Hey Anons, experienced camper and /outist/ about to go on a month long backpacking trip. I will be heading to Bongland in April for a roughly 160 mile hike on national trails and will be wild camping as much as possible. I’ve done plenty of backwoods camping and am relatively comfortable solo camping (am much more comfortable in groups though)Not pictured: 3L water bladder and clothes: 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of underwear, 1 spare set of vida pro pants, fleece for mid, rain jacket for outer, long John’s for night, a sun hoodie, a button up hiking shirt, and a pair of shorts/tshirt for end of day casual wear. Weight is around 40lbs loaded up with extras and all that jazz.
>>2806078If I was to reccomend one deviation, it's a very short one. But worth if it's clear.When you're coming through the strathcarron wilderness, you'll pass a non MBA bothy, and then over a flat boggy valley where you will reach Bearnis bothythere are a few deviations here, but the most popular one is where you pass directly over the hill behind it, and down into craig you go to a pass at 600m, but if you veer north east and head up the hill to (your right), it goes to 800m or so and is called Sgùrr na FeartaigMy Godthe views there were unrealYou can see super far east, but alot is blocked by the Munros across the valleybut looking north and west... it's one of the most beautiful spots I've ever beenYou see all the torridon ranges in the most magnificent angle, and all the way down to the sea, where Skye's cullins dominate the horizon, among other, lesser islandsIt's satisfying because you look back and get an eagle eye'd view of what you just struggled over, and it makes it all feel worth itComment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>2806098>>2806094Hell yeah, that is some super solid advice, thanks for the write up brother.Will keep those detours in mind and plot them in Gaia maps with your notes. I usually intend on planning more deeply, like you said, but it just goes out the window when you actually start any hike over a week's length.Sealskinz I have a pair of, didn't think it would be literally THAT wet with bogs, or is it just a lot of river crossings etc? Tbf I haven't done a deep dive into reading about the terrain conditions, I just know the reputation for wetness. Did you ever have any issues with camping, or is the wild camping allowance combined with friendly people make for an easy time?
breathable boots/shoes mate you will be doing river crossings and your shit will get wet, think of it like a jungle fucking bringing a big ass tentidk what tent you have but if it goes up inner first its not gonna work just grab a LIGHT tarp and a bivy. wind and rain will clap you if you dont set up somewhere sheltered or have a low profile pitch so you dont get rekt by the windtents are cool and all but if it gets soaked its a bitch to dry and could have your ass running for the nearest hotel focus on stuff that will dryhave a plan for drying stuffyou already have hiking poles, id run a small tarp with those. i wouldn't bother with fire really people can get really pissy about it. only do it if you know the fun police aren't gonna show up keep the gas stove and use it to dry your ass out by wearing the tarp like a cloak and sticking your head out and blasting some heat into ityou might be ok but when it rains it really fucking rains and does not stop
>>2804223Just go hike the cape wrath. It's a lot of fun! I've been dreaming of it recently and might head out to hike it again soon. Fuck the ticks though.
>>2804223Go buy a fishing rod
Does it really matter what kind of snowshoes I buy? Are they even needed for the North East US?
>>2807404How were the roads to the trail heads? Any good spots you'd suggest for a 3-4d trip?
>>2807289I also have an older version of the msr trails (msr tours I think, they are yellow) with the extension tails. I didn't use the tails at all last year but we got dumped on with powder snow this year and the tails have been super useful. If you're on a pre packed trail don't bother, if you are breaking trail they help a lot.
>>2807260>Does it really matter what kind of snowshoes I buy?In steep, snowy terrain (think ADK, VT, NH and ME most winters), you should have proper mountaineering snowshoes with heel lifts and crampon front points. I use the MSR Lightning Ascents that retail between $300-400 USD for a new pair. >Are they even needed for the North East US?It depends on what part of the northeast. In regions that get a fuckton of snow (for NY, that would be the Adirondacks, Tug Hill Plateau, and Chautauqua Ridge) you absolutely need snowshoes or skis if you want to avoid postholing in knee or waist high snow most winters. The mountainous parts of VT-NH-ME would be similar. In other parts of the northeast like Philly and Jersey, you're much less likely to need them. I'll pack snowshoes when the the area I'm planning to hike is shaded dark-blue or purple here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1045012.html. Dark blue is 9.8 - 20" and purple is 20+ inches. Like >>2809715 said, there's a big difference between hiking on packed-down trails and breaking trail or going off-trail in deep snow. Snowshoeing off-trail will give you a serious workout that will whip you into shape and make fair-weather hiking seem tame in comparison.
