https://rootsrated.com/stories/10-lesser-known-alabama-waterfalls Did you have to request that campsite there at sougahoagdee falls?
No we just showed up, parked the truck on a dirt road, hiked in and set up camp for a night. Didnt see or hear a single other person out there.
Made a fire too? Have heard stories of people doing that and get a fire going and then noleNblue shows up asking you to leave
anybody spent any time in Smoke Hole Canyon WV? eyeing an early summer backpacking/trout fishing weekend
4 of us tried with the new lottery system on Feb 1, and only 1 of us got thru, and we only got 2 days.
Spoiler: Freak's Look At Me Post https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/track-apr-12-06-45-pm https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/day-2-2018-at https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/day-3-at-2018
One of my Pop's favorite places. I put his ashes in a waterfall not far from there. Edit** Is that Helton Creek Falls in the 1st pic? If so that's the one.
Its always the obvious answer....Yeah and the crazy shit is we carried more useless shit last year. Hopefully next April will be a much lighter affair. Being a complete dumbass I packed 4-16 ounce Sweetwater IPAs. Friday afternoon I'm thinking its weird I can smell beer in my sweat as I only had one Thursday night. After a break put my pack back on and my back is completely soaked. The burner from the stove punctured one of the beers.
It takes a good chunk of change to go lighter (I hike with around 10-15lbs for upwards of a few days to a week) but when you do, you will never go back. Lighter loads, means more miles which means more shit to do and see. My whole family of 5 goes out for a few nights with less than I used to carry myself back in the day.
Last year I'm pretty sure we took like a 100 Cliff Bars and some of the Apline Aire packaged meals(). This year we took like powder mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, those sealed packs of tuna, Matahma Red Beans and Rice and only like 25 Cliff Bars. We definitely need to reevaluate the misc bag. But I'm not really sure how to cut down. I'm tempted to hammock sleep as I barely slept either time anyways.
Invest in a food dehydrator. I have dehydrated chili, fruit (blend a handful of raspberries with some applesauce and dry it into fruit rollups), chicken (which I've turned into chicken curry or chili), etc. Also, some pre-dehydrated food in case you don't want to get a dehydrator: Miso soup (add dried black fungus if you want), pasta, couscous, rice, beans
I've had some pasta salads (that I rehydrated overnight) when I was hiking without a stove that were really good but I couldn't eat like that everyday.
I gotta have a hot meal when I'm out there. Jet Boil and dehydrated food is as light as I'm ever gonna go in regards to food. A speaker and hot food are my luxury items...and beer unless I'm over 10k.
No. I tend to overpack, too. The longest I've done is 5 nights, but that was almost fifteen years ago. I haven't done more than a night or two since then. I mostly day hike now.
Yeah, stoves are of course dependent on preference. With my wife and kids, I always bring a stove, usually my jetboil. If it's just me and a buddy or whatnot, I usually don't bring a stove and at 3-4 nights most anything can last that long if properly cared for. I still use a tent but it's super light (zpacks triplex) and I'm now a quilt sleeper with pad. I've never found the hammock fit me well, as I'm pretty tall. I use a few different back packs, I have ULA Ohm and an HMG 3400 that I use a lot for winter hiking in the whites. Obviously in the winter my pack weight goes up as we use a 4 season tent, heavier sleeping bags, etc. I'd be careful going the ultralight way. It can get addicting and very costly but hey, it's just money.
The good thing about ultralight gear is that people are always trying to go lighter and, as a result, there is tons of gear with light use on deep discount. https://backpackinglight.com/forums/forum/commerce/gear-swap/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GearTrade/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ULgeartrade/
Hammock setups are more comfortable, but generally heavier than UL tents... Especially when split between 2 or more people.
It’s nearly impossible to find an ultralight tent for tall people. There are like 3 on the market and they’re absurdly expensive.
The only aspect I’d argue is slight. Hammock vs. UL tent is not the comparison. Should be hammock vs. UL tent and pad as that is the replacement. You still get lighter with the tent and pad, but it is closer, and to me the comfort is incomparable. As a roller in my sleep, I’ve never found a pad or inflatable I didn't roll off of.
My hammock, suspension, tarp, and quilts come out to 4.84lbs - def not cuben fiber territory but it's my favorite 5lb to carry
Trekking poles > high tops for saving your ankles. They catch all my trips before anything gets sprained.
All this talk of 15lb packs makes me glad I can load up a 110qt cooler and some dry boxes with a full kitchen and have the river do my hiking for me on my raft.
Where do you raft down? Been really wanting to do a canoe and camp somewhere (Big Bend, Grand Canyon, Deschutes, Idaho... etc)
Also for stove or no stove depends on if I can have a fire or not wherever I’m going, which in California it can be restrictive. Usually I bring a stove and some mountainhouse meals cause a hot meal at the end of a long day really lifts the spirits.
Coffee is my “luxury” item on the trails. I’ve been known to bring my Aeropress or Hario v60 & filters
Have a surplus of MREs that are pretty handy and convenient when needed. Never really used any of the other stuff. Not really a picky eater so they work great