Here's a little tip: Along with bear spray, I carry a small craft safety/signal horn. They are super small, weigh almost nothing, and boy are they loud. Three times I've encountered mountain lions and bears where they started to approach me on trail. I've never got to use the bear spray because the boat horn had them running as fast as their paws could carry them. I keep it attached to my shoulder strap within easy reach. Of course, the bear spray rides on the other strap just in case the bear is deaf.
My dumbest backpacking moment was back in March, I was doing an 80-mile desert trail (Black Canyon Trail) near where I live in order to train for the AZT, which I'm planning on attempting next year in the spring. It went perfectly for the first two days, I was staying on top of my nutrition and hydration, my feet were in stellar shape and my spirits were high as the miles fell away behind me. On the morning of the 3rd day, about 40 or so miles into the trail, it entered a canyon which the Agua Fria river flows through. The river's usually pretty low or even dry most years as being very close to Phoenix, there was not much rainfall in that area, but northern Arizona got a TON of snowfall this last winter which meant the river was high and running quite fast. I had camped near it the night before, above the canyon, and descended down to the water early in the morning, getting ready to cross it and then do the last few miles before town and my resupply. I was planning on taking it easy and dropping my mileage that day, maybe spending some time in town, but I never even made it that far. I had no experience with fording rivers at all, at most I had crossed shin-deep creeks before, but from the shore, the Agua Fria looked no different. Only half of the actual riverbed had water in it and the water didn't look that deep or fast. It seemed like a trivial crossing, after which I'd enjoy a pleasant morning hike into town. This is where I made several serious blunders that very nearly got me killed. First off, I picked the literal worst crossing, simply because it was where the trail picked back up on the other side, and because it was the most narrow spot, and so seemed the easiest and quickest. Because it was the most narrow spot, it was also the deepest and fastest moving part. The river was nice and wide and gentle not far upstream but I waded right in the deep end. Serious blunder number two, by far the worst one, was that I wanted to keep my shoes, socks, and shorts dry, so I took all three of those things off. That's right, I went into the deepest, fastest part of the river barefoot and naked from the waist down. I didn't even put my shoes or shorts into my backpack, I was that confident it would be an easy crossing, so I just held them in my hands. The rocks on the bottom were really slippery and impossible to see, so I kept losing my footing, slipping, banging my foot on a rock, and almost losing my balance and toppling over into the water. The current also started sweeping my leg away every time I lifted it to take a step. I started to completely lose my balance almost immediately and moving was very slow with the rocks hurting my feet every step or making me trip or slip. To try and help, I went for a big tree branch hanging out over the water, hoping to use it as a guardrail in order to maintain my balance better. This was fateful error number three. The branch was hanging over the actual deepest and fastest part and I plunged in up to my chest almost. I wasn't expecting it at all. I couldn't get my feet on the bottom anymore, the current was sweeping so hard that every time I tried, I just kicked rocks and then immediately my leg would go flying back out in front of me. My backpack submerged and started dragging me backwards, down under the current, and the only thing keeping me from being carried downstream was me holding onto that tree branch with both arms for dear life. Because of this, my hiking shoes, the only pair of shoes I had at all, went floating away downstream, lost forever. I almost lost my shorts too but thankfully I threw them over onto the bank. Trying to regain my footing was like trying to push the positive ends of two magnets together, it just was not happening, so I made the call to let go of the branch and let the current take me to a slower-moving stretch of water. I was close enough to the bank that I could have reached out and touched it if my hands were free, but it may as well have been in Thailand. So, I took a breath, went under, and cleared the branch I had been hanging on to (I was afraid my backpack would catch onto it and I'd drown, so I had to go underneath the water and sail under the branch), then scrambled for the shore. I was so physically exhausted that I just plopped onto my back, not even putting my shorts on yet, and cried. My legs were completely numb from the icy water but it felt like I had really messed them up on the rocks. My feet were bleeding from a dozen different places. I was soaking wet and freezing; even though it was the desert, it