>>2807424Sorry, I completely disappeared from the thread. The roads are usually pretty good, I wish I had reccs for good multiday hikes but I'm mostly a weekend warrior. There's plenty of classics like the pemi loop, but if you wanna get out there try something around Owls Head, crashing at 13 falls.>>2809740Don't some parts of the Smokies or Adirondacks require snowshoes if there's more than a few inches of snow on the ground?
>>2809757Snowshoes or skis are required in the Adirondack High Peaks when the snow depth is 8+ inches. Other areas of the Adirondack Park don't have this requirement. It's still a good idea to wear them when the snow is deep enough to avoid postholing and fucking up the trails for others. Even when snowshoes aren't required and the trail is packed down nicely, I'll still carry my snowshoe bag in case I see interesting areas off-trail that I want to explore.
>winter almost over>mud season soon upon us>local parks already putting up trail closed signs to "protect" the trails from mud damagegod i hate spring
>>2808172Hiking shoes should always have an all black option. Sometimes when I go hiking I return on the bus and my shoes are completely fucked up with mud. I just want people to not notice it, especially the bus driver.
>>2809727>Can a bus Driver refuse to let You on?The internet doesn’t say anything about incredibly dirty shoes.
Mud spelled backwards is?https://youtu.be/953PkxFNiko
>>2808172>i hate the perfect going outside wheathedtypical /out/istic retard
>>2808301It’s really a frost zone thing. If your rainforest doesn’t freeze and have a multiple week thawing period where no plant growth occurs, it’s not really a big deal.
Hayfever bros where you at?
>>2809625>>2809638triamcinolone acetonide spray, i just use generic, and its fine for mehttps://reviews.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-16244-nasacort-aq-nasalalong with loratadine, it works pretty well https://reviews.webmd.com/drugs/drugreview-73-loratadine-oralmain thing, don't get used to the stuffafter taking them for a while, switch to something else if its starting to not work as well
>>2809467It's not haycutting season, urbanite. You only get hay fever from stalking through the fields of it for small game when the hay is being cut...
>Spring is here, time to go for a walk!>Body: NOOOOOOO THESE PLANTS ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU
>>2809725>spring is here>still grey, gloomy, and stormy outside, might even snow next week>body: okay, this sucks
For those who have thru-hiked, does this seem like an appropriate pack? I have done many 3-5 day backpacking trips, this is my first long / thru-hike. Anything egregious or should I be confident?Notes:I'm not taking a GPS apart from my phone; I've been orienteering for 10+ years, day and night, virtually every latitude and weather condition, pre, during, and post military. If I get magical onset dementia on the trail I'll just take the death. Foolish or fine?Food bag is going to be a Bear Cannister when I get to Kennedy Meadows, buddy is shipping me the Bear Vault 450 I believe ATT. Cold soak: I am very comfortable cold soaking, been doing it for about 2 years with many upgraded / personalized recipes, but if if my tastes change, I'll get a stove in a town. Foolish or fine?No Trekking poles: never had the need for them prior to now, but then again my longest ever trip was 7 days. Foolish or fine?
