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Another contributor to why clothes stay wet is the salt from your sweat holds onto moisture. Many nights I would hang my hiking clothes outside on rainy nights so they would get rinsed. Not real...

I have a number of 570/476-0345 as of June 1, 2011

Wore men's Salomon Pro Goretex trail runners at the beginning of my AT hike. Kept my feet warm and dry, and more importantly blister free. Got about 1,000 miles on them before they started cracking...

Ran across this article regarding this hiker. FINALLY--a journalist that did his/her homework!

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/apr/03/thru-hikers-became-first-responders-for-rescue/

Cudos to the hikers and to the journalist who wrote the article without the hyperbole.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/apr/03/thru-hikers-became-first-responders-for-rescue/

Love it! lol

Unfortunately, even if he DID have a map and compass, it probably wouldn't have prevented the wife from calling.

If they found him at the shelter, he couldn't have been lost all that long--just...

Sumak wrote about an abandoned pack at Hawk Mountain Shelter in her trail journal yesterday: "We noticed a tent in back of the shelter that had been abondoned with all of the gear inside...sleeping...

Carry one, not too thick, paperback and read when I take breaks if I'm solo. Journal in the evenings but only read for about five minutes--tends to put me to sleep. Use red lens on my headlamp if...

I don't "cook" on my stove, only boil water so 1.5 oz. per day is plenty for me. Alcohol in small quantities and/or yellow Heet readily available all along the trail at hostels, outfitters, grocery...

One of my favorite "finds" was powdered peanut butter--super lightweight. Add a little water and it was very good--add a bit of olive oil and it was over-the-top delicious (and also replaced some of...

I stayed there that night along with loads of other hikers. Got there late afternoon and not only was the horse trailer fully occupied, they had so many hikers trying to duck the incoming storm,...

Thanks, Winged Monkey! That's the most sensible course of treatment for snake bite that I've read and will definitely revise what I would do in the unlikely event of being bitten. The reasoning for...

The guy could hardly walk, he would have had to be taken out on a litter. I've never shared the carry of a 150+ lb. person on a litter plus the weight of my own backpack for any distance but doubt I...

Taken from current first aid handbook:
"...[One can] leave them in place for up to two hours, without any apparent adverse effects on the limb. Longer tourniquet times are certainly possible...

As to what to do if you do get bitten by a rattler? Assuming the bite was somewhere on my leg, I'd put a tournaquet on the leg to slow the spread of venom through my system, stay standing, try to...

Billing for search and rescue operations is a local decision, not a national standard. New Hampshire has received a lot of flack from NASAR because they do bill. It was a Highway Patrol helicopter...

Here's a link to the National Park Service's report which includes the salient points of this hiker's debrief by the rangers. ...

Best hot biscuits I've ever tasted were made from scratch by Beaver Chief last year and "baked" over an open fire in his skillet. He put hot coals on top of the lid so they'd bake evenly. I still...

Amen to the Frosty (or two).

Make one poor decision (i.e. bushwhacking), add dehydration and exposure and one's ability to make good decisions is impaired (leaving his pack behind). Cut the guy some slack. Just glad he came...

I'm 62, 5'8" and weighed 214 at the start of my hike. I lost 17 pounds the first three weeks eating 3000 calories a day. Upped my calories to 4,000 and was still losing 2-3 pounds a week. Upped it...

Here's a few suggestions:
I found a Lafuma 20 degree down bag at REI last year for $130. It weighed 32 oz. and compressed smaller than a synthetic would (so you won't need so many cubic inches to...

Think I'll go hiking--way too much drama on here.

I should also have added that even with rescue available, it shouldn't preclude one from taking the proper emergency gear to assure their own safety.