Things I learned this winter

[Couchybar]

Food is fuel. Pre hike I would have a sinfully large fat rich breakfast designed to give
me energy later in the day. It seemed to work. I would return from long hikes at a
faster than starting pace. Time to check my cholesterol.

Hiking with my hands in my pockets. At temps above zero I would wear just the
liners keeping the poles and the gloves on the pack (thanks Dave). My hands were
warmer and my gloves dry for the climb.

Sleeping with one (hot) water bottle between my thighs in addition to the one at the
foot of the bag. Suprisingly comfortable and amazingly effective.

Keep making adjustments (clothes, equipment ect)

Vitamin I is good.

There is no substitute for an early start. I should practice this more often.

Pause, snack and hydrate whenever a mistake is made. Great for clearing then
focusing the mind.

One upper layer (the base) usually seems best when moving below tree line (unless
there is wind) or temps are below zero.

Pinpin must be descendant from the colossus.

Among the things to learn:
How to safely lighten my day pack. The most common question asked of me when
out on a day hike was how
long I would be out for. Not good.
.
An easy way to adjust shoe laces under a gaiter with cold fingers.

To ski the approach.

To do a sitting glissade, ( I never deliberately sit down on a hike)

 

[Silverback]

Great post, Couchybar!

 

[Nor'Easter]

That's a great post! Thanks for the shared knowledge and for the warm-fuzzies I felt in my state of induced nostalgia.

I would but add that I was once hiking with my hands in my jacket pockets and took a fall. I couldn't coordinate the removal of my hands from my pockets in enough time and my neck collided with a high, protuding tree root uphill of my position. Ouch. I don't do that anymore.

Later. Thanks again

N'E

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Among the things to learn:
How to safely lighten my day pack. The most common question asked of me when out on a day hike was how long I would be out for. Not good.

Not sure how good an idea that is. Emergency gear can save your life.

 

[Mark]

I'll second Mohamed' s response. I'm not looking to shave weight in the winter by leaving behind gear I might need.

If you see me on a day hike and I look like I'm geared up for an overnight, it's because I am.

 

[Woody]

I think that the unfortunate accidents this winter have taught me to start bringing a sleeping bag and a bivy sack on my winter day hikes. I have always kept my down parka stuffed in my pack as well so that I don't get chilled on rest breaks. I also carry a bit of extra food. I don't think that the extra 4 and a half pounds of my winter bag will slow me down. I'm not setting any speed records anyway.

 

[Periwinkle]

My .02:

Bics do not flick at low temps. Waterproof matches are a good thing.

Mechanical pencils are the only reliable writing instruments in winter.

Stopping to remove and replace layers is essential, even if I have to stop frequently.

It takes less time to put on crampons than it does to move without them.

I don't have to explain my "overloaded" pack to most winter hikers. They get it.

 

[Couchybar]

Thanks for your comments and advice gang. Very much appeciated. I agree that
safety must be paramount.

I have never questioned the need to carry reserve gear in winter. It is simply part of
the winter experience. One must be prepared to (uncomfortably ?) survive an
unexpected night out. During my last set of hikes I encountered so many people
preparing to carry carrying so much less that I began to wonder how much the safety
ethic must have been revised in my near decade long absence from hiking. After a
solo round trip from the Loj and breaking trail to Cliff with over 55 (manageable)
pounds on my back I began to entertain the admonishments of those many hikers at
the loj who were stunned by the size of my pack. Yes some were doing shorter
hikes and yes they were choosing busier trails but winter is still winter. With the
exception of extra water and a layer or two everything inside the pack is emergency
gear. Gear that gives this often solo hiker considerable peace of mind. Can I be too
cautious? My camera, navigation tools and gorp are kept on a pack pocket on my
sternum strap for easy access. ( I can always smell the gorp - always reminded to
eat). The active water bottle goes on the shoulder strap or on the hip belt. In other
words the things that I use on most day hikes can fit inside a fanny pack.

Ten used pounds, forty pounds for an emergency.

My goal is to reduce weight while minimizing the impact on safety. To realize the
point of diminishing return. Less weight, fewer spruce traps, less chance of injury.

Day after next I removed "redundant" materials from my pack. Got it down to
around 45 to break trail up redfield. Walked the same pace, still found the traps, felt
wonderful on the return but was a bit more nervous. I should carefully experiment
and refine.



.

 

[Couchybar]

Nor'ester "ouch" indeed. I hope that you recovered o'k.

I use my pant pockets. My profile is more streamlined and I can quick draw my hands if needed. Otherwise they
rest next to my body's main heat generators, my legs.
.

 

[Couchybar]

OOps, I fogot. I leave for a solo winter dayhike with two main objectives, choosing the
one encountered first. One is the peak(s) and the other is my TURN AROUND TIME.
If I make the summit great. If I first reach my turn around time then fine. By that
point whatever has kept me off the summit has probably already provide a full day anyway. So far my hits or miss have been clear cut. Although on Redfeild last week, because of much futility nearing the ridge, I was lucky to make it just in time.

This rule along with extra food and gear provides me with the mental margin I need to hike
alone. It not only gives me permission to shorten the hike but mandates it. It tells me
when (and where) to turn around. The stress of making that decision is removed.

