Important Lesson’s You’ve Learned the Hard Way

[Roger Caffin]

> 4) When things get *really* difficult (as in a dire situation that could be life changing or threatening), take a few seconds to minutes to reflect and discuss the issues and potential resolutions.
May I suggest the better way of handling this is to sit down and make a cup of tea or coffee?
Always assuming this is possible, of course!

Cheers

[Phil Barton]

1. Instant coffee always tastes that way.

2. One of my good hiking buddies chastises the rest of us for "goal oriented hiking." Sometimes you have to relax your ambitions and just enjoy the hike you have.

3. Quality rain gear can save your life.

4. Few things create memories like taking children hiking.

5. It's a good idea to check your pack against a written list before leaving the house for a 3 hour drive to the trail head.

[Jonathan Duckett]

Don't wear cotton while backpacking.

[D G]

"May I suggest the better way of handling this is to sit down and make a cup of tea or coffee?
Always assuming this is possible, of course!"

You might like this article:

make a cup of tea

[Tim W]

10 pounds on the gut equals 20 pounds on the back.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Dan

> > "May I suggest the better way of handling this is to sit down and make a cup of tea or coffee?
> > Always assuming this is possible, of course!"

> You might like this article:
> make a cup of tea
:-)
Yeah, I had already read that article some time ago. It works.
Cheers

[Thomas Knighton]

Some very interesting comments on this one! Honestly, there's a lot of wisdom in some of these lessons, now isn't there? I figure I should repost some of my lessons learned, since this is just a darn good thread :D

1. Don't overestimate yourself. More to the point, don't overestimate the distance you can hike in a day. 15 miles your first real day on the trail is HARD!

2. Don't underestimate the trail. Trail ratings are an overview, not specific to certain parts of the trail.

3. Make darn sure your toilet paper is IN YOUR PACK!

4. Tom does NOT like freeze-dried meals.

5. Ultralight is the only way for me! If I had been carrying a traditional pack on that last trip, I'd probably STILL be out there a week later.

6. Trekking poles work! At least for me.

That's primarily what I learned so far. But, if you ask me, that's a lot of experience for an overnight trip :D

Tom

[barry hitchcock]

all insect netting is not created equal

---

uk midges are very very small

[Jesse Glover]

Is there asian food that doesn't have some connection with seafood? Also be careful with those korean ramen noodles they are the best but hot and spicy REALLY means hot and spicy.

[CW]

I learned full on UL isn't for me on my last trip. I've decided to mix UL and Lightweight gear for a good compromise on weight versus comfort. Carrying 20 lbs including fuel, water, food, my DSLR, and a light tripod was great. Taking a while to get a taut pitch with my tarp and waking up to find it soaked inside and out turned me off from them for a while. I've added a few pounds back in to my gear list as a result.

[John S.]

Going to a flat tarp is the most difficult part. After a few times with a poncho tarp I decided on a shaped tarp such as the golite hut 1. It goes up fast and easy with 5 stakes and no guylines if using collapsible poles.

[CW]

I bought a Black Diamond Mega Light this weekend which is extremely easy to setup but by the time I add in flooring and bug netting I'm near the weight of the lightest double wall tents. Mega Light is 1 lb 10 ounces + 8×8 tyvek at 6-8 ounces + A16 bug bivy at 6-7 ounces and I'm at around 2 lbs 9 ounces or so. Rough carry (read stripped) on a Big Agnes SL 1 is 2 lbs 6 ounces (minus 4.5 ounces with fibraplex poles), MSR Hubba is 2 lbs 13 ounces (knock off 6 ounces for cf poles), Big Agnes SL2 is 2 lbs 14 ounces (minus 6 for cf poles).

[Steve .]

Chris, curious what light tripod you carried…

[CW]

Slik Sprint Pro (ball head) without the extension column or bag. It worked very well but I'll probably add a quick release eventually.

[Paul Tree]

1. A campfire is a great source of tiny sparks that can put tiny holes in all your gear located downwind.

2. Winds change direction, putting more tiny holes in all your gear that you had just moved to "safety"

3. Laugh about it, whatever happens. If you can't laugh, pretend you are doing British dry humor and make an ironic remark.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

That is something I have learned over the years.

For instance:
I prefer to hike in cotton whenever I can. I don't smell as bad, I don't overheat and I am more comfortable. (I do have synthetics to wear in bad weather)

Always bring an extra meal or two.

That I will be cold no matter where I am, or how hot it is outside during the day. That I have to have at least a 15* bag.

That while I have cowboy camped, I just don't like sleeping under tarps or without any way to keep bugs out. I just don't like bugs. I have learned that it is worth it to carry a light tent or tarp tent. It isn't anything I will ever overcome at this point.

I have also learned to hike with others I am compatible with. It is better to hike with slower friends and stroll all day than to feel I will never catch up and feel so stressed that I don't enjoy my trip.

[P. P.]

I've learned that a name brand doesn't necessarily equal good quality. The North Face has some excellent products but one of the worst sleeping bags I ever owned was one of theirs.

[chris Mcfarland]

No matter how good it tasted at home, three days of eating the same thing becomes impossible.

Planning always pays off. If you haven’t planed for an impromptu weekend trip, you can’t go. :(

There are no streams along a ridgeline!!!

[Rod Lawlor]

Chris,

I'm pretty sure you've just sold your 'Mid, which is a pity. I think you may have over engineered a tad.

Unless you're a really REALLY fat bloke, you probably didn't need an 8'x8' ground sheet. Certainly none of the tents you mention will give you that floor space. You could halve it, and still have more floor space than any of them.

