Right VS Wrong or Left VS Right

..you may end up changing a few of your current methods in the end. Although, I'm not sure the examples you mention are really either/or, good/bad scenarios as it frequently comes down to specific situation as to which would be more effective. It's common to want to put things in a dichotomous framework, but reality rarely conforms so distinctly.

Regardless, I love having an extra goal for a season or specific trip!

What is your goal in writing the book- to compare different backpacking styles? I am not sure we need another instruction-type manual… though personal accounts can always be interesting if well done.

However, if you do write a comparative piece, is the basis for comparison going to be an ethical one (Right vs. Wrong- though avoid the capital letters here)?
If so, you would need to overview outdoor recreation ethics and their purposes (that’s part of my MA thesis, it‘s a fun topic).

Anyway, I am not sure what you mean by Left vs. Right as I seen little political overtones here, but insofar as right vs. wrong, only some of your topics have an ethical bearing.
Dogs and leashes- an animal that you are responsible for can adversely impact other peoples experiences and/or be problematic to wildlife. That is an ethical issue as any forum topic on the practice demonstrates. The same can be said for the use of a fire (in certain areas it is either dangerous or a waste of very scarce resources), and especially bear-bagging/bear canister use. The entire purpose of those is to decrease negative human-animal encounters… and again, the use of a bear canister in certain areas is required (so choosing not to do so is a mild form of civil disobedience and might beg justification).

Lastly- staying on established trails vs. just walking all over the place is also an ethical concern in those areas where doing so would lead to a destruction of ground cover of encourage others to also create their own path until the area looks like its been trampled by buffalo. This leads to erosion concerns in some areas.
Almost all of the above is context dependent, but can involve a real ethical dilemma that can lead to an interesting analysis.

The rest (your choice of heavy vs. light pack, tarps, headlamps, etc.) primarily impact how you experience the backcountry and have little consequence for other people. This reflects the “style” vs. “ethics” in rock climbing… the only person who cares about how you climb a route is you, so long as you leave it in its original state for the next climber. After all, I do not care if you carry a machete in the backcountry so long as you don’t go around whacking every tree you come across…

I usually just start writing and see where it takes me. A good example of stlye is hiking with a dog on a leash. To my knowledge my dog has never in nearly eight years been a pest or problem on the trail. She had never been leashed and never hurt on the trail. Last week in the Chuckanuts I did a hike and kept her leashed the entire time.

The good is that I literly was short-roped up the mountian. I dont ever remember moving that fast or effortlessly in my life.

The other side is that during a techical scramble she jumped foreward pulled me and I slipped and sprained my ankle and she lost her footing and came falling back and hurt her paw. we had serveral episodes like this and after the hike I decided I will never leash her again. I live in the the Pacific North west and there are plenty of places to hike where there are few or no people. Just like the Cascades I can find room to roam and just let my dog be a dog.

As far as the right vs wrong or left verse right there are no political or other motives just a title. If I say I keep my food in my tent on this board I will get hung. Even though I spent a full 365 consecutive days living in bear country and had zero bad bear encounters while keeping my food with me at all times. I still get the what ifs.

The book would be about safe simple time tested techniqes. Using practical experince. I was tought leave no trace as a young tracker and my early teaching were far different than what is currently in print. Just a different point of view.

It would be about light safe backpacking methods but not SUL per say. Is there really a difference between 20 or twentyfive pounds? what about a two pound pack that fits like a glove rather than a one pound pack that fits like a sack of potatoes?

In the end I just feel like spending the next 5 months out playing and it seems like a fun test. What if everything I think I know about backcountry travel turns out to be wrong?

I will also explore pricing and comfort. I have always used the best I could find but what if there is equipment that is a 9 of 10 for a quarter of the price?

I'm starting a new blog this week on this subject and I will see where it takes me. Ali

dogs aren't born knowing how to behave on a leash – it does require training ;)

For her or for me. I think I was the problem, she was full speed ahead. Ali

i think both :)

but full speed ahead is a problem

dogs well trained on leash will only go as fast or slow as you want, stop on command, etc.

i can't get the cats to behave this way, unfortunately, but some of my dog owning friends have dogs trained like that & i've always been impressed by what is possible

There is a lot going on here- many different topics. My previous post was an attempt to suggest a thread to tie them all together if a book is your intention.

“In the end I just feel like spending the next 5 months out playing and it seems like a fun test. What if everything I think I know about backcountry travel turns out to be wrong?”

Part of the point of my earlier post was to promote a more precise use of terms if you intend to publish- “wrong” has both a normative and a pragmatic connotation. It is “wrong”, for instance, to use a wood saw to attempt to cut through re-bar simply because it will not work; here “wrong” means “ineffectual“. This can have a subjective element, meaning “what works for you”. A frameless pack is “wrong” for me as it degrades my experience but is “right” for others as they do not experience the shoulder pain I often do without a hip belt and frame.

