/choices. But be judicious or you will run into number 2.

2. Do not overpack on food. Despit the temptation, do not overpack. Apply the benefit of past experience. And plan for the actual trip. If due to a last minute change in trip location it apears your loop will only last four nights, do not fail to unpack the extra four nights rations you packed for a possible second four night loop.

3. Research your trip, and then do not change plans at the last minute based on word from a USFS employee who staffs the office and answers the Ranger District Office phone when you call.

4. If you do change your trip location at the last minute, do not talk toa thru hiker you run into a week or so later who just hiked through your original intended hike location becuase he will report that conditions were ideal; perfect.

5. If you do change a long planned trip at the last minute and end up humping twice the food you need because you were in too great a hurry to get in to the first nights' camp, eat well, and be philosphical about it. Also, take some of your wife's pack weight on, as this is her first backpacking trip in 15 years, and you want her to have a good time.

6. Take Baileys and hot chocolate and powdered gatorade and monopolova vodka.

7. remember that you can always take that trip next year.

8. Always take a knife, even on a day hike in familiar territory.

9. If you hike where the lemmings (overweight suburbanites) hike, take your cell phone.

10. Leave the ten essentials in your pack at all times.

11. Take gloves.

12. Stainless is heavy. Take titanium, but foil lids blow away.

13. Take a sit pad.

14. Take a disposable paperback. A light, used one.

15. Take a trash bag big enough to serve as a pack cover if need be.

16. Avoid the "military - industrial complex" that has taken over the outdoor recreation products world as much as possible.

17. Food shop at Winco, not REI.

18. Have a fire if legal.

19. Clean up after others.

20. Be willing to move camp.

21. Slow down and enjoy the walk.

22. Do some trail maintenance while hiking, and dedicate some time (a couple weekends a year at least) to trail work.

23. Be nice to the people you meet on the trail; don't just hike on by unless it is a mob scene. If it is, hightail it.

24. Carry matches and/or a lighter in your pocket at all times.

25. Take red peper flakes, pepper and salt.

Do what you need to do for coffee.

17. Food shop at Winco, not REI.

May I add: Shop at WinCo, Trader Joes and Central Market ;-) And online at Harmony House Foods and Just Tomatoes.

That is everything you could need!

1. never let a guy named Roach cook
2. always make a note of things that worked or didn't work
3. always clean/repair/dwr finish equipment after a trip
4. always inspect climbing equipment before and after a trip
5. never tie into a rope on a technical mountain route if you haven't rock climbed or scrambled with them before
6. when I start to believe this is more like a lifestyle then a hobby I look at old pictures and reminice about friends and dogs I've known.
7. don't talk to me about equipment, it doesn't mean sand.
that's why you have a visa card and free will.

-forgetting sleeping bag (I feel snuggly, how bout you?)
-forgetting climbing gear (especially rope)
-forgetting gear (I was suppose to clean what?)
-forgetting the rack on lead (Now where's that...awww..crap)
-forgetting to re-rack (You'd think I learn)
-dropping gear on top of a LONG climb and it's getting dark (well, there goes the ATC, my water AND my dignity)
-forgetting one's light when rapping down the last 3 full length pitches in pitch black(of course it has to be overhanging, and the ATC is still missing)
-forgetting driver's liscence while standing on the side of the road being stripped search in the snow in socks, while trying to convince the officer that the climbing gear is NOT for breaking into a bank (having a roll of $1 dollar bills in the glove box doesn't help either)

-Trying to convince a significant other that the last 10 miles is really 3 miles (Couch has become my new snuggly buddy)

-Trying convince significant other that we don't need a shelter it won't rain (It sleeted instead)

-Last but not least, forgetting mountain money (toilet paper), after forgetting the sleeping bag, forgetting the rope, losing the light, dropping the ATC, stripped searched in the snow, eaten bad food and in dire need of wipage.

cheers

Edited by LithiumMetalman on 11/15/2007 09:21:52 MST.

1. Letting yourself get cold, tired, hungry and dehydrated diminishes not only your strength but your intelligence! If you want to make good descisions, eat, drink, layer up, and call it a day before you're spent- if you don't, you get DUMB...

2. Endorphins from pushing hard make you feel good. They also allow you to injure yourself without realising, and to push yourself even further beyond the limits you've already exceeded. NEVER give it 100%- give it 70 at most, then you've got a clear head and 30 in hand to deal with the unexpected without flaking out.

Same thing really, but I reckon most of my tragi-comic blunders have stemmed from one of these two points.

1.) Take a camera ... leaving it at home is NOT worth the weight savings

2.) Don't hesitate to ask people along the trail to take your picture when solo .... you make great friends that way.

3.) Cut your planned mileage in half whenever possible. The Journey IS the destination .... unless you just like saying ... "man ... I wish I'd spent a little more time at xxxxx".

4.) Don't hike with people you can't or don't trust just because they can make the trip when you can. You'll end up solo anyway, why not start out that way.

5.) Two cups of rice weigh almost nothing but can stretch your food by DAYS if you need it to.

6.) Learn how to cook over an open fire ..... there is no such thing as a 100% reliable stove.

7.) An Ace bandage is ALWAYS a good thing to carry.

8.) Mark's Law: The temperature will ALWAYS drop 15 degrees lower than predicted when you don't carry enough insulation.

9.) A knife, some cord, a lighter, raingear, and warm clothes are MANDATORY anytime you leave the trailhead.

10). Hypothermia only takes 3 hours to kill. Thirst will take three days, hunger three weeks. Stay dry and stay warm.

11.) Routefinding is the MOST important backcountry skill. There's not a mountain range in North America that you can't hike out of in 5 days or less if you can find your way.

12.) A good Map is NOT optional.