7 ms·

TLDW version: 1) Didn't get familiar with hiking / camping on broken / rough terrain. 2) Didn't plan on how to deal with hypothermia inducing temperatures. 3

by crikli 8y ago

TLDW version: 1) Didn't get familiar with hiking / camping on broken / rough terrain. 2) Didn't plan on how to deal with hypothermia inducing temperatures. 3) Didn't replace shoes quickly enough 4) Not taking black bears seriously enough. 5) Careless / casual with river crossings She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point. Here are some based on my experience: 1) Go out with your pack at night and practice moving quickly up and down some stairs. If it rains, even better. 2) Have a layer (usually a wind/rain shell) at the top of your pack. When you stop that layer automatically goes on. When you start walking again that layer goes back in the pack. 3) Replace your shoes when mileage equals 500 - your loaded weight (bodyweight + pack). Do not risk your foot health for a hundred bucks. 4) No RoTs. Bears aren't inherently hostile (usually) but they're not inherently friendly either. Self-education required. 5) No RoTs here, water crossing are dangerous. If you are going to cross you have to have a plan for what happens if you lose your pack or get swept downstream. The force of water can be shocking. EDIT: If you plan to do any kind of movement over long distance _please_ invest in the book "Fixing Your Feet". Foot problems end more adventures than anything else. Foot care and foot health is the primary predictor IMO of how successful and how non-miserable a movement will be. https://www.amazon.com/Fixing-Your-Feet-Prevention-Treatments-ebook/dp/B01I8S7U44 https://www.amazon.com/Fixing-Your-Feet-Prevention-Treatment...

harveywi 8y ago
Nice mountainmansplain.
- crikli 8y ago
  Huh? Someone below asked for a TLDW.
  - harveywi 8y ago
    > "She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point." Runs fingers through thicket of chest hair "Guess it's time for yours truly to 'splain the right way to do it."
    - n4r9 8y ago
      Some of the HN guidelines that you've broken here: > Be civil. > Don't be snarky. > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. > Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents. > Please don't post shallow dismissals.
      - harveywi 8y ago
        Thank you for the correction. I now see the error of my ways: The proper way to handle it would have been to passive-aggressively downvote his comment.
    - scatters 8y ago
      I didn't see a female expert being shut out of the conversation?
jeremy0x4a 8y ago
> No RoTs here, water crossing are dangerous. If you are going to cross you have to have a plan for what happens if you lose your pack or get swept downstream. The force of water can be shocking. Just as importantly, consider in advance how being wet is going to affect you. Wet clothes are heavy and fail to insulate, while wet feet inside wet shoes is a very bad combination for a number of reasons.
- crikli 8y ago
  Yes! Solid point, and a great example of why there aren't RoTs for rivers. It can be a really complex problem. You can't go barefoot. Do you have camp shoes, will they work for the crossing? If you use your main shoes did you make a bad choice (my opinion) and pick Goretex? Do you have dry socks for the other side? Will the environment even allow drying? Is your pack waterproof? Will it float? If you used a contractor bag does it have holes, because if you've been in for more than a few day guess what, it does! In the shitty trail mishap lottery nothing is worse than soaked sleeping bag. And what do you wear during the crossing? If you won't strip to your skivvies what's your drying plan? Bridges are really great, is my point.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Wet clothes ... fail to insulate Choosing the right clothes can help mitigate this detail. Wool, flannel and sometimes knits can keep you warm while wet. I have no clue what kind of knits do so. I just know I had a cotton sweater once that was insulating while wet.
SECProto 8y ago
> 3) Replace your shoes when mileage equals 500 - your loaded weight (bodyweight + pack). Do not risk your foot health for a hundred bucks. Converting units to metric (km and kg), Replace your shoes when they are worn 800-3.5*(loaded weight)
- rak00n 8y ago
  Where did you get this numbers from? I think my hiking boots are way beyond those numbers by now.
  - SECProto 8y ago
    I just did a unit conversion of the OP comment. 500 miles = 800km. The 3.5 is to convert weight in kg to lb, then convert miles to km to match the unitless number in the original (2.2*1.6 is ~3.5)... the units don't make any sense, but it's just a rule of thumb I don't necessarily agree with the rule of thumb, I was just converting it into units I could understand and thought I would share it with the community. They do line up approximately with injury-avoidance running shoe wisdom (replace every 400 to 600 km), so it seems plausible. I think it would depend a lot on the individual (i.e. I hike in trail running shoes, so I should replace more frequently than someone who uses heavier duty boots - might just want to replace insoles occasionally?)
  - crikli 8y ago
    rak00n the numbers are just a rule of thumb I give people when they ask "when should I replace _shoes_". _Boots_ are a different story as the construction of a hiking boot is usually so much more robust than a trail runner. I truly have no idea what mileage a hiking boot can sustain.

