Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
Since this is in the lite philosophies forum my profound advice would be to someone who is new to shedding pounds and ounces to get down to lightweight, or furthermore ultra lightweight. Don't shed too many things so then you are uncomfortable in camp! Then you can't get a good nights sleep and your next day hiking is going to be miserable and a lot tougher.
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"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel
Standard saying from the old days at NOLS "If you are hungry, cold, hot, tired, or otherwise miserable, you are doing something wrong.
Another one, for those of us that guide (from my school's Outdoor Education instructor manual): "If you are cold, your students are freezing; if you are tired, your students are exhausted; if you are hungry, your students are starving; if you are uncomfortable, your students are miserable."
Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
I'd give the same advice about backpacking as I give to new mothers (when asked): Find what works for YOU and do it.
Anything can work for someone some of the time, but nothing works for everyone ALL of the time. Advice is often free, plentiful, and worth what is paid for it.
Keeping an open mind is great advice. (Isn't the clinical definition of insanity, "doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results"?)
If conditions change, you have to adapt - and that means doing the best with what you've got. Keep your plans, and your ideas about gear and method, open to new ideas. Some of the best trips I've been on have not developed quite the way they were planned.
Look up fall down, look down move forward. In many more words; if you are walking whilst gazing around you are more likely to trip on an object that you didn't notice. These are the words of my father.
Look up fall down, look down move forward. In many more words; if you are walking whilst gazing around you are more likely to trip on an object that you didn't notice. These are the words of my father.
Sound advice that I can agree with ,welcome to the forums
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Some peopole live life day by day. Try step by step.
It is real simple for this group, don't worry about what others think of your decisions if they are based on experience.
It is the people with little experience that are concerned about being looked down upon. Backpacking is a personal experience with lots of room for different interpretations of what is right.
time your breathing with your steps going uphill for aerobic aid. Probably one inhale per 2 steps and one exhale per 2 steps. Jim
I like this Jim and I functions similarly. Sometimes if I'm winded I'll take 3 steps of long inhale and then 2 steps worth of fast strong exhales... I figure I need the extra step for oxygen. *dizzy head... *CRASH*
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I always forget and make it more complicated than it needs to be...it's just walking.
Or, as John Wayne put it in The Train Robbers, "It means you're a man now; you'll spend the rest of your life getting up one more time than you're knocked down." (He was using "man" in the context of "adult," the conversation was about people maturing, not about any inherent differences between men and women.)
From my Dad, one of the greatest people I have ever met: "When you wake up in the morning you can decide to be happy or sad. Pick happy, it makes for a much nicer life".
good advice - not generally taken these days as everyone is in a hurry. I'd like to ad to that - some of the best places are 500 feet from the road and everybody charges past. Don't overlook the easy camping spots - you can carry more gear or food.
Colorado... profound. Yep everyday we decide are we gonna have a good one or a bad one. Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
Or, as John Wayne put it in The Train Robbers, "It means you're a man now; you'll spend the rest of your life getting up one more time than you're knocked down." (He was using "man" in the context of "adult," the conversation was about people maturing, not about any inherent differences between men and women.)
Maybe we could use the word "tough" instead of man.
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