The
Dirtbagger's Deluxe
Home What's New? E-Mail the Guys
|
The
Dirtbagger's Deluxe Home What's New? E-Mail the Guys
|
|
Lightweight Hiking Food Hiking Techniques Trip Journals Links NEW! Where To Go NEW! A Lesson From the Trail |
Hiking Techniques "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place wheron thou standest is holy ground." Ex 3:5 I have come to find that I never hike the same way twice. there is always something that makes the trip different, weather it be a different choice in gear or how I choose to hike. "Variety is the spice of life!" This applies to hiking as well. There are so many different ways of doing one thing. Below are a few variations to the normal way to enjoy the wilderness. Night Hiking- Night hiking creates a whole new ball of wax. It can take a mundane, often hiked, easy trail and turn it into something you wouldn't even recognize. It is true what they say about when one since is diminished the others are heightened. After you become accustomed to the dark and hike the first couple hundred yards you will find it is just as safe as hiking in the day. I find the most important thing to do while night hiking is to have a red lens for your flashlight or headlamp. White light is far too blinding. If the moon is out and it is bright enough you don't even need a light. You can greatly improve your night vision by looking slightly above where you are stepping and use your vision as if you were using your peripheral vision. Sounds weird, but it works. I found that when in deep forest it is hard to make things out so I just use a red headlamp. It is best to start on a trail that is very familiar to you so the chances of getting lost are diminished. Checking your map and distinguishing landmarks often is the key to safe travel at night. NEW! Extreme Day Hikes- Extreme day hikes are the practice of going long distances in one day without camping. You go light, long and sometimes fast. I've done a few of these by accident. LOL! It can be a lot of fun to do because you get to go so light and it really pushes you depending on what hike you're doing. Extreme day hikes can mean different thing in different areas. In the west it usually means peak bagging. In the east it usually means completing a long trail or section of trail in one day. In the west this translates into; fewer miles but rougher terrain. In the east this means; higher miles but easier terrain (sometimes!). It's a great hike to do if you're stressed out from a long week at work and you really need to blow off some negative energy. The length and difficulty of the hike is what determines the time it will take to complete. Usually the hike will begin in the wee hours of the morning. The idea is to hike early and be back home for dinner and beers. Sometimes this means starting at 3 AM and night hiking some. This adds a great twist tot he hike because you get to be up and experience the awakening of a new day. Here in Ohio we have a few longer looping trails that make this type of hike perfect. You can camp in a nearby camp ground or pack in a ways the day before your hike and camp there. The things that should go with you are the ten essentials that should always be with you , extra clothes for weather, and food. The type of food that is needed should be very high in carbs as well as protein. I found a great site that actually put a name on this kind of hike and refined the requirements and techniques that work well. It's called The Extreme Day Hiker. Check it out and see what you think of extreme day hiking. Gorilla Camps- Gorilla camping is something I came to start doing after a weekend on a trail with about 100 boy scouts (not by choice mind you). Here in Ohio we are forced to use designated sites for camping on some land. this is to keep the impact lower on the land. It doesn't work. It just concentrates the impact on a smaller area. I must say at the very beginning that this is not for everyone. If you are not familiar with low impact camping you should not be doing this. If you can tell where you camped the night before please stay in the designated areas, or better yet get educated so you can't tell where you camped. Many would call me irresponsible for suggesting that people break the rules of public land and camp out of bounds. I would simply ask this in response, "If I can camp somewhere away from all people and the trail without leaving so much as a trace that I was there, is it wrong? Considering that my absence from the designated area will also lessen the impact on that area I say, "No." I used to be afraid of getting caught and fined but in all the years I've been hiking I have never even seen a ranger or other park official on the trail during the weekend. Even if they are in the wilderness they surely aren't going to be off trail where I'm camping. So what are the rules of gorilla camps?
If we follow these general rules there should never be a reason for us to even think twice about camping out of bounds. If after reading this you still feel that I am wrong this is OK too. It's just how I do it.
|
Dirtbag Hikin' Gear Food Hikin' Techniques Trips N' Stuff Linxs |