 

[TomEske]

The most common question asked of me when
out on a day hike was how
long I would be out for. Not good.

Ignore the questioners. Chances are that you will be the guy to come upon them someday in need of help. I meet too many people on the trails with no map or poor gear. I also note where you live, that means you are traveling to you hiking spots and have no chance of knowing what the weather trends have been.
I was coming down off the Devils Path last weekend when a couple of guys going up asked me how long it took to make the col. I told them two and a half hours, but I was carrying 65 pounds and am getting old. They looked at me like I had three heads. "Why so much weight" they asked? I was shuttling water up to a cache for a longer trek next week, plus the routine gear I always have this time of year. I just told them I did it for the excercise, and it will help me grow even older (or kill me).
My first aid kit weighs more than most people carry on a summer dayhike, but no one ever complains when I stop to help them.
Be your own boss, and don't worry about what other people think.
Tom

 

[Jasonst]

Vitamin I? Am I missing something REALLY obvious? What is that?

 

[Papa Bear]

Ibprofen (Advil, Motran)

 

[Jasonst]

AAAHHHHHH... I should have known that... I sleep very lightly in the woods. I learned to take Tylenol PM - helps to overcome the fears of Moose and Bears...

 

[Mark Driscoll]

Well, what I learned this winter was never take on an extra course to teach if I plan on doing any hiking. Only got once this winter and was a short hike into the Dam and back to the Loj with a short trip around Heart Lake.

I hope to learn many many things this summer.


Mark

 

[rambler]

About the only way to lighten the load of a pack in the winter is to use a lightweight pack. On a day trip, although I usuually groan when I pack it because of its weight, is a stove and fuel. What happens if I would have to spend the night out? Avoiding dehydration means melting snow for water. What about a sleeping pad? Is that in your day pack? Along with comfort, it's insulation from the cold ground. The cold ground will pull out body heat fast. When you think you have all you need to spend a night out, try it at home first. One great addition to my winter day pack this year (thanks to the advice of others on this website and elsewhere) is a bivy sack. It is lightweight, doesn't take up much room and it replaces the temptation to pack a tent. With a sleeping pad in it along with the sleeping pad, it also doubles as a ground cover and top cover. A tent might be useless in a windy situation above tree line anyway. The biggest problem I had with a bivy, however, was claustrophobia which is why practice at home becomes important! Another easy piece of gear to add to a day pack is a silnylon tarp. Packed, it fits in the palm of one's hand and it does not weigh much. It has multi uses and I have used it on overnights instead of a tent and, then only because it was snowing. Often bag, pad, and bivy under the stars will do the trick.
For glove, hat and gorp control, ie. taking on and off, and snacking, it's handy to wear a small fanny pack facing forward. One can make changes quickliy without removing the backpack. Others, I've noticed use a small water bottle attached to the shoulder strap to carry gorp for easy access. (soft plastic nalgene, 1/2 liter)
Don't think I'll hike with hands in my pockets, however. I fall on almost every hike even when using poles.

 

[Doc McPeak]

Couchybar, what do you bring that bumps your pack up to 55 lbs? I've trimmed my winter pack down from 25 to around 20, and feel absolutely safe with it. But I choose not to hike solo, and I won't go out in ridiculous weather (extreme cold or winds with heavy snow/sleet/rain). I started last year on my winter ADKs with 25+ lbs, and have it down to around 20. Finished this season at W39, having planned my trips and never being turned back without at least a summit, and no bivies. If I were lugging a 50+ (or even a 40+) I know that wouldn't have been the case, and I would feel more apt to end up hurt. Sometimes carrying more than enough ends up being that self-fulfilling prophecy.

In my pack:

extra top layer
extra socks
extra hat (light windstopper)
extra hat (heavy windstopper)
balaclava
schoeller hat
extra gloves (windstopper)
bivy sack
thermos (filled with cocoa, can heat water in an emergency fire)
nalgene with coolie
first aid/survival kit
10-16 oz. extra food
camelback (goes inside my jacket)
two headlamps (led)
patagonia retro-x windfleece
overmitts
lunch and snacks

if heading over treeline (or across lakes)
goggles
facemask
crampons

if on a long haul
extra longsleeve to change into for slog out -and/or-
my shelled dri-clime jacket
extra accelerade in nalgene with coolie (usually stashed for the slog)
extra energy bar or two

things I have learned that I would add if going solo
a small folding saw
a small sheet of tough aluminum (for digging and making a fire on)
a pot that my bottle with coolie could fit into (for packing)
instant dried soups and extra cocoa

I also learned I like hiking a lot more for the fun of it than trying to chalk up x's on my list board. Though I ended up doing pretty good in that department as well. And that next winter I will learn more fun and valuable things again.

 

[Jasonst]

I always bring one of these emergency "foil like" bivys. Does anyone know if that insulates from snow in an emergency or should I bring a sleeping pad also?

 

[dave.m]

AAAHHHHHH... I should have known that... I sleep very lightly in the woods. I learned to take Tylenol PM - helps to overcome the fears of Moose and Bears...

Isn't this why God gave us corn whiskey?

 

[stoopid]

Don't eat the yellow snow.

(or so I've been told... Nanook, no!!)