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All Things Hiking

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AT-AT
Posts: 3281 - Karma: 3,258
There seems to be a ton of avid hikers in here and no real thread on hiking.

Let this be a place to discuss all things hiking; Experiences, Gear, Questions, Etc.
Mar 16 2015 10:50AM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
^^^ sorry, can't give you any boot recommendations. I haven't used hiking boots in 15 years. Granted I don't go on multi-day backpacking trips, just day hikes for the most part. I tend to travel light and have been going increasingly minimalist, these days it's trail runners about 80 % of the time, and full-on barefoot otherwise.
Jan 4 2016 9:11PM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
Oh, I also got myself in aerobic shape over the summer, polished off 13 new Colorado 14ers and repeated a few more, for a total of 18 14ers between June and October. It was a diverse list from hiking trails to scrambles with plenty of exposure. /claim.
Jan 4 2016 9:27PM
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saskskier
Posts: 4774 - Karma: 10,005
mozzy^^^ sorry, can't give you any boot recommendations. I haven't used hiking boots in 15 years. Granted I don't go on multi-day backpacking trips, just day hikes for the most part. I tend to travel light and have been going increasingly minimalist, these days it's trail runners about 80 % of the time, and full-on barefoot otherwise.


Alas, my 285ish frame prefers some ankle support whilst roaming the hills and woods. Perhaps as I lose some weight, I can move down to something more minimalist, but for now I'm looking for a bit of support. Ha ha.
Jan 4 2016 9:30PM
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loopie
Posts: 142 - Karma: 152
mozzyOh, I also got myself in aerobic shape over the summer, polished off 13 new Colorado 14ers and repeated a few more, for a total of 18 14ers between June and October. It was a diverse list from hiking trails to scrambles with plenty of exposure. /claim.


Nice man which ones did you get? The southern colorado ones are absolutely amazing. I managed to get about 18 as well from June to July (I was living in Southern Colorado). Me and my buddy did a marathon and got 3 in a single day and 6 in a three day weekend. There was a day where we hiked 7000+ vert. We would start at 3 AM and just hammer them out hahaha good times good times.

The highlights for me were the Wilson Group (plus traverse to El Diente) and the northern ridge of Kit Carson. We got hit by a snow storm in July hiking up to El Diente our first day, it was nuts and unexpected.

I am going to tick off a few from the Front Range this spring and ski them. I dare not go in the summer during the shit show of traffic.
Jan 4 2016 10:38PM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
^^^ Started with Grays and Torreys (crowded), and bagged Wetterhorn late in the season solo. The V notch on Sneffels was fun, and Redcloud / Sunshine was really scenic. There were a few disappointing ones like Yale, but I found the Sawatch to be generally on the dull side. Also dayhiked Whitney in CA, the distance caught me off-guard.

KC/ Challenger are on my list, as are the San Juan peaks that you mentioned.

Alas, now I'm out of shape again. I've never hit 7K vertical in a day, that's really impressive, although I suppose that it's within my range, just not that enjoyable. The 14ers are fun, I hated my first one, and it slowly turned into an addiction.
Jan 4 2016 10:46PM
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loopie
Posts: 142 - Karma: 152
mozzy^^^ Started with Grays and Torreys (crowded), and bagged Wetterhorn late in the season solo. The V notch on Sneffels was fun, and Redcloud / Sunshine was really scenic. There were a few disappointing ones like Yale, but I found the Sawatch to be generally on the dull side. Also dayhiked Whitney in CA, the distance caught me off-guard.

KC/ Challenger are on my list, as are the San Juan peaks that you mentioned.

Alas, now I'm out of shape again. I've never hit 7K vertical in a day, that's really impressive, although I suppose that it's within my range, just not that enjoyable. The 14ers are fun, I hated my first one, and it slowly turned into an addiction.


Nice man! Whitney sounds incredible. I did Red Cloud and Sunshine as my first two, with a broken collar bone hahaha.

Here's some pictures:

Climbing up a couliour to El Diente. This is where the snow storm hit us the first day. Boulders the size of refrigerators were coming down. It was fucking scary, whizzing by us at 60 MPH.


Traverse from Wetterhorn to Matterhorn (13er). Class 4/5 scramble, very loose



Northern ridge of Kit Karson (this was the scariest one I have done), I took my buddy on it as his first 14er. He was a trooper for finishing it.


Heading up to El Diente on the "Organ Pipes"


El Diente to Wilson Peak, 1 of the 5 "Great Traverses" (This was my first scrambling 14er)
Jan 4 2016 11:03PM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
^^^ well done, those traverses sound wicked! I was freaked out a bit (okay thrilled) from Wetterhorn, but it was a solo mission, late afternoon, and got lost in the maze on the way down. If I ever find a regular partner to go with, I'd be game for the traverses and the Class 3/4 peaks. Ellingwood Ridge on La Plata also looks pretty amazing, as does the one-way Massive ridgeline hike.