This pragmatic use can be distinguished from the moral use. It is “wrong” to store food in a tent in certain areas if communal experience and statistics demonstrate that this leads to negative bear encounters, which in turn leads to human or animal injury. Because other ethical agents are involved (here bears or other campers as bears become habituated to finding food in tents), this is a moral use of “wrong”. This, as stated before, can be contextual- certain areas demand different practices, and thus the use of absolute terminology can be misleading. I always sleep with my food in the Catskills, but never do so just 150 miles north in the Adirondacks, and would argue that no one else should either (I do in winter).

When absolute terms are used (“never sleep with your food in Griz country“) it is a kind of rule-utilitarianism intended to promote a general adherence to best practices. Individual experiences to the contrary do not invalidate these types of generalizations, especially because they refer to increased risk and not direct causality (doing x increases the likelihood of a bad outcome, it does not guarantee it).

Saying you will never leash your dog again seems overly strict. What if there are numerous other dogs on the trail or in camp? Also, if you are writing a book about what others should do, as opposed to only what you have done, then would you really suggest that people should not leash their dogs because your dog has behaved? If so, can I smack the next dog that jumps on my while I’m hiking (better yet, can I smack the owner)?

Also, you mentioned Leave No Trace- a program instituted as a means to allow for the growth of backcountry travel while maintaining the aesthetic and ecological character of certain areas. The program was designed and intended for popular wilderness areas, and so what constitutes best practices in a place that sees 1000 campers a season is different from what can be done in a place that sees 2. “Right” and “wrong” here are contextual, even if LNT is not promoted as such (rule-utilitarianism again).

OK I get you point and its well taken. There is always room for another book if it has the right angle and I think I have it but obviously cant post it. The examples I gave were just examples and the title was perhaps a poor choice. Sometimes what I think and what I write come out differently. If I had any skills I would just get a job instead of trying to rely on writing for a living. Here is an example of a huge myth. You have to filter water. I have never filtered water and never gotten sick. All over the world with some pretty nasty water sources. So why do we filter then? Maybe the filter manufacturers have us scared to death that we will die if we don't filter. We are so scared we actually put poison in our water then call it pure. The book will have both side of the coin and real life examples to support both sides. Maybe more about perception VS reality. anyways its all really just a ploy to play more. Ali

i am still living with an amoeba i picked up 20 years ago in china & it has impacted my life and health a great deal – i got it from drinking untreated water

there is a real problem when we try to generalize our own experiences

am i just unlucky? or are we two different organisms with different levels of immune response, just like we have different degrees of eye-sight, etc.? what is the average % chance of anyone else having luck or immune response more like yours or mine?

before i had the amoeba, i routinely drank directly from sierra streams and springs – i now am pretty careful, even though i have taken water straight from very clean sources a few times & often feel it's likely safe more of the time than not

you could blindfold yourself and run across a busy street and not get hit by a car, but that does not mean it's a bad idea to look both ways before crossing, but more to the point, it does not prove that the next person doing it won't get hit

A properly trained dog will not pull on the leash. Ali, in addition to obedience training classes for your dog, I recommend the Premier Pet Products Gentle Leader head collar. A mere twitch will do the job. Just remember that it is supposed to be gentle–no pulling and especially no jerking! This product is used by both Canine Companions for Independence (which is how I found out about it) and Guide Dogs for the Blind for training. My neighbor (who used to be dragged around the block daily by his two Brittany spaniels) asked me about it soon after I started training my then puppy. Within a week, his spaniels had become a walking advertisement for the Gentle Leader!

Funny you should mention Brittany Spaniels.

Interesting topic, but I don't get why it's in the gear forum?

"Interesting topic, but I don't get why it's in the gear forum?"

Hey, that's DaveT's department! :)

Sorry! Didn't mean to step on Dave's toes. :)

Can I move it? I was thinking it was more philosophy. Ali

"Hey, that's DaveT's department! :)"

Now, Ben. Tut, tut.

It's going to take some gear to clean up that very muddy Brittany spaniel! LOL!

Thanks for the link and um was that on offer to clean my baby? She definately makes a good case for thetent vs tarp. Ali

"A properly trained dog will not pull on the leash. Ali, in addition to obedience training classes for your dog, I recommend the Premier Pet Products Gentle Leader head collar. A mere twitch will do the job. Just remember that it is supposed to be gentle–no pulling and especially no jerking! This product is used by both Canine Companions for Independence (which is how I found out about it) and Guide Dogs for the Blind for training. My neighbor (who used to be dragged around the block daily by his two Brittany spaniels) asked me about it soon after I started training my then puppy. Within a week, his spaniels had become a walking advertisement for the Gentle Leader!"

