OT: Hiking/Backpacking

[Boston Guy]

I'm getting back into backpacking. Anyone else here who likes to hike/backpack? Any particular trips/routes that you've especially enjoyed?

 

BG

[Boston Guy]

Guess this isn't a big into-the-woods type of group, huh? }(

 

Actually, I thought some of the younger guys might be into hiking/backpacking. When you're young, it's a great way to travel because most trips don't cost much more than the cost of getting to wherever you want to go.

 

BG

[+ deej]

>Guess this isn't a big into-the-woods type of group, huh? }(

 

Oh, I wouldn't say that. Just not into-the-woods for hiking. }(

 

Pretty much any area that has great scenery can be a good hike. The flatlands in the midwest aren't usually great, but a strenuous walk through the Allerton preserve in central IL is both fascinating (it includes one of the last preserves of prairie grass) and strenuous.

 

One of my personal faves, though, is Pike's Peak in the Colorado Rockies. It's breathtaking even without the altitude. Then again, lesser mountains than the Rockies (Appalachia, SoCal, etc.) can also be a treasure trove at the right time of year.

 

I recall a trail(s) outside Hot Springs, AR that was really cool. You could dip your feet in a hot spring and then duck behind a running waterfall to cool down. (Ducking behind a natural waterfall is just cool anywhere you can find it. You really come to appreciate the power of mother nature!)

[Rick Munroe]

>Pretty much any area that has great scenery can be a good

>hike.

 

Derek and I love hiking in Big Sur each year...especially when we drop our pants along the way for a photo op. }(

 

>You

>really come to appreciate the power of mother nature!)

 

And thanks to a blockhead president who thinks global warming doesn't exist, she's getting more and more powerful all the time! :o

[jawjateck]

I enjoy hiking in my native Georgia, up yonder in the Appalachian hills. I go at least 2-3 times a year. I have walked dozens of trails and many miles enjoying the pleasures of the wilderness.

 

Two years ago, I took an escort with me on a day hike. He didn't know what I had in mind, thought it was going to be easy, and wasn't prepared for the strenuous 8 miles, up and down, up and down.....we covered that day. Poor fella. I had to spend the evening rubbing his sore muscles. :9

[jawjateck]

I enjoy hiking in my native Georgia, up yonder in the Appalachian hills. I go at least 2-3 times a year. I have walked dozens of trails and many miles enjoying the pleasures of the wilderness.

 

Two years ago, I took an escort with me on a day hike. He didn't know what I had in mind, thought it was going to be easy, and wasn't prepared for the strenuous 8 miles, up and down, up and down.....we covered that day. Poor fella. I had to spend the evening rubbing his sore muscles. :9

[Guest alanm]

I've spent time camping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee doing day walks on the various trails there, including the Appalachian Trail which runs from Maine to Georgia. Naturally you get to talk to pople who are doing the entire Appalachian trial. I mostly feel sorry for them, even those that just do relatively small segments.

There is a real community feeling amongst those who hike that trial & there must be a great sense of accomplishment.

 

It may be cheap, but those backback are heavy and rain of any duration is awful.

 

My guess is that no one responded because your comments were so general, BG. How mush hiking/backpacking have you done? What are your goals?

 

Alan

[Guest alanm]

I've spent time camping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee doing day walks on the various trails there, including the Appalachian Trail which runs from Maine to Georgia. Naturally you get to talk to pople who are doing the entire Appalachian trial. I mostly feel sorry for them, even those that just do relatively small segments.

There is a real community feeling amongst those who hike that trial & there must be a great sense of accomplishment.

 

It may be cheap, but those backback are heavy and rain of any duration is awful.

 

My guess is that no one responded because your comments were so general, BG. How mush hiking/backpacking have you done? What are your goals?

 

Alan

[doctordoctor]

Hiking and backpacking are my primary hobbies, though I know very little about areas out east, if "Boston" is your domicile. Back there, I've only been up Marcy and Katahdin, along with shorter hikes up Mansfield and Washington. Out west here, there are limitless options and the national parks are certainly not your only choices.....

 

Southern Utah is legendary for classic western landscapes and can vary from dry-as-a-bone areas to raging rivers, sometimes only ten feet apart. Nevada is enormous and sparsely populated and lends itself more to strenuous dayhikes because of lack of water in many areas, though there are great backpacks there, too. The high Rockies of Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, and Colorado are fantastic and often get cold afternoon storms in the summer. Parts of the coastlines of Oregon, Washington, and California are awesome. Many backpackers favor the Sierras and there are incredible choices within them, but I always felt they were too popular and too close to major population centers. I prefer big, open country with nobody around.

