Where else do you use your hiking skills?

[BobTheBuilder]

I'm riding out Gustav in New Orleans, and it occurs to me that I have the equipment to filter water and cook over an alcohol stove only because of my hiking hobby. So my question is, where besides the trail do you use hiking skills?

[Auntie Mame]

Good question! Travel in general. We can go very cheaply wherever we travel, as we think its fine to cook for ourselves, use dehydrated foods, etc. We have had power outages and ice storms in Maine during which it just feels like camping. Backpacking has really developed my sense of self sufficiency, which started in the '60's and '70's, went dormant for a couple of decades, and is back in full force now.

[gaga]

fishing

[Jason of the Woods]

Hiking helps me in so many aspects of my life that it is hard to narrow it down to anything in particular.

[fiddlehead]

My GPS skills allow me to find (and remember) turns to get so many interesting places.
I use Google Earth a lot and transfer points to my GPS and then go there.
Example: Hash House Harriers have a different starting point every week and I do not live in the areas where they run so use it to find the turns. Easy.

Also:
firebuilding when we have cookouts in the wet or damp jungle

Jogging: I now speed walk all the uphills and run a different technique than other joggers and don't get knee problems this way.

Buying clothes and shoes: now i know what is good for cold weather and warm weather. for shoes, i look at the tread first and then the size and THEN the name brand.

Weather prediction. I don't trust the weatherman as much as i do my barometer. (how comes these guys never apologize when they are wrong?) I watch the clouds more and know the difference between some of them.
I understand the moon cycles much better and can tell what time it is (aprox) from the moon when i can see it. Know more about constellations too.

Teaching my boy about wildlife and plants as well as keeping my mind open to edible plants especially when i see locals picking them. I see what they are picking, ask questions and try some myself.

When you spend enough time in the outdoors, many things are easily read like a book
Most things in life can be related but it takes an open mind.

In other words, sort of like what Jason of the Woods said above.

[mtnkngxt]

Teaches you patience and hard work, which has paid off in school. Also I tend to cook better on a trail stove and have been known to make "nice" dinners on it instead of the stove. This usually draws strange looks from female companions.

[rasudduth]

Ha! During Katrina in New Orleans I showed up at work (the hospital) with all of my camping gear and not much else for personal effects. I was one of 2 nurses in the whole hospital with a headlamp (people laughed at our 'miners lamps'), the other nurse also hiked and worked in the ER. I never used any of it while there but in a way it made me feel more confident that I could handle what would be thrown at me/us. I am both glad and bummed that I am not there for this one.

[adventurousmtnlvr]

use my stove to cook with when the power is out at my house, lol.

head lamp for when I'm under the house doing my own bug bombing, pipe wrapping etc // and also in my attic when I work in that crawl space

teaching general hiking/outdoor skills to nieces and nephews (and they remember!)

walking a dog; trying a new trail only to find it goes for miles and now I can't go back only forward ... that was a LONG walk (my dog was small and I had to carry him the last few miles poor thing) lol

buying "under" type cloths is different now for just working in the yard so I don't sweat as much/then freeze

and 'sharing' what we've all learned so we can pass on good information until something better comes along

[hammock engineer]

I'm riding out Gustav in New Orleans, and it occurs to me that I have the equipment to filter water and cook over an alcohol stove only because of my hiking hobby. So my question is, where besides the trail do you use hiking skills?

I used mine last week when I bought food incase I ended up staying. Made the track back to Cincy instead. I am fortunate with my job and was given the time off before and after the storm that I don't need to sit in traffic either way.

I'll probably be heading back later this week or a day or so after everyone else makes the push back. PM me if you need anything you can't find there.

[modiyooch]

I'm riding out Gustav in New Orleans, and it occurs to me that I have the equipment to filter water and cook over an alcohol stove only because of my hiking hobby. So my question is, where besides the trail do you use hiking skills?

I've learned to respect Mother Nature, for the most part, and I pray for your safety during this storm. Keep us posted if you can.

[Lyle]

I attended a conference in Downtown Deluth a couple of years ago. Being cheap, instead of paying a week of Hotel charges I found a cross-country ski area right in the city that allowed camping. I spread the word to others who were attending the conference and three of us roughed it the entire week. We had the entire 100 acre ski center all to ourselves. Had an excellent, relaxing time. If I weren't a backpacker, I probably wouldn't have considered camping in the middle of a large city.

Just the knowlege that I'll be perfectly comfortable for an extended time no matter what comforts or "Necessities" are lost during a disaster. As long as I have my backpack, I'm good to go!

[modiyooch]

I've heated by wood most of my adult life. No sweat when the power goes out during a winter storm. We already have warmth, we can cook on the woodstove, I have the essential two cups of coffee, we have candles and flashlights. Everything slows down. When the kids were young we would have family entertainment time with puzzles, Knex projects. We often talked about having a "nonelectricity" night once a month.

[Homer&Marje]

I find myself being much more patient in life when I get back from a hike. Fast paced lives sometimes breed impatience but after I have been in the woods for a few days most of that anxiety is erased when I get back. Of course it's quick to return when needed, and then I plan another few days in the woods

[MOWGLI]

Trail maintenance & construction, and invasive plant species removal.

[Slosteppin]

I'm retired so many concerns don't apply.
I use my headlamp about 8 months of the year to walk to the road for the morning paper.
Whenever we travel I carry my day pack with all my standard "emergency" gear. I might find a place for a hike.
I took a part time job with the local Land Conservancy locating property corners on all their various Preserves. All my off trail navigation skills are needed. I carry one of my backpacking packs instead of a daypack so I can attach the extra gear needed for locating and marking property corners.

Slosteppin

[fiddlehead]

I took a part time job with the local Land Conservancy locating property corners on all their various Preserves. All my off trail navigation skills are needed. I carry one of my backpacking packs instead of a daypack so I can attach the extra gear needed for locating and marking property corners.

Slosteppin

I did that last fall for a friend in PA who needed help finding his property line (he had about 150 acres and many corners)
He had some kind of map that showed the corners and how many feet they were apart.
I used Delorme Topo USA and plotted his whole property on my GPS, went out, found all but 3 of the stakes (found 5 of them) and tied rags on trees a bushes where i thought his line was for hundreds of yards. (lots of bushwhacking through thick brush)
turned out i was so close, he used the rags to put a road in and gave me $250 for my (fun) work. I was just seeing how accurate i could be and he said i saved him a lot of surveryor fees. (he eventually found the other pins with a metal detector which i didn't have and they were buried)
Anyway, your post brought back those memories.

[bloodmountainman]

Hunting, fishing, canoeing, when the power goes out, and the truck breaks down.

[modiyooch]

did anyone of us have fears of Y2K ??

[chief]

Pretty impressive comments!

Personally, I use my hiking skills to impress friends and get laid. Just the other night I schooled a girl in the proper use of body heat to stay warm. She said, "Ooh, you're SO self-sufficient". Works every time!

[NICKTHEGREEK]

did anyone of us have fears of Y2K ??

You did if you had money or investments