Rock climbing. Every kid wants to climb up the cliff. Thing is is it's 3x harder to the proportion of height by the...never mind, it's harder to climb down than it is to climb up. Ask any cat, bear or cougar. You don't want to get "treed".
We learn easiest from mistakes of those who have gone before us, and when we have not knowledge from others, then we ourselves fail and then have the knowledge to in turn ourselves pass on to others.
You poor dears how's awful!! It's so s refreshing !you are sos amazing awesome sos truthful s & reliable s ! That's make s you above the rest !we out here's needs you !! Mores than evers ! Your loved out here's! Thank you stay safe becarefuls agains your amazing & awesome!!!!!
A few things to keep in mind on stream crossings: The force of the water is proportional to the square of the velocity. So 10X the stream velocity is 100x the force. Wider crossings are better because the velocity tends to decrease the wider the stream. Also depth matters too as the force increases directly with the depth. Twice as deep is twice the force. Buoyancy is related to depth of water and the person's body weight. As the water gets deeper, the frictional force (person's feet on the ground) decreases and and it can be virtually impossible to keep your feet planted because the water force is also increasing at the same time. Body weight matters and last year's two PCT stream crossing fatalities that I know of were petite Asian women. One of the techniques for stream crossing is to cross as a group, holding onto one or more people. The group acts like a single body of much, much higher weight. These are physical laws. Use them to your advantage. Think of ways to use them to make your crossing easier. For example, waiting overnight results in lower velocities and lower depths in the morning, both are in your favor.
Also, you can increase weight (and thus friction) without increasing submersion (and thus water force) by adding more weight outside of the water. Have someone sit on top of your shoulders, and you suddenly have twice the weight and friction without exposing yourself to more water force (not to mention more inertia and angular inertia). Get three or four people to sit on top of each others' shoulders like a totem pole, and even the deepest and angriest rivers become easily crossable. Disclaimer: Do not do this.
Also hear that crossing after break water is the best bet. It has less power. Luckily I have never been is rough enough water to worry. Anyone ever test that? Is it true?
A valuable lesson that I learned is always Mark your way when you step off Trail. After a long tiresome day I stepped off Trail to go sit on a log. When I lifted my head and looked around I had no idea from which direction I had just come. I had no clue where the trail was located. I had wandered off all by myself just to look around and no one was planning on coming to look for me. I stood up and screamed the name of my trailmates and realized no one was going to hear me. Fortunately, I was able to come to my wits and locate the trail within about 5 minutes. But it was a very very valuable lesson that I learned out in the woods. Thanks for the video!
Not really applicable in times of smartphones and other GNSS devices. Unless of course it breaks at just that moment, but you can’t account for everything.
Good for you. A solo hiker in Maine a few years ago, got off trail to pee and could not find the trail. Her remains and gear were found about two years later. Very sad!
Words from an old infantryman and someone who has been backpacking in the Rocky Mountains for over 50 years: You don't want to die dumb. You don't want your last thoughts as the darkness closes down to be, "Boy, that was really stupid." If things are getting sketchy be situationally aware enough to realize it and back off. In several of Dixie's accounts she got tunnel vision about making progress, common among through hikers, and did not properly analyze the immediate situation. This can happen in scenarios other than through hiking, trying to meet someone at a certain time/place, getting back to the car, wanting to get to a certain hunting area, etc.. You need to keep aware of the moment and consider the immediate risks. We are all doing outdoor activities for fun and none of this is worthy dying for or getting seriously injured.
As a person from the arctic (It's not frozen all the time here) - I must admit I have had plenty of "boy that was dumb" situations usually involving getting wet. But the dumbest by far was assuming bears (thankfully no polar ones here) are still sleeping and I don't have to carry a bear canister...
Amen and well said. Ask any E.D. doc or nurse about "dying dumb" and they will roll their eyes and tell you to pull up a chair and get comfy 'cause it's gonna take a while to go through the long list..
I almost drowned once, under super dumb circumstances when I knew I shouldn't have gotten in the water in the first place. I felt so unbelievably incompetent as I was trying to get to a hold.
Yes, this applies to life in general, really. "I'd rather be a coward for 5 minutes than be dead for the rest of my life". I try to live by those words, and not attempt anything stupid just because someone wants to tease me in a bad way.
I just discovered your videos, and I am THOROUGHLY impressed with the wealth of knowledge you openly share. Thank you SO MUCH, Dixie, as I have always been an outdoorsman my entire life (hunting, fishing, day-hiking, camping), and I am no stranger to the outdoors, but I must admit that I am rather new to backpacking over distances. The incredible gift of knowledge that you so humbly share in your videos is truly an eye-opener for us newbies, helping us take into consideration things we would never have otherwise thought about, without years of experience. I am very happy to see that you have so many videos here on RUclips, and I look forward to watching every one of them! Thank you SO MUCH, Dixie, for your selfless, VERY generous guidance!
Great advice. The hypothermia is a really important thing. In 2005, we lost "Sea Breeze" to hypothermia when he got caught in snow storm between Warner Springs and Idylwild. Make sure you bring Bear Spray on the CDT, Grizzly Bears. The water crossing is also a great one. We also had a girls that was killed when swept downstream in the Sierras. The safest way is to wait until the morning and then cross. This will be the lowest water level. I needed to do this twice. The water level typically dropped by 1 to 2 feet. You didn't have my usual mistake, under estimating my water needs and pressing though. Should have set mid-day camp and finished the miles at night. The most important thing of a Through Hike - Don't get dead!
I haven't yet done the CDT. I know this is Dixie's next through hike. I've done my preliminary work for the CDT. My plans are to do it SOBO. Do Montana in the snow, hopefully before the Grizzly Bears wake up.
Michael Levasseur Grizzlies are the real deal in the Rocky Mountain states, especially Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and they do occasionally kill and eat people. It's essential to recognize the sights and sounds that tell you they're in the area, and to know what to do in order to keep them from being overly intetested in you. People have survived grizzly attacks, but surviving an encounter without being injured is the better outcome. Study up, gear up appropriately, and keep eyes and ears wide open, "head on a swivel." If you see cubs, you're going to meet their mom... she already has you in the cross hairs and s**t is about to get real.
Dixie, it’s a brave thing to admit screw ups and powerful to learn from them. Sharing with others what you have learned is a great and powerful thing. So many would never admit mistakes in private but less a public forum. A willingness to share this so that others may be better prepared speaks greatly about your character.
I was taught the acronym COLD: Clean-Try to keep clothing clean. Clean clothing is warmer than dirty clothing. Overheat-Prevent overheating to reduce sweating. Layers-Dress in layers so you can remove one layer to cool down or add one layer to warm up. Helps with the overheating problem. Dry-Dry clothing is warmer than wet clothing. Overheating causes sweating which makes clothes wet. Its all common sense but it crosses my mid when I'm out and about. Great video, as always. I've been off my feet for a few weeks dealing with a massive arthritis flare up. So I've been binge watching your vids with zero complaints. Awesome job. You only having 87K subscribers is a crime. I'll do what I can to push your videos out to my friends.
Now, I've never done any long hiking with river forging, but I have done a LOT of whitewater kayaking. You learn loads of tricks on how to traverse a raging river, how to have the right angle of attack, how to float down a river with your boat if you fall out of it, when to let it all go. Not that it's any good now, (and I'm not professional in the matter) but tips people don't think about. When traversing a river, you actually want to go Tac or against the flow of water, you want to swim aggressively up against the flow at a slight angle, this will cause the river to push you along to the other side. Not much effort is needed to fight the river if your using its flow to force yourself across. Always, ALWAYS keep your feet downstream and "up" that way if and when you do hit rocks and things you can just bounce off them with your feet, not hit them with your body. If you're not a strong swimmer, roll on your back. Keeps your head out of the water and everyone can float on their back. If in doubt, bail out, it's better to catch your gear down the river than to get pinned by it. So wearing your backpack like you did was (as you learned) one of the worst things you could have done. As you said in the video, float it in front of you. I would say hold it by the top handle and let it float in front of you so that if it does go pear shaped you can let it go. I've had to let go of a kayak and watch it float down a rough rapid without me after I had gotten pinned between it and a rock. Trust me, you'll rather let it go than be pinned between a rock, and kayak full of water and 1,000 cfps of water rushing down at you. On the other hand, portions like the last clip of White River. I wouldn't have even tried, I would have hiked as long as it took to avoid that, There does come a time to just say nope! River's aren't that bad IF you're used to them. Once you learn how to read them, how to behave in them, most of it becomes leaning back and enjoying the ride.
One time in the Sierras I was by myself crossing a snow field. I heard running water and wondered where is that coming from. Shortly after that I broke through the snow into a roaring water flow that was under the snow crust. Luckily I put my arms out and held myself up on the snow crust and pulled my self out. When walking on a snow/ice crust and hear water running under your feet get away!
This reminds me of the first time I was cross country skiing in the backcountry, I was with an experienced friend, luckily, because when I went to "follow nature", he advised me to listen for the sounds, I did and shortly after I was finished there was a loud sound and the snow caved into the stream, just beyond the place I had at first thought of going.
One of the best outdoor videos I’ve seen; whether you’re a backpacker, mountaineer, hunter, backcountry fisherman, extreme skier....anything outdoors. Know when to stop or turn back. I think it might be more difficult for this younger generation as all that they see on their social media sites is success and great times. If in doubt do what this young lady did and think of your mother - what would she want you to do - and act accordingly.
Best. Video. Ever. Thanks for making this video and pointing out the thin transition between safe, dumb, and dead. We've all done it to some degree. Water crossings are the obvious danger (and cute bears), but hypothermia is a big issue up here in the OR/WR Cascades and summer is when it happens most, we see it all the time. A short snow squall or 35-degree rain, even in August, can knock people down quickly and leave them incapable of saving themselves. Hypothermic people can't think well enough to light a stove, start a fire (To Build A Fire - Jack London), pitch a tent, strip and get into a warm sleeping bag, they cannot take action to save themselves. Getting your hair wet was a big mistake, something you'll probably never do again, it only takes one time. ;-) Thanks for making this, I hope lots of future thru-hikers see this.
Omg that White Fork crossing video made me super emotional. I'm so glad they did that together and that people were there to save that girl. WOW. Thanks for sharing these mistakes, they're invaluable to a person like me first starting out. I watched your PCT full doc last night and I have to say it put a healthy fear in me, mostly of the section in the Sierras. I've always loved those mountains for their incredible beauty but they are to be respected, definitely. I'm def gonna train my ass off and take on longer and longer multi-day excursions before I attempt, but I'm not gonna let me fear stop me either!!! I'm hoping for a full thru hike in 2020!
What I greatly appreciate about your channel is the fact that you’re never bragging about what you know, you’re very down to earth and I have learned A LOT from your vids. My first contact with getting out there was “bushcrafting” loaded a huge and heavy canvass pack full of everything but the kitchen sink, an axe, a couple of knives, a saw...the list goes on and on. If this was a religion pitch you could say I’ve been saved, going out there and doing what you do? I say you put to shame all of those guys bragging about wilderness survival, zombie apocalypse situations. Lol. Thanks 🙏🏻
I have no intention of EVER hiking anything at all, but I have been having a great time binge watching your videos for the last 2 days. You are just delightful and I'm loving all your stories!
The bollix that I pulled once probably beats all. I was on a long trip from Long Swamp in Okanogan County, Washington near the Canadian border to the north end of Lake Chelan. I had left a camp in a deep valley one morning to hike over a ridge to the bottom of the next valley to the west. I stopped for a rest on the top at mid day and then continued on down to the bottom. I arrived toward the end of the long hiking day. When I got there, it had a strangely familiar look to it. When i sorted it all out, the awful truth fell into place. At the top I had mistaken one direction for the other and went back to where I started. So I just set up my tent exactly where it had been the night before. Mine eight-day trip became a nine-day trip.
Thanks for these! Force of the water can really sneak up on you. Last summer I hiked up a stream while pulling my kayak behind me. It was my first kayaking hike and when the water was up to my knees it was still doable, but when it got up my hips I almost got swept away. It wouldn't been the worst thing since it was summer and I had swimming suit on but it really changed my perspective on how powerful water can be. It's good to know that we all make silly mistakes. I especially relate to your comment about stubbornness! 99% of my slightly dangerous but ultimately silly mistakes can be pinned on not wanting to give up in whatever situation.
