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  1. #1
    Senior Member mountainhanger's Avatar
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    Video- Two Lakes Loop A learning experience

    Hey everyone, well here is my video report of my not so long backpacking trip! had to bail because of overheating primarily, and some othere things i learned along the way..I felt the need for some solitude instead of a group hang , but we live and learn
    anyways hope this helps someone.here it is:
    It's not the boulders that throw us off balance, it's the pebbles beneath our feet

  2. #2
    Acer's Avatar
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    Good video, and glad you got to part of my country. Everything we do is always a learning experience. Southern Indiana has had very little humidity this year. Its been mostly a humidity in the 20s with dew point in 40's and mid 90's if not 100 more than 2 months now. And dry. That kind of heat, will suck the moisture right out of you..only thing worse is a desert condition. Need lots of fluids in that kind of setting and no water anywhere except the 2 lakes. Come back to the area when the leaves are turning colors and its cooler. Its a awesome place to hike and enjoy and be ready for the steep hills..minature mountains that top out at about 900ft in elevation. Happy hanging!
    2nd CAG, CAP 2-1-5 5th Marines, 1st Mar. Div.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Glad you came out safe. That kind of heat isn't something to be cavalier with. Sorry you lost your glasses and your lunch.

    However, it's worth learning new things along the way. There was a quote floating around here at one point or another (I think it was from Cannibal) that went something like, "The trick to living and learning is surviving the lesson." I've been there with the heat, for certain.

    Tricks from a Floridian for heat and elevation change: cardio training beforehand (even if it's just going for a brisk hour's walk in the evening, it helps, but the harder you train, the less you bleed), lighter pack weights (cut it where you can without sacrificing safety), hydration (until you have to stop to pee every fifteen minutes), and RTE (ready-to-eat) snacks with a little salt in them--not a lot.

    I suffered on my first trip to the mountains. I didn't on the second (aside from lack of sleep), and was able to make things easier for my hiking partner due to intensive cardio training in between the two.

    Another thing that most folks follow down here in sweltering Florida: don't go out when the heat index is above 95 F. Me, I'm crazy enough to ignore that advice, but you don't have to be.

    Anyway, I'm glad that you survived the experience and learned a few things along the way. It's always a learning process, being out there in the piney woods.
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  4. #4
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    Great video, buddy. I'm waiting for a decent deal on a camera that won't die on me after a few overnights, and then I'll prolly try to do a few videos of my own.

    On ticks: Check out the Gerber Dime multitool. I got this thing because I wanted as much functionality as I could get from as small a multitool as possible. It's got a decent pair of tweezers in it, and I always use it to de-tick when I get to camp. http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-30-0004...cmu_pg__header

    On exhaustion: You and I seem to be going step for step in our learning this summer (this is crashvandicoot, btw). I just got back from a trip in the Catskills and found out that hiking in the mountains can involve climbing (who knew?!). I wore out both my knees and almost collapsed on the side of the mountain.

    On footwear: It seems I'm always trading off somewhere. If I wear boots, I'll have good ankle support, but my toes will slam into the top of the toebox on descents. If I wear my trail runners, I'll be super comfortable, but I'll roll my ankles a bunch. Looks like the answer is in some kind of hi-top trail runners.

  5. #5
    Senior Member mountainhanger's Avatar
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    Thanks all yes very interesting learning curve. I have to say what i survive and learn from makes me more confident in this hobby. Hey Crash--SaabbZombie--yes we are right in step with onne another feels good to have a "classmate" lol who knows maybe by winter we"ll get a hike/hang in together.
    I like the hydrayte till u pee every 15 mins! Good advice. Was going over it again and it did occur to me that my water intake was poor even from the night before, and god knows I could use some cardio--besides a monthly or bbi monthly hike. And less salt? Thought I would need MORE salt? Still learning I am.
    It's not the boulders that throw us off balance, it's the pebbles beneath our feet

  6. #6
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mountainhanger View Post
    Thanks all yes very interesting learning curve. I have to say what i survive and learn from makes me more confident in this hobby. Hey Crash--SaabbZombie--yes we are right in step with onne another feels good to have a "classmate" lol who knows maybe by winter we"ll get a hike/hang in together.
    I like the hydrayte till u pee every 15 mins! Good advice. Was going over it again and it did occur to me that my water intake was poor even from the night before, and god knows I could use some cardio--besides a monthly or bbi monthly hike. And less salt? Thought I would need MORE salt? Still learning I am.
    Well, not less salt (unless your normal diet includes a lot of pre-prepared meals from either restaurants or frozen stuff; those tend to have a lot of salt in 'em), but also not a lot more. If you get low-sodium jerky, for example, it's going to have enough salt in it that you'll be just fine. If you have cheese on your sandwich at lunch, same deal. For GORP, I like one set of nuts (peanuts, or whatever) with salt and one set of nuts (almonds or whatever) without, mixed 50/50 for the nut portion. That sort of thing, not Pringles and pretzels and all that. I find that that stuff dehydrates me even more.

    You definitely hit the nail on its head with the pre-hydration. Drink at least a liter every two hours in the A/C of your car on the way to the trail head, drink a liter when you get there before setting out on the trail, and plan on a liter and a quarter an hour when it's above eighty on the trail. You'll probably only drink a liter an hour, but it's worth having the extra just in case you get delayed somewhere along the way.

    It's a lot easier to hike somewhere that water is easily accessible; water weight in my pack on normal trips these days is something like 20% to 30% of total pack weight during the summer. That goes up to as much as 45% to 50% on trips along dry trails.

    In camp at night, I figure on a liter every two hours that I'm awake and a liter for every four that I'm asleep. I find that this helps maintain my hydration levels and keeps me from collapsing in the heat.

    Also, I didn't catch what you were using for treatment in the video (chemicals, filters, knowledge of good water sources, constitution of an ox, etc.), but if you use an in-line filter, make sure you keep pre-filtering and backflushing as often as possible. Made that mistake before, and it's really difficult to find the energy to suck water through a partially-stopped filter when you're already exhausted and dehydrated.

    Anyway, keep at it! It's worth learning how to deal with the heat just as much as it's worth learning how to deal with the cold. Either can take you unawares and can be lethal if not paid attention to. I'm glad you came home okay, and hope that this doesn't turn you off to the mountains!
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mountainhanger View Post
    who knows maybe by winter we"ll get a hike/hang in together.
    Well if you make it out, I'll definitely be at the Hoosier Halloween Hang. Should be a good time and a real learning experience.

  8. #8
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    i was wondering if you also have an internal frame pack. i dont know how some hikers use those for hiking. kind of old school. up here in minnesota it seems like the external frame packs are more for canoeists where the pack is only on for portages and such. theyre not as stable as internal frame packs. i look at it as more of whether you wanna be wearing a pack or make the pack part of yourself. you were saying that it was pulling major on your shoulders. with the waist belt and cinching all your straps, the strain, if any, is going to your pelvis and spine. like in rock climbing, whenever you can transfer the strain from your muscular system to your skeletal system, do it.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Bruciehi5's Avatar
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    Solo hangs are great, ticks are not so great, in fact far from it! No, I really don’t like ticks! Nice and green, you must be getting some rain. I’ve been hearing that it’s been very dry in the U.S. Nice camping spot! You were a bit buggered, but still having the time of your life. Thanks for the video, mountainhanger, you’ve got me all excited about getting out and doing a solo hang!

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