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Packing your fears

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    • I prefer to think I pack by experience rather than fear. Running out of water sucks big time. If in doubt I will pack more even though I detest the weight. I'ts better than the alternative to me. I have humped upwards of two gallons in desert envoroments.

      Food: I can plan pretty good, but there have been times on long hikes where an unplanned zero messed things up. One time had 0 food & used my last gulp of water to wash down last of vitamin I I had just as I saw town. Another time I laid over on an overcast day because I didn't want to miss the views. WE combined what we had in our food bags. Dinner was a pack of mshed taters with some dehydrated green beans & TVP. That left us a pack of pudding to split for breakfast & a snickers bar each to hike 18 miles.

    • Mountain-Mike wrote:

      I prefer to think I pack by experience rather than fear. Running out of water sucks big time. If in doubt I will pack more even though I detest the weight. I'ts better than the alternative to me. I have humped upwards of two gallons in desert envoroments.

      Food: I can plan pretty good, but there have been times on long hikes where an unplanned zero messed things up. One time had 0 food & used my last gulp of water to wash down last of vitamin I I had just as I saw town. Another time I laid over on an overcast day because I didn't want to miss the views. WE combined what we had in our food bags. Dinner was a pack of mshed taters with some dehydrated green beans & TVP. That left us a pack of pudding to split for breakfast & a snickers bar each to hike 18 miles.
      yup that's pretty minimal, I crash hard comin' off sugar, that right there would've gave me the weak shakey legs.

    • mental note wrote:

      Mountain-Mike wrote:

      I prefer to think I pack by experience rather than fear. Running out of water sucks big time. If in doubt I will pack more even though I detest the weight. I'ts better than the alternative to me. I have humped upwards of two gallons in desert envoroments.

      Food: I can plan pretty good, but there have been times on long hikes where an unplanned zero messed things up. One time had 0 food & used my last gulp of water to wash down last of vitamin I I had just as I saw town. Another time I laid over on an overcast day because I didn't want to miss the views. WE combined what we had in our food bags. Dinner was a pack of mshed taters with some dehydrated green beans & TVP. That left us a pack of pudding to split for breakfast & a snickers bar each to hike 18 miles.
      yup that's pretty minimal, I crash hard comin' off sugar, that right there would've gave me the weak shakey legs.
      Just choices I made at the times. First ime I thought it was a cold & took a zero. Woke up day two & realized just allergies. Did my personal best hiking day ever, 49 miles. Hiked about 4 mp & Every break was a meal break. I ate about two days of foog in the process hoping to ctch up with my friends. I cdapped out about a mile shoert of where they were (I found out later) I dropped my pack off & st on it to reat & drink some water. Once I sat down my body said you know you're not getting up again! I didn't. unrolled my pad & pulled out y sleeping bag & slept pretty much right on he trail.

      Second time I just didn't want to miss the views. Lack of food forced us to go on. we hiked in fog & drizzel for a day. Dinner was passed between tents pitched close together. When I unzipped my tent Michele asked how it looked. The sun was glistebubg of the Glciers of Mt Jefferson & very large in my face.! I was OMG!

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      After listening to the book about ego and how it gets us in trouble, I'm convinced that every stupid decision we make, including overpacking or under packing, is about ego.
      Not true, many of my mistakes are the result of alcohol and/or my inability to adapt to the laws of physics... :/
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      After listening to the book about ego and how it gets us in trouble, I'm convinced that every stupid decision we make, including overpacking or under packing, is about ego.
      Not true, many of my mistakes are the result of alcohol and/or my inability to adapt to the laws of physics... :/
      Cof123 Cof124
      Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. - Robert E. Lee

    • LIhikers wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      After listening to the book about ego and how it gets us in trouble, I'm convinced that every stupid decision we make, including overpacking or under packing, is about ego.
      who's this ego you speak of?
      It takes a lot of self-awareness to understand what motivates our behavior and decisions.

      Delve into your motivation for hiking, being outdoors, choosing trails, posting your trips and photos online, etc, and I guarantee ego is behind many of those behaviors.

      Do you hike because it makes you feel good about yourself? Do you pride yourself on packing minimally? Do you say, "I'm doing it my way, don't care what anyone else does even if they have more experience and sound advice?" Do you believe that you are so experienced, you don't extra water or food? That's ego.

      Lack of ego is as much of an influence on behavior as too much ego.