>>2809654I tried just folding the sleeping pad, but it did end up taking up more volume that way, so I figured the sack was worth it. I'll try again though, I'm not in a rush.The little lighters were for if I ever was to start a fire, they weigh basically nothing. The note pads are for personal luxury / leisure activies regarding the astronomy book. The other is a journal. The pens also weigh basically nothing.I only went with the Cnoc so I can fold it around the water bottles when empty. If it's the case that I'll never use it after the desert I will strongly consider the 4/2 bottles idea. Thank you for that. Have you used rocks / leaves / sticks? I feel like there is <1% chance for something to go wrong, but I just assumed a non-zero chance of wiping with a rock with some fucked up bacteria warranted taking some decomp TP. Is fear of the rock-bacteria schitzo behavior?>>2809662I have a bit of experience drinking shit water from the military, In my bag is a stack of Liquid IVs mostly for the funk. I have a 3rd pair of WrightSocks I can add, they weigh very little and are great for easy / warm terrain.>>2809665Will my bucket hat not get the job done? I figure if my face and neck are not burned I'm solid. I'll definitely take an umbrella on a short hike this weekend and test it out.
>>2809671>Will my bucket hat not get the job done?Nope
>>2809671>rock bacteriaif the backsplash from public toilets hasnt gotten you yet, you will be fine. Just get a bottle cap bidet from amazon or GGG if you are concerned, it is a secret luxury item, never tell anybody you have it because they will be constantly asking you if they can use it because they ran out of TP and are afraid of using nature like humans were meant to. When I did the AT I used rocks, sticks, and leaves all the way up until Gorham New Hampshire, then I got my bottle cap bidet as general delivery to the PO and I never looked back on any hike since then. I still have the same one, I got very good at wiping my ass with dry dead deciduous leaves of the east coast in winter. The only saving grace was the rhododendrons, and comfry/lambs ear. Eventually when I got to New Hampshire/Maine i saw my first signs of spring but I got the bidet so it didnt matter. Out west there isnt much as far as leaves to wipe with so you are stuck with rocks and sticks mostly.A bucket hat is a good idea, something with a nice wide brim is nice, but an umbrella is a whole new level of portable shade. There will be less hot miserable and use less water. It also helps in torrential downpours. It is nice to not need to work up a sweat inside a rain jacket if its just a light/medium rain, and then end up soaked anyway. Some people prefer to hold them, some just clip them to the shoulder strap and have some sort of stretch band contraption to go hands free.
>>2809662cold soaking can definitely get old, I still recommend doing it, just make an effort to rotate your recipes, dont keep eating anything you dont enjoy, you should look forward to your meals
>>2809646Looks like a pretty solid set up. My standard bit of advice is just be certain you get on with your sleep setup. Heading out knowing that you are confident of sleeping properly is a big bonus. If you've changed anything up for the PCT test it properly!>cold soakingReally personal, I've cold soaked for years and year, but on my last hike I picked up a little hot drinks kit from Trail Designs. Being able to make a hot coffee was a welcome change of pace. I'm happy eating the same thing over and over so cold soaking suits me. >polesI have always carried one pole. All my shelters require it to pitch. But a pole can be a great companion. >GPSon the big NSTs everyone just uses gut hooks or whatever it's called now. It's less for nav and more for the way points like road crossings, water, and town info. I see no reason to avoid using it. but also no need to carry a dedicated GPS device. If the fires get going then having an overview paper map or at least extra map layers on caltopo or something can be important to help hike yourself out safely. I have to route find around a fire or two on the CDT and having options beyond guthooks made that possible. I used caltopo.>>2809671>Will my bucket hat not get the job done?I've spent a lot of time in various deserts, sometimes with an umbrella and sometimes without. They aren't make or break but nice to have. A sun hoody is just as good imo.>>2809671>Have you used rocks / leaves / sticks? I feel like there is <1% chance for something to go wrong, but I just assumed a non-zero chance of wiping with a rock with some fucked up bacteria warranted taking some decomp TP. Is fear of the rock-bacteria schitzo behavior?I haven't used TP since 2017. I've wiped my arse with pretty much everything other than TP at this stage. I got a bit over confident one time with a pine cone and cut my ring pretty bad. But nothing happened. Going TPless has been practiced forever now and I've never heard anyone getting sick from it.
I found this washed up on the beach. It's hard and doesn't smell strange. Can you guys help me identify it? It's been bothering me for almost three years.
>>2806193Bro that's noodles covered in plaster.
>>2806193Straight answer: tube worm casings.
>>2806193Don't know but pretty sure it's safe enough to handle with bare hands and even put close to your face.
