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HundsSolo Baby Step Hiking :o)
Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1435 | TRs | Pics Location: Olympia, Wa |
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HundsSolo
Baby Step Hiking :o)
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:18 am
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Day Hike essentials by Stefan Lofgren, director of Mount Rainier National Park's climbing program.
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
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Hulksmash Cleaning up.
Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 7113 | TRs | Pics Location: Arlington |
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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:30 am
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Quote: | 1. IT’S NOT “JUST A DAY HIKE.”
Stefan Lofgren, director of Mount Rainier National Park's climbing program, says day hikers should dress and pack as if they are going on an overnight backpacking trip. "Come prepared that at any moment you could get lost or hurt and need to spend a night or two," Lofgren said. "And be prepared to thrive, not barely cling to life." |
"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog
Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog
Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5460 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
Thanks for the reminder. It's sort of like learning math...the more times you can reinforce it the better it sticks with you. So now I am starting to understand why my daypack invariably ends up heavier than my overnight pack. Someone should write a book on lightweight day hiking!!
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cascadeclimber Member
Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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Oh, good grief. If every day hiker carried all that stuff every time they went out the incidence of unplanned nights out would, I think, go through the roof.
The old saying that if you bring bivy gear you are much more likely to bivy is true.
At the risk of screwing myself, I've been banging around in the Cascades for 20 years and have never spent an unplanned night out. A primary reason for this is that I've been very willing to retreat when weather, conditions, or my gut tell me to.
When the weather or condition are marginal I don't push my limits. I carry extra gear and I conserve some energy. And there are times of high pressure and good conditions when I do push my limits: How little gear can I carry? How little food and water do I need?
When we climbed Willis Wall we had a great forecast and didn't bring a tent for that 2 day, 2 night climb. We even shared a tube of sunscreen. Carrying a bunch of extra gear would have resulted in us spending much more time in the firing line. On a Johannesberg FA, we knew there was a chance we'd not make it back to the car. We carried one sleeping bag and a space blanket and, exhausted at 3:00 AM, we used them for a few hours comfortable sleep.
And...winter, especially on Rainier, is different. I've had trips where I planned to get to Muir and ended up spending the night at 7200' after slogging all day in a storm. We had to dig the tent out every hour and it was still mostly buried in the morning.
Bottom line: Know your limits and know that they change with weather and conditions. Choose gear wisely, and be accountable for your choices: Don't call SAR because you took new boots up Rainier and have some nasty blisters. Don't expect a rescue to be immediately available if things go wrong.
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 5:12 pm
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Be accountable for your choices? How are they going to avoid that if they wanted to?
The nonsense about how being prepared to spend the night means you will end up spending the night is perhaps the least valid superstition ever. It makes me cringe whenever someone trots out that bit of nonsense. Maybe for some kind of super-climber who is hoping to race up and race down, the extra gear might slow him or her down, but this article is about advice for dayhikers. I've always carried overnight survival gear on wilderness day hikes, and I've never spent an unplanned night out. So much for "thinking" that carrying gear will cause unplanned nights out to skyrocket.
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HitTheTrail Member
Joined: 30 Oct 2007 Posts: 5460 | TRs | Pics Location: 509 |
CC - All well stated. However, weather is only one factor out of many that can leave you stranded. One biggie that comes to mind is breaking a leg on an unmaintained rocky trail in chest high brush. We all know the state of trails now.
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kbatku Questionable hiker
Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 3330 | TRs | Pics Location: Yaquima |
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kbatku
Questionable hiker
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:04 pm
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Sh*t happens, but it's not going to happen to me! If you work the odds, that's true most all of the time. And if something goes wrong and you are "unprepared" - well it's your arse that gets wrote up in the paper and badmouthed on NWHikers.net.
If you are willing to run that (seemingly tiny) risk to save the weight of a space blanket and some candy bars, go for it. Packing for "every eventuality" is an impossibility, so me I pack what is reasonable and prudent (for me) and leave the kitchen sink at home. I might not have the most pleasant "unplanned bivy", but I hope to come out of it with all my fingers and toes.
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cascadeclimber Member
Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 1427 | TRs | Pics
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HitTheTrail wrote: | One biggie that comes to mind is breaking a leg on an unmaintained rocky trail in chest high brush. |
That would fall under conditions, in my opinion. A trip with substantial rough or off-trail travel merits an increase in safety margin.
I guess my point is that I don't believe in a universal list of 'essentials'. Do most people really need overnight gear, a stove, extra food, and a compass when walking up Mt. Si in July? When a list gets published like this, the general public often piles on anyone who needs a rescue and doesn't have one of the items. Conversely, you could have every one of those items in your pack and still be unprepared for an outing.
Slugman, if always carrying overnight gear is the right choice for you, that's fine- in fact, that's my point. But that doesn't make it the right choice for every person on every outing.
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xan Member
Joined: 31 Mar 2007 Posts: 222 | TRs | Pics
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xan
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:54 pm
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Every time I see "expert hiker" in print it makes me want to laugh. WTF is an "expert hiker", anyway? Do you have to take an advanced hiking course and get a certificate?
