Hardrock - 18-3-2010 at 05:36 PM
Hey do you guys hike?
Headed out in the morning. Going for a two day trip in the mountains.
Kind of torn as I got time off and not planning to fly.
The GF and I are planning 12 miles in, camp and back out the next day. We never made 12 miles in the mountains before, mostly 8 mile hikes then camp.
Going to the Foothills Trail here in SC.
All other trips up there have been nothing but hills and its tough. So I'm a bit worried that we wont make 12 in a day, but its supposed to be less
strenuous on this part.
The last trip took us 5 hours to get to the top. Straight up, man I was whipped. We set up camp on top of a mountain and I couldn't sleep from gazing
at the lights of city's in the distance, there's just something about sleeping in a hammock.
macboy - 18-3-2010 at 06:02 PM
Love hiking!
I actually read some article once that had this "chart".......it kinda generalized extracurricular activity based on your day job and for me, stuck at
a desk all day hiking was one of the typecast activities. (I had long before discovered my love of it but still....). The only trouble I have is that
I'm more into the scrambling side of things meaning that a hike for me isn't a hike unless you reach the TOP of something. And here in Canada you
can't drive up the first 2/3s of the mountains ; )
Hardrock - 18-3-2010 at 06:36 PM
Sounds cool. Thats more like mountain climbing to me. Our 's are not that extreme but you do find yourself pulling on trees and roots for awhile
sometimes.
Some people carry packs that look to weigh 45 lbs or more. Not me about 35 lbs is all I want to deal with. I was at 30 last I checked but still
haven't finished it yet.
I went for a quick potty one morning in the woods while Honey and her son was repacking. Took about 6hours to get back to the truck. I was loading the
3 packs in the truck, mine then his, Hmmm somewhat lighter, then hers, OMG they done pulled a flimflam on me. I think I had about all the weight, they
had a good laugh.
Txshooter38 - 18-3-2010 at 06:44 PM
Spent a week last summer in the Weminuchie Wilderness in Colorado(9000+feet) and have bagged Guadalupe Peak here in Texas. Altitude makes a big
difference the higher you go. Hope you have a good trip and keep that pack as light as possible.
That extra 4 miles will make a difference....it might be a good idea to plan for a "what if" site just incase you or the GF is gassed.
I don't know what the weather is like where you are going...but again it can get sketchy higher up...make sure to stay warm and dry! Enjoy and tell us
how it goes. I'm jealous!
Txshooter38 - 18-3-2010 at 06:45 PM
Whoops...I forgot.....Pictures when you get back!
InvertedForce - 18-3-2010 at 07:07 PM
I love hiking. New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine is about the closest I can get to any kind of decent hiking, though I've hiked western Massachusetts as
well.
One of my favorite hikes was Bondcliff Trail in NH, its absolutely stunning up there.
Beyond that, I've done some small hiking/camping in the Roosevelt Nat'l forest, just south of Estes Park, CO. It was beautiful in those woods, but the
altitude did me in! I was huffin' pretty hard.
Hardrock - 18-3-2010 at 08:06 PM
Yea Tx. I'll get some pics. Temps are not a problem here in SC.
Our highest mountain on this trail is around 3560 so its nothing like what you've seen.
She'll not be the one getting gassed. LOL.
She is in pretty good shape at 42. Been walking an hour twice a day for over a month. Me 30 minutes.
Most of my what if plans are for the crazy's. I've seen some really wild people back in there.
On one trip we met some state workers that told us to watch out for a coyote that walked right up with in 6 feet stood there then walked by.
I put the Glock on her pack and had her walk in front of me.
hahaha, She didn't like that too good but I explained how it would allow me to get the gun quicker.
Probably rabid.
Hardrock - 18-3-2010 at 08:09 PM
Huffin pretty hard, lol. Thats me about a mile in. You guys been in some serious hiking.
macboy - 18-3-2010 at 10:27 PM
hehehe
Reminded me of one of my first hikes.....an easy day hike with a bunch of friends to a forestry tower lookout. Maybe only a 2.5 hour hike on
established trails. Anyway, hot as hell that day (I'll never forget how good the "end of the day beer" tasted that day). We decided to break the
monotony by breaking in one of the new guys with us. He had packed the fancy pantsy sunflower seeds in his backpack and since he was the sharing sort
we all partook. Thing was though, everytime we went in for some seeds, we deposited a few stones. The joke became who could get the biggest rock in
without him noticing. A full one and a half fister got in there but it was a "water bottle exchange".
