1) Swamp Ass is real and can occur in any season.
2) See #1.
Is that the same as monkey butt . ;0)Originally Posted by JLorenzo77
Indeed it is!
I'm not sure there is anything I wish I'd have known. Everything I know I had to learn myself by doing it. All the advice I've gotten is what works for them or what they think works for me but it's up to me to put it to the test and find out what is best for me. I'm sure my gear list is similar to a lot of other hikers but I doubt I'll ever find someone with the same exact setup as me.
When I started backpacking in the 70s, you wouldn't be caught dead doing it with a "hobo stove", tennis shoes, and a rucksack. You had to have the right equipment.
Today, all of the "right equipment" from back then is wrong. Now you have to trade your Svea123 for an alcohol (aka hobo) stove, your boots for trail runners (aka tennis shoes), and your external frame pack for a high dollar rucksack.
Lesson: don't worry too much about equipment. Go with what you've got.
The one thing that did get bigger is the hip belt. I remember my first trip in the early 80's with a real hip belt. Changed everything.
Don't forget the Motrin/Aleve and whiskey.
Busted my toenail on a trip this weekend. Twice!! Needed the Motrin to relieve the pain and whiskey to forget it. lol
My hip belt got bigger over the years, too.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
If you are taking it "just in case" don't take it
Go up hills very slowly. 10 miles is not far. There's water everywhere, so don't carry more than a liter or two.
I wish I had known that most chafing could have been prevented with regular use of a $0.75 dish sponge and some clean water.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Fixed that for you!
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
For me? I wish I had known....
~ That walking a ****-ton on flat-land did not equate to climbing mountains! (I now know that I need to do stairs to build the muscles to climb mountains in the months before my sectional hike)
~ How much my obesity would hinder my hike. Dropping 40 pounds one year made a huge difference. HOWEVER, dropping the next 30 (70 total now), made me feel like a gazelle!
People say you don't need the "best" gear. Which is true, however...
I wish I knew what I needed for me to be happy and comfortable so I couldve started backpacking with the right gear for me. Honestly, when I first started hiking I had the mindset like "this is suppose to suck, but that's why it's fun" mentality. Once I got my head dialed in I was much, much happier.
I wish I knew what it meant to be actually cold so I couldve prepared better.
I wish I knew how much real food matters when your down. Food to some is just fuel. For most, it can turn your day around.
My favorite, I wish I knew that on a long hike, all that planning and stress goes right out the window after that first step. Go with the flow. It's liberating
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