Awesome vid! River crossings can be deadly, for sure. Some friends of mine and I went camping one time. On the way up, the river crossing above a waterfall was not too bad - water level low enough that we could easily go from rock to rock avoiding the surging torrent between the rocks. That night it rained heavily so the next day when we were going out, the same river was now heavily swollen with raging water and all of the rocks we used to get across the previous day were submerged. We ended up having to do a human chain across the river. Fortunately it was narrow enough for us to span the gap from one side to the other. Unfortunately, being narrow enough for us to span the gap, that huge volume of water was roaring through a very narrow channel. We made it across safely but footing was dicey, the water was pushing us towards the waterfall and threatening to knock our feet out from under us - and that was the _safest_ crossing point in the area. Fortunately, team work and us all having been rested and well fed worked in our favour. Great hearing your experiences and cautions. I'm just glad that we don't have bears here! There's enough bloody things out there to make camping/hiking "thrilling", without bears.
About 30 years ago, six friends and I were hiking a section of the Grand Canyon. We did yearly 6-8 day trips, attempting to eventually have hiked the entire length (I forget what two endpoints we had decided on). To try and make this brief, we were at the point where we would start hiking up from the Colorado river to the rim. However, we could see dark clouds above. You can't really see the rim from the river most of the time, so we couldn't see the approaching weather except for a relatively narrow piece of sky above us. That's why you are cautious. I did not want to go into the side canyon where the trail led for fear of flash flooding, and two others sided with me. My friend, I'll call him Bob, was absolutely set that we were going to make our schedule. Aruging ensued. It was an issue, because much of our gear was spread out over several people's packs. Bob said that he was going, and we could come or go. This didn't make sense because I had the stove and he had the fuel. I never could have imagined that this would happen! We had known each other for years, since we were children. Bob and his wife, and two other guys went up the canyon. I and my two similarly worried friends talked about what to do. As they disappeared out of view, my friends thought we should follow them. I wish I had argued more but I did not, I basically caved in to peer pressure. Pretty soon, I hear a noise, and up ahead I see one of my friends who decided to go on, running around a corner in the canyon towards us, 45# backpack in one hand, running full out. Horrified look on his face. The wall of water started as a knee high wall of mud, stones, and sticks, quickly rose, and then went back down. I was so, so scared. I turned around and ran out, neither me nor my two other "chicken" friends ever getting touched by the flood. However, upstream, where Bob and his wife were caught, it was very narrow. the walls of the canyon, I later noticed were polished and sculpted granite. I saw firsthand what polishes that rock. Her shoulder was dislocated. Their packs were nowhere to be seen. We later found some of their belongings, outside of the packs, around the fan out area where the side canyon met the river. The (borrowed, state-of-the-art) 8mm video recorder was somehow filled, packed solid with mud and sand. No one spoke much for the last two days of the trip, or on the drive to the airport or the flight home. It ruined friendships, for a while. Good friends are hard to come by, so I let it go. Never, ever hike into a desert canyon if you have any reason to believe that it might be raining in the mountains. Also, consider making sure that each member of the party can EASILY survive separately. For the record, the three of us who didn't want to go up COULD have bivouacked overnight, but they were really reluctant about not having cooking ability... We had plenty of ready to eat food and also could have made an illegal fire. Frankly I would've welcomed the rangers arresting us, at that point. They felt squeamish. We were young , invincible, and stupid as hell. I'm really glad no one died. Worst camping experience ever, and maybe a good contender for my worst experience all-around!
I find that the best way to cross a stream in a group is facing each other or in a ring if there are 3 people. Sinch up the straps on your shoulders tight to your body and everyone hangs onto the people next to them by those straps. Largest person/people should always be upstream to create an eddy that the smaller folks can wade safely in. Move as a team with as many points of contact with the stream bed as possible at any given time and with good communication. Steer clear of crossing upstream of strainers/sweepers... and always pack an easy access blade for if you fall in the water. Love the video, keep up the amazing work!
i've been on a binge watch of all of your videos, they are so amazing, i love hearing from someone who is down to earth who has actually put foot to trail and not be preachy. LOVE IT!
HYPOTHERMIA... I would say this is the biggest "killer" on the trials: it is extremely common even in warm environments. For example: in 1995 Four Army Rangers died during training exercises in a Florida Swamp: the water temps were in the mid 50's and the air temp was in the 60's. However, it is all about thermodynamics: if you move heat out of your body faster than you can replace it and your temperature drops below 95 Degrees F (35 Degrees Celsius), you are going into hypothermia. Your body's chemical and electrical system only works in a narrow band of temperatures: Upper limit is 99.5 F (37.5 C) and lower limit is 95 F (35 C)... this is not a big window and is why it is so common even in hot or warm climates. Thank you for the video! Good to learn about the 3 ways heat is moved from the body to the environment: Conduction + Convention + Radiation: - Conduction and Convention require objects to be touching; Radiation requires no contact. - Conduction occurs when two object at different temperatures are in contact with each other. Heat flows from the warmer to the cooler object until they are both at the same temperature. - Convection is usually the most efficient way to transfer heat. Convection occurs when warmer areas of a liquid or gas rise to cooler areas in the liquid or gas. As this happens, cooler liquid or gas takes the place of the warmer areas which have risen higher. This cycle results in a continuous circulation pattern and heat is transferred to cooler areas. - Radiation is a method of heat transfer that does not rely upon any contact between the heat source and the heated object. When the absorption of energy balances the emission of energy, the temperature of an object stays constant. If the absorption of energy is greater than the emission of energy, the temperature of an object rises. If the absorption of energy is less than the emission of energy, the temperature of an object falls. Learn from the tragedies of others : www.nytimes.com/1995/02/17/us/4-army-ranger-candidates-die-in-chilly-florida-swamp.html
Great advice! I am sorry if this might be a double post but the first seems to have gotten lost. I love the advice you give in these videos. Even after 23 years in the Navy and serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the field with my Marines quite a bit I always learn something from your videos. I cannot tell you the number of times my pack seemed like it weighed more than me! Great tips! You are well spoken and always show an enthusiasm for your topic. I am very happy to have found your videos and pass these on to every person I know that enjoys the outdoors as much as you and I do. Your talent for explaining everything is very valuable to beginners and experts alike. Please keep it up!
Thank you so much for this. Videos about what you should do while out in the wilderness is great, but the ones telling us what not to do are arguably more important.
Wow, your last story(stream crossing) almost made me cry. It was very emotional. Of course I knew you made it OK, but it was gut wrenching. I trout fish (even small streams) and it is easy to underestimate the power of water. Good job.
Possibly the closest I ever came to drowning was while fishing the Yellowstone river in the park. I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. I was fishing with my Dad, but he was not in the immediate area. I was fly fishing, and wading in hip boots. I tried to cross in a spot with very strong current and about thigh deep water, with a solid rock bottom, with a deep hole just downstream. The rock bottom was slick, and the current started pushing me towards the deep water, sliding on the slick bottom. What saved me was that I got deep enough to fill my boots with water, and the extra weight gave me enough traction to stop the slide. Of course, had I not been able to stop the slide, and gone into the deep water, those full boots would probably have dragged me to the bottom.
I like your solution of pitching camp early and taking a break (when facing a too-tough challenge). +1 Regarding hoods, rain, and sweating, I have learned a few lessons: 1) I prefer a hat for light-to-moderate rain. More visibility, less noise, more breathable. The bill keeps rain out of my eyes. I rarely use my hood. (Of course, I am glad to have it when needed.) 2) Rain jackets are the worst possible garment in warm weather. Except for freezing weather, I am ALWAYS wet when I hike; usually from sweat. Breathability is far more important than water-proofing, in my experience. I much prefer a classic 60-40 parka over any of the modern "waterproof and breathable" jackets, which are mostly marketing baloney. It stays comfortable in most conditions (not always bone dry, but not soaking wet and not cold). When it rains hard a light (and airy) poncho does the job. Or just pitch a tent and let the storm pass. Severe weather is a different story. If you're on a boat or high mountain, then you want real storm gear handy. Shame that nobody seems to sell 60-40 parkas anymore. ☹ 3) Oh, and I love your tip on carrying an umbrella. I never thought of that for the trail; just seems too urban somehow. But you're right; it's the perfect thing in warm weather.
I remember that white fork video you posted. Even though I knew it was filmed days prior, I was still uncomfortable for you and could tell that it was a bit of wake up call for you. Thank you for sharing your experience- especially about hypothermia. I went up into the Colorado mountains one time for a impromptu camping trip, not even thinking that it could get so cold at night in mid-July! That was a huge lesson for me!!
*Take a pashmina. I made 2 by cutting a 90 inch by 65 inch cotton/polyester Sheet in half folding it over the 65 inch side and KEEPING THE 90 INCHES IN LENGTH!* Take a yard square cloth either 100% cotton or a 100% MicroFiber Polyester or a 45% Poly/55% Cotton blend, make it into a *triangle*, cut it into two uneven-ish triangles HEM UP the seams (So it does NOT unravel); then you have two XL Triangle Bandage Cloths to wrap wet hair in. I find myself loving the poly cotton blend, as the polyester side of the blend keeps me warmer! Or take a traditional Pashmina, 90 inches by 28 or 33 inches made from 70% washable SILK and 30% Merino WOOL. There are at least 20 different ways to wear it.
Thanks for helping us to learn from your mistakes. In mountaineering they talk about "summit fever" causing people to make bad decisions; in motor sports its called "the red mist." When engaged in any goal oriented behavior in the outdoors it is easy to get confused about the importance of achieving the goal "right now," or today, or this attempt.
A well known Everest climber said reaching the summit of Everest is optional but getting back to camp alive is mandatory. (A misquote, but close enough).
I'm not a distance backpacker, but I do go on week-long fishing treks into seldom visited areas. I always pick up a tip or two from your vids. I think most important is the risk of hypothermia. My dad (a WWII and Korea vet) told me from day one, "Rule #1: in cold weather...if you sweat, you die. Rule #2: see rule 1". Hypothermia and falls disable more hikers than all else combined. Thanks for the uploads. Be safe.
I appreciate you so much! From your funny, sometimes random, musings on the trail to the thoughtful, non-judgmental way you share your knowledge and experience. And, I am NOT the only hiker to end a day (that more resembles a death march rather than recreational activity) sobbing on the side of the trail. That is so very comforting. :)
Your courage is apparent in many areas other than back packing! Thanks for your honesty about the potential for mistakes that ABSOLUTELY EVERY HIKER experiences at one time or another. Keep hiking your hike!😊
Respect for making the video, turning back is the most difficult thing, we all learn from these little moments where literally one more step can be fatal, I had an experience also last year traversing around ice where we went maybe 10 feet further than was safe, never again will I be so indecisive
I just watched your pct hike you're talking about here, that water crossing.... you turned around! That's awesome because quite a few of the people who have died was because they were more concerned with what the people watching them or that would know, thought 💔💔💔 AND YOU DIDN'T DELETE IT FROM YOUR VIDEO!!! Through reading people's blogs, that's how I found your channel, and they mentioned seeing this and we all felt that fear and you have saved many, many lives by sharing this with us!!
When a river crossing is too high in the spring, late afternoon is the worst time of day to attempt a crossing. The water is at its highest after several hours of daylight causing snowmelt at higher elevations. Instead, make camp and wait until morning, there's a good chance the water level will be a lot lower by then.
When you bonk, one of the best things to eat is tofu miso soup. I don't know why or how it works, but a more experienced hiker than myself noticed signs of hypothermia on me and gave me some of his tofu miso soup and it really improved my situation. Not a substitute for proper layering for the weather, but it's good to have a packet of dehydrated tofu miso soup handy for those times when you bonk out, are alone, and need something quick, hot and effective against hypothermia and bonky-body-ism. Love these vids. Bless your heart, Dixie.
I carry a couple of big brown heavy duty trash bags. They roll up small and they're light. I put my pack in one to float across water. And they're good emergency rain coat bivy.
