F:AT Perpetual Hiking and Backpacking

I love hiking and backpacking.

Here is a picture of my son and I on top of Enchanted Rock from yesterday. Nothing beats a New Years hike. I am hoping to take him to Big Bend this year as well(and some other smaller venues)

Mt. Washington isn't that bad, actually. The trails are really well laid out. I think the other White Mountains are much more difficult. Weather is the hardest part, you just have to get lucky. My family did it when I was 12 or 13, and my sister was 8 or 9. If you get pooped at the top, you can ride back down, too.

We did a small hike (we have a 5yo) to Año Nuevo to see the elephant seals over the break. About 3 miles total, and she did great. Those are some BIG animals.

In NH the Presidential Traverse is cool.

I've never really been too into "just hiking", though I do like to wander around in nature for the afternoon, nothing more than 10-15 miles for random walks though. All my bigger trips have usually revolved around climbing. I've done some lengthier jaunts into the wilderness to explore new spots to climb, mostly out west. End up out for a week or two and get to do some killer climbing in places few people bother the effort to get to.

I'd someday like to go on a long horse trip; do a few hundred miles+ from point A to point B on the back of a horse through some wilderness. Maybe some fun historic route or something.

Chaz - seems you dig those GoRuck challenges yeah? I've been thinking of doing the NYC one for a while but I dunno, money is a thing and I've been really disappointed with stuff like Tough Mudder.

When I was a kid I did some 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, I've done Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mammoth Cave, Big Sur, LOTS of trails in Oregon, Bachelor, some Hood, the "Sisters"... I used to hike a hell of a lot. A lot of Tahoe hiking too.

It's been 3 years, maybe, at this point since I've hiked. Once I got sick it pretty much fucked my whole world up. Now that I'm on the mend (or rather, meds) we're going to start up again. In October we did ~12 miles out in Oregon at Silver Falls, and I was fine with that, so I reckon I should be able to do more.

This NYE the fam went to my buddy's house where my wife preceded to get utterly fucking hammered, while we all played endless games of pool. Really digging my new Lucasi.

jeb wrote: Mt. Washington isn't that bad, actually. The trails are really well laid out. I think the other White Mountains are much more difficult. Weather is the hardest part, you just have to get lucky. My family did it when I was 12 or 13, and my sister was 8 or 9. If you get pooped at the top, you can ride back down, too.

This is going to sound whacked, but I think its easier in the winter than summer...IF the weather is halfway decent. On a cold ( but too cold day ) with minimal wind, its actually quite comfortable as long as you're moving. The visibility is much better due to lower humidity. WAY less people. And from a physical standpoint, instead of hiking on cobbled roads ( which is what a good chunk of the Presi trails are in effect ) you're hiking on packed snow - much easier on the legs/knees. And on the way down, you can ski/sled/glissade large parts. WAY faster.

Unbelievably, given my view on sports, I absolutely fucking love orienteering. I used to do it every Sunday morning and then retire to the pub. What brilliant fun, it's like a big treasure map and these other folk doing different routes at the same time. So much fun just stopping people with the map and saying "Excuse me, but do you know where the fuck we are?"

Out here in the ass end of nowhere there is no orienteering (well to be fair you do really need geographic relief in order to make the map reading more challenging).

I know it's not quite hiking but it's close.

That sounds like an awesome way to spend New Years! I was a Boy Scout too and enjoy hiking and backpacking but haven't really done any in years.

Seattle, Scotland and South Africa all sound like excellent hiking spots though.

Mad Dog wrote: I like hiking and do it whenever I can. Not much in the winter though without snowshoes. Which reminds me I need to buy some new snowshoes.

I'd much rather take a hiking vacation than go to Vegas or whatever.

Went snowshoeing once. It was a blast! Wish I had tried it earlier. Now I live in Texas.

MattLoter wrote: Chaz - seems you dig those GoRuck challenges yeah? I've been thinking of doing the NYC one for a while but I dunno, money is a thing and I've been really disappointed with stuff like Tough Mudder.

They're excellent, but not for everyone. Really depends on what you're looking for, as they're vastly different that obstacle course races?

GoRucks aren't anything about racing, and everything about pushing your own physical and mental limits (mostly mental) and learning to work as a team in difficult and uncomfortable circumstances. You will get pushed hard physically, but the point isn't to break you. Instead, you have to learn to find your own strengths, use them to help the group, and ask for help when you need to. If you haven't, think about trying a Light first. Those are 6-8 hours, usually cheaper, and just as hard as the full challenges. If you like that, then do the full 12 hour challenge.

For obstacle courses, what disappointed you specifically about Mudder? I actually find Mudders pretty poor these days myself, and vastly prefer Spartan races. Same idea as Mudder, but the obstacles and courses are much more difficult. The 14-mile Beast in Killington this year was the hardest 7.5 hours I can remember spending in a long time.

I could talk about this shit for pages.

Chapel, my brother (Austinite) and I took my young nephew to the top of Enchanted Rock last year. Fun. And Big Bend is our favorite place thus far in Texas---Chisos backcountry is sort of zen.

You guys mentioned gear. This seems like a real middle/upper class prick thing to say, but the proper gear ($$$) makes the whole experience much more pleasant and makes the miserable parts considerably less miserable. I know one goes into/drives by REI and you see all the assholes who will never use any of it buying tons of expensive shit. But the shit is worth it if you actually do more than day hikes. Seeing some of the people going up to Guadalupe Peak yesterday in like a tee shirt, or just a sweat shirt... you can do almost any day hike wearing anything, you're just going to have a REAL shitty time if you're unequipped and the hike is challenging at all. Backpacking is where the scariest shit happens---you see some folks walking in to a national park backcountry carrying a 3 sleeping bags that were not meant for low temperatures along with a cheap coleman tent and you just cringe (and sometimes tell the ranger, if they're unequipped enough...).

Don't get me wrong, you can hike in almost anything. Hiking is not elite entertainment. But the difference between being wet and cold the whole time with really heavy gear and having the proper stuff is a enormous. I should know because I didn't have much gear when I first met my wife, and she did, and the first couple trips convinced me to spend the dollars at campmor or REI.