Post-hike rituals

[Stephen M]

No Ocd here, I just look after my kit before I start drinking beer :-)

[Justin Baker]

I get a burger after every trip. Sometimes it's the only motivation I have to hike out.

[Elliott Wolin]

I never eat them otherwise, but after a hike longer than say 4-5 days I can't resist a bacon-cheeseburger. I must not get enough fats while backpacking. We're now planning to bring olive oil with us in the backcountry to help with this (thanks to Sarah K for the idea).

[Bean]

Typically I change my shoes and socks, mix up an Emergen-C, toss my gear in the car and start it up right away and make a beeline for the nearest bathroom. Once there, I head in with a pocket full of flush-able baby wipes and clean up the best I can. I like to drive for at least an hour towards home, while the girlfriend Yelp's for Mexican restaurants in the area with a decent margarita. If we find one, we pig out on chips & salsa and make loose plans for our next trip, and I bore her with ideas about what weight I think we can shave off our gear.

[Cesar Valdez]

I feel like I am the only one that relies on public transportation nearly all the time around here. So no car trunk goodies for me. Usually it's get go bus or train stop that will get me back home. Sometimes at these stops, mostly in small towns in Sweden or Norway, there are small coffee shops or hot dog/burger joints, where I will usually get a hot cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate to enjoy as I unintentionally make villagers uncomfortable on several different levels. There ain't exactly that many 6ft Chicanos in Scandinavia, and even fewer (if any?) that end up in tiny, woodsy towns with a pleasantly grizzled look and strange clothing, backpack, and smell. On the bus/train I will read the free newspaper to catch up with current events.

The coffee and chocolate bar, if I can get it, is just a warm up. When I get back to dense civilization, I literally eat whatever I want at the time at places I know and like. Most of the time it's Max Burger for a big burger, onion rings, soda (one of the few times I drink soda too is post-hike), and then a milkshake or soft serve ice cream. Or authentic Thai place for some chicken pad Thai–because Sweden has excellent and plentiful Thai places (with real Thai people cooking), obviously. Yes, I'm serious, and no I don't really know the full extent as to why.

When I get home greet the family, hot shower, and I too like to then immediately put most of my gear away.

[Stephen M]

I just realised there are two post hike threads going on :-)

[HkNewman]

I just realised there are two post hike threads going on :-)

Got resurrected from 2 years ago. I'd love to go with no car but in the American desert or Rockies, a vehicle is usually the only option for those with a job to return to. A post-hike brewski is a perk, however, and a splash in a cold stream and/or hot spring is pretty refreshing around here. Also usually any company starts talking about future trips on the way back.

That said, some club trips I've been on some individuals were a little out there on the return drive, …. threatening waiters with a pistol-whipping because their order wasn't right, forgetting keys and having to cram into the back of a pickup truck after a hike (at 75 MPH, no one can smell your funk though), and a whole host of other issues, mostly mental. Some people you just can't take anywhere.

[James Castleberry]

I use it whenever possible. Yosemite and SEKI are both served well. I consider the $7.50, 2.5 hour shuttle from Visalia to Lodgepole to be one of the all-time great bargains in the backpacking world. The only thing is, every time I ride it, I meet seniors who got 1/2 price ($3.75) tickets.

[Stephen M]

If I tried to get public transport in Michigan I would be in deep crap.

[Mary D]

The same is true in the Pacific Northwest. Excellent public transit in the big cities, but little or none to outlying trailheads. What little exists is very inconvenient, requiring many transfers. Basically, if you want to get outside urban areas, an automobile is essential equipment.

I usually stop at a McDonald's on the way home. That's because the Pacific NW places now carry Tillamook ice cream, so I can get my favorite, a chocolate chip mint cone.

When backpacking with the grandkids, though, the essential stop on the way home is any pizza parlor. The eldest, now just about to turn 13, could read "PIZZA" by the time he was 4!

[Martin RJ Carpenter]

No car here either but of course England is an awfully small, densly populated, place! Also convenient history of industry in many of the hill areas leading to some quite useful surviving railway lines. So you can do an awful lot of day walks by public transport. Longer trips very easy.

Scotland seems sparsely populated enough that you'd really need either a car or a tent/longer trips.

[Chris .]

No real traditions but I did stop in the small town at the bottom of San Gorgonio last week and the FFA was holding a breakfast in the town hall. It was pretty cool, the food was great and the small town atmosphere was hard to beat.

[Jason G]

+1 one on fresh clothes, beer, snacks, wash etc

but when coming out of the eastern sierra always gotta make a stop at Schat's bakery in bishop and the Whoa nellie deli in Lee Vining

[Edward Z]

I'm lucky enough to have a bar a mike from home that shares a wall with a very upscale prime and gourmet market. They have a ground sirloin burger 1/2 lb with bacon and cheddar on any day with homemade chips for 2.99$. They have 25 microbrews on tap. And it's a couple blocks away! So for $10 I get a prime burger with 2 pints. Just enough to roll home to the shower…. Helluva deal.

Great thread Ike

[Stephen M]

I would love a decent pub near my house I could walk to as in my town buses and taxis are as rare
As honest politicians.

[Steofan M]

My last stop before hitting the shower at home is at HF Crave. Free-range, grass fed Nebraska beef. Not a pub, just bugers, sodas and a few bottled beers. Lift off the top bun and put your nose right down inside… breath in slowly …. mmmmm, no wonder why they call this "The Beef State".

[Adam Rothermich]

There's been a recent shift in my post-hike ritual. I used to like to find a diner and get hashbrowns (covered, if possible) and biscuits and gravy and cover it all with hot sauce and wash it down with a Coke. But now that my wife and I have been out of college for a few years we're yearning for some of the food we grew accustomed to while there. Fortunately I do most of my hiking around where we went to college (Rolla, MO) and the past few times I've stopped at Pizza Inn for the buffet and then went to Slice of Pie to pick up some treats to bring back home. A half slice of pie will set you back almost $4 but it much weigh a half-pound. Some of my favorites are the oreo cheesecake and the Dutch Apple pie with cinnamon sauce. It pairs well with Wild Turkey :D. My wife like to get the french silk or one of the myriad other cream pies. Just thinking about it makes me hungry, good thing I'm going down there again this weekend!

Adam

[Ike Jutkowitz]

Hashbrowns, biscuits, and gravy is still my favorite post hike meal. I like to get a side of sausage and 2-3 eggs over easy thrown on top. This sort of food orgy usually attracts attention from weight conscious onlookers.

[rOg w]

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