On my first Appalachian trip, I was so afraid of bears that I strapped a bike horn to my hip-belt to scare them away. Never had to use it.
On my first Appalachian trip, I was so afraid of bears that I strapped a bike horn to my hip-belt to scare them away. Never had to use it.
wet toilet paper.
A rock sack for tossing a bear bag line over a limb, made a mighty nice one with a fancy bag and coffee can lid 16" up the line so critters couldn't climb down the line, used it the first night, got up next morning to find bag on ground with all items sampled by a mouse, never hung again.
I've seen people actually carry cell phones on the trail. They walk around and look for service - they call their wives and husbands and friends. They even claim them as a necessity in case of an emergency. I can tell you that when I through hiked, I had no such thing - I had a "phone card" for pay phones. A pay phone or borrowed phone is all I need now - - I'd suggest skipping the cell altogether.
Had to read the whole thread to see whether this one was posted already. Last fall I saw a sobo near Front Royal carrying in each hand two or three pieces of rebar duct-taped together as trekking poles. They must have each weighed 20 lbs. He said he didn't want to lose upper body mass.
Handlebar
GA-ME 06; PCT 08; CDT 10,11,12; ALT 11; MSPA 12; CT 13; Sheltowee 14; AZT 14, 15; LT 15;FT 16;NCT-NY&PA 16; GET 17-18
A couple of my younger tribesmen found a Styrofoam head (some type of retail display thing) early on and carried it the rest of the way.
Dropout (2012) found a small kiddie pool and strapped it to his pack, and still had it on Baxter Peak.
And yes, of course, 42.
I also have a phone card and would prefer to leave my cell behind... However the number of pay phones has decreased to such an extent that a cell phone is nearly required for anyone who needs to occasionally get a call out. Many of the places one would expect to find pay phones have pulled them out.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
Pay phones are pretty much a relic. You can find them in large metro areas still reasonably frequently (usually in a grocery store), but increasingly less and less.
For example, none are listed for Damascus, VA
http://www.payphone-directory.org/payva.html
(Does not mean there is none, but that it is not reported. Still...)
Last edited by Mags; 05-30-2014 at 08:24.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
+1
Until the day I can talk my wife into more than an overnight comes, I'm stuck with my cell phone. She doesn't mind if I don't check in every day, she knows I can handle myself and there's no need to worry, but I must admit that I sleep much better when I can get a call out before laying down.
My last hike was solo and I camped down in a hollow with no service. I didn't think it'd bother me, having done it many times before, but it did. Luckily, there was a huge rocky outcropping nearby and I got service from the top. She was quite flattered that I had literally rock scrambled up to find service and call her.
For a few seconds, I considered carrying a blow up party doll,
Just to be ignorant, real ignorant !!
2010 woods hole shelter saw a woman with her pet bird. :/