Second Backpacking Trip--more lessons learned, and some not

[Supertac916]

He actually might be. I just started Hammock camping and totally love it, except for one BIG thing. CBS.

Cold Butt Syndrome.

Because the hammock is hanging, air can blow beneath it unlike a normal tent. that accompanied with your weight crushing any insulation beneath you equals a very cold ***!!!!

People combat this by either getting an underquilt (usually a down quilt that wraps around the bottom of your hammock providing the insulation) or else they just shove some blankets, or even the small air mattresses beneath you. This is what I'm doing until I can buy a decent underquilt. Its the budget orientated solution to CBS

Yep, if it's raining and the wind is blowing sideways our butts can get pretty cold. I usually bring a thermarest, but if I don't feel like packing it, than one of those cheap Mylar emergency blankets underneath keeps the wind from creeping in.

[swiss_]

I disagree with whoever told you to ditch the Nalgeens...

I've had a bear visit me during the night and chew on one of my bottles.. it held up. I'm pretty sure that a Dasani bottle wouldn't perform as well.

Lighter is not always better, remember that.

[CandG]

I disagree with whoever told you to ditch the Nalgeens...

I've had a bear visit me during the night and chew on one of my bottles.. it held up. I'm pretty sure that a Dasani bottle wouldn't perform as well.

Lighter is not always better, remember that.

I wouldn't count on a nalgene holding up to a bear chewing on it, sounds like you got lucky and the bear quickly realized it wasn't food and left it alone. Even if it wasn't luck, and nalgenes are absolutely bearproof, then cool, but think of it this way - you could stuff like 8 empty platypus bottles in your backpack as "bear spares", and still weigh less than 1 nalgene.

[SickofSoCal]

Nice pictures. I didn't know humans lived above 7,500 feet.

Maybe you can be so kind to let a snowball melt and flow downhill to CA. You now know how thrilled we were to find a few ounces of water in a puddle down here.

LOL, well some in fact do.... Leadville is at 10,152 ft (the "Two Mile High City"), Silverton is at 9,308... Telluride at 8,750... and so on.

Sure thing... There was a lot of spare water this year - wettest Spring ever recorded!


So, I'll share as long as I'm at it. Water water water everywhere! (All pics from Spring/Summer of '15)

[SickofSoCal]

Oh, my little brother put this together, there are some shots of my Blazer goin' through the water... June 1st, 2015:

[furyous68]

Never use cotton. Get synthetic everything.

^^^^ This

Cotton kills. Once it's wet, it will start sapping your heat. Wool & synthetics are your friends.

[valdier]

If you are trying to save money on a system for cooking and boiling water:

http://www.amazon.com/Dpower-Foldable-Camping-Stove-Ignition/dp/B00PW7HL8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451901277&sr=8-1&keywords=dpower+stove

I use this everywhere when I am not carrying an esbit.

Whispers and rockets are awesome if you want to spend a fortune, but I guarantee you will be just as happy with this. Build a small reflectix or tin foil wind guard and you can use it literally anywhere.

[riprap]

Look up ultralight backpacking for some ideas to cut weight.

^^^This.
Pick and choose what fits your style and needs.

[daringescape]

Great post - glad you are getting out there!

This couple blogs about their backpacking adventures and have SO MANY great tips on gear, clothing, etc. http://www.backpackthesierra.com

[KrisDSA]

Bump. Forgot all about this one.

[Darto]

Not surprised the OP mentioned blisters.
Back when I started the 4 problems on first hike I first learned were:
blisters
mosquitoes
too little toilet paper
sunburn at high altitude

(Mosquitoes were the worst. There is no work around if you are out of repellent).

The last thing I learned when getting older was:
A backpack grade hammock is 100 times softer than a tent on the ground!