One Night At A Time

"The computer and pens are a little less oppressive, and my work is a little more enjoyable."

Well spoken Mike, I know that feeling all too well.

Working in the busy city, looking out my window with views of the mighty swan river and kings park, then looking straight back at a computer screen….ho hum!

Till your next hike, best wishes.

Cheers
Mark

AMEN!

Just joined here and already started thinking to myself…shut up and hike!

Mike said:

They are an exercise in spiritual renewal, a much needed revival of the soul.
…
It can be really nice to get away from all the trappings of "this" world and get out into "that" world, even if only for a few hours.

John Muir said:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

— Our National Parks , 1901, page 56.

Thanks for the good article. Emphasizes to all of us that it is right there now if we just learn to see it and then go to it.

As a retired backpacker I have a lot of time to hike and backpack. Only in the past few years have I discovered the spectacular beauty of the trails in the Spring Mountains just outside Las Vegas. I mean beauty like one sees in Yosemite. The altitudes are 8,000 to 11,000 ft. and the air is thin but the views are fantastic.

So even though water is scarce up there I find ways to backpack from water source to water source, sometimes travelling cross country to reach them.

But hey, a place like this only one hour away deserves to be visited as much as I can. Usually I go solo when the backpacking urge strikes me in the middle of the week.

My equipment is ready and my food is handy so packing takes only a few hours. (C'mon, show me someone who can really pack for a trip in under an hour.)

Eric

I've been recently enjoying some quick overnights, and rejuvenating they are! Thanks for the well composed article.

I'm all behind this. A great little manifesto for getting back to what we all showed up here for in the first place: getting out there, and doing it better and easier.

Shame that we've figured out ever-increasing ways to complicate it all over again. Beautiful that we get to remember the good things once in a while, and get after those again. Thanks Mike.

Good article Mike, it was nice to see this. hope all is well.

Love this article Mike. A little jolt to the system (mine) … to remind myself it is not complicated at all.

"My equipment is ready and my food is handy so packing takes only a few hours. (C'mon, show me someone who can really pack for a trip in under an hour.)"

Ive been known to start packing a week in advance… and then mess with my pack every day after school, untill it is as light as possible :)

-CS

How do you keep a down quilt or sleeping bag ready to go? If you store it in its stuff sack in your pack, you're losing insulation to compression. And since the quilt/sleeping bag generally goes in the bottom of the pack, how do you leave your pack all ready to go?

thanks mike. loved the articles. Even though mountains aren't close enough for me to see. I hear them call and I need to get away from this screen. For me the closest away from noise and city lights is 2 hours (ventana wilderness). My 24hours is typically 26 hours… but it's the same idea.

Jace… it is totally possible to get out of the house in 1 hour. I have made it out of the house in 15 minutes. My standard gear isn't pre-packed, but separated so I can grab it without thinking.

Stephen… my solutions is that the bag isn't compressed. I pack my quilt drop and then pour everything in. I asked Ryan about his grab and go bag and the impact of long term compression. He also leaves the the bag uncompressed and stuffs as he heads out. He indicated the compressed wet down will disintegrate in a period of days. He didn't offer a guess with dry down other than to say eventually it will cause a problem so why age your bag prematurely.

–mark

Reply to Stephen Barber,

About the sleeping bag (and puffy jacket)

I keep these items in a big laundry bag (it hangs on a hook) in my closet, right near my plastic tote.

Presently, i don't keep a backpack all packed and ready to go. I just have one key plastic tub (called my "HREO" tub) and I use this to store the key items required for an overnight trip.

(C'mon, show me someone who can really pack for a trip in under an hour.)"

I can't seem to pack given an entire day … but I know an hour is possible because when first married and with few possessions I could step out for lunch on a Friday and if the weather looked good call my wife (also at work) and ask if she wanted to go camping for the weekend. Leave work at 4:30pm, hit the grocery store on the way home (15 minute commute back then) and be packed and on our way by 6:30pm.