My first serous bear encounter, it was at dawn I woke up to noise's outside. It had already ripped through our food stores and was attacking one of the horses it ended up getting shot and killed, unfortunately the horse was fatally wounded. We were a 15 hr horseback ride from ( one way) the small airstrip and then another 2 hr plane ride to the closest town
Being somebody that can't swim.. water crossings are not an adventure that I look forward to. Ran in to a sketchy one with a buddy in Vermont. I led the way so he could save my butt if I didn't make it. Braided and knotted my bear bag twinestring and launched the rockball into a tangle around a tree limb across a narrow flooded stream. Wrapped my hands in socks and pulled myself across. Water was barely barely above knee deep.. but that current was insane in the channel! Glad I had an anchor. Never got those knots out. Trail ran parallel to the stream for a ways. There was a fallen tree bridge to a sandbar a mile down stream where the terrain leveled out. We could have crossed on boulders without even getting our toes wet. Snowmelt. Grrr. With the arm-lock method, if one person slips.. the whole group usually goes swimming.
Maineiac:Yes, Over 25 years ago, in August, a father, age 40 or so, and son along with a German exchange student attempted to climb a 4 mile trail to one of the huts(Madison) in the White Mts.. Much of the trail is totally exposed to the weather. The group was exposed to rain, wind, fog, darkness and low temps, in August. They were local and very knowledgeable of the area. The trail they took to the hut was the most dangerous given the forecast. There are adjacent trails with almost no exposure. The father died(hypothermia) at the crest. The son would have died had the exchange student not made it to the hut to get help. The father's body could not be recovered until morning due to extreme risk to highly trained search and rescue team.
Totally agree. Many years ago I hiked to the top of Mt Katahdin in late summer with my father-in-law, who grew up in Maine and was in pretty good shape. We made three critical errors that day: (1) it took Storer a long time to get going in the morning - we didn't get on the trail until well past 10 AM (2) we never checked the weather forecast (3) we failed to notice that by the time were only half way up the mountain, people were streaming back down By the time we summited, it was early afternoon and totally socked in. We got a couple quick photos and decided to head back down via Razor Back, which was our fourth mistake. The rain came. Then the wind. Then the hail. By the time we were on Razor Back, the wind was howling, the hail was pelting us, and the rain was blowing sideways. The rocks were slick. I had on decent hiking boots, but my father-in-law was in "hush puppies" (his avowed favorite hiking shoe..) and his nephew was in old running shoes. I had on a warm jack and rain shell, but was in light shorts and from the waist down I was soaked and cold. When I finally made it nearly off the rocks I was shivering uncontrollably and my coordination had significantly deteriorated. At some point, I suddenly realized that I was having trouble thinking clearly. That was the gut punch and I realized I was developing hypothermia and was getting into serious trouble. I slowed down _just_ enough to make sure that I wasn't going to slide off the rocks and down the mountainside. I eventually made it to the woods and forced myself to hobble down the trail and back to camp. I was _really_ lucky that day. As so many other seasoned hikers have attested to: you need to keep your wits about you and understand the warning signs - hypothermia, hyperthermia (heat exhaustion and heat stroke), dehydration, etc. Know the signs. Know how to treat. Blessings! J
River crossings are another situation where trekking poles are a big help, including "log jam" type situations. Or even just crossing on a single log. I've never heard anyone mention them for this when discussing the pros and cons, but I've been very glad I started using them in such situations.
Excellent video, Thanks. Never underestimate hypothermia, I have been in situations similar to what you describe and one of the most important factors for me was having enough food in my pack to fuel me up and help me get warm again. It's amazing how fast good judgement fades once hypothermia really sets in, don't let it get that far folks; stay moving, stay as dry as possible, keep eating and find shelter and fire as quickly as possible.
Some Situation like the thing to find a good Camp Ground I also had once north of my hometown where there is a lot of vulcanic Basalt laying around everywhere even in the forest between the trees. I only found a little "innatural" grass ground behind a closed Hikershouse. Nowhere else any flat ground. The second thing with cooling out in rainweather, while sweating under the rain cloths. Like you said, drinking something warm is very good, but as long you have a water bottle that is NOT leaking. Fill some hot water in it and lay it down your feet to help warming up the sleeping bag and your body. And even when you have long hair, in such an extreme wet-cold situation it is always good to have a thin merinowool cap and even an merino balaclava with you. Also when I was two times in north scandinavia when there were days where the rain just did not want to stop I simply have worn a thin material mixed merino-polyester longsleeve directly under my rainpants without any other trousers between. The longsleeve simply gives a good comfortable feeling not to be in direct contact to the rainpant and it helps transporting the sweat away. And the wool balaclava has the advantage to keep you warmer even with wet hair under it and helps to hold your body heat because with a cooled out head your body has to push a lot of heat and energy in it that you loose without it while heating up the inside of the sleeping bag. River crossing - I think it is not a wrong thing having something inflatable inside the bag. Some bagpackmaterials are so waterresistent that you can inflate your bagpack itself. But anyways when your bagpack is swimming on the water I would not like to do that with thightened hipbelts, because it can bring you in a dangerous situation that the bag is lifting your hips so high that your head could be pushed under water. I did not try it but I think just put on the bagpack with not closed hipbelt and only with easy thightened shoulder straps, maybe hold together with the connecting strap between the shoulder straps so that your rucksack is not sliding down from your shoulders. But this has to be tried out in quiet water first, in a lake!! So I haven`t say that it is working well!! The shoe comfort - I always remove any original insole because they are often only flat and without any support to your foot arch. For example I like to use these ones even in everyday live shoes and they are very comfortable. www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00CUJRU20/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And by the way. It is often said that Goretex is not recommended, specially for long distance hikes. Thats true. All in all The membrane only helps that you are not walking in totally soacked shoes and socks, but the disadvantage that it is drying out too slow when once wet inside. A good thing is when you use Trailrunners only with not waterresistant mesh for rainy cold wet days I like to use membrane socks from seal skinzs: www.amazon.de/SealSkinz-Herren-Socken-Weight-KE72100300/dp/B005DKUIFO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1520192068&sr=8-7&keywords=sealskinz+str%C3%BCmpfe Again its like the longsleeve under the rain pant. It keeps your feet dry, with the membrane and the merino wool inside any sweating gets transported out and when you have another thin hiking socks as your first layer under that waterproof socks it helps a lot to take a lot of rubbing away from your toes and foot soles. And also the membrane material is sliding better inside the shoe than normal socks. But I must say I would only do so in bad and wet weather. I will buy my next trail runners with this idea and taking this sock combination with me to buy the right size for having shoes not so thight on my feet like the last time. Ah and I forgot the bears - Maybe taking a loud and screamy whistle (with a little ball inside) with you to scare the bear even when only in sight. So all in all. Every day is learning and trying!!
As a fly fisherman I have done some pretty sketchy river crossings. If you have a buddy, and no rope -- who carries a rope when going ultralight anyway -- cross together. Put the stronger/taller of the two upstream and the other hiker directly downstream from the first. I.e. Shoulder to shoulder. This way the stronger/taller hiker will break the current and the downstream hiker will have a much easier time walking. This is also great because if either of you loose your balance, which happens all the time due to slime or unexpected rocks or holes, the other can catch you. I have personally done this and it works great.
We all make 'em... Mistakes are part and parcel of gaining experience. First, I'm late to the party for your videos Dixie, so kudos to you (and team) for this terrific library of videos and more kudos for your impressive talent in communicating your experiences. It's always refreshing when one sees a kindred spirit of the backcountry. I especially enjoyed the segment of this video concerning your White Fork crossing. Your decision-making process sounded familiar because of similar conversations I've had with myself and your lessons-learned were spot on. You're a backpacker, I'm a sea kayaker, but the principles of "Risk Assesment" apply equally. Even if you have high confidence in Plan A (crossing the stream or launching from a beach into big surf), one still needs a Plan B. As you wisely point out, I urge everyone to consider that if your Plan A fails and Plan B is injury or worse...then one needs a new Plan A! Subscribed and looking forward to your CDT adventures.
Really good advice. We can learn so much from others real world experience. I've been there with having one half of my brain saying 'Don't do this' and the other half of my brain saying, 'Go ahead. What can go wrong?' It is an interesting phenomenon. That river crossing was scary to watch. Can't imagine how scary it was in real time. But, that is part of the learning experience of the trail. Some lessons are kinder than others. Hopefully, your brave sharing of your own experiences will help others in the future listen to that smart inner voice. Thank you from not shying away from sharing.
I really enjoy your videos...your enthusiasm for backpacking is infectious and your honesty in talking about mistakes you have made and offering tips on how others can avoid doing the same thing is very helpful. I live in VT and am going to be thru hiking the Long Trail this summer. Keep these great videos coming!!
One of the reasons this my go to site regarding competent hiking, is that Dixie always shows the pit falls, and stupid mistakes, which helps us immensely! So down to earth, literally, and tells it like it is!
Thanks for sharing these "dumb mistakes". I know it can be hard to put it out there but really it could save someones life! I have not yet been able to do any kind of backpacking trip (just camping) but I hope to do some before my time is up on this earth. I really enjoy your videos and learn so much from them :)
I just bought your eBook a couple of days ago, and all I can say is "Wow!" The videos are great as well - they fill in so much that is left out of any book I've ever seen. I'm recently retired, nursing a broken foot right now, but next year is the AT for me, and who knows what next. You are truly inspirational, keep on trekkin'!!!
After many years of hiking, I've found that you need to have a "fatigue meter". If you're above a 7 on a scale of 10, your decision making capability is impaired. I'm intentionally conservative, more so than usual, in these situations. I also have a rule that if I find I've made two stupid mistakes in a row, it's time to stop for the day or take a long break, eat something, drink water, etc. Most outdoor disasters happen not from one single bad decision but from a cascade of them. Once you make one or two in a row, the propensity for making more bad decisions escalates exponentially. At least for my brain! :-) Thanks for sharing the great content.
I worry about the folks doing the PCT this year, as the snow pack is huge, making river crossings even more dangerous. Both the bear and river crossing sound like truly dangerous situations that would cause many to stop hiking altogether. Im glad you survived these experiences and learned so much from them.
I was thinking about you today while up on the AT doing a survey of the damage caused by a recent wind storm in Eastern Pennsylvania. I hope that there were not any though hikers in this area. We have had strong wind gusts to 60 mph, low temperatures with freezing rain and snow. The perfect combination for hypothermia. I think that many of us underestimate the danger of wind, rain in temperatures just in the lower 40's. Building a fire is a real challenge, everything is wet and cold and the wind can be unrelenting. Thanks for bringing up the dangers of hypothermia....it is a silent killer that strikes before you know that you are in serious danger.
*Fantastic Lessons , in this Video !* 💪 😎 👍 You survived your Trail lessons, with minimal damage...well done. 💥 *Video Time Stamp* 💥 0:21 Lesson #1 *Hiking in Rough Terrain* 1:55 Lesson #2 *Hypothermia* 4:40 Lesson #3 *Don't Wear worn out Gear* 5:30 Lesson #4 *Wildlife* 7:50 Lesson #5 *River Crossing Safety* 9:07 Lesson #6 *Protect your gear* 11:31 Lesson #7 *Biggest Trail Mistake* 14:25 Get out there and Challenge yourself...but not to the point of dying for.
One time on a day hike up Mount Tongariro, our group nearly lost someone to hypothermia - she was wearing only light clothing and it took us a while to notice that she'd stopped interacting with everyone... by which time she was so hypothermic she was practically running on autopilot. We all had plenty of spare warm clothing (if she'd asked us sooner, when she first felt cold, we could've avoided the problem) which we put on her and we had to carry on to get to safety. After a while, she stopped walking of her own volition and would only walk if someone took her hand and led her. Then she got to the point we had to move her feet to get her over difficult bits. By the time we got to the nearest hut, she was practically catatonic. Fortunately, there was a group of Scouts at the hut and they had the fire going. They also had food, sleeping bags and warm drinks. We left someone there with her and the rest of us carried on to get back to town and get medical assistance. Fortunately, we'd got her to shelter in time and she made a full recovery. Insidious stuff, is hypothermia. Only night hike I've done was on an established (and familiar to me) trail when we had to bug out from our campsite due to sudden rain and the risk of a flash flood. We'd got to the camping site and set up long before nightfall, but the return home was in the dark lit only by my hand-held dynamo light. Slippery wet trail, rain, darkness - not something I want to repeat again. Only raging river crossing I've had to make was with a group of friends - once again it was a sudden downpour, this time on the morning we were planning to head back. The river we crossed on the way in was now a raging torrent and we had to form a human chain across it. The outdoors is fun - but it's got enough risks to keep anyone on their toes.