All fun aside, I tend to, like cascade climber, take a somewhat jaundiced view of "ten essentials" lists. Your most important "essential", the one you really should never, under any circumstances leave behind, is your brain and its capacity to make judgements. The conditions and the nature of the trip should dictate what else you bring. The list of non-brain "essentials" gets longer and shorter, depending.
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Yana Hater
Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 4212 | TRs | Pics Location: Out Hating |
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Yana
Hater
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:04 pm
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While there is certainly truth in the statement of bringing a functional brain and using it, that in itself takes training and practice - no one is born knowing how to make good decisions when traveling in the back country and most casual hikers will not ever get much practice.
There are ways that the article could be improved, but overall I think it does a pretty good job of educating the general public by listing useful gear and making suggestions on how to prepare/use your brain to help you stay out of trouble or get out of trouble.
It's easy to sit at your computer and criticize from a standpoint of vast experience, but I'm glad there are people out there actually trying to educate the public instead of simply rejecting efforts by others as inferior.
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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Hulksmash Cleaning up.
Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 7113 | TRs | Pics Location: Arlington |
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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:31 pm
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cascadeclimber wrote: | Oh, good grief. If every day hiker carried all that stuff every time they went out the incidence of unplanned nights out would, I think, go through the roof. |
I have to admit....sure is nice to take a nap outside when ever and where ever i feel like.
"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog
Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog
Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
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HundsSolo Baby Step Hiking :o)
Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1435 | TRs | Pics Location: Olympia, Wa |
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HundsSolo
Baby Step Hiking :o)
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Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:04 pm
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If you read between the lines that Stefan Lofgren that wrote, you will see the frustration he has and has encountered when he has to call out search and rescue for those experienced hikers, climbers and , mountaineers who went out unprepared even though they thought they were prepared.
All it takes is a miss-step which can result in an injurer leg or breaking through the ice and getting all wet as that poor snowshoer from NY did last December.
Frankly I am tired of reading of experienced hikers getting lost. I know its very taxing (mentally) on the Rangers at Mt Rainier.
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
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HundsSolo Baby Step Hiking :o)
Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1435 | TRs | Pics Location: Olympia, Wa |
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HundsSolo
Baby Step Hiking :o)
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Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:32 am
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Here's good reply from Stefen.
MISCONCEPTION: The prepared don’t get lost or die on the mountain.
REALITY: Lacey mountaineer Jo Johnson has spent years exploring Mount Rainier’s slopes and was prepared when she and her boyfriend, Jim Dickman, got lost in a blizzard last month. She and rangers credit their preparedness for their survival. Her friend Robert Plankers of Olympia was prepared with topnotch gear in 2011 but still suffered hypothermia and later fell to his death. “If the mountain wants to take you, it will,” Johnson said.
Here's another good article posted today.
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY!
If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you.
Wag More and Bark Less
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Kendi Member
Joined: 11 Dec 2009 Posts: 37 | TRs | Pics Location: North Bend |
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Kendi
Member
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Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:20 pm
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Really? Can't figure out why anyone would think the 10 essentials are too much to bring on a dayhike? No excuses to not have them IMHO
1. Navigation: Map and compass and the skills to use them duh
2. Sun protection: Sunglasses and sunscreen always bring sunglasses when expecting your picture to be taken
3. Insulation: Extra clothing a wool hat and down jacket are light and compressable
4. Illumination: A headlamp or flashlight and extra batteries very small and light
5. First-aid supplies duct tape will fix nearly anything if used right
6. Fire: Firestarter and matches or a lighter again small and light
7. Repair kit and tools including a knife multitool and needle and thread are small and don't weigh much
8. Nutrition: Extra food jerky and a granola bar take up too much space/weight? since when?
9. Hydration: Extra water or a means to purifiy it
10. Emergency shelter tube tent or bivy sac are both very lightweight and compact
But you guys know this stuff already- it's the general masses that I see going up Little Si wearing flipflops that drive me nuts. Don't know how many times I've used my first aid gear on others on the trail.
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Tigerotor77W Member
Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 776 | TRs | Pics Location: Charleston, SC |
Kendi wrote: | Can't figure out why anyone would think the 10 essentials are too much to bring on a dayhike? No excuses to not have them IMHO |
Ignorance is a pretty strong excuse, and one I've had in the past (and will almost certainly showcase again in the future).
Not everyone who plans to go to the mountains to hike has the fortune of already knowing others who are similarly interested... one has to begin somewhere, and sometimes this is either with the wrong crowd or alone.
For experienced hikers who fail to bring necessities, you might say it's a different story, but again -- not everyone comes to the mountains with the same mindset. I'd argue that far more people drive than hike, but just count the number of bad drivers on the road in a given day. And that's with formal instruction of some sort. (Most people would say they're prepared for driving, eh?)
These communities are helpful, but the knowledge here isn't representative of the general masses that hike. I'm probably more often than not a member of the unknowing general mass. The best I can do is to try to continue to learn -- and in the process not turn into a statistic.
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