 

There are hiking/backpacking/outdoor discussion boards on yahoo and others. Summitpost is a very popular website oriented toward hiking up mountains. Backpacker magazine is good. Go to your nearby REI (or EMS?) and chat up the employees or look for a book that you like. I prefer the style of some books over others, so find one you prefer.

 

As always, check the weather, plan your water, eat a healthy meal, wear the right clothes, blah, blah, blah. But you knew all that.

[doctordoctor]

Hiking and backpacking are my primary hobbies, though I know very little about areas out east, if "Boston" is your domicile. Back there, I've only been up Marcy and Katahdin, along with shorter hikes up Mansfield and Washington. Out west here, there are limitless options and the national parks are certainly not your only choices.....

 

Southern Utah is legendary for classic western landscapes and can vary from dry-as-a-bone areas to raging rivers, sometimes only ten feet apart. Nevada is enormous and sparsely populated and lends itself more to strenuous dayhikes because of lack of water in many areas, though there are great backpacks there, too. The high Rockies of Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, and Colorado are fantastic and often get cold afternoon storms in the summer. Parts of the coastlines of Oregon, Washington, and California are awesome. Many backpackers favor the Sierras and there are incredible choices within them, but I always felt they were too popular and too close to major population centers. I prefer big, open country with nobody around.

 

There are hiking/backpacking/outdoor discussion boards on yahoo and others. Summitpost is a very popular website oriented toward hiking up mountains. Backpacker magazine is good. Go to your nearby REI (or EMS?) and chat up the employees or look for a book that you like. I prefer the style of some books over others, so find one you prefer.

 

As always, check the weather, plan your water, eat a healthy meal, wear the right clothes, blah, blah, blah. But you knew all that.

[doctordoctor]

and bring a decent leatherman in case you have to cut your arm off. It could make you a millionaire!!!

[doctordoctor]

and bring a decent leatherman in case you have to cut your arm off. It could make you a millionaire!!!

[Boston Guy]

>Two years ago, I took an escort with me on a day hike. He

>didn't know what I had in mind, thought it was going to be

>easy, and wasn't prepared for the strenuous 8 miles, up and

>down, up and down.....we covered that day. Poor fella. I had

>to spend the evening rubbing his sore muscles. :9

 

:-) People who don't hike or backpack are usually unfamiliar with the actual amount of effort involved. Walking with a pack in the mountains or hills can easily double one's caloric requirement. A person who might use 2250 calories in an office environment might well use 4000 to 5000 calories backpacking, depending on pack, weather, terrain, etc.

 

Going from scratch direcly to 8 miles of hills probably isn't the best strategy. :-)

 

BG

[Boston Guy]

I used to hike a lot when I was younger but haven't much for a long time. It's fun getting back into it -- and seeing how gear has changed.

 

There are lots of places to hike in New England. Also, since I travel a lot, I intend to explore the great outdoors wherever I happen to be. It may not be possible to take a lot of gear on a business trip, but it doesn't take much to be able to do a day hike.

 

One friend was flabbergasted that I would contemplate giving up terrific hotel rooms for light tents in the woods. After a couple of million miles and endless great hotels, I'm a bit over hotels. The lure of the great outdoors seems more appealing right now. Of course, now that I'm a little older, I'm more aware of safety than I was when I was younger.

 

Funny that you mentioned Backpacker magazine... I just signed up for a subscription to it a couple of days ago. I've also found a fair number of interesting sites and forums on all this (hey, I'm a computer guy! :-)). But I thought it would be interesting to hear about what guys here might have done, both from the point of view of just backpacking with other gay guys or taking an escort.

 

A lot of young escorts seem pretty into the "spoil me, take me to the best hotels, take me to the most expensive restaurants" routine. I've done some of that but I find that attitude boring after a really short time. But it might be fun to find an escort who was actually into the hiking/backpacking scene, especially someone who had a bit of experience and the conditioning/stamina to go with it (not to mention a decent pair of hiking boots).

 

BG

[Boston Guy]

>

>I've spent time camping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park

>in Tennessee doing day walks on the various trails there,

>including the Appalachian Trail which runs from Maine to

>Georgia. Naturally you get to talk to pople who are doing the

>entire Appalachian trial. I mostly feel sorry for them, even

>those that just do relatively small segments.

>There is a real community feeling amongst those who hike that

>trial & there must be a great sense of accomplishment.

>

 

Why would you feel sorry for them? I've never hiked the AT but I have friends who have hiked parts of it. They pretty much uniformly feel that it was an amazing experience. I don't know anyone who regrets having done it.

 

>It may be cheap, but those backback are heavy and rain of any

>duration is awful.