Not a hiker... but as a surf lifeguard and a kayaker if I were to swim across with a pack: I'd take the pack off so I can let go if i need to, hold it to my chest or loop one arm through a strap, and then swim across sideways or facing slightly downwards. This technique works regardless of whether your pack is bouyant or not, but obviously your success with any method depends on your swimming ability, pack weight, and river speed+depth. If your pack happens to be boyant you can also lean on it or use it to prop you up from this position. If your pack is bouyant, it's probably MORE dangerous to wear it since it may push your head under(like putting a adult life jacket on a child) which is what you also experienced. I wouldn't ever "ride" it like you described some people doing since you may fall/roll and hit your head on rocks. Packs aren't made to be stable in water like surfboards or kayaks, especially in rough or fast water it'd be like trying to ride a barrel. Floundering due to the pack rolling may also mean you; A) loose the pack B) get swept further downriver during recovery than you originally intended to go If you are really struggling, it's better to drop the pack, finish the swim, and pick up the pack downriver where it washes up, or to just accept your loss and try get to a town without it... a couple days trek to town with no food or water, is better than being dead. If you are starting to feel weak while swimming, are taking on water, or think you are approaching a dangerous area(eg rapids/rocks), it's definitely time to ditch the pack and get to shore ASAP.
Very well said and great advice! Regardless of our experience, reminding ourselves of these key “don’t do” things is worthwhile. You have such a fantastic delivery in presenting them too! Thanks
Not necessarily backpacking, but when I was probably 15 or 16 I was camping in northern Ontario with a friend's family. My friend and I took a canoe out and decided to climb a waterfall... I slipped, and I started to get pushed by the flow of water. Luckily there was a little rocky shelf that I happened to be lined up with at the time or I would have been dead. I earned a lot of respect for flowing water that day...
I believe you said in another video that you carry 100 ft of paracord. If it is the military type 550 cord then you can use it when you do those water crossings, It has a 550 lbs of tensile strength. double it up and wrap it around a tree and use it as a safety line. If you fall it will prevent you from going down stream. If you have others with you and one person goes across then you have a safety line Take some of the cord and connect it to yourself and loop it over the safety line and hold on to it as you cross. I alway carry a o'ring snap link that is used for repelling on my gear. It doesn't weigh much and can be used for a lot of things get one and use it to hook up to the safety line. Once on the other side, you can retrieve the safety line if it was looped by just untying the end on your end and pulling it back to your side. another thing to do is get a wooden pole that you use to brace in the water on the downstream side and use it to help you get across.
This was an amazing video! You spoke about #5 with so much honesty it was impressive..the whole vid was exceptional! Thank you for bearing your soul and hopefully someone else will think twice about similar circumstances 😘
That sounds very much like what my wife and i ran into at a campground on the side (around 5000-6000 ft. altitude) of Mt. Hood two summers ago. Middle of summer and we had ALL our cold weather gear on at that campsite!
High elevation stream crossings are best in the morning before the heat of the day increases stream flows. *If you know you will have to cross a stream, take a rope!!!* People worry too much about weight while ignoring safety. Even at the stream crossing at 15:05 a rope can be tied mid way on a 2 inch diamter stick. Throw the stick like a javelin into the willow on the far bank. It will almost always catch on the willow for a strong anchor. tie in loops that can be hooked around elbows before crossing. Don't tie the rope around your whole body because there is a chance the rope could get caught on the upstream side of a boulder to pull you under. Then cross with both hiking poles downstream of your body. Anglers call these wading staffs. Lastly, of course this is not something to attempt alone. WIth a group , everyone but the first person can then cross on a taut line. WIth a good anchor you can simply hang from the line above the water.
Fantastic video. Jarn's had some interesting bear encounters and a few sketchy water crossings (but the crossings were with other people). Good reminders/lessons - thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this video dumbest mistakes. I shared it with my 10 year old grandson that I carry backpacking. He has autism and I want him to love nature and learn safety at the same time. The last time we went out, I made a big mistake. I heard something in the bushes. When I couldn't see the source of the noise I knew it was a cat. I was thinking bobcat. I had let David get too far ahead because; when I had questioned the ranger over the phone about place she said there wasn't anything big to worry about. When I called him, he crouched down. Wrong answer so I caught up quick. Later that night he heard something again so it was night light time. A head light was hung from the ridge line over his hammock and all was well. The next morning I found alot of fla panther scat (bobcat burys his) on the trail! He seemed to have had a GOOD dinner of deer. (My Labrador would to be proud to have scat that size.) Later I let the rangers know about the cat so they could check him out. Lesson? With kids you can't be too careful no matter what the ranger says is there or not! Having grown up more in the woods than not, I knew better. My native american father taught me I should never fear animals but always have a great respect for them. That way you don't freeze up or run and It keeps the animals safe too. It has always served me well. Maybe it will help others also. In the end we had a great time. All ended well and we're going backpacking again next month. We luv your videos. Be safe and enjoy this beautiful earth we have! Thanks again. De
Great video Dixie, thank you so much for sharing. You offered some great suggestions regarding traveling in the outdoors. Please be safe out there Dear. I look forward to your future videos. Have fun out there. 🤗
I fitted my backpack with a 50 gal contractor bag. It went inside the pack with everything else. Heavy stuff on the bottom. My sleeping bag went into its own small garbage bag and then into the pack (Murphy's law and all). We easily floated across the small but fast moving stream. The top of the pack was well out of the water and I always felt in control. Everything dry as a bone. I hiked this same area before wearing heavy duty canvas and rubber lug soled boots, thinking they'd dry out faster. They did but the rubber wasn't enough to adsorb the impact of the rocks. My feet were killin' me. Went back to a heavier boot and brought more socks. lol
Thanks a lot for being so honest and for the shares. I am stubborn too and that's not always a good thing when I'm hiking.. I should listen more frequently to such advices... And by the way, sunsets suits you so well. Take care
Good video. Have you read Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales? He'll tell you why a 9 year old girl lost in the woods is more likely to survive than an experienced highly trained military commando. And David Mamet's The Edge is thought provoking (and has a really big bear) Charles Morse: You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame. Stephen: What? Charles Morse: Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives.
Your crossing story is why women die so less frequently when solo hiking. Great job turning around. On the pack issue, baby salmon and trout have flotation sacs on their bellies that support the idea of pacs worn on the front are easier. But maybe the best thing to do is take your pack and gear on one of tla hot summer days to a nearby pond or lake and play around with the most comfortable way to move with your pack in "almost too deep water". Yes, all your gear gets wet but it'll dry. But having a plan before it is an issue is so much easier. I worked as a fisheries field worker and we would practice whitewater techniques like flooding your waders, pretending to lose your footing and be swept away (eddy-ing out), and foot entrapment simulations in safe, lower water conditions with some rope throw bags and folks around. When it actually happened, reacting was so much more instinctual. Plus, it's just really fun to eddy out.
Dixie - I've found that the thought rattling through my noggin' of "What would my Mother say about this moment of risk?" and when I hear, "Bless your Sweet, Sweet Heart!" I stop and reassess and think of a better way. I'm sure your Mom had a fright on that first attempt of the crossing and the time you stopped in the Cascades and backtracked to town - for all of the right reasons. Because of the possibility of Hypothermia, I keep those additional dry base layers. Jack London's "To Build a Fire" made a huge impact that stuck - about staying dry in cold, wet conditions. I'm looking forward to the CDT videos.
The trash compactor bag tip is good-to-go. I discovered this myself over 25 years ago, but I haven't run across many people who know about it. Recently, I had a hard time finding a store that had them (a left coast region trying to outlaw plasic). Finally, when shopping for tools, I found the compactor bags at the local hardware store.
Got hypothermia on Inca Trail during Peru's spring (our autumn) because of continual rain one day. Those trekkers in ponchos were fine. My nearly brand new Gortex rainsuit under that pounding still eventually got soaked. When I got into camp I delayed getting out of wet things while having tea in a shelter (only 20 mins), and that was all it took to tip the iceberg. By the time I rolled into my tent I was urinating clear urine in large frequent amounts, a condition called cold diuresis, in which the body diverts blood flow away from your skin t your kidneys when it senses a drop in core temperature. This is supposed to be protective but quickly works to be counterproductive. Being an ER physician I finally recognized this (SO DUMB !!!) despite having been shivering during tea. Clothes off and into sleeping bags and friend kept bringing non caffeinated warm water to drink. Lucky.
The best way is to look for a tree that's about 24" across. Cut it down and remove the branches from the bottom 12 feet or so. Then remove all the bark too. Then, carve a dish down the middle, leaving about a foot at each end. Build a fire with the branches (saving one straight one for a paddle stick.) Ok - so then take the coals and put them all along the dished channel and let them burn down. When the coals cool, dig out the charred wood and replace with more hot coals. Keep repeating this process until the channel is about 1.3-1.5' deep. Oila! Now you have a canoe! But you'll need a push stick. So take the long, straight branch you saved and begin whittling it smooth. Now put all your gear in the canoe, hop in and shove off! It's nice to leave a rope attached to departure bank so other's can retrieve it and use it later. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
It's hard to publicly admit that we've made a mistake or done something silly. Thank you for being brave enough to do this so that others may learn.
Rock climbing. Every kid wants to climb up the cliff. Thing is is it's 3x harder to the proportion of height by the...never mind, it's harder to climb down than it is to climb up. Ask any cat, bear or cougar. You don't want to get "treed".
We learn easiest from mistakes of those who have gone before us, and when we have not knowledge from others, then we ourselves fail and then have the knowledge to in turn ourselves pass on to others.
No its not, I make a fool of myself all the time and everyone knows it.
You poor dears how's awful!! It's so s refreshing !you are sos amazing awesome sos truthful s & reliable s ! That's make s you above the rest !we out here's needs you !! Mores than evers ! Your loved out here's! Thank you stay safe becarefuls agains your amazing & awesome!!!!!
Your amazing awesome & wonderful s !! Thank you
A few things to keep in mind on stream crossings:
The force of the water is proportional to the square of the velocity. So 10X the stream velocity is 100x the force. Wider crossings are better because the velocity tends to decrease the wider the stream.
Also depth matters too as the force increases directly with the depth. Twice as deep is twice the force.
Buoyancy is related to depth of water and the person's body weight. As the water gets deeper, the frictional force (person's feet on the ground) decreases and and it can be virtually impossible to keep your feet planted because the water force is also increasing at the same time.
Body weight matters and last year's two PCT stream crossing fatalities that I know of were petite Asian women. One of the techniques for stream crossing is to cross as a group, holding onto one or more people. The group acts like a single body of much, much higher weight.
These are physical laws. Use them to your advantage. Think of ways to use them to make your crossing easier. For example, waiting overnight results in lower velocities and lower depths in the morning, both are in your favor.
thank you and that's right about depth. With depth, there are two factors, one is buoyancy, the other, the additional force.
when you win at youtube comments lol 👌👌👌
Mike Stephenson Bill Bill Bill Bill .....
Also, you can increase weight (and thus friction) without increasing submersion (and thus water force) by adding more weight outside of the water.
Have someone sit on top of your shoulders, and you suddenly have twice the weight and friction without exposing yourself to more water force (not to mention more inertia and angular inertia). Get three or four people to sit on top of each others' shoulders like a totem pole, and even the deepest and angriest rivers become easily crossable.
Disclaimer: Do not do this.
Also hear that crossing after break water is the best bet. It has less power. Luckily I have never been is rough enough water to worry. Anyone ever test that? Is it true?
A valuable lesson that I learned is always Mark your way when you step off Trail. After a long tiresome day I stepped off Trail to go sit on a log. When I lifted my head and looked around I had no idea from which direction I had just come. I had no clue where the trail was located. I had wandered off all by myself just to look around and no one was planning on coming to look for me. I stood up and screamed the name of my trailmates and realized no one was going to hear me. Fortunately, I was able to come to my wits and locate the trail within about 5 minutes. But it was a very very valuable lesson that I learned out in the woods. Thanks for the video!
