More thoughts on hiking
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Sep 5, 2006
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I went hiking again this past weekend. It was a disaster. Here are some things I learned:
1. Distance: I did 26 miles in one day. It was definitely overkill. I would say that a maximum comfortable distance to do in one day is 15-18 miles.
2. Weather: It rained for 18 of those 26 miles. The rain itself wasn't too bad because I was carrying 40 lbs on my back and walking up and down mountains. I couldn't tell the difference between my sweat and the rain. But I got really cold as soon as I stopped for a break. Solution: Keep going. But when I finally did stop for the night, rain got in my tent and got my sleeping bag and clothes soaking wet. There's no way I could've slept another night in a cold, wet sleeping bag. In the future, I'd be happy to call off the trip in the event of inclement weather. It's just not worth it.
3. Time: Even though the sun doesn't officially set until around 7:30pm, it starts getting dark in the middle of the woods about an hour before that. And a headlamp and an air horn in the middle of the dark wilderness is hardly any consolation. For future reference, stopping at around 6 or 6:30pm is probably a good idea.
4. Starting the trip off with a few miles at night wasn't as good of an idea as it sounded. After walking 5 miles to my campsite on Friday night, I was tired, but nowhere near tired enough to get a good night's sleep on the hard ground.
5. Waterproof everything. The next pair of shoes I buy will be waterproof. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a waterproof sleeping bag. A waterproof backpack cover might be a good idea. And I'm not talking water resistant. I'm talking waterproof. [Update (2006-09-15 1:43pm): They don't make waterproof sleeping bags, but they do make waterproof stuff sacks which come in a variety of sizes, able to fit a sleeping bag, clothes, etc.]
6. Quick-drying clothes are good, but they won't dry off if it's cold and/or wet outside. However, if you have to put on wet clothes, it's better to put on some lightweight, quick-drying clothes as opposed to some sponge-like cotton monstrosities. Plus, body heat quickly warms up the moisture in quick-drying clothes. #sports
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