Episode 135 | Field Notes – The Metabolic Cost of Bushwhacking

What gear do you pack that’s DIFFERENT from a trail trip when you go bushwhacking, and why?

Closed pockets on my pack, or no pockets.. Safety glasses. Cotton jersey gloves. A dedicated GPS. Fewer luxuries. A whole lot more homework.

What gear do you pack that’s DIFFERENT from a trail trip when you go bushwhacking, and why

No difference. IMO, you always need to be prepared to bushwhack.

I’m with Dan.  It’s the other way around, I prepare differently if I know I’m not bushwacking. In that case definitely trail shoes over boots and it’s about the only time I consider shorts.  In winter I don’t mind taking the taller pack if I know I’m staying on trail.  Bushwhacking in winter requires shorter packs to not constantly hang up on limbs.  Snow pack can add a fair amount of height

I just feel that if I’m not prepared to go off-trail, I’m not really prepared. To illustrate, this is a photo of a trail that I encountered this summer. Yes, the trail is in there somewhere. As I made my way through, I identified signs of maintenance from the distant past. Colorado is decades into a couple of beetle infestations, and big trees are coming down almost everywhere. Unless a forest trail has been worked on recently, you need to be prepared for anything.

For about a mile, I encountered sections like this, and other sections where the tread was more visible, with deadfall that was less dense. But it was a slow rough section of “trail,” that wasn’t apparent at all on a map.

If I’m going through a mile of debris, I can make do by being somewhat prepared. If I’m whacking brush all day,, crawling up dirt banks and such, I’ll use a cheap  pair of glasses that I don’t mind scratching. I want light gloves that don’t make me hot. A GPS because I’m making a route or trying to hit a certain destination. Subtle changes.