Any tips on HOW to mark our trail?
Not really applicable in times of smartphones and other GNSS devices. Unless of course it breaks at just that moment, but you can’t account for everything.
@@briannab5296 i usually just snap a twig or two every few steps right at chest height just enough to see a definite pattern.
@@pooizle63 ... great idea, tfs
Good for you. A solo hiker in Maine a few years ago, got off trail to pee and could not find the trail. Her remains and gear were found about two years later. Very sad!
Words from an old infantryman and someone who has been backpacking in the Rocky Mountains for over 50 years: You don't want to die dumb. You don't want your last thoughts as the darkness closes down to be, "Boy, that was really stupid." If things are getting sketchy be situationally aware enough to realize it and back off. In several of Dixie's accounts she got tunnel vision about making progress, common among through hikers, and did not properly analyze the immediate situation. This can happen in scenarios other than through hiking, trying to meet someone at a certain time/place, getting back to the car, wanting to get to a certain hunting area, etc.. You need to keep aware of the moment and consider the immediate risks. We are all doing outdoor activities for fun and none of this is worthy dying for or getting seriously injured.
As a person from the arctic (It's not frozen all the time here) - I must admit I have had plenty of "boy that was dumb" situations usually involving getting wet.
But the dumbest by far was assuming bears (thankfully no polar ones here) are still sleeping and I don't have to carry a bear canister...
Amen and well said.
Ask any E.D. doc or nurse about "dying dumb" and they will roll their eyes and tell you to pull up a chair and get comfy 'cause it's gonna take a while to go through the long list..
Stupid is a common ingredient of humanity
I almost drowned once, under super dumb circumstances when I knew I shouldn't have gotten in the water in the first place. I felt so unbelievably incompetent as I was trying to get to a hold.
Yes, this applies to life in general, really. "I'd rather be a coward for 5 minutes than be dead for the rest of my life". I try to live by those words, and not attempt anything stupid just because someone wants to tease me in a bad way.
I just discovered your videos, and I am THOROUGHLY impressed with the wealth of knowledge you openly share. Thank you SO MUCH, Dixie, as I have always been an outdoorsman my entire life (hunting, fishing, day-hiking, camping), and I am no stranger to the outdoors, but I must admit that I am rather new to backpacking over distances. The incredible gift of knowledge that you so humbly share in your videos is truly an eye-opener for us newbies, helping us take into consideration things we would never have otherwise thought about, without years of experience. I am very happy to see that you have so many videos here on RUclips, and I look forward to watching every one of them! Thank you SO MUCH, Dixie, for your selfless, VERY generous guidance!
Great advice. The hypothermia is a really important thing. In 2005, we lost "Sea Breeze" to hypothermia when he got caught in snow storm between Warner Springs and Idylwild. Make sure you bring Bear Spray on the CDT, Grizzly Bears. The water crossing is also a great one. We also had a girls that was killed when swept downstream in the Sierras. The safest way is to wait until the morning and then cross. This will be the lowest water level. I needed to do this twice. The water level typically dropped by 1 to 2 feet. You didn't have my usual mistake, under estimating my water needs and pressing though. Should have set mid-day camp and finished the miles at night. The most important thing of a Through Hike - Don't get dead!
Michael Levasseur Very true about the bears. When you get to Idaho there's a lot more grizzlies than people think there are.
I haven't yet done the CDT. I know this is Dixie's next through hike. I've done my preliminary work for the CDT. My plans are to do it SOBO. Do Montana in the snow, hopefully before the Grizzly Bears wake up.
Michael Levasseur Grizzlies are the real deal in the Rocky Mountain states, especially Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and they do occasionally kill and eat people. It's essential to recognize the sights and sounds that tell you they're in the area, and to know what to do in order to keep them from being overly intetested in you. People have survived grizzly attacks, but surviving an encounter without being injured is the better outcome. Study up, gear up appropriately, and keep eyes and ears wide open, "head on a swivel." If you see cubs, you're going to meet their mom... she already has you in the cross hairs and s**t is about to get real.
@ryan rogers You'll get no argument from me. My go-to trail iron is a .45 with 250 grain hard-cast lead flat point.
I take the bear spray everywhere I backpack and camp. Great non-lethal defense against anything on four legs or two 😉
Dixie, it’s a brave thing to admit screw ups and powerful to learn from them. Sharing with others what you have learned is a great and powerful thing. So many would never admit mistakes in private but less a public forum. A willingness to share this so that others may be better prepared speaks greatly about your character.
I was taught the acronym COLD: Clean-Try to keep clothing clean. Clean clothing is warmer than dirty clothing. Overheat-Prevent overheating to reduce sweating. Layers-Dress in layers so you can remove one layer to cool down or add one layer to warm up. Helps with the overheating problem. Dry-Dry clothing is warmer than wet clothing. Overheating causes sweating which makes clothes wet. Its all common sense but it crosses my mid when I'm out and about. Great video, as always. I've been off my feet for a few weeks dealing with a massive arthritis flare up. So I've been binge watching your vids with zero complaints. Awesome job. You only having 87K subscribers is a crime. I'll do what I can to push your videos out to my friends.
agreed...Dixie is amazing...
Now, I've never done any long hiking with river forging, but I have done a LOT of whitewater kayaking. You learn loads of tricks on how to traverse a raging river, how to have the right angle of attack, how to float down a river with your boat if you fall out of it, when to let it all go. Not that it's any good now, (and I'm not professional in the matter) but tips people don't think about.
When traversing a river, you actually want to go Tac or against the flow of water, you want to swim aggressively up against the flow at a slight angle, this will cause the river to push you along to the other side. Not much effort is needed to fight the river if your using its flow to force yourself across.
Always, ALWAYS keep your feet downstream and "up" that way if and when you do hit rocks and things you can just bounce off them with your feet, not hit them with your body.
If you're not a strong swimmer, roll on your back. Keeps your head out of the water and everyone can float on their back.
If in doubt, bail out, it's better to catch your gear down the river than to get pinned by it. So wearing your backpack like you did was (as you learned) one of the worst things you could have done. As you said in the video, float it in front of you. I would say hold it by the top handle and let it float in front of you so that if it does go pear shaped you can let it go.
I've had to let go of a kayak and watch it float down a rough rapid without me after I had gotten pinned between it and a rock. Trust me, you'll rather let it go than be pinned between a rock, and kayak full of water and 1,000 cfps of water rushing down at you.
On the other hand, portions like the last clip of White River. I wouldn't have even tried, I would have hiked as long as it took to avoid that, There does come a time to just say nope!
River's aren't that bad IF you're used to them. Once you learn how to read them, how to behave in them, most of it becomes leaning back and enjoying the ride.
One time in the Sierras I was by myself crossing a snow field. I heard running water and wondered where is that coming from. Shortly after that I broke through the snow into a roaring water flow that was under the snow crust. Luckily I put my arms out and held myself up on the snow crust and pulled my self out. When walking on a snow/ice crust and hear water running under your feet get away!
Sounds like the premise of To Make A Fire by Jack London.
mattcolver1 wow !
Wow, that's actually pretty scary.
Don't hike alone!
This reminds me of the first time I was cross country skiing in the backcountry, I was with an experienced friend, luckily, because when I went to "follow nature", he advised me to listen for the sounds, I did and shortly after I was finished there was a loud sound and the snow caved into the stream, just beyond the place I had at first thought of going.
One of the best outdoor videos I’ve seen; whether you’re a backpacker, mountaineer, hunter, backcountry fisherman, extreme skier....anything outdoors. Know when to stop or turn back. I think it might be more difficult for this younger generation as all that they see on their social media sites is success and great times. If in doubt do what this young lady did and think of your mother - what would she want you to do - and act accordingly.
Yes. Agreed. This IS probably the most important lesson we can all learn, if we are willing to teach ourselves, and learn from others. Cheers :)
This newer generation? Pulling my kids off to even go was the challenge. About a mile in they wondered why I hate them so much to make them go LOL.
@@christopherbertoli7322 Personally I was referring to my kids. I think the OP was speaking in general, not about a specific person.
Best. Video. Ever. Thanks for making this video and pointing out the thin transition between safe, dumb, and dead. We've all done it to some degree. Water crossings are the obvious danger (and cute bears), but hypothermia is a big issue up here in the OR/WR Cascades and summer is when it happens most, we see it all the time.
A short snow squall or 35-degree rain, even in August, can knock people down quickly and leave them incapable of saving themselves. Hypothermic people can't think well enough to light a stove, start a fire (To Build A Fire - Jack London), pitch a tent, strip and get into a warm sleeping bag, they cannot take action to save themselves. Getting your hair wet was a big mistake, something you'll probably never do again, it only takes one time. ;-)
Thanks for making this, I hope lots of future thru-hikers see this.
Omg that White Fork crossing video made me super emotional. I'm so glad they did that together and that people were there to save that girl. WOW. Thanks for sharing these mistakes, they're invaluable to a person like me first starting out. I watched your PCT full doc last night and I have to say it put a healthy fear in me, mostly of the section in the Sierras. I've always loved those mountains for their incredible beauty but they are to be respected, definitely. I'm def gonna train my ass off and take on longer and longer multi-day excursions before I attempt, but I'm not gonna let me fear stop me either!!! I'm hoping for a full thru hike in 2020!
What I greatly appreciate about your channel is the fact that you’re never bragging about what you know, you’re very down to earth and I have learned A LOT from your vids. My first contact with getting out there was “bushcrafting” loaded a huge and heavy canvass pack full of everything but the kitchen sink, an axe, a couple of knives, a saw...the list goes on and on. If this was a religion pitch you could say I’ve been saved, going out there and doing what you do? I say you put to shame all of those guys bragging about wilderness survival, zombie apocalypse situations. Lol.
Thanks 🙏🏻
I have no intention of EVER hiking anything at all, but I have been having a great time binge watching your videos for the last 2 days. You are just delightful and I'm loving all your stories!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that ♥️
The bollix that I pulled once probably beats all. I was on a long trip from Long Swamp in Okanogan County, Washington near the Canadian border to the north end of Lake Chelan. I had left a camp in a deep valley one morning to hike over a ridge to the bottom of the next valley to the west. I stopped for a rest on the top at mid day and then continued on down to the bottom. I arrived toward the end of the long hiking day. When I got there, it had a strangely familiar look to it. When i sorted it all out, the awful truth fell into place. At the top I had mistaken one direction for the other and went back to where I started. So I just set up my tent exactly where it had been the night before. Mine eight-day trip became a nine-day trip.
Thanks for these! Force of the water can really sneak up on you. Last summer I hiked up a stream while pulling my kayak behind me. It was my first kayaking hike and when the water was up to my knees it was still doable, but when it got up my hips I almost got swept away. It wouldn't been the worst thing since it was summer and I had swimming suit on but it really changed my perspective on how powerful water can be.
It's good to know that we all make silly mistakes. I especially relate to your comment about stubbornness! 99% of my slightly dangerous but ultimately silly mistakes can be pinned on not wanting to give up in whatever situation.
Awesome vid! River crossings can be deadly, for sure. Some friends of mine and I went camping one time. On the way up, the river crossing above a waterfall was not too bad - water level low enough that we could easily go from rock to rock avoiding the surging torrent between the rocks.
That night it rained heavily so the next day when we were going out, the same river was now heavily swollen with raging water and all of the rocks we used to get across the previous day were submerged.
We ended up having to do a human chain across the river. Fortunately it was narrow enough for us to span the gap from one side to the other.
Unfortunately, being narrow enough for us to span the gap, that huge volume of water was roaring through a very narrow channel.
We made it across safely but footing was dicey, the water was pushing us towards the waterfall and threatening to knock our feet out from under us - and that was the _safest_ crossing point in the area.
Fortunately, team work and us all having been rested and well fed worked in our favour.
Great hearing your experiences and cautions. I'm just glad that we don't have bears here! There's enough bloody things out there to make camping/hiking "thrilling", without bears.
About 30 years ago, six friends and I were hiking a section of the Grand Canyon. We did yearly 6-8 day trips, attempting to eventually have hiked the entire length (I forget what two endpoints we had decided on).
