backpacking

While it is true that the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that helps manage the path and the lands surrounding it, has advised hikers to stay off the southernmost 865 miles, or its lower third, it is not true that those miles are destroyed. Sources I spoke to talked of toppled trees, down branches, and flooding.

Scandinavia often has these three-walled cabins available on a first-come, first-served basis. In Swedish, they're called vindskydd, or wind shelter. This particular one is northeast of Umeå, Sweden. No guarantees on what they're called elsewhere, but I have seen them in Finland as well. And I have heard of but not seen of them in Norway. In general, the freedom to roam is quite strong in these three countries as long as you are respectful and stay out of obviously private spaces like personal gardens or farm fields. Happy travels!

near Mixta Cave

Earnslaw Burn, under Mt Earnslaw (Glenorchy, New Zealand)

cross-posted from: https://iusearchlinux.fyi/post/417724

I day-hiked in to the Bighorn Crags area a couple of weeks ago. The Bighorn Crags are named for their bighorn sheep and really cool craggy granite mountains. They are quite old and eroded, with lots of cirques, crags, and towers. I would recommend getting to the trailhead and camping, then backpacking in for a few days.

Getting to the trailhead is a 2.5 hour drive from Salmon, Idaho through forest service roads. The first 1.5 hours are fine - well maintained dirt roads with easy grades. The last 18 miles takes an hour on a really crappy road deep into the mountains. Tire popper rocks abound, so be careful and be prepared! There is a campground at the trailhead.

The trail system is such that you hike along a ridge line for about six miles until you reach the major crags.

From the trailhead you almost immediately hit the Frank Church Wilderness boundary. You will pass some trails to go to a couple of lakes but they are some distance away and a hike down from the ridge line. The ridge line is dry, so bring water.

The first lakes you reach in the crags are Wilson Lake and Harbor Lake at about mile 7.1.

The trail bounces around between about 8500' and 9200' elevation. However, one way is about 1700' of ascent, meaning we had 3400' ascent and 3400' descent in 14 miles round trip.

cross-posted from: https://iusearchlinux.fyi/post/277201

I took this out-and-back hike in August 2022. It was a 9.3 mile hike one way. You start in relatively populated national forest land and then as you rise through the mountains, reach the Wilderness area. The trail climbs through Bear Basin, switch backing up the bowl of the basin to the first pass, which is stunning. The descent down the pass is rough with lots of steep gravel. The trail splits and you take the high trail to the east, over the next pass to Summit Lake, which is nestled between two mountains, then over the lass tiny pass and down into the last, big basin. Hike along the meadow until you reach Thompson Lake at the foot of Gallatin peak. You can summit the peak, but I didn't. I surely didn't see a reasonable trail up it!

Looking into Bear Basin

Wildflowers

Looking down into Bear Basin from the pass

Summit Lake

Towards Thompson Lake

Thompson Lake

Sunrise at Thompson Lake

Hello! I have bought a Gregory Rhune 22 backpack a few weeks ago and I want to make a review to contribute to the community!

So, first off: this is some of the most thoughtful organization I have seen in a backpack. You can tell that this bag was made by people who would want to use it. It has everything you need for day-to-day organization, even down to a dedicated AirPods/earbuds pocket right on your left strap that I use every single day (so so convenient).

So pros:

• it is a Gregory pack, so it comes with the Gregory quality and warranty support you would expect from them.

• Made with lightweight recycled rip-stop polyester (in some places, too much so)

• Organization is abundant. You will not run out of places to put things in this bag, and I have lost my habit of letting things fall to the bottom of the bag immediately after getting this due to its thoughtful organization.

• Almost clamshell main compartment is great for travel, and the fact that it opens right up with no lip on top of the (wonderfully false-bottomed) laptop pocket means you will not miss a dedicated laptop compartment at all. Even if it is fully packed, you will have no troubles just getting your laptop out of the bag in a single zip.