>

 

Well, heavy is a relative word. If you are out of shape, a backpack is going to be heavy. But an experienced backpacker can carry a 40-lb. pack for miles a day, happily. Yes, you're tired at the end of the day. But you also have the satisfaction of having accomplished something and probably contributed to your own health and strength. There's also a segment of hikers/backpackers who are into extreme light-weight hiking, who try to limit the weight on their back to around 20 lbs. They still carry a pack, tent, sleeping bag, pad, stove, food, water, etc. But they choose their gear very, very carefully, literally counting each ounce of weight. The idea is to be able to go farther, faster. My own personal preference is to discount speed and pay attention to what I'm passing by. But a lot of very experienced people prefer the lighter/faster way.

 

Also, rain is awful if you're not equipped for it. And it is disappointing to plan a trip and have it rain the whole time. On the other hand, if you've planned properly, you can stay pretty dry and keep your gear pretty dry and still have a good trip. Rain is part of the world we live in. Civilization allows us to avoid most kinds of weather, for the most part. Getting back into the woods and experiencing the world as it really is is a privilege.

 

BG

 

 

 

 

>My guess is that no one responded because your comments were

>so general, BG. How mush hiking/backpacking have you done?

>What are your goals?

>

>Alan

>

>

 

My goals? I have none, other than to get out of indoors and see at a much slower pace more of the world I've been flying over. Along the way, I expect to have a great deal of fun. But I'll keep the planning to a fair minimum in favor of more spontaneity, at least at this point.

 

BG

[doctordoctor]

Hey BG....

 

you say you travel a lot...I often use my daypack as my carry-on for the plane if I plan to hike at my destination, but be careful with the stuff that won't make it thru security....I've had to throw away a Swiss army knife and a folding pair of scissors because I forgot to transfer them to my checked stuff beforehand....sucks...

 

do you have any destinations that you go to regularly out west here?...I can suggest spots, if so...do you already have some trips planned?...

 

there's an escort based somewhere in the NW, Spokane, I think, who says he is very much into the outdoors and backpacking...would look him up right now, but the site is down, you know....if I lived up there, I'd chat him up...see if you can look him up when the site is back up or somebody may remember him here right now....

[buckguy]

I'm not exactly young, but I've been backpacking on & off since college. There are gay hiking/adventuring groups in just about every major metropolitan area, including those that aren't gay meccas. These groups usally have a schedule of regular outings--some occasionally partner with gay groups in other cities or with groups for lesbians. IGLOO is the umbrella organization for these groups. They're website isn't always uptodate, but it can get people started: http://www.radix.net/~erewhon/igloo/igloo.html

I used to belong to Wilderness network of Georgia, the Atlanta group--fairly large, but a down to earth group of great guys in anotherwise phony city.

 

Places I've hiked or backpacked:

* Washington, DC (there are trails through Rock Creek Park and its tributaries and many interesting short hikes in the metro are--several guidebooks are available from chain book stores);

 

*Monogahela National Forest--some beautiful areas in Dolly Sods and near Seneca Rocks (a spectacular outcropping that's also a major rock climbing destination); less crowded than Shenandoah destinations, with fewer DC folks.

 

*Long Trail in Vermont--an ancestor to the Applachian trail, many nice peaks; White Mountains through the Presidential Range--in both places there are huts, so you don't have to carry as much gear. They are simpler & cheaper on the Long Trail

 

* Baxter State Park--N end of the Appalachian Trail; incredibly beautiful in the Fall

 

* North Georgia mountains--S end of the Applachian Trail; many pleasnat hikes of low to moderate difficulty, as well as a few that are strenuous; REI stores in Atlanta have maps and books; in general, the hikes are nice enough, but nothing special; I wouldn't go out of my way to go into this region

 

* Pumalin---a large reserve N of Patagonia in Chile; old growth forest with incredible biodiversity and beautiful surroundings (e.g., lakes, volcanos); being turned into a non-profit, the property was bought by a couple who include the ex-CEO of Espirit sportsware and an original investor in Patagonia

 

* Torres del Pine in the Chilean Patagonia; spectacular from a distance (this is the inspiration for the Patagonia sportswear logo), but wet and somewhat boring in terms of flora (it used to be sheep herding land and lacks diversity of plant or animal life). I met several gay travelers while there.

 

* Switzerland--many trails, easy to do circuits with youth hostels or huts; I met a number of gay travelers during a 4 week trip through the country. Switzerland is an expensive country, but relatively reasonable (for Europe) if you approach it as a hiker and easy to get around.

 

* Nepal---the Everest region is supposed to be safe, but bandits are a problem in the Annapurna region, which I've been told is over-hiked anyway. The Everest region is one of the most beautiful places imaginable.

 

* Thailand--few people go for the parks, but there are some nice ones. Pu Kradung, a small mountain in the Northeast in Loei province has a temperate climate on top. Popular with college students, it should be avoided on weekends. There are several other national parks nearby. Tarauto in the far South is a nice alternative to Phuket/Phi Phi (which are ecological disasters); difficult to reach but a a little close to the Muslim insurgency for a lot of people.