To try and make this brief, we were at the point where we would start hiking up from the Colorado river to the rim. However, we could see dark clouds above. You can't really see the rim from the river most of the time, so we couldn't see the approaching weather except for a relatively narrow piece of sky above us. That's why you are cautious. I did not want to go into the side canyon where the trail led for fear of flash flooding, and two others sided with me. My friend, I'll call him Bob, was absolutely set that we were going to make our schedule. Aruging ensued. It was an issue, because much of our gear was spread out over several people's packs. Bob said that he was going, and we could come or go. This didn't make sense because I had the stove and he had the fuel. I never could have imagined that this would happen! We had known each other for years, since we were children.
Bob and his wife, and two other guys went up the canyon. I and my two similarly worried friends talked about what to do. As they disappeared out of view, my friends thought we should follow them. I wish I had argued more but I did not, I basically caved in to peer pressure. Pretty soon, I hear a noise, and up ahead I see one of my friends who decided to go on, running around a corner in the canyon towards us, 45# backpack in one hand, running full out. Horrified look on his face. The wall of water started as a knee high wall of mud, stones, and sticks, quickly rose, and then went back down. I was so, so scared. I turned around and ran out, neither me nor my two other "chicken" friends ever getting touched by the flood.
However, upstream, where Bob and his wife were caught, it was very narrow. the walls of the canyon, I later noticed were polished and sculpted granite. I saw firsthand what polishes that rock. Her shoulder was dislocated. Their packs were nowhere to be seen. We later found some of their belongings, outside of the packs, around the fan out area where the side canyon met the river. The (borrowed, state-of-the-art) 8mm video recorder was somehow filled, packed solid with mud and sand. No one spoke much for the last two days of the trip, or on the drive to the airport or the flight home. It ruined friendships, for a while. Good friends are hard to come by, so I let it go.
Never, ever hike into a desert canyon if you have any reason to believe that it might be raining in the mountains. Also, consider making sure that each member of the party can EASILY survive separately. For the record, the three of us who didn't want to go up COULD have bivouacked overnight, but they were really reluctant about not having cooking ability... We had plenty of ready to eat food and also could have made an illegal fire. Frankly I would've welcomed the rangers arresting us, at that point. They felt squeamish. We were young , invincible, and stupid as hell. I'm really glad no one died. Worst camping experience ever, and maybe a good contender for my worst experience all-around!
That's must have been so scary! Gut feelings are guardian angels. Glad everyone made it out okay!
I find that the best way to cross a stream in a group is facing each other or in a ring if there are 3 people. Sinch up the straps on your shoulders tight to your body and everyone hangs onto the people next to them by those straps. Largest person/people should always be upstream to create an eddy that the smaller folks can wade safely in. Move as a team with as many points of contact with the stream bed as possible at any given time and with good communication. Steer clear of crossing upstream of strainers/sweepers... and always pack an easy access blade for if you fall in the water. Love the video, keep up the amazing work!
i've been on a binge watch of all of your videos, they are so amazing, i love hearing from someone who is down to earth who has actually put foot to trail and not be preachy. LOVE IT!
HYPOTHERMIA... I would say this is the biggest "killer" on the trials: it is extremely common even in warm environments. For example: in 1995 Four Army Rangers died during training exercises in a Florida Swamp: the water temps were in the mid 50's and the air temp was in the 60's. However, it is all about thermodynamics: if you move heat out of your body faster than you can replace it and your temperature drops below 95 Degrees F (35 Degrees Celsius), you are going into hypothermia. Your body's chemical and electrical system only works in a narrow band of temperatures: Upper limit is 99.5 F (37.5 C) and lower limit is 95 F (35 C)... this is not a big window and is why it is so common even in hot or warm climates.
Thank you for the video!
Good to learn about the 3 ways heat is moved from the body to the environment: Conduction + Convention + Radiation:
- Conduction and Convention require objects to be touching; Radiation requires no contact.
- Conduction occurs when two object at different temperatures are in contact with each other. Heat flows from the warmer to the cooler object until they are both at the same temperature.
- Convection is usually the most efficient way to transfer heat. Convection occurs when warmer areas of a liquid or gas rise to cooler areas in the liquid or gas. As this happens, cooler liquid or gas takes the place of the warmer areas which have risen higher. This cycle results in a continuous circulation pattern and heat is transferred to cooler areas.
- Radiation is a method of heat transfer that does not rely upon any contact between the heat source and the heated object. When the absorption of energy balances the emission of energy, the temperature of an object stays constant. If the absorption of energy is greater than the emission of energy, the temperature of an object rises. If the absorption of energy is less than the emission of energy, the temperature of an object falls.
Learn from the tragedies of others : www.nytimes.com/1995/02/17/us/4-army-ranger-candidates-die-in-chilly-florida-swamp.html
The coldest I've ever been was in Florida during Ranger School. April-May 1979.
Mosquitoes could be number one depending on the area. They carry a lot of bad stuff.
Great advice! I am sorry if this might be a double post but the first seems to have gotten lost. I love the advice you give in these videos. Even after 23 years in the Navy and serving as a Hospital Corpsman in the field with my Marines quite a bit I always learn something from your videos. I cannot tell you the number of times my pack seemed like it weighed more than me! Great tips! You are well spoken and always show an enthusiasm for your topic. I am very happy to have found your videos and pass these on to every person I know that enjoys the outdoors as much as you and I do. Your talent for explaining everything is very valuable to beginners and experts alike. Please keep it up!
Thank you so much for this. Videos about what you should do while out in the wilderness is great, but the ones telling us what not to do are arguably more important.
Wow, your last story(stream crossing) almost made me cry. It was very emotional. Of course I knew you made it OK, but it was gut wrenching. I trout fish (even small streams) and it is easy to underestimate the power of water. Good job.
Possibly the closest I ever came to drowning was while fishing the Yellowstone river in the park. I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. I was fishing with my Dad, but he was not in the immediate area. I was fly fishing, and wading in hip boots. I tried to cross in a spot with very strong current and about thigh deep water, with a solid rock bottom, with a deep hole just downstream. The rock bottom was slick, and the current started pushing me towards the deep water, sliding on the slick bottom. What saved me was that I got deep enough to fill my boots with water, and the extra weight gave me enough traction to stop the slide. Of course, had I not been able to stop the slide, and gone into the deep water, those full boots would probably have dragged me to the bottom.
I like your solution of pitching camp early and taking a break (when facing a too-tough challenge). +1
Regarding hoods, rain, and sweating, I have learned a few lessons:
1) I prefer a hat for light-to-moderate rain. More visibility, less noise, more breathable.
The bill keeps rain out of my eyes.
I rarely use my hood. (Of course, I am glad to have it when needed.)
2) Rain jackets are the worst possible garment in warm weather.
Except for freezing weather, I am ALWAYS wet when I hike; usually from sweat.
Breathability is far more important than water-proofing, in my experience.
I much prefer a classic 60-40 parka over any of the modern "waterproof and breathable" jackets, which are mostly marketing baloney.
It stays comfortable in most conditions (not always bone dry, but not soaking wet and not cold).
When it rains hard a light (and airy) poncho does the job. Or just pitch a tent and let the storm pass.
Severe weather is a different story. If you're on a boat or high mountain, then you want real storm gear handy.
Shame that nobody seems to sell 60-40 parkas anymore. ☹
3) Oh, and I love your tip on carrying an umbrella.
I never thought of that for the trail; just seems too urban somehow.
But you're right; it's the perfect thing in warm weather.
I remember that white fork video you posted. Even though I knew it was filmed days prior, I was still uncomfortable for you and could tell that it was a bit of wake up call for you. Thank you for sharing your experience- especially about hypothermia. I went up into the Colorado mountains one time for a impromptu camping trip, not even thinking that it could get so cold at night in mid-July! That was a huge lesson for me!!
Thank you for getting vulnerable and sharing your mistakes! Makes it easier to do it right...
*Take a pashmina. I made 2 by cutting a 90 inch by 65 inch cotton/polyester Sheet in half folding it over the 65 inch side and KEEPING THE 90 INCHES IN LENGTH!* Take a yard square cloth either 100% cotton or a 100% MicroFiber Polyester or a 45% Poly/55% Cotton blend, make it into a *triangle*, cut it into two uneven-ish triangles HEM UP the seams (So it does NOT unravel); then you have two XL Triangle Bandage Cloths to wrap wet hair in. I find myself loving the poly cotton blend, as the polyester side of the blend keeps me warmer! Or take a traditional Pashmina, 90 inches by 28 or 33 inches made from 70% washable SILK and 30% Merino WOOL. There are at least 20 different ways to wear it.
Thanks for helping us to learn from your mistakes. In mountaineering they talk about "summit fever" causing people to make bad decisions; in motor sports its called "the red mist." When engaged in any goal oriented behavior in the outdoors it is easy to get confused about the importance of achieving the goal "right now," or today, or this attempt.
A well known Everest climber said reaching the summit of Everest is optional but getting back to camp alive is mandatory. (A misquote, but close enough).
Thank you. I'm hiking the JMT solo this year and crossings will be raging. Great reminder to wait for help when needed.
I'm not a distance backpacker, but I do go on week-long fishing treks into seldom visited areas. I always pick up a tip or two from your vids. I think most important is the risk of hypothermia. My dad (a WWII and Korea vet) told me from day one, "Rule #1: in cold weather...if you sweat, you die. Rule #2: see rule 1". Hypothermia and falls disable more hikers than all else combined. Thanks for the uploads. Be safe.
I appreciate you so much! From your funny, sometimes random, musings on the trail to the thoughtful, non-judgmental way you share your knowledge and experience. And, I am NOT the only hiker to end a day (that more resembles a death march rather than recreational activity) sobbing on the side of the trail. That is so very comforting. :)
Your courage is apparent in many areas other than back packing!
Thanks for your honesty about the potential for mistakes that ABSOLUTELY EVERY HIKER experiences at one time or another. Keep hiking your hike!😊
Respect for making the video, turning back is the most difficult thing, we all learn from these little moments where literally one more step can be fatal, I had an experience also last year traversing around ice where we went maybe 10 feet further than was safe, never again will I be so indecisive
Thanks for being so open to share "Lessons Learned" from your own personal experience. Being honest about "screw-ups" is not easy to do.
I just watched your pct hike you're talking about here, that water crossing.... you turned around! That's awesome because quite a few of the people who have died was because they were more concerned with what the people watching them or that would know, thought
💔💔💔 AND YOU DIDN'T DELETE IT FROM YOUR VIDEO!!! Through reading people's blogs, that's how I found your channel, and they mentioned seeing this and we all felt that fear and you have saved many, many lives by sharing this with us!!
When a river crossing is too high in the spring, late afternoon is the worst time of day to attempt a crossing. The water is at its highest after several hours of daylight causing snowmelt at higher elevations. Instead, make camp and wait until morning, there's a good chance the water level will be a lot lower by then.
When you bonk, one of the best things to eat is tofu miso soup. I don't know why or how it works, but a more experienced hiker than myself noticed signs of hypothermia on me and gave me some of his tofu miso soup and it really improved my situation. Not a substitute for proper layering for the weather, but it's good to have a packet of dehydrated tofu miso soup handy for those times when you bonk out, are alone, and need something quick, hot and effective against hypothermia and bonky-body-ism. Love these vids. Bless your heart, Dixie.
In ancient times - before Electricity - we liked to drink hot Jello. It is nice after your 1st cup of Coffee.
I carry a couple of big brown heavy duty trash bags. They roll up small and they're light. I put my pack in one to float across water. And they're good emergency rain coat bivy.
" Admit your mistakes before someone else exaggerates them".
Mark Twain
Love me some Twain philosophy
If he was president, we'd have a remarkably different country right now.
@Gill Tassin the Oracle aka Google says it’s a quote from Andrew V Mason.
Tom: "I wish I had said that." Sue: "Don't worry, you will."
Thank you for your honesty. That's an extra helpful thing about your videos.
Thank you for your honesty. I've been watching your vlogs and have appreciated your ideas and suggestions
My first serous bear encounter, it was at dawn I woke up to noise's outside. It had already ripped through our food stores and was attacking one of the horses it ended up getting shot and killed, unfortunately the horse was fatally wounded. We were a 15 hr horseback ride from ( one way) the small airstrip and then another 2 hr plane ride to the closest town
Being somebody that can't swim.. water crossings are not an adventure that I look forward to.