Cons:

• the lightweight, thin rip-stop is great for hiking bags and bags of that sort, but I feel like Gregory definitely should have added some more durable fabric or at least a protective PVC or TPU coating to the bottom of the pack, similar to how The North Face does things on their commuter bags. The single thin sheet of fabric on the bottom of the bag has no padding at all, leading to sagging if you put something even slightly heavy in the main compartment, and offers no drop protection for anything in the main compartment. Though, this can be easily fixed with just a piece of cardboard cut and put into the bottom, but that’s an extra hassle that should have been fixed in the beginning imo.

• the entire bag is made from the same recycled plastic material, which is great for the environment, but that plastic is rough, especially on the straps and back of the pack. It sorta scratches you every time you put the pack on. This is a non-issue once you get used to it, but if you are expecting some soft material, this is not it. I also wonder how the rough material rubbing on your back all day would affect shirts with graphic designs on the back.

• lack of a bungee system kinda sucks, as I wish I could just throw a wet jacket outside of the pack itself, but it’s not like you expected it to come with one if you looked at the listing.

• the water bottle holder is verrrry loose for bottles less than 30oz or less than 3” in diameter. My 24oz hydroflask has slipped out multiple times while putting it down. I wish it had some securing straps over the holder like TNF borealis or recon does.

Overall, this is a great pack, but misses the mark on a few things that you would not think of when you use it, but seem like a bit of an oversight when you use it regularly and notice those things. For the price I would expect just a bit more durability on the bottom of the pack especially, but if I’m honest, I believe this will be a non-issue unless if you are very rough with your pack. Rip stop is a great material, but if there is only a single thin 300d layer, things can happen. Regardless, I love this pack, as I would not find such thoughtful organization and zipper placement in any other pack I have researched. Just a few improvements would make this the perfect go-to commuter backpack.

Hope this was insightful to anyone looking for a new bag!

Archived at https://archive.ph/54nwr

A 71-year-old Los Angeles man died in California’s Death Valley National Park on Tuesday, likely due to heat, as the afternoon high recorded in the park was 121 degrees, officials said. The Inyo County Coroner identified the deceased as Steven Curry.

Curry fell to the ground outside the restroom at the Golden Canyon trailhead, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and the national park wrote in a news release.

Before collapsing, Curry had been interviewed in the early morning by a Los Angeles Times reporter at Zabriskie Point; he had hiked about 2 miles from Golden Canyon to the point.

cross-posted from: https://iusearchlinux.fyi/post/66105

As promised, here is a trip report!

Trailhead: Palisades campground Path: hike past Lower Palisades lake (4 mi), Upper Palisades lake (7 mi) and into Waterfall Canyon (end at 11 miles).

The snow has melted and the Palisades are in full growth mode! Tons of flowers are blooming or preparing to bloom in the next couple of weeks. Patches of snow still exist in Waterfall Canyon starting at about 7400 ft elevation. There were two waterfalls flowing at the end of the canyon. We camped in some nice established campsites to the west of the trail by one of the lakes at the end of the canyon. It was a quiet day with no other people out past Upper Lake.

(Palisades creek is super fast this year!)

(Upper Palisades Lake is beautiful)

(The main waterfall)

(The other waterfall)

(Lake we camped by)

cross-posted from: https://iusearchlinux.fyi/post/354323

Did a quick day hike last weekend to Goldbug Hot Springs in Elk Bend, ID. It's a little under 2 miles one way, and about 900' elevation gain - half of it in the last quarter-mile. You start at a trailhead next to private land and hike about a quarter-mile through private land (it's allowed but stay on trail, dogs on leash and keep your noise level down).

It was very hot in the afternoon and there is little cover, it improves as you approach the hot springs. The springs actually spring cold water and hot water, and some pools are hotter than others, so explore!

The map

The approach - the springs are up in the mountains

The vew from the springs back down

The hot springs

I went here with my 6 year old daughter and my parents this past weekend. I grew up coming here with my dad and it feels really special to share it with my daughter. I can't wait to go back.