Note that in Ryan's "24" article he has most of his gear pre-packed and he makes batches of meals in advance. Most of his prep is not accomplished in an hour … but the extra time is spent in advance.

This article pretty much describes 90 percent of my solo, summer backpacking trips.

My backpack is almost always packed and ready to go (minus the quilt, which is usually on my bed) or all my gear is laid out on a table. My GF is constantly teasing me about having my backpacking by the front door, but I'm pretty sure that she just thinks it's funny. ha!

Typically, once a week during the summer I'll come home from work, grab my pack, shove the quilt in and take off for the mountains. It's about a 30 minute drive to most of the trails in my area. I hike until sunset, set up camp, eat, and then fall asleep under the stars. In the morning, I wake up to the sunrise and bomb down the hill. Most of the time, I get home and up to work by 8am. Not a bad way to live!

best,
vip

well done Mike.

"I want to share this with friends, so I'll get on the phone and pester them to join me, and they'll tell me how wonderful it sounds."

I think this is the best part of this (if your friends buy in and go with you!) I had such a blast on our jaunt this summer (I think we went the opposite direction of your illustration!) and even after working hard for a week prior and being tired, it was so nice to get out there with a friend and just travel.

Thanks

What a wonderful article, Mike! To me, it's all those little things – the short trips, the day hikes – that can add up to as much soul satisfaction as a long trip.

Your area of abode sounds so fantastic! It's the kind of place I'm looking for, for when I retire (in 4 more years! yay!). I'll be downsizing to a little – and I mean "little": between 200 and 300 square feet – house. I want to live in an area like yours and to live off the grid, to be as independent as I can, and be able to head off any time I like, whether it be a short overnighter, or a longer trip.

The way life is supposed to be; at least, that's what I think.

Great article–thanks!

Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycles does the same kinda thing:

http://www.momentumplanet.com/features/theres-no-place-few-miles-home

Rob in Seattle

There really is nothing knew in 24 hour trips. They just more frequently are called overnight backpacks ; ). Been going on since the beginning of backpacking probably.

Great little article. I've been doing quick overnighters for some time. They do let me test out gear and ideas — things that I wouldn't want to have not work when multiple days away from a trailhead. And they let me keep "fresh" so that my setting up camp, breaking down camp, and packing are matters of routine, matters that I don't have to waste time on the first couple of days of a longer hike just to get back into the "groove."

I usually head out Friday after work, hike to a spot I can get to (hopefully) before dark, and set up camp. I'm usually out before noon the next day, although sometimes I use my camps to get a "jump" on a big day hike the next day (I cache my overnight gear and retrieve on the way out. If I'm out before noon, I still have practically a full weekend if I've got social commitments, "honey do" projects, etc.

In many areas, even fairly popular ones, I can camp alone on a Friday night just a mile or two from the trailhead.

It's a great way to spend time with friends: no distractions, no closing times, and nothing to do but "hang out."

Since I graduated college, it is harder to find time to get out. I have been trying over-nighters as you described and have been working out great. Going light makes a near 5-day trip possible in 2-days. Example: The Traverse by Matt Heid. A hike in the Bay Area from Palo Alto Hills to the coast at Big Basin SP. The hike is around 40-45 miles depending on route and says it is a 5-day trip. I completed this trip in 2-days, one night and was home for supper! By packing light and making it an over-nighter I was able to pretty much have some bagels and cheese, snickers and chocolate and peanut butter chips, but no stove.

Anyways, I about people like John Muir and Edward Abbey, who just throw some nuts in their pockets and go, if they had to sleep in the dirt, they did so and lived to tell about it.

What a wonderful piece. You bring life to the reason most of us decide to hike/camp. As a New York City resident, I can tell you that the few hours I drive to get away on my one night outings are always worth it.

Thank you

Great article.

Like others have already mentioned, this reminds me of Grant Petersen's S24O bicycle trips: https://www.rivbike.com/Articles.asp?ID=245

Fortunately, I live where I can walk out the door with my pack on and in less than 10 minutes of walking be out of town, on the trail and in seclusion.

Hey they brought him up back in Oct. '09