      :)

      ("You" is not referring to you Llhikers, but is meant in a general way)
      Lost in the right direction.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      I've been getting my stuff together and making repairs for next week's lash. Just got finished weighing everything and just as I suspected- I got about a pound of fear packed in there somewhere. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh.
      Just leave the pack home. Use plastic grocery bags.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Rasty wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      I've been getting my stuff together and making repairs for next week's lash. Just got finished weighing everything and just as I suspected- I got about a pound of fear packed in there somewhere. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh.
      Just leave the pack home. Use plastic grocery bags.
      Just don't expect to replace any of them in Great Barrington, MA.
      They outlawed them! :rolleyes:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      I've been getting my stuff together and making repairs for next week's lash. Just got finished weighing everything and just as I suspected- I got about a pound of fear packed in there somewhere. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh.
      Just leave the pack home. Use plastic grocery bags.
      Just don't expect to replace any of them in Great Barrington, MA.They outlawed them! :rolleyes:
      Notice how they didn't outlaw luxury SUVs, foods flown in by aircraft or wine bottles... 8)
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • Astro wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      I've been getting my stuff together and making repairs for next week's lash. Just got finished weighing everything and just as I suspected- I got about a pound of fear packed in there somewhere. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh.
      Just leave the pack home. Use plastic grocery bags.
      Just don't expect to replace any of them in Great Barrington, MA.They outlawed them! :rolleyes:
      They outlawed them in the Grand Canyon NP too. I wish they would outlaw them everywhere. I hate those things- worst invention ever.Ok I'm getting off my environmentalist soapbox
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • JimBlue wrote:

      Paper bags for groceries were using up forests. So hard to come up with something that works.
      Original versions were petrochemical intense and didn't biodegrade, hence the disposal issue. Later generations breakdown in sunlight lessening their long term presence. Brown paper bags are widely available in trendy stores, Whole Foods as an example, but have a chemical laden production cycle.

      Both items have a multi- use lifespan within the household prior to final disposition for me.

      Ultimately the solution is the reuseable shopping bag.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • Dan76 wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      Paper bags for groceries were using up forests. So hard to come up with something that works.
      Original versions were petrochemical intense and didn't biodegrade, hence the disposal issue. Later generations breakdown in sunlight lessening their long term presence. Brown paper bags are widely available in trendy stores, Whole Foods as an example, but have a chemical laden production cycle.
      Both items have a multi- use lifespan within the household prior to final disposition for me.

      Ultimately the solution is the reuseable shopping bag.
      That's what I use, I got them in both vehicles and strapped to my bicycle. Sometimes I just carry the stuff in my hands. I can't stand them plastic bags, I see them floating around everywhere, stuck in trees, floating in streams, really really pisses me off.

      I'm the guy that when I'm out bike riding or walking I'm stopping and picking up other peoples trash and yelling at people when they throw their cigarette butt out the window.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • I always take reusable bags to the grocery store and pack them myself. The baggers won't cram stuff in, they put a few things in my bags then put the rest in plastic, so I do it myself. I pissed the bagger off the other day when I kept grabbing the groceries before they could get to him.
      I also take stuff that they've already bagged, consolidate them (why do they only put two things in each bag?) and put the plastic bags back on their dispenser thing.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      Paper bags for groceries were using up forests. So hard to come up with something that works.
      Original versions were petrochemical intense and didn't biodegrade, hence the disposal issue. Later generations breakdown in sunlight lessening their long term presence. Brown paper bags are widely available in trendy stores, Whole Foods as an example, but have a chemical laden production cycle.Both items have a multi- use lifespan within the household prior to final disposition for me.

      Ultimately the solution is the reuseable shopping bag.
      That's what I use, I got them in both vehicles and strapped to my bicycle. Sometimes I just carry the stuff in my hands. I can't stand them plastic bags, I see them floating around everywhere, stuck in trees, floating in streams, really really pisses me off.
      I'm the guy that when I'm out bike riding or walking I'm stopping and picking up other peoples trash and yelling at people when they throw their cigarette butt out the window.
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      Paper bags for groceries were using up forests. So hard to come up with something that works.
      Original versions were petrochemical intense and didn't biodegrade, hence the disposal issue. Later generations breakdown in sunlight lessening their long term presence. Brown paper bags are widely available in trendy stores, Whole Foods as an example, but have a chemical laden production cycle.Both items have a multi- use lifespan within the household prior to final disposition for me.
      Ultimately the solution is the reuseable shopping bag.
      That's what I use, I got them in both vehicles and strapped to my bicycle. Sometimes I just carry the stuff in my hands. I can't stand them plastic bags, I see them floating around everywhere, stuck in trees, floating in streams, really really pisses me off.I'm the guy that when I'm out bike riding or walking I'm stopping and picking up other peoples trash and yelling at people when they throw their cigarette butt out the window.

      Now that's what I'm talking about!!!

      Astro wrote:

      Walmart quit using their trademark blue bags because of the way people littered with them ended giving a negative instead if the originally intended positive impression.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • LIhikers wrote:

      JimBlue wrote:

      Paper bags for groceries were using up forests. So hard to come up with something that works.
      I've read in more than one place that there are more trees in the USA now than when the Pilgrims landed, due to the fact that we put out forest fires and replant harvested trees. I have no way to know if it's correct or not.
      I would definitely believe it.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General