[Boston Guy]

Buck:

 

Thanks! I was not aware of Igloo. I will definitely check it out. Thanks very much for the recommendations. I do appreciate it.

 

BG

[doctordoctor]

Hey BG....

 

found this...

 

http://www.gayoutdoors.org/page.cfm?sectionid=183

 

probably found it in a roundabout way thru that igloo link...that igloo link looks promising and I'd never heard of it before, either....found what looks like a very active group in my hometown that I'd never heard of...

[Boston Guy]

Well, my first reaction is "I'll take the blond on the AllAmericanGuys.com ad." :-)

 

More seriously, it looks like a good site. I'll check it out. Thanks!

 

BG

 

ps: I was just considering pack weights. I'd like to keep the pack weight down to 40 lbs and have been considering that challenge in light of carrying 12 lbs. of photographic equipment (tripod, head, camera, lenses, a VERY few filters). I pulled out a tripod I've had for a little while but don't use because it's too light to be stable... only 2 lbs in weight, which is 4 lbs. less than I had been planning. I tested it with a good head and discovered that it's perfectly stable so long as I only open up the first two sections. Right now, a short, light tripod seems like a much better plan than a tall heavy one. :-)

[doctordoctor]

yeah, that site does have the usual ads...how about that undergear ad?!...I think he's at least posing outside...but I saw some hikes back east in that little list at the top middle...I think they link to other more local groups that are doing the sponsoring....

 

I used to carry a moderate amount of photo stuff with me years ago, but I have planty of pictures of me sitting in the mountains now...a strong friend likes to take good shots and he's able to carry extra gear...I don't yet own a digital cam yet, but that'd be the way to go to save weight, I think...my Canon A-1 SLR is still my old workhorse...see what you can do to cut your camera gear weight and make sure it's waterproof and shockproof...I think there is a mini-tripod available in camera stores that is only about a foot high, or less, and could weight less than a pound...you can prop it on a rock, etc....

 

man, I could talk about backpacking all night

[+ deej]

Have you considered a monopod instead of a tripod?

 

Many have "standalone" legs that pull out, and they can make a dandy walking stick too. With the legs, they're only effective at short heights (which you'll already have with your lightweight tripod), but they can be considerably more sturdy and stable than a flimsy tripod AND not add weight to the pack when you're using them as a walking stick.

 

The more sturdy models make a good weapon, too. }(

 

Just a thought.

[+ deej]

Oh, man, the Canon A-1 was my first love in photography.

 

I gave up on photography as a hobby many years ago because I couldn't afford the frigging processing and printing. Bought a Canon DSLR a year or so ago and I have my hobby back! Digital is the way to go.

 

If you don't like a shot, just delete it. You don't have to print it to see whether it's worth saving.

 

You probably won't be able to take your A-1 lenses into the Canon DSLR line, but they might work -- just not fully automatic. (And if you're used to an A-1, you're used to not fully automatic.)

 

The digital Rebel is selling these days for around $700 (with kit lens), and it's well worth the investment just from the cost savings of having film processed. We're about a year away from the price getting totally consumer-friendly, but it's close.

[doctordoctor]

thanks, deej, for the ideas re: camera.....

 

gotta say I'm way behind on the tech learning curve...a while ago, I asked a couple friends what I definitely should own by now and they said a digital camera and a DVD player...the DVD player/recorder I, therefore, got still sits inside its original box near my TV ready to be set up someday...I do not own a digital camera yet, though I can get plenty of good advice when I'm ready...hardest part is getting started...intimidated by the learning of the thing, too

 

I just got myself my first cell phone last week...a pay-as-you-go thing that I want only for emergencies and quick calls...15 cents a minute, but no contracts or monthly charges...will not idly chat on it at that price, but I'm no teenager at the mall

 

I got my first computer in 1997 - relatively late...at the time, friends said you gotta do it....life has never been the same since....man!

[+ deej]

Oh, wow.

 

I got my first digital camera somewhere around 1995 or so. EVERY digital camera was around $600 at the time and was little more than a Kodak Instamatic.

 

I replaced them through the years because they broke if you just burped at them, but they always cost $600 -- unitl a couple of years ago.

 

Consumer cost for the point-and-shoot (Instamatic) has dropped dramatically. Someone looking for an Instamatic camera can get one for under $100.

 

I bought into the DSLR when the price dropped for the first time under $1,000.

 

For the first time in years I have a digital camera that behaves like a fucking camera. When you press the shutter release, there's no waiting while it focuses or fires the test flash. You press a button and the camera goes click. It's the same shutter release you're used to in any SLR camera.

 

For someone used to a camera behaving like a camera (instead of a computer) there really just isn't any comparison.