>>2806193That is some rancid ass ground beef.
>>2806193If I had to guess a clump of protective casings built by marine invertebrates. Look up calcareous tube worms
How do you feel about the federal layoffs and funding cuts for the NPS and USFS departments? I have mixed feeling on the subject.
>>2809491>which are also maintained by employees and have trails designated for the vast majority of them because retards like >>2809447 would otherwise destroy the plant and wildlife.Never let these millennial faggots get away with pretending they're motivated by conservation. They don't give a single fuck about any of that. They fucking LOVE the well maintained parking lot, the curated trails, the GIFT SHOP, and all of the trash dumping, cigarette flicking, nigger-music-on-a-bluetooth-speaker playing fat fucks that those things bring to the NP.>if it wasn't for the trails, cityniggers would just overland it through the terrainThat never happened. Ever. Before you turned the wilderness into a business with tour guides, the only people who came out here were outdoorsmen and probably some serial killers. Now it's where Betty and Earl are visiting in their RV.
Was musk ever interested in environmentalism or was it just a grift? It seems like he doesn't carry about nature at all and his only interest is growing the US population to absurd levels of the value of labor is worthless and he can exploit Indian H1bs for cheap. I saw his interview on Rogan where he was crying about the birthrate and how harmful degrowth is. Like the US population has almost doubled since WWII and the quality of life has gotten measurable worse since then. The funny thing is no one asked for the US to be as crowded as it is, people are ok with the US population meaning around 200k, there were anyone of zero-growth movements in the 70s and 80s. Those have all disappeared in favor of "line go up forever." The idea that the US needs to be more like India or China to be successful is completely insane and anti-human, but bugmen like Musk are completely unchallenged by the left since they've hitched themselves to open borders as well.
>>2809540>Only if you don't know how to read a mapDepends on the NP, I know Shenandoah is "try to find a previously used campsite if you can to reduce impact", but the Smokies is "you're camping where you booked or you better have a broken leg to justify why you aren't where you are supposed to be"
>>2809597It's very likely he was, it's just that environmentalism for these high techie types is more like having gardens or nature theme parks for people to recreate in, definitely not ecology for its own sake. I'm not sure they would even understand the idea of wilderness.
>>2809540>i can list anecdotal exceptions to rulesoh shit its the coolest guy in the thread
>want to move to Oregon from Nebraska and buy land for $4500>have $12k from an accident that totaled my car>plan to work in the nearby town, find something remote or even go a larger city that's not too far away to work and camp>might get over $10k for a neck injury>want to use it on a well so I don't have to haul water but could buy a prefab tuffshed>or could build a house out of cob adobe and pallets, starting with pallet sheds>don't know whether to buy a truck or an SUV>going to have to keep my stuff in storage until I can get it all moved out here>would prefer to take it all at once, maybe with a truck and a trailer but definitely with a Uhaul>Uhaul sounds sketch as I would not have a vehicle when I get there but could still maybe buy one with the $7500>also have a dogberg to look afterDon't know what to do, all my stuff is being packed up right now and I'm just trying to figure out how to get there
Carlife Escape the right wing social justice warrior cancel culture gangstalkers and live free as the founding fathers intended
>>2806189Nice tummy
>>2805055>>might get over $10k for a neck injuryyet youre planning on homesteading? fuck off larper
Any good place you could homestead in Oregon will cost you out the ass now. Californians have wrecked this state. Unfortunately we are full too, and not in the meme way. It is very overpopulated here and it gets worse every year.I would recommend going to Washington and getting land there and then traveling into Oregon when you want groceries.
>>2806666Portlanders destroyed my home town and made it unaffordable while also building no new businesses or housing, just out competing local businesses with chains that buy up the abandoned spaces.Fuck portland. What this guy said too >>2806746
Is this the best lighter?I used to use Clipper, and even though they are refillable, they have worse construction than pic related.These Bics are pretty damn nice, except you cannot refill them.Is there a better electric lighter out there? I need something that can withstand temperature fluctuations.All disposable lighters I've ever used turn into a crack torch in a hot car or barely work when they are cold. Either way I have to palm it for a few minutes, or put it in my pocket to get a normal flame.