Looking for a new backpack. I don't like having 40 pockets to stash stuff in. I would prefer a frame but not having one isn't a deal breaker. Have lower back issues so it needs to sit appropriately.

MOLLE, ALICE, ILBE, or FILBE? Something else?

One of my favorite campsites. I did the North Lake to South Lake loop (about about fifty miles) back in 2020.

Sadly, most thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail or the John Muir Trail will hustle past here, as they’re always trying to get from Muir Pass to Muir Trail Ranch (or vice versa, if they’re southbound) in a day. But, it’s a beautiful place, worth stopping to see at different times of day.

Deer grazed in the meadow, as well as in my campsite as I made my morning coffee. If you’re an angler, Evolution Creek is full of golden trout, and make for a fantastic diet addition along the trail.

It is one of the most peaceful places in the Sierra Nevada, if you visit at the right time of year. This was back in late 2020, and I was able to be all alone here, due to the pandemic keeping the backpackers’ numbers down.

A link to a website if you want to buy good quality hiking items on aliexpress.

The ratio price/weigth is usually good, not ultralight, but correct

This was taken last January during my wife and I's thru hike of Te Araroa. Photo credit~ my wife.

Recently did a 2 day trip that looped up to this summit. There were some intense inclines and a few scrambles, but the views were incredible.

I'm new to the community and thought a little activity on the community couldn't hurt!

I am a pretty large guy (6'2", 240lbs) who's also pushing 50. As much as I'd like to do ultralight, I struggle to keep my base weight around 20lbs because I need large gear and sleeping on the ground is not that sexy for me. Plus... I have a chair because sitting on the ground is about as unsexy as sleeping on the ground is. I started off with a 50+lb pack and have gotten better gear as I've gotten more into backpacking.

I've done the CA section of PCT and now I do section hikes on the AT as I live on the east coast now. My trail name is JoePaca, and if you've seen me at a camp, I'm pretty easy to remember.

I'm happy to give honest opinions on any of the gear in my list, but I'm pretty happy with all of it.

Summer's here! Where are you backpacking while the days are long and the weather is warm?

I enjoy hiking and backpacking. I go to Yellowstone once a year.

What's the best pack to buy? I have one but bought it at Sports Academy and I feel there should be better ones out there.

For all your wonderful hikes out in the wilderness, come join !wilderness_backpacking@iusearchlinux.fyi ! Remember to follow Leave No Trace principles on your travels :)

I am looking at creating my backpacking kit. I just wanted to know what people consider their top items in their backpacking kit that might not be considered "essential" (tent, clothes, cookware, etc) or what they'd recommend looking into to improve the (already great) backpacking/camping experience.

Note : alcohol is supposed to be 'non-essential' !

I've had an absolute overkill vault for years and intend to switch to a sack (obvs unless the area has aggressive bears and/or the park specifies vaults are required).

What would you add as a luxury item to take up the newly available weight and volume? Currently leaning towards a lightweight backpacking chair. Getting up off the ground and having a backrest after a long days backpacking sounds great.

I have a 36L bag, so the vault takes up A LOT of the volume. And I shoot for midweight, say <20lbs dry weight.

Option 2, but vetoed by my frequent adventure buddy, was harmonicas for some nighttime jams. I can't play harmonica, so backwoods camp seemed like a good place to practice.

I'm mostly a day-hiker. I'd rather hike farther than carry more.

I'm slowly Passage-hiking the Arizona Trail, and there are stretches where overnights will be unavoidable.

I'm not going to cut down my toothbrush, but I do want to carry as little as possible.

I hear positive things about backpacking bidets, but the concept seems (to put it delicately) "optimistic" to me.

I may attempt the "try it afterwards in your shower at home" advice I've seen elsewhere, but that seems...gross.

Am I missing something, or is my risk tolerance misaligned with the reality of roughing it?