Whitney- really scenic, but really long. The weather gods cooperated, thankfully.
Jan 4 2016 11:15PM
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loopie
Posts: 142 - Karma: 152
Yes solo missions can be a bit tricky for the mental game. I would love to do Ellingwood Ridge with ya or any 14er really. It helps so much to have someone to talk to on these things. I would tell my friend to be completely open with me if he was ever feeling nervous and talk him through the moves. A mistake on these things is not taken lightly.

Summer is far off, but if it works out it would be sweet to summit some of these guys with a fellow NSer.
Jan 4 2016 11:32PM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
saskskierAny recommendations for decent boots? I'm looking at something I can take on scrambles, day hikes, multi-day backpacking trips, etc. Anything I should be looking out for when I go try stuff on?


I posted on here before, but Salewa make incredible boots. They have this blister free guarantee and honestly it's awesome. I bought them and the next day went on a 6 hour day hike with 800 meters elevation gain....no blisters. I was shocked!

Also some tips when I buy boots. Go for a big walk in the socks you use when you hike (70% Marino or bust) to get your feet to swell up to the size that they would be when you hike. When you try them on its going to be ok if they are a little tight, hiking boots pack out like crazy. I have to tie mine so tight now just so they can snug.

Another brand is Hanwang. They make killer leather boots. Leather is a more durable material, but waterproofing/breathability don't come close to synthetic boots. You can also look for boots that can be resoled so that you only have to have one pair of boots for a long ass while.
Jan 5 2016 8:36AM
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JGWI
Posts: 2842 - Karma: 7,812
Anyone have problems with blisters? I hiked about 30 miles of the SHT a couple months back and had to end my trip early (was going for 50) because I had developed really bad Blisters on the toe mounds of my feet. I'm not sure how to fix this because arch supports hurt like hell for me and I'm not sure what would take the pressure off that area. Anyone know of a solution to this?
Jan 5 2016 10:25AM
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MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
JustGoWithItAnyone have problems with blisters? I hiked about 30 miles of the SHT a couple months back and had to end my trip early (was going for 50) because I had developed really bad Blisters on the toe mounds of my feet. I'm not sure how to fix this because arch supports hurt like hell for me and I'm not sure what would take the pressure off that area. Anyone know of a solution to this?


Have you tried wool sock/thin sock liner combo? Different footbeds might work for you as well. Also just beating up your feet before a big trip helps too. By the end of the fire season my feet are pretty callous.
Jan 5 2016 4:24PM
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Phil-X-
Posts: 7205 - Karma: 14,402
Late September solo Materhorn hike. Hiked all the way up to Hornlihut. Had no idea it was going to be so snowy/icy. I was backpacking through Europe so I didnt have real boots/crampons/poles/axe with me. Not the hardest (debatable), but definitely the most rewarding and terrifying solo I've done. Slipped at least a dozen times, lots of close calls. Smoked a jay on my way down, terrible idea.

Where I started at-











And of course, these were my now-retired casualwear soft-sole slippery-as-fuck sperry boots. This picture doesn't do their lack of tread justice.



Ill be back, with proper gear and acclimation, in proper season one day to finish the final 4k ft. Hopefully with the American girl that I met in a swiss hostel heh

(pictures are shit quality and unedited because I pulled them from my Facebook)
Jan 5 2016 6:36PM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
JustGoWithItAnyone have problems with blisters? I hiked about 30 miles of the SHT a couple months back and had to end my trip early (was going for 50) because I had developed really bad Blisters on the toe mounds of my feet. I'm not sure how to fix this because arch supports hurt like hell for me and I'm not sure what would take the pressure off that area. Anyone know of a solution to this?


Very rarely have blister issues, just occasionally on my heels. I'd work on toughening your feet, walking barefoot as much as possible does wonders, otherwise look for a sock / liner combo that works for you.

FYI, I hike generally in trail runners, I don't wear socks ever, and this includes stuff 20+ miles or longer.
Jan 5 2016 8:21PM
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Deepskier
Posts: 3267 - Karma: 4,832
For me Hiking 5/10 sucks dick the other 5 is when its fun terrain a fun place to end and with good friends not family on a slow walk with a hot shit dirt view
Jan 6 2016 10:15PM
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
Went snowshoeing yesterday in Northern NJ! They had about a foot and a half of fresh POW! Its not every storm that we are forced to go south to get the freshies! We even got a view of NYC



Jan 25 2016 9:10AM
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