by crikli 8y ago

harveywi 8y ago

Nice mountainmansplain.

crikli 8y ago
Huh? Someone below asked for a TLDW.
- harveywi 8y ago
  > "She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point." Runs fingers through thicket of chest hair "Guess it's time for yours truly to 'splain the right way to do it."
  - n4r9 8y ago
    Some of the HN guidelines that you've broken here: > Be civil. > Don't be snarky. > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. > Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents. > Please don't post shallow dismissals.
    - harveywi 8y ago
      Thank you for the correction. I now see the error of my ways: The proper way to handle it would have been to passive-aggressively downvote his comment.
  - scatters 8y ago
    I didn't see a female expert being shut out of the conversation?

jeremy0x4a 8y ago

> No RoTs here, water crossing are dangerous. If you are going to cross you have to have a plan for what happens if you lose your pack or get swept downstream. The force of water can be shocking. Just as importantly, consider in advance how being wet is going to affect you. Wet clothes are heavy and fail to insulate, while wet feet inside wet shoes is a very bad combination for a number of reasons.

crikli 8y ago
Yes! Solid point, and a great example of why there aren't RoTs for rivers. It can be a really complex problem. You can't go barefoot. Do you have camp shoes, will they work for the crossing? If you use your main shoes did you make a bad choice (my opinion) and pick Goretex? Do you have dry socks for the other side? Will the environment even allow drying? Is your pack waterproof? Will it float? If you used a contractor bag does it have holes, because if you've been in for more than a few day guess what, it does! In the shitty trail mishap lottery nothing is worse than soaked sleeping bag. And what do you wear during the crossing? If you won't strip to your skivvies what's your drying plan? Bridges are really great, is my point.
DoreenMichele 8y ago
Wet clothes ... fail to insulate Choosing the right clothes can help mitigate this detail. Wool, flannel and sometimes knits can keep you warm while wet. I have no clue what kind of knits do so. I just know I had a cotton sweater once that was insulating while wet.

SECProto 8y ago

> 3) Replace your shoes when mileage equals 500 - your loaded weight (bodyweight + pack). Do not risk your foot health for a hundred bucks. Converting units to metric (km and kg), Replace your shoes when they are worn 800-3.5*(loaded weight)

rak00n 8y ago
Where did you get this numbers from? I think my hiking boots are way beyond those numbers by now.
- SECProto 8y ago
  I just did a unit conversion of the OP comment. 500 miles = 800km. The 3.5 is to convert weight in kg to lb, then convert miles to km to match the unitless number in the original (2.2*1.6 is ~3.5)... the units don't make any sense, but it's just a rule of thumb I don't necessarily agree with the rule of thumb, I was just converting it into units I could understand and thought I would share it with the community. They do line up approximately with injury-avoidance running shoe wisdom (replace every 400 to 600 km), so it seems plausible. I think it would depend a lot on the individual (i.e. I hike in trail running shoes, so I should replace more frequently than someone who uses heavier duty boots - might just want to replace insoles occasionally?)
- crikli 8y ago
  rak00n the numbers are just a rule of thumb I give people when they ask "when should I replace _shoes_". _Boots_ are a different story as the construction of a hiking boot is usually so much more robust than a trail runner. I truly have no idea what mileage a hiking boot can sustain.