Ran in to a sketchy one with a buddy in Vermont. I led the way so he could save my butt if I didn't make it.
Braided and knotted my bear bag twinestring and launched the rockball into a tangle around a tree limb across a narrow flooded stream. Wrapped my hands in socks and pulled myself across.
Water was barely barely above knee deep.. but that current was insane in the channel! Glad I had an anchor.
Never got those knots out.
Trail ran parallel to the stream for a ways. There was a fallen tree bridge to a sandbar a mile down stream where the terrain leveled out. We could have crossed on boulders without even getting our toes wet. Snowmelt. Grrr.
With the arm-lock method, if one person slips.. the whole group usually goes swimming.
Emphasis on the hypothermia part, not everyone gets a second chance
Maineiac:Yes, Over 25 years ago, in August, a father, age 40 or so, and son along with a German exchange student attempted to climb a 4 mile trail to one of the huts(Madison) in the White Mts.. Much of the trail is totally exposed to the weather. The group was exposed to rain, wind, fog, darkness and low temps, in August. They were local and very knowledgeable of the area. The trail they took to the hut was the most dangerous given the forecast. There are adjacent trails with almost no exposure. The father died(hypothermia) at the crest. The son would have died had the exchange student not made it to the hut to get help. The father's body could not be recovered until morning due to extreme risk to highly trained search and rescue team.
Totally agree. Many years ago I hiked to the top of Mt Katahdin in late summer with my father-in-law, who grew up in Maine and was in pretty good shape. We made three critical errors that day:
(1) it took Storer a long time to get going in the morning - we didn't get on the trail until well past 10 AM
(2) we never checked the weather forecast
(3) we failed to notice that by the time were only half way up the mountain, people were streaming back down
By the time we summited, it was early afternoon and totally socked in. We got a couple quick photos and decided to head back down via Razor Back, which was our fourth mistake. The rain came. Then the wind. Then the hail. By the time we were on Razor Back, the wind was howling, the hail was pelting us, and the rain was blowing sideways. The rocks were slick. I had on decent hiking boots, but my father-in-law was in "hush puppies" (his avowed favorite hiking shoe..) and his nephew was in old running shoes. I had on a warm jack and rain shell, but was in light shorts and from the waist down I was soaked and cold.
When I finally made it nearly off the rocks I was shivering uncontrollably and my coordination had significantly deteriorated. At some point, I suddenly realized that I was having trouble thinking clearly. That was the gut punch and I realized I was developing hypothermia and was getting into serious trouble. I slowed down _just_ enough to make sure that I wasn't going to slide off the rocks and down the mountainside. I eventually made it to the woods and forced myself to hobble down the trail and back to camp.
I was _really_ lucky that day.
As so many other seasoned hikers have attested to: you need to keep your wits about you and understand the warning signs - hypothermia, hyperthermia (heat exhaustion and heat stroke), dehydration, etc. Know the signs. Know how to treat.
Blessings!
J
River crossings are another situation where trekking poles are a big help, including "log jam" type situations. Or even just crossing on a single log. I've never heard anyone mention them for this when discussing the pros and cons, but I've been very glad I started using them in such situations.
Excellent video, Thanks. Never underestimate hypothermia, I have been in situations similar to what you describe and one of the most important factors for me was having enough food in my pack to fuel me up and help me get warm again. It's amazing how fast good judgement fades once hypothermia really sets in, don't let it get that far folks; stay moving, stay as dry as possible, keep eating and find shelter and fire as quickly as possible.
I reckon we have all had some close calls whilst trekking...always good to hear you are not the only one. Good advice here thanks.
Some Situation like the thing to find a good Camp Ground I also had once north of my hometown where there is a lot of vulcanic Basalt laying around everywhere even in the forest between the trees. I only found a little "innatural" grass ground behind a closed Hikershouse. Nowhere else any flat ground. The second thing with cooling out in rainweather, while sweating under the rain cloths. Like you said, drinking something warm is very good, but as long you have a water bottle that is NOT leaking. Fill some hot water in it and lay it down your feet to help warming up the sleeping bag and your body. And even when you have long hair, in such an extreme wet-cold situation it is always good to have a thin merinowool cap and even an merino balaclava with you. Also when I was two times in north scandinavia when there were days where the rain just did not want to stop I simply have worn a thin material mixed merino-polyester longsleeve directly under my rainpants without any other trousers between. The longsleeve simply gives a good comfortable feeling not to be in direct contact to the rainpant and it helps transporting the sweat away. And the wool balaclava has the advantage to keep you warmer even with wet hair under it and helps to hold your body heat because with a cooled out head your body has to push a lot of heat and energy in it that you loose without it while heating up the inside of the sleeping bag. River crossing - I think it is not a wrong thing having something inflatable inside the bag. Some bagpackmaterials are so waterresistent that you can inflate your bagpack itself. But anyways when your bagpack is swimming on the water I would not like to do that with thightened hipbelts, because it can bring you in a dangerous situation that the bag is lifting your hips so high that your head could be pushed under water. I did not try it but I think just put on the bagpack with not closed hipbelt and only with easy thightened shoulder straps, maybe hold together with the connecting strap between the shoulder straps so that your rucksack is not sliding down from your shoulders. But this has to be tried out in quiet water first, in a lake!! So I haven`t say that it is working well!! The shoe comfort - I always remove any original insole because they are often only flat and without any support to your foot arch. For example I like to use these ones even in everyday live shoes and they are very comfortable. www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00CUJRU20/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And by the way. It is often said that Goretex is not recommended, specially for long distance hikes. Thats true. All in all The membrane only helps that you are not walking in totally soacked shoes and socks, but the disadvantage that it is drying out too slow when once wet inside. A good thing is when you use Trailrunners only with not waterresistant mesh for rainy cold wet days I like to use membrane socks from seal skinzs: www.amazon.de/SealSkinz-Herren-Socken-Weight-KE72100300/dp/B005DKUIFO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1520192068&sr=8-7&keywords=sealskinz+str%C3%BCmpfe
Again its like the longsleeve under the rain pant. It keeps your feet dry, with the membrane and the merino wool inside any sweating gets transported out and when you have another thin hiking socks as your first layer under that waterproof socks it helps a lot to take a lot of rubbing away from your toes and foot soles. And also the membrane material is sliding better inside the shoe than normal socks. But I must say I would only do so in bad and wet weather. I will buy my next trail runners with this idea and taking this sock combination with me to buy the right size for having shoes not so thight on my feet like the last time.
Ah and I forgot the bears - Maybe taking a loud and screamy whistle (with a little ball inside) with you to scare the bear even when only in sight.
So all in all. Every day is learning and trying!!
As a fly fisherman I have done some pretty sketchy river crossings. If you have a buddy, and no rope -- who carries a rope when going ultralight anyway -- cross together. Put the stronger/taller of the two upstream and the other hiker directly downstream from the first. I.e. Shoulder to shoulder. This way the stronger/taller hiker will break the current and the downstream hiker will have a much easier time walking. This is also great because if either of you loose your balance, which happens all the time due to slime or unexpected rocks or holes, the other can catch you. I have personally done this and it works great.
We all make 'em... Mistakes are part and parcel of gaining experience.
First, I'm late to the party for your videos Dixie, so kudos to you (and team) for this terrific library of videos and more kudos for your impressive talent in communicating your experiences. It's always refreshing when one sees a kindred spirit of the backcountry.
I especially enjoyed the segment of this video concerning your White Fork crossing. Your decision-making process sounded familiar because of similar conversations I've had with myself and your lessons-learned were spot on. You're a backpacker, I'm a sea kayaker, but the principles of "Risk Assesment" apply equally. Even if you have high confidence in Plan A (crossing the stream or launching from a beach into big surf), one still needs a Plan B. As you wisely point out, I urge everyone to consider that if your Plan A fails and Plan B is injury or worse...then one needs a new Plan A!
Subscribed and looking forward to your CDT adventures.
No harm, no foul. When is an event classified as a mistake?
Really good advice. We can learn so much from others real world experience. I've been there with having one half of my brain saying 'Don't do this' and the other half of my brain saying, 'Go ahead. What can go wrong?' It is an interesting phenomenon. That river crossing was scary to watch. Can't imagine how scary it was in real time. But, that is part of the learning experience of the trail. Some lessons are kinder than others. Hopefully, your brave sharing of your own experiences will help others in the future listen to that smart inner voice. Thank you from not shying away from sharing.
Karen W Exactly. Thank you, Karen!
Homemade Wanderlust please can you advise how to deal with leeches?
@@TowkayCC Pull them off!
That white fork video was intense! I honestly can’t believe they would try this even with a group. The waters seemed even worse than when you crossed.
I really enjoy your videos...your enthusiasm for backpacking is infectious and your honesty in talking about mistakes you have made and offering tips on how others can avoid doing the same thing is very helpful. I live in VT and am going to be thru hiking the Long Trail this summer. Keep these great videos coming!!
One of the reasons this my go to site regarding competent hiking, is that Dixie always shows the pit falls, and stupid mistakes, which helps us immensely! So down to earth, literally, and tells it like it is!
So happy you uploaded this morning! I always look forward to your videos. I’m constantly learning new things. thank you! So grateful for your channel!
Thanks for sharing these "dumb mistakes". I know it can be hard to put it out there but really it could save someones life! I have not yet been able to do any kind of backpacking trip (just camping) but I hope to do some before my time is up on this earth. I really enjoy your videos and learn so much from them :)
I just bought your eBook a couple of days ago, and all I can say is "Wow!" The videos are great as well - they fill in so much that is left out of any book I've ever seen. I'm recently retired, nursing a broken foot right now, but next year is the AT for me, and who knows what next. You are truly inspirational, keep on trekkin'!!!
After many years of hiking, I've found that you need to have a "fatigue meter". If you're above a 7 on a scale of 10, your decision making capability is impaired. I'm intentionally conservative, more so than usual, in these situations. I also have a rule that if I find I've made two stupid mistakes in a row, it's time to stop for the day or take a long break, eat something, drink water, etc. Most outdoor disasters happen not from one single bad decision but from a cascade of them. Once you make one or two in a row, the propensity for making more bad decisions escalates exponentially. At least for my brain! :-) Thanks for sharing the great content.
I worry about the folks doing the PCT this year, as the snow pack is huge, making river crossings even more dangerous. Both the bear and river crossing sound like truly dangerous situations that would cause many to stop hiking altogether. Im glad you survived these experiences and learned so much from them.
I was thinking about you today while up on the AT doing a survey of the damage caused by a recent wind storm in Eastern Pennsylvania. I hope that there were not any though hikers in this area. We have had strong wind gusts to 60 mph, low temperatures with freezing rain and snow. The perfect combination for hypothermia. I think that many of us underestimate the danger of wind, rain in temperatures just in the lower 40's. Building a fire is a real challenge, everything is wet and cold and the wind can be unrelenting. Thanks for bringing up the dangers of hypothermia....it is a silent killer that strikes before you know that you are in serious danger.
John McCarty
And I think wind load testing is not always possible per most field testing and reviews by manufacturing. Or via youtube , blogs etc.
*Fantastic Lessons , in this Video !*
💪 😎 👍 You survived your Trail lessons, with minimal damage...well done.
💥 *Video Time Stamp* 💥
0:21 Lesson #1 *Hiking in Rough Terrain*
1:55 Lesson #2 *Hypothermia*
4:40 Lesson #3 *Don't Wear worn out Gear*
5:30 Lesson #4 *Wildlife*
7:50 Lesson #5 *River Crossing Safety*
9:07 Lesson #6 *Protect your gear*
11:31 Lesson #7 *Biggest Trail Mistake*
14:25 Get out there and Challenge yourself...but not to the point of dying for.
One time on a day hike up Mount Tongariro, our group nearly lost someone to hypothermia - she was wearing only light clothing and it took us a while to notice that she'd stopped interacting with everyone... by which time she was so hypothermic she was practically running on autopilot. We all had plenty of spare warm clothing (if she'd asked us sooner, when she first felt cold, we could've avoided the problem) which we put on her and we had to carry on to get to safety. After a while, she stopped walking of her own volition and would only walk if someone took her hand and led her. Then she got to the point we had to move her feet to get her over difficult bits. By the time we got to the nearest hut, she was practically catatonic. Fortunately, there was a group of Scouts at the hut and they had the fire going. They also had food, sleeping bags and warm drinks. We left someone there with her and the rest of us carried on to get back to town and get medical assistance. Fortunately, we'd got her to shelter in time and she made a full recovery.