heheheh
Hoo boy was he pissed when we got to the top and opened our packs for lunch. hehehehehe
Sad truth? He ended up carrying a bunch of rocks DOWN the hill too 
Darwin was made for people like him.....wonder where he's at now......prob a multimillionaire somewhere with women falling off him. Or not.
rocfighter - 19-3-2010 at 04:34 AM
We generaly spend 8-10 days on the trails. We carry everything we need in our packs. Make camp when dusk sets in. We now have two tents as last year
we ended up in a wicked storm and our tent got soaked and we still needed to use it. So I baught a second one. They are both mountian hiking tents and
weigh less than 6lbs (Sweet) We bring all our food and we filter our water as we need it.
What a great way to leave the world behind. Leave no trace, take only photos.
Drewculous - 19-3-2010 at 06:56 AM
you guys suck... lol
i showed my woman this thread and she said she'd never do it... i like hiking, it is really fun... gonna hafta do it solo if i ever want to
rocfighter - 19-3-2010 at 01:58 PM
Our trip this summer should be over 100 miles if all works out. Totally free of clocks and only worry about bad weather.
geokite - 19-3-2010 at 02:49 PM
Love hiking, it kinda has interrupted my kiting in the past. Did the JMT in 2002 (222 miles), and the High Sierra Trail in 2003 out and back. Hope
to get back out there this summer.
Hardrock - 20-3-2010 at 06:48 PM
We got back today. I can't hardly walk. All bent over and cripple looking. My legs, hips and shoulders are killing me.
Yesterday we covered 17 miles. Went in 11 miles and it wasn't where we wanted to be for the night. There was a road into it and about six trucks
parked within a half mile or so of the Chattooga River. Where we thought would be a secluded area to set up camp.
So we started back to make today a shorter hike by recovering 6 miles and to get away from people.
My pack ended up 43lbs, was too much and really put a hurting on my @ss. LOL. The night was nice. Eat and hit the Hammocks on a top of a ridge just
after dark.
The stars lit up the sky and the sounds of the wind were amazing. You could hear it coming forever then passing over and down into the valleys below.
The big SlumberJack mummy bag provided more than enough warmth, had to sleep with it unzipped. Foam bed rolls were nice in the Hammock. Prevented
feeling the wind from under the Hammocks. It's hard to believe but even in a bag you can feel the cool wind up thru the bottom of a Hammock.
We had two critters we know of (dunno what kind) come with in feet of us. Spooked and ran off. One sounded pretty big, I couldn't get the flashlight
on it, maybe a deer. The other she heard (I was asleep) but said she was too scared to peek out because it was right on her. Hahahaha.
The trail was flatter than expected (thank goodness). Lots of roots and rocks just under the leaves. Ankle busters. Went down hard once with a big
thug.
The scenery on this trail was terrible. Woods and more woods. About 5 miles in we were looking at a huge fire probably a mile and half away. Was kind
of scary knowing we were going around it. Never found out if it was a controlled burn or out of control burn.
We made good time, averaged 2 miles an hour, the inclines were tough but the flat stretches made up for them.
Made it out safely today with no external injuries just internal ones that will heal in a few days.
I couldn't imagine taking some of the trips you guys are talking about. It would simply kill me. She was like a machine so I guess preparation would
be the key.
100 miles? 222 miles? 8-10 days? Thats too much for me. While we've done a lot of one nighters, I'll need plenty of Testemax to attempt something like
that.
rocfighter - 21-3-2010 at 04:53 AM
I think 43lbs is way to much. I start an average 8-10 day hike with about 35-40lbs. Sandy has 30-35lbs. This is all we have for the whole trip
including food for two extra days just in case. And I have to tell you 2-3 day hikes are the worst.
Day 1 all excited and full of energy.
Day 2 shoulders and leggs getting sore.
Day 3 KILL ME NOW (mostly in the morning)
Day 4-? all is good, muscles are feeling better and the world is right again!!!
I bet if you want to keep doing this and willing to tranfer some kiting $$ into hiking $$ you can lighten up your packs and all your gear. But it is
a big start-up cost.
Good pack $300-$400
5-6lbs tent on sale $100-$300
Good hiking shoes $200 (an extra pair if you experiance a few days of rain.)
