Registered: 11/13/09
Posts: 75
Loc: Small Town, SC
didnt get to camp last night, but its all good. i'll do it at least one night next week. I know that everyone has their own logic about this, but i've always stripped to a white tee, boxers,shorts and socks. then put my long sleeved stuff down around my feet,and a water bottle in the bottom.
and no matter how cold, in what sleeping bag, from my 30 degree,15 degree, to 0 degree, i've never been cold. and everyone else i've camped with has never believed me, and had 5 layers on, and froze. Until it fails me, i'll go with what works for me. I jsut got a 30* western mountaineering megalite bag, so i'll be trying it out probally tuesday night, and maybe thursday night too.
Registered: 11/13/09
Posts: 75
Loc: Small Town, SC
yeah, i'm gonna try my best to camp out tommorrow night, behind my house. i'll just go off in some corner of the propery, hopefully the dogs wont bother me
yeah, i'm gonna try my best to camp out tommorrow night, behind my house. i'll just go off in some corner of the propery, hopefully the dogs wont bother me
Dogs? hah. no problem. the Last time I camped in someone's back yard I woke up next to a guy wearing a kilt.
What kind of weather are you going to be hiking in? Will it be wet, rainy, or maybe very cold. A glove should be purchased with all these things and more in mind. Are they going to need to be water proof? Will they need to block the wind. Figure out what conditions you are specifically going to be hiking in and then chose the gloves...or clothes for that matter...sabre11004...
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
You should be able to purchase hiking boots the same way that you purchase everything else. What type of hiking are you going to be doing? What kind of terrain will you be trekking on? How far are you going and are you just doing sections or are you doing a through hike? All these are the same considerations that you have when buying other gear too. Some trips you might want to wear an all out hiking boot because of the terrain and some times you may want to wear a walking type shoe because of really maintained trails. Just depends a great deal where and how hard and how far you are going...sabre11004
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
Some trips you might want to wear an all out hiking boot because of the terrain and some times you may want to wear a walking type shoe because of really maintained trails. Just depends a great deal where and how hard and how far you are going...sabre11004
And then I have worn a walking type shoe bushwacking down the north side of a heavily forested and steep mountain with no ill effects. I actually like them better then my heavy all out hiking boots....YMMV
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I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.
You can wear sneakers the next time you go ridge hiking in Hawaii. I'll be the guy wearing boots.
The ridges there tend to have a rut the width of your foot down the middle of a shoulder wide ridge.
That is not to say that it can't be done. I did it once. The question is really one of risk tolerance - if you twist an ankle, the day won't end well.
This goes back to the point that you should scope your requirements carefully, and not be afraid to start at a low cost solution - remember, I started with sneakers and bought the boots to solve a problem.
You can wear sneakers the next time you go ridge hiking in Hawaii. I'll be the guy wearing boots.
Me too! I've hiked in Hawaii, pictured lots of sandal-wearing and white sand before I went. The reality of hiking through dense Hala jungle growing from razor-sharp crenelated lava was another thing entirely.
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It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain. -- Larry Darrell
I get it. Did you get out onto fresh flows when you were there? When my wife and I did it (day hiking, thank God), the fresh (cooled and hardened) lava had a layer on top of it that was like glass, and it broke off in chunks the width of a coke bottle as we walked on it. The landscape was like a demented parking lot, covered in broken coke bottles. Jeans, leather gloves, and long sleaves were in order on that stuff. And we carried A LOT of water. Of course, we followed some vulcanologists out past where USGS said it was a good idea to go to see that...
Exactly so. I lived within 5 miles of the active lava flow. Walking on the sort of terrain you describe was de riguer. Too close to the lava and my boot soles would start melting, as the sulphur fumes fried my eyes out. Definitely the most literally "hellish" ecology I've wandered through.
The Hawaiians aren't quite as strict as we mainlanders are about safety rules either. Lots of people got injured or killed on popular stroll-from-your-car routes in the National Park, thinking "they would have this roped off if it wasn't safe!" Let The Hiker Beware.
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It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain. -- Larry Darrell
Yes, I miss that attitude about safety here in the East. "If in doubt, don't go out" applied on the water and in the backcountry. It seemed like a couple hikers a year would get lost (like, never found lost) when I lived out there, but I'm probably exaggerating. It was nice being treated like an adult.
And the temperature is going to be in the teens? Are you sure you'll be able to keep your feet warm? (If you're going to be in the wet - rain or snow - AND it's cold, you may be asking for trouble.)
Since this is an ROTC trip - any chance of borrowing some combat boots that fit?
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Yes, I'd take at least 2 pair spare socks plus at least 2 pair of produce bags. Be sure to wear gaiters, too. Personally, I wouldn't go out in that weather without boots big enough for 2 pair of socks! You might look at some toe warmers, too.
Edited by OregonMouse (01/07/1011:31 PM)
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Registered: 11/13/09
Posts: 75
Loc: Small Town, SC
i indeed had a great time. i slept in the tent with the XO and Instuctor Long. Since my contract is up, i got offered a spot as Midshipman. so, now i get to be staff. so that included eating steak, and pasta, and breakfast in the log cabin we rented for emergencies. I did use all my gear except my tent and it all preformed perfect. i love it, and cant wait to go again!
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