Walkers’ Maxims

[Atif Khan]

Please feel free to share your own.

WALKERS’ MAXIMS

Carry less, see more.
Own less, be more.
Have more skills, need less gear.
The greater the distance, the lighter the pack.
Carrying more is not the same as being better prepared.
Gear changes, principles remain the same.
Prepare for most possibilities, not every possibility.
Take care of the ounces and the pounds will take care of themselves.
Eliminate, then minimize, then lighten, then multi-use.
Beware diminishing returns: fatigue is heavier than gear.
Haste bends maps.
Walk steady for efficiency.
Walk longer, not faster, for distance.
Measure duration first, distance second.
Actual distance traveled is about a quarter less than perceived distance traveled.
Start cold and walk into warmth.
Warm and wet is fine, cold and wet is not.
Dry and air feet nightly.
Carry no more clothes than you can wear at the same time.
Clothes and gear should perform efficiently in the broadest range of conditions.
Waterproof-breathable is an oxymoron.
Winter necessitates redundancy.
For warmth, spend ounces on down.
For strength, spend ounces on sleep comfort.
Heat loss to the ground is faster than heat loss to the air: ignore R values at your peril.
Your highest priority in winter is staying dry and warm.
Your highest priority in summer is staying covered and cool.
In cold, it is easier to stay warm than to get warm.
In heat, it is easier to stay cool than to get cool.
Your body is the most reliable source of heat.
Your sweat is the fastest way to lose heat.
Dry, freezing weather is easier than wet, cold weather.
In extreme heat, retain moisture with loose layers to slow evaporation.
Refined carbs tighten joints, spike insulin, weaken the heart, and feed cancer cells.
Train the body to fat burn with low carb inputs (whole food) and low carb outputs (walking).
Walk a few hours before breakfast to get two breaks for the time of one.
Sip, swish, then swallow to slow water.
Overlong breaks increase liters per mile.
Water consumption at rest is about two-thirds water consumption moving.
Storm worthiness trumps interior volume.
No need to save seconds pitching, cooking, and decamping when you spend hours walking.
Strengthen ties of kinship through the outdoors.
The ultralight mind is free of debt.
Disconnect.
Love Earth.
Intend a noble purpose.
Lift your horizons and see the Divine.

© A. R. Khan

[Thom]

Thanks for that.

thom

[dirtbag]

Awww.. Very clever. I like that in a nutshell!!

[Dan]

I always say, “Don’t compound the first mistake with a second mistake. That’s when you get in trouble.”

[Matthew / BPL]

^that is important.

That’s why the STOP acronym can useful when something goes wrong.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Always sleep on an emergency blanket under you.

Just some wisdom I figured out years and years ago to stay warm. Weight? Almost nothing. Lasts many trips.

[David Thomas]

I like those.  A lot.  I know / learned most of them, but it’s always good to be reminded.  The ones that make me think the most are:

Refined carbs tighten joints, spike insulin, weaken the heart, and feed cancer cells.

Train the body to fat burn with low carb inputs (whole food) and low carb outputs (walking).

[Jerry Adams]

refined carbs also encourage bad microorganisms in your gut that produce chemicals that are unhealthful

unrefined carbs encourage good microorganisms

[MJ H]

French fries are unrefined, kind of.  Just be sure they are not battered.

[jscott]

“For warmth, spend ounces on down.”

This. I’ve never understood folks who bring a super light/skimpy down jacket, and then need and extra layer or two to stay warm. Merely by adding a few ounces of down to a puffier jacket, you can stay warmer and leave a heavier layer home.  (I suppose people do like the option of having more versatility with different layering combos. )

[Nick Gatel]

Buy your second <enter piece of gear here> the first time.

[Nick Gatel]

Second Law of Thermodynamic Walking – “Give your balls some air.”

– Colin Fletcher, The Complete Walker

(for those hikers who have them)

[Terran Terran]

You won’t see them, but they’ll see you.

Always try to fall uphill.

If we did this everyday, it would be easy.

[Author]

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