Ultra light cook stove and settup $200 (most trail TLT, AP and others don't allow ground fires
5 ounce sleeping bags $150 each
And the cloths are availible on sale at good prices off season. All moisture wicking so no monkee butt or pits. (no cotton or wool)
Holy crap thats alot of money to walk in the woods!! But a hotel is almost as much and you can't keep it!
Hardrock - 23-3-2010 at 02:38 PM
Yea 43lbs is too much 4 me. I carried a couple oranges, banana,
1lb can of beef stew. 6 waters, protein shake, Single burner stove w fuel, cont. of cooked rice, cont. of 7 hard boiled eggs. dry cloths, Glock w/ 15
rounds, extra rope, video camera, snacks, tarp, big mummy bag, two hammocks, flashlight x2, swiss army knife, sheath knife, cell phone, first aid,
trail book, compass, and a few other survival items and to beat it all,
I stopped at the store and grabbed a 6 pack of BudLight on the way.
Have a hiking tent but don't like being inside.
Hardrock - 23-3-2010 at 02:42 PM
This fire was worrisome on the mind. The first pic we were headed by it. The second it was at our right side going by.
Closer to fire
Hardrock - 23-3-2010 at 02:48 PM
8 miles in at this point.
Just me
Hardrock - 23-3-2010 at 02:50 PM
rocfighter - 23-3-2010 at 05:04 PM
Yeah I bet it was the beer and cooked food that put you over the top!!!
But looks like you had fun and saw some cool things on the way. And that is what it is about.
We all do things our own way. Thats the best part of it.
macboy - 24-3-2010 at 09:16 AM
Hardrock, thanks again for the post. It's really got me reliving great old memories. One I'd totally recommend to anyone is the Chilkoot Trail. It's
not as hard as it's made out to be, just long with one hard bit. BUT the reward is the opportunity to hike the very path the gold rushers took and
live their stories. It's like walking through a museum.
Not sure how many are familiar with it but the deal was that since the goldrushers were coming from the US to Canada the customs ruled that all
immigrants needed to carry everything they'd need to sustain themselves for a full year or something like that.
Everything. These cats were hauling in like 1500 pounds of stuff. Canned preserves, bagged goods, you name it. Not only that, they had to bring in the
other things they'd need.. You know like tools, a stove, sewing machines, drums full of fuel oil....heavy crap. A lot of them carried the stuff just
as far as they had to (ie - as soon as they got their checkmark from the border guard they'd walk 50 feet, and offload the excess). That's the museum
part. You'll be hiking along and come across old whiskey bottles, tools, stoves.....we even saw what they called "boots" and let me tell you.....I'll
take my sturdy HanWags ANY DAY over the slip of leather they called a boot.
Pretty cool.
*sigh* I do love hiking.......sure do.
rocfighter - 24-3-2010 at 11:24 AM
Man Mac I would enjoy seeing that sometime. It sounds like a great hike. How long is this trail? And where does it start?
We are planning 10 days on the long trail this summer we plan to finnish the north 1/3. From the base of the chin to Canada about the center of
vermont east to weast that is!. With good weather and good health we should have plenty of time to do a little sight seeing when we are done.
macboy - 24-3-2010 at 12:04 PM
We started in Skagway (a place called Dyea) and went all the way to Bennett Lake where we hopped on the White Pass Railroad and rode back to Skagway.
(They make the hikers sit in the back, open-air car so we don't stink out the cruise ship passengers. The rail trip alone is worth a million bucks.)
If I remember correctly we did it in five days? I'll have to ask Kathy. We got lucky and got two of the "first come first served" passes. Otherwise
I'd advise booking ahead. I think they let like 20-30 in each day so you end up forming a bit of a family but on the last day we figured three more
hours to get to Bennett was fine so we pushed to the end and were treated to being the ONLY ones at the camp. Better yet, the camp everyone else
stopped at was all smooth rock to lay on...Bennett was a sandy beach. Let me tell you how nice it was to strip right down at the lake's edge and wash
up nice. We were the best smelling hikers ever!
Kinda neat to go through "customs" at the summit of a mountain pass. Start in the US, hike into Canada and then take a train back to the US.
I'll dig up some pics and post them in a new thread.
rocfighter - 24-3-2010 at 02:34 PM
Cool pics I saw them on the other thread you started. But I read that one first and asked the same questions there again. You can ignor them if you
wish or maybe someone else will like to know as well.
Thanks I think we will def. discuss this hike.