This is my favorite
>>2808713>I used to buy pic relatedwell theres your problem, those are shitthe regular clippers are really good, try one out some time
>>2808727i did. like i said, i dont like the flint. and no long reach
Not terribly off topic but instead of palming the lighter stick it in your armpit. Heats it up faster and let’s you use your hands while it warms.
>>2808762Oh oh stinky
Homesteading and prepping With the way everything's going this is looking inevitable. What are you doing to prepare? Have you started a self reliant homestead?
Hey I've got one of the flame king refillable propane tanks.Had it in a buddy heater and it made some bizarre gurgling noise then flames out. I assumed the noise was from being low on fuel but when I took it off it felt like it was 3/4 full of water and you could hear it sloshing around.Any ideas? It sounds damn near full and is pretty heavy.I've had trouble filling these s I'm not sure theyre safe. I refill it using the 15lb tank on my grill and I either get 20 minutes run time when it's supposed to be "full" but now it's burning the correct time but it seems full of water now?No clue with these honestly it seems unsafe.
>>2807356Why do her eyes become like that? Aren't they yellow?
>>2807624He geekin rn bruh
>>2806836BASED
>>2809173>>2806836Salty wannabe country boys
which way, chilly man?
>>2804527I would suggest pic related, personally.
>>28045270F rated sleeping bag and warm base layers. Maybe a wool blanket with your parka draped over you. Was camping with a buddy 2 weeks ago and he melted his sleeping bag to his shoulder using a buddy heater. Not worth it and it didn’t make our tent noticeably warmer.
>>2807154Do you think you could stick that top thing, or one of these in a sleeping/bivy bag to get some extra warmth?The only issues I could see are fumes and the need for oxygen.
>>2807172>it didn’t make our tent noticeably warmer.How? I'd think even a cheap tent with a tea candle heater would get at least some heat.Was the wind really extreme?
>>2807300These stink of lighter fluid
Lets say I work 4 days a week and I have a wife and kid at home to garden while I'm at work. How has the icremental approach worked for you homestead anons and how long has it taken for you make a well establish homestead with cows and shit?
>>2801354>>Farming is effectively playing Factorio IRLseems fun but it's not though factorio is about automation not being a busybee a decent factorio build does shit on its own and you only do high level thinking and small optimizations after a while
>>2801484>There Was No Reply Lmao
>>2799956Knowing you sit there, still posting this image every time I visit this board on threads always makes me chuckle. The sheer amount of projection it emits is astounding.
>>2801850true
Have you been caught trespassing before? What happened?
>>2807087Funny, I just got caught for the first time in my life this morning. Some boomer told me to get the hell off his land. I said "k" turned around and walked back to the state wildlife area where I came from. No cops were called and no guns were drawn. Then again I don't go walking right by people's homes.
>>2807713America sounds like such a shithole
>>2807644Retard
>>2807433>Actual murdersOhhhhwhat? Who'd you kill anon?
>>2807087yeah I was urbexing one time and some cops pulled up to where my car was parked, they were cool and basically just checked to make sure I wasn't the crazy guy that tried to burn the place down a few weeks earlier
I have never tied anything in my life but I know for a fact that knot-tying youtubers are fucking FINISHED.
>>2808012That is clearly not how you make a seeeet bong knot
>>2807822the reeef bnot takes zero steps to tie zero steps to untie i judge this the greatest contribution to the knot industry since the knot bible
>>2807822se3eet bonc is my favourite knot.
>>2807822
>>2807822I'll never forget when my grandpa took me fishing as a kid and taught me how to tie a se5eet bong.
Post your knives
>>2809400>t’s a money putIsn't this pretty my much the definition of a hobby
>>2808451>imagethat's hot
>>2794305I don’t know what happened, but it’s hard to find their small knives all of a sudden. Especially with a kydex sheath.
What kind of steel is your go-to camp/bushcraft knife? Im considering buying something in AEB-L
>>281004180CrV2 Teravas and 1095 Esee, pretty basic bitch.
