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Did a Moderate to STRENUOUS hike this past weekend. A 13 miler. Carried right at 30lbs. Hiked in on Rice Camp which is easy the first half and then pretty much downhill towards the end. Then up and down Jacks River trail crossing rivers looking for campsites. Camped. Next morning hiked up Jacks River Trail to the falls (which was awesome as usual) and then crossed the river one last time to Hickory Ridge Trail. Climbed almost 2000 feet in 3.5 miles and pushed myself to a limit I have never reached before. The final 2 miles was a nice downhill all the way to the car where we celebrated with bottled waters. We looked like a rap video just pouring water like it was bottle of Cristal.
The +'s -----
Brought an empty 1 gal water jug for camp water so I wouldnt have to walk to water everytime I was getting low in my nalgene. Saved on weight and space. Saved my butt climbing out the last 6 miles with no streams in sight.
Brought in the small 2 pack of filets from wally world for $7. Nothing better than eating like a champ around a campfire in the middle of nowhere. Better than Mountain House the whole time.
First time actually putting my hiking boots on a REAL trail. Very comfortable and great ankle support.
Opted to leave my MSR Whisperlite in the car and bring a small very light grill grade for cooking more food at a time. Saved on weight and space.
Slept like a baby in my hammock while everyone else had ground
Sister in law (The chef) brought some vittles and I ate better than I have ever eaten on a backpacking trip. Hey if someone wants to hump the extra weight in, let them :)
Jacks River Falls was awesome. Watching the kids jump off the cliff was great. My buddy (who was on his first backpacking trip ever--and now is hooked) had to try it...he is doing the Jimmy Super Fly in the pics...
The -'s ------
Should have bought some water shoes or crossed bare foot. Nothing sucks worse than having wet feet. Made 2 river crossing without it getting above the shoe, but had to get down and dirty for all of the others. Brought newspaper to put in my shoes to dry them out but should have just took them off (and socks) and paid the $10 for the water shoes.
Which lead into me getting a very bad blister climbing out on the toe next to my pinky toe. It exploded and was not a purty site. Still sore but I know how to combat this.
Needed a small hand pump for pool float or just tough it up and buy a pad. I didnt inflate it completely and it wanted to fold up in the middle of the night which cause the "pillow" end to jack my neck up in the air
Should have brought more than 1 "underarmour" type of shirt. Wore a cotton one on the way out and payed dearly for it. The weight, the soaked-ness which led to rubbing raw on my shoulder straps.
Lessons Learned-
Dehydration is a killer. I have never experienced it in my life like I did yesterday. I ran out of water with 600 ft and 1 mile to go on the hell trail. My hiking partner is in a lil better shape than I and was about 50 yards ahead. My leg muscles cramped up, got the goosebumps, the light head and fell over. Fell soft though for 230lbs. I laid there for a few mins while the rain poured on me. I had no water and started to panic. Almost made a rain catch out of my tarp and the water jug. Looked deep down inside and told myself there was no way I could stay there. I was hoping someone would walk by because I was going to offer them $10 for some water. I ate my last Clif bar and ate some ramen noodles dry and bucked up and hiked the last distance to the summit to meet my buddy. I caught my second wind and it was a race down that mountain to waters and whatever the first restaurant we could find.
Some of the inclines were very steep. Without a pack on and maybe a camelbak full I could have done a whole lot better. That trail is what has whooped me into wanting to train harder.
The kicker is I caught a stomach bug on Thursday and had the outs until mid day Friday. Left work early and laid up in the bed til 8 Friday night. 11pm I woke up and ralphed but felt 100% better. Woke up saturday feeling about 80%. I think that really drained me even though the excitement of the trip masked it.
As for the PAW........you gotta have water. You gotta be in shape. And you gotta be able to carry weight and boogie. Beating the dead horse though as I preach to the choir.
Some pics.......
The +'s -----
Brought an empty 1 gal water jug for camp water so I wouldnt have to walk to water everytime I was getting low in my nalgene. Saved on weight and space. Saved my butt climbing out the last 6 miles with no streams in sight.
Brought in the small 2 pack of filets from wally world for $7. Nothing better than eating like a champ around a campfire in the middle of nowhere. Better than Mountain House the whole time.
First time actually putting my hiking boots on a REAL trail. Very comfortable and great ankle support.
Opted to leave my MSR Whisperlite in the car and bring a small very light grill grade for cooking more food at a time. Saved on weight and space.
Slept like a baby in my hammock while everyone else had ground
Sister in law (The chef) brought some vittles and I ate better than I have ever eaten on a backpacking trip. Hey if someone wants to hump the extra weight in, let them :)
Jacks River Falls was awesome. Watching the kids jump off the cliff was great. My buddy (who was on his first backpacking trip ever--and now is hooked) had to try it...he is doing the Jimmy Super Fly in the pics...
The -'s ------
Should have bought some water shoes or crossed bare foot. Nothing sucks worse than having wet feet. Made 2 river crossing without it getting above the shoe, but had to get down and dirty for all of the others. Brought newspaper to put in my shoes to dry them out but should have just took them off (and socks) and paid the $10 for the water shoes.
Which lead into me getting a very bad blister climbing out on the toe next to my pinky toe. It exploded and was not a purty site. Still sore but I know how to combat this.
Needed a small hand pump for pool float or just tough it up and buy a pad. I didnt inflate it completely and it wanted to fold up in the middle of the night which cause the "pillow" end to jack my neck up in the air
Should have brought more than 1 "underarmour" type of shirt. Wore a cotton one on the way out and payed dearly for it. The weight, the soaked-ness which led to rubbing raw on my shoulder straps.
Lessons Learned-
Dehydration is a killer. I have never experienced it in my life like I did yesterday. I ran out of water with 600 ft and 1 mile to go on the hell trail. My hiking partner is in a lil better shape than I and was about 50 yards ahead. My leg muscles cramped up, got the goosebumps, the light head and fell over. Fell soft though for 230lbs. I laid there for a few mins while the rain poured on me. I had no water and started to panic. Almost made a rain catch out of my tarp and the water jug. Looked deep down inside and told myself there was no way I could stay there. I was hoping someone would walk by because I was going to offer them $10 for some water. I ate my last Clif bar and ate some ramen noodles dry and bucked up and hiked the last distance to the summit to meet my buddy. I caught my second wind and it was a race down that mountain to waters and whatever the first restaurant we could find.
Some of the inclines were very steep. Without a pack on and maybe a camelbak full I could have done a whole lot better. That trail is what has whooped me into wanting to train harder.
The kicker is I caught a stomach bug on Thursday and had the outs until mid day Friday. Left work early and laid up in the bed til 8 Friday night. 11pm I woke up and ralphed but felt 100% better. Woke up saturday feeling about 80%. I think that really drained me even though the excitement of the trip masked it.
As for the PAW........you gotta have water. You gotta be in shape. And you gotta be able to carry weight and boogie. Beating the dead horse though as I preach to the choir.
Some pics.......
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