The A16 is not bad, but you're sleeping beside a pole, and under a canopy. Pick up a piece of bug mesh, and drape it from the pole and canopy for about half(?) the weight.

Granted the 'Mid is palatial for one, and "MAY" be too much tent when you're alone, but put 2,3 or 4 of you in there, and you have some serious real estate for the weigh.

Regards, Rod

[J Her]

*A $15 K-Mart tube-tent makes a really great bath tub in the rain. Amazing and how well water will pool up and stay INSIDE the tent.

*Powder drink mix does wonders (to marginal water, delicious when served warm, etc…)

*Dont cut compression straps too short… measure twice, three times, and still allow for an extra inch.

*Heavy pack and a poor hip-belt makes for a horrible time.

*Stop for lunch. Too many times I've tried to press on when the 15 min lunch stop could have made my last 5 miles much more enjoyable

*Headlamps truly are worth their weight. Just find the right one for you (and bring an extra battery).

*Not all wool socks are created equal.

*A small ziplock of candy placed in the bottom of the pack and forgotten about later makes for an amazing boost! It's like finding a $20 bill in your pockets, only you can eat the candy. I've actually shouted with joy that I found 2 pieces of Jolley Ranchers.

*If it gets hot, or your pack is in the sun… remember about the candy and make sure you get it out before it melts. That wasn't so much fun, but it still tasted ok.

*Clean your pocket knife well after you use it to cut your food. Nothing like grime stuck down in a good swiss-army folder that makes it rust and tuff to open.

I have lots… but these are some lessons I've learned.

[Chris Nott]

* Don't trust camping sites noted on maps. Likely, the map makers camped there in the best weather so the spot is flat and close to water but utterly exposed.

* Watch the weather and plan your route accordingly.

* Holy crap, some grizzlies are big. And fast. And, luckily, not eager to eat you.

* Don't over-estimate where you can go from a map in trail-less terrain. And give yourself some alternate routes if that river you plan to ford is unfordable when you get there.

* Take your boots off when you stop. Your boots, socks and feet will dry faster and it feels nice.

* Bushwacking requires more mental and psychological toughness than physical toughness. You need to let go of the need to know exactly where you are and where you are going.

[Paul Tree]

#1: Don't freak out!

[Adam Kilpatrick]

This is one incident, that generally brings considerable joy to those who hear it, and added embarressment for me…

1. Jetboil stove used on your first trip with it along, will have suffered damage to the piezo ignitor that is not obvious to you, from friend who borrowed it previously for canyoning expedition.

2. Jetboil with damaged piezo will not light, without matches or other suitable spark.

3. Remember matches before trip whilst packing, but think; Jetboil has piezo; no probs, and I'm sure my experienced buddy will bring some; heck at worst its only an overnighter. 3 seconds of laziness……

4. When you finally give up on hike on getting Jetboil to lite, after about 500 clicks of the ignition, and decide to put cold water in freezedried kungpow chicken meal, so that hopefully after an hour or so it will rehydrate enough to eat…and your mate decides to have one last go at the Jetboil…IT WILL LIGHT. He will subsequently have nice hot meal.

5. Just putting cold water in freeze dried meal packet of x (I forget) brand, will not rehydrate meal in foreseeable future.

6. Continually emptying kungpow chicken of cold water to add small amounts of warm water only succeeds in slowly rehydrating it (forcing you to eat it later on moral grounds) and diluting the flavour to the point that you decide to add the hot spice flavour packet that came with it.

7. When directions on Kungpow chicken hot spice sachet say "add to taste" they mean it.

8. Realising that with increased hot water dilutions, your meal still isnt rehydrating properly, do not think back to your survival training and remember that your groin is a warm area, and think; I can put my freeze dried meal down there with its fancy zip lock to keep warm and rehydrate. The zip lock WILL OPEN, after you have forgotten it is there, in your jocks, spilling tepid water, laden with potent spice in your precious nether regions, along with bits of freeze dried meal.

9. While you are standing by a bush painfully (trust me Kungpow chicken hot spice stings down there) removing bits of food, and your mate is rolling around in the dirt laughing; remember that you are still hungry and have to eat after a long hard day off track setting rogaine checkpoints.

10. When eating tepid, barely hydrated Kung pow chicken, refer back to point 7 "When directions on Kungpow chicken hot spice sachet say "add to taste" they mean it". Drinking 5 litres of water while consuming this farce will not help it go down any easier.

11. Mate, no matter how trustworthy, will tell all about this on your return to civilisation. Cute girls you have never even met before will come up to you on the train giggling and say: "Are you the kung pow chicken guy? Hilarious!"

12. Subsequently never use jetboil bushwalking again, and cringe at the thought of eating anything freeze dried that seems remotely related to Kung Pow chicken. Prefer to eat damp rice laced with chilli powder instead.

[Roger Caffin]

> 6. Continually emptying kungpow chicken of cold water to add small amounts of warm water only succeeds in slowly rehydrating it (forcing you to eat it later on moral grounds) and diluting the flavour to the point that you decide to add the hot spice flavour packet that came with it.

Did it never occur to you to chuck the whole lot into the pot and bring it gently to the boil?
Blimey.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

Not at the time Roger. It was the first time I had used freeze dried meals (I remember now-Backpacker's Pantry-I've tried a few and they generally seem quite nice)-I got them for free from the 2006 Sea to Summit Roadshow in Adelaide. I don't know what I was thinking at the time…

I am hoping I never repeat such a shocking run of shenanigans whilst bushwalking.

I was thinking of doing a reader review on Jetboil, but really, I am never going to use the thing bushwalking again (its too heavy for my liking anyway and I just don't need the power), and my one time usage that is relevant to the BPL community was skewed by my stupidity.

Blimey indeed.

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