Some dogs tear ducts can be injured by the Gentle leader
type collar.

Write your book if it will bring you bliss. If it is for any other purpose I believe it will be an exercise in futility.
I find talking about things before doing them to be a gumption trap, moving the driving force from that of action to one of speculation.

Sean, "I find talking about things before doing them to be a gumption trap, moving the driving force from that of action to one of speculation."

Not to be combative but if thats the case why do you waste your time here? Isnt the purpose of a forum for talk about things and get other perspectives?

I for one have learned many things on this forum that in a lifetime of backpacking I did not learn on my own.

Anyways I have already started and its quite fun. Tomorrow I am heading out for a midnight hike and am going to Attempt to learn to use a bear bag. This will be a first for me. Cheers Ali

Ali

good luck in finishing your book.

I don’t understand the purpose of your 5 month ‘experiment’. If you have been happy with the way you’ve always done things, then why would you expect that carrying a heavier pack, more robust shelter, water purification, dog lead, and staying on main tracks will suit you better? The whole premise seems to me set-up to “show” or “prove” that your way is better. But you already know that it is better FOR YOU.

“Keep dog on leash VS letting her free to roam.”

Where I hike, I am not allowed a dog at all, lead or no lead, muzzled or not. And in terms of LNT, one should be carrying out your dogs excrement (and your own) to be totally LNT.

“Heavier backpack with proper soft frame and hip-belt vs frame-less belt-less pack.”

Many of us on this forum have already been through this process, and for some, the extra weight of a more supportive pack is worth it, for others not. It’s a personal choice, not a right or wrong choice.

“Hang food in bear bag VS keep food in my tarp”

There are no bears where I hike, so again this would be a moot issue for me.

“Full tightweight tent VS tarp or cowboy camp”

Again, personal preferences come in here, not right or wrong. I sleep better when insects are not biting me, so I choose an enclosed tarptent, end of discussion.

“Treat water VS drink straight from water source.”

The water where I hike does not need treating, so I also have never treated my water, yet I have picked up a case of Giardia from drinking Honolulu tap water. Go figure. Life’s a gamble and each individual needs to assess the risks they are willing to take with regards to drinking water (or bear bags or whatever).

“Stay on trail VS randomly meandering around the back county from peak to peak.”

They are two different activities. I don’t know how you can ‘compare’ them. Most of my hiking is a mixture of the two (sometimes by necessity).

“No fire VS fire.”

Again, if fire bans are in place, then they are usually there for a reason, whether to preserve scarce materials, prevent forest fires, or stop gaggles of hikers from polluting the air with their smoke. There is nothing LNT about building a fire.

“I'm not going to go as far as a bear canister but will try out a bear sack.”

If you feel a need, or it is required, then fair enough.

“Compass and map VS never a compass but sometimes a map.”

Sometimes I take neither. Sometimes I take a GPS AND a map AND a compass. Just depends on my familiarity with the area and my confidence in navigating with different tools available besides compass and map.

“Tiny knife VS 3" Spyderco and often 16 ounce bush knife.”

I don’t know how this will end up affecting your personal experience. YMMV

“Head lamp VS no light source or sometimes a tiny squeeze light.”

Again, this is a matter of style. Night hiking versus night sleeping, full moon versus no moon or cloudy night, etc…how good your night vision is…

“Dehydrated food VS super gourmet fresh food.”

No comment. It’s such a matter of personal preference!

“After about 24 years in the BC I have never had any real issues with the way I do things but I thought this would be a fun experiment.”

Well have fun, but I don’t expect you are going to have any revelations that your way is not ‘better’ or more ‘right’ than the other!

Lynn, I expect alot of people won't understand and thats the whole purpose of documenting it. If I went through life never questioning what I do I would never grow.
I'm 40 I recently moved from a water front 2400square foot home to live on a tiny boat with no hot water or toilet. I loved my house., but did id make me more comefortable? safe? happy? My mortgage was $9600.00 per month. Now I pay $150.00 per month. I went from being the working poor to being semi retired in one day. See where Im going here. I always did something one way but then I experimented and learned a new way and am happier for it.
If I add one pound to my pack and it makes it 100% more comfortable I think it worth it is it not? I was giving clear examples of what I wonder about and I want to see the difference so I will experiment.
My new base weight for the AT is sub 10lbs of pure comfort and joy. What was your base weight on the AT? Did you suffer?
I am a student and I love to learn, thats it not good bad or anything just for the pure joy of knowing. Ali

PS I love your avitar it makes me happy everytime I see it.