I agree with that, but I'd say that bushwhacking solo is a good way to keep them sharp too. You don't need to go far off trail into the wilderness to experience the solitude and newness of traveling on seldom tread ground though. Even out west I could find that by hiking just a few miles or less.

You know, more than anything, the weather is what scares me and it really doesn't matter if you're 6 hours from your car on a trail or off trail if you're not prepared to deal with it.

It's not near so wild out west as it is here. We get weather fronts pushing through here that can be just vicious. I think knowing how to get and understand the weather forecasts is really an important skill to learn and practice too.

In fact, it's probably one of the most overlooked, underused, and underrated skills, while at the same time the being the one most likely to save your butt around here, and probably right up there in the top three out west too.

The NOAA puts out some great products. Their radar images offer incredible coverage for the mainland US and if you can get them off the web you can estimate down to a few minutes when a storm front will be hitting you.

The NOAA hourly weather graph is amazing, and it's darn accurate for 72 hour out and pretty good for as far as it goes. I make it a point to study it before I go out, and I make it a point to find some high ground to try and get an update after 48 hours if I haven't got one before then.

The great thing about that hourly graph is it gives you so much important info and you can adjust your plans accordingly. It will tell you which way the will will blow and how strong, and when. If a front is passing by in the middle of the night and the wind will be changing directions and blowing hard you can set your shelter up to deal with that, and in a spot that will offer some protection. I always use that info when setting up my shelter. Sometimes I don't use anything but a groundcloth if I know there's no chance of rain or dew.

I've planned short trips that were just amazing with that forecast. Get in just after a hard rain, and get out just before another and spend one or more perfect days hiking to waterfalls.

I've got the NOAA weather radio on my GMRS handheld talkie, and it's worth carrying if the weather is iffy and on longer trips. It will often get a signal when there's no cell service, even down in the canyons and hollows here.

If you really pay attention to the weather forecasts you'll know exactly when the perfect time to be out there will be, and exactly when to bail out or hunker down.

I know there is a "weather be damned" sort of mentality to backpacking, and I admire that somewhat, but the truth is we have choices in the matter. All you have to do is make it a point to use a weather forecast and there really isn't any compelling reason not to.

I've used the weather forecast to practice backpacking when it's nasty and to experience being some particular spot in extraordinary conditions. I think that's great fun, but it's sure nice to have a bailout option. I've used it to cut trips short too, and was home safe, dry, and warm before things got really ugly out.