Insidious stuff, is hypothermia.
Only night hike I've done was on an established (and familiar to me) trail when we had to bug out from our campsite due to sudden rain and the risk of a flash flood. We'd got to the camping site and set up long before nightfall, but the return home was in the dark lit only by my hand-held dynamo light. Slippery wet trail, rain, darkness - not something I want to repeat again.
Only raging river crossing I've had to make was with a group of friends - once again it was a sudden downpour, this time on the morning we were planning to head back. The river we crossed on the way in was now a raging torrent and we had to form a human chain across it.
The outdoors is fun - but it's got enough risks to keep anyone on their toes.
Some of the creek/river crossings deserve the utmost respect, use your smarts, colleagues and trekking poles as needed
Not a hiker... but as a surf lifeguard and a kayaker if I were to swim across with a pack:
I'd take the pack off so I can let go if i need to, hold it to my chest or loop one arm through a strap, and then swim across sideways or facing slightly downwards. This technique works regardless of whether your pack is bouyant or not, but obviously your success with any method depends on your swimming ability, pack weight, and river speed+depth.
If your pack happens to be boyant you can also lean on it or use it to prop you up from this position.
If your pack is bouyant, it's probably MORE dangerous to wear it since it may push your head under(like putting a adult life jacket on a child) which is what you also experienced.
I wouldn't ever "ride" it like you described some people doing since you may fall/roll and hit your head on rocks. Packs aren't made to be stable in water like surfboards or kayaks, especially in rough or fast water it'd be like trying to ride a barrel.
Floundering due to the pack rolling may also mean you;
A) loose the pack
B) get swept further downriver during recovery than you originally intended to go
If you are really struggling, it's better to drop the pack, finish the swim, and pick up the pack downriver where it washes up, or to just accept your loss and try get to a town without it... a couple days trek to town with no food or water, is better than being dead.
If you are starting to feel weak while swimming, are taking on water, or think you are approaching a dangerous area(eg rapids/rocks), it's definitely time to ditch the pack and get to shore ASAP.
"Hi, da'hhlin'!" has got to be the "best worst" thing ever to say to an aggressive black bear. :)
I said hey BOO BOO in Pennsylvania to a black bear staring at my campsite one morning..
Great job, Dixie! This was a very informative vid; even for us ol' timers. Blessings!
Very well said and great advice! Regardless of our experience, reminding ourselves of these key “don’t do” things is worthwhile. You have such a fantastic delivery in presenting them too! Thanks
Not necessarily backpacking, but when I was probably 15 or 16 I was camping in northern Ontario with a friend's family. My friend and I took a canoe out and decided to climb a waterfall... I slipped, and I started to get pushed by the flow of water. Luckily there was a little rocky shelf that I happened to be lined up with at the time or I would have been dead. I earned a lot of respect for flowing water that day...
After hearing your stories I am really glad you made it safely! WOW!!
Thanks so much, Dixie, for being humble enough to share these with us. You could actually save someone’s life.
Thankyou thankyou thankyou!!! Love & Light from Australia. Stay safe & keep on hiking.
I believe you said in another video that you carry 100 ft of paracord. If it is the military type 550 cord then you can use it when you do those water crossings, It has a 550 lbs of tensile strength. double it up and wrap it around a tree and use it as a safety line. If you fall it will prevent you from going down stream. If you have others with you and one person goes across then you have a safety line Take some of the cord and connect it to yourself and loop it over the safety line and hold on to it as you cross. I alway carry a o'ring snap link that is used for repelling on my gear. It doesn't weigh much and can be used for a lot of things get one and use it to hook up to the safety line. Once on the other side, you can retrieve the safety line if it was looped by just untying the end on your end and pulling it back to your side. another thing to do is get a wooden pole that you use to brace in the water on the downstream side and use it to help you get across.
the bear story never gets old haha. love your videos dixie! Hope you’re having a nice Sunday so far xoxo
This was an amazing video! You spoke about #5 with so much honesty it was impressive..the whole vid was exceptional! Thank you for bearing your soul and hopefully someone else will think twice about similar circumstances 😘
Keep doing what you are doing!
Very helpful!
Hahaha how you reacted is probably the same thing how I would handle the encounter. A true Hagrid Moment
"a different kind of cold I've ever felt before." Welcome to Oregon. Just above freezing and 100% humidity!
That sounds very much like what my wife and i ran into at a campground on the side (around 5000-6000 ft. altitude) of Mt. Hood two summers ago. Middle of summer and we had ALL our cold weather gear on at that campsite!
Ashley Nishihara I had the same experience there. It was late November and chilled me to the bone.
Western Washington represent too! #PNW
Same here in mid Michigan. And we love it 👌😉
@@lewisvanatta639 In Wyoming we have only three seasons: July, August, and Winter. Sounds like where you were in Oregon is similar...
High elevation stream crossings are best in the morning before the heat of the day increases stream flows. *If you know you will have to cross a stream, take a rope!!!* People worry too much about weight while ignoring safety. Even at the stream crossing at 15:05 a rope can be tied mid way on a 2 inch diamter stick. Throw the stick like a javelin into the willow on the far bank. It will almost always catch on the willow for a strong anchor. tie in loops that can be hooked around elbows before crossing. Don't tie the rope around your whole body because there is a chance the rope could get caught on the upstream side of a boulder to pull you under. Then cross with both hiking poles downstream of your body. Anglers call these wading staffs. Lastly, of course this is not something to attempt alone. WIth a group , everyone but the first person can then cross on a taut line. WIth a good anchor you can simply hang from the line above the water.
Thank you for your humility and commitment to honestly sharing your experiences to help others!
Fantastic video. Jarn's had some interesting bear encounters and a few sketchy water crossings (but the crossings were with other people). Good reminders/lessons - thanks for sharing!
I love your videos - and they have really helped me! I am doing multiple trail hikes in the GSM next month. Thanks for all you do to educate us!
Thank you for this video dumbest mistakes. I shared it with my 10 year old grandson that I carry backpacking. He has autism and I want him to love nature and learn safety at the same time.
The last time we went out, I made a big mistake. I heard something in the bushes. When I couldn't see the source of the noise I knew it was a cat. I was thinking bobcat.
I had let David get too far ahead because; when I had questioned the ranger over the phone about place she said there wasn't anything big to worry about.
When I called him, he crouched down. Wrong answer so I caught up quick. Later that night he heard something again so it was night light time. A head light was hung from the ridge line over his hammock and all was well.
The next morning I found alot of fla panther scat (bobcat burys his) on the trail! He seemed to have had a GOOD dinner of deer. (My Labrador would to be proud to have scat that size.) Later I let the rangers know about the cat so they could check him out.
Lesson? With kids you can't be too careful no matter what the ranger says is there or not! Having grown up more in the woods than not, I knew better.
My native american father taught me I should never fear animals but always have a great respect for them. That way you don't freeze up or run and It keeps the animals safe too. It has always served me well. Maybe it will help others also.
In the end we had a great time. All ended well and we're going backpacking again next month.
We luv your videos.
Be safe and enjoy this beautiful earth we have!
Thanks again.
De
Awesome video as always Jessica!!! I’m so glad you stopped in that stream and turned back! 💜💜💜
Love how she says night hike!
Pwrcritter, that’s why they call he “Dixie!”
I recon.
Naaat Haaak, lol. Luv it too!
naht hahking is the best
In the Waaaht Mountains, no less
Great video Dixie, thank you so much for sharing. You offered some great suggestions regarding traveling in the outdoors. Please be safe out there Dear. I look forward to your future videos. Have fun out there. 🤗
I fitted my backpack with a 50 gal contractor bag. It went inside the
pack with everything else. Heavy stuff on the bottom. My sleeping bag went into
its own small garbage bag and then into the pack (Murphy's law and all). We easily floated across
the small but fast moving stream. The top of the pack was well out of the water and I always felt in control. Everything dry as a bone. I hiked this same area before wearing heavy duty canvas and rubber lug soled boots, thinking they'd dry out faster. They did but the rubber wasn't enough to
adsorb the impact of the rocks. My feet were killin' me. Went back to a heavier boot and brought more socks. lol
I know this is a bit of an older video but this is such good advice. It's never worth the risk, especially when you are alone. Be safe everyone!
Thank you for being vulnerable and honest or all of our benefit.
mt moosilauke was my first real hike at fourteen. Did it as a day hike. Enjoyed every moment.
Thanks a lot for being so honest and for the shares. I am stubborn too and that's not always a good thing when I'm hiking.. I should listen more frequently to such advices...
And by the way, sunsets suits you so well.
Take care
Good video. Have you read Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales? He'll tell you why a 9 year old girl lost in the woods is more likely to survive than an experienced highly trained military commando. And David Mamet's The Edge is thought provoking (and has a really big bear)
Charles Morse: You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame.
Stephen: What?
Charles Morse: Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives.
Your crossing story is why women die so less frequently when solo hiking. Great job turning around.
On the pack issue, baby salmon and trout have flotation sacs on their bellies that support the idea of pacs worn on the front are easier.
But maybe the best thing to do is take your pack and gear on one of tla hot summer days to a nearby pond or lake and play around with the most comfortable way to move with your pack in "almost too deep water". Yes, all your gear gets wet but it'll dry. But having a plan before it is an issue is so much easier.
I worked as a fisheries field worker and we would practice whitewater techniques like flooding your waders, pretending to lose your footing and be swept away (eddy-ing out), and foot entrapment simulations in safe, lower water conditions with some rope throw bags and folks around. When it actually happened, reacting was so much more instinctual. Plus, it's just really fun to eddy out.
Excellent content - should be required viewing for all hikers.
Dixie - I've found that the thought rattling through my noggin' of "What would my Mother say about this moment of risk?" and when I hear, "Bless your Sweet, Sweet Heart!" I stop and reassess and think of a better way. I'm sure your Mom had a fright on that first attempt of the crossing and the time you stopped in the Cascades and backtracked to town - for all of the right reasons. Because of the possibility of Hypothermia, I keep those additional dry base layers. Jack London's "To Build a Fire" made a huge impact that stuck - about staying dry in cold, wet conditions.
I'm looking forward to the CDT videos.
The trash compactor bag tip is good-to-go. I discovered this myself over 25 years ago, but I haven't run across many people who know about it.
Recently, I had a hard time finding a store that had them (a left coast region trying to outlaw plasic). Finally, when shopping for tools, I found the compactor bags at the local hardware store.
Got hypothermia on Inca Trail during Peru's spring (our autumn) because of continual rain one day. Those trekkers in ponchos were fine. My nearly brand new Gortex rainsuit under that pounding still eventually got soaked. When I got into camp I delayed getting out of wet things while having tea in a shelter (only 20 mins), and that was all it took to tip the iceberg. By the time I rolled into my tent I was urinating clear urine in large frequent amounts, a condition called cold diuresis, in which the body diverts blood flow away from your skin t your kidneys when it senses a drop in core temperature. This is supposed to be protective but quickly works to be counterproductive. Being an ER physician I finally recognized this (SO DUMB !!!) despite having been shivering during tea. Clothes off and into sleeping bags and friend kept bringing non caffeinated warm water to drink. Lucky.
As always..great tips. Keep them coming.
The best way is to look for a tree that's about 24" across. Cut it down and remove the branches from the bottom 12 feet or so. Then remove all the bark too. Then, carve a dish down the middle, leaving about a foot at each end. Build a fire with the branches (saving one straight one for a paddle stick.) Ok - so then take the coals and put them all along the dished channel and let them burn down. When the coals cool, dig out the charred wood and replace with more hot coals. Keep repeating this process until the channel is about 1.3-1.5' deep. Oila! Now you have a canoe! But you'll need a push stick. So take the long, straight branch you saved and begin whittling it smooth. Now put all your gear in the canoe, hop in and shove off! It's nice to leave a rope attached to departure bank so other's can retrieve it and use it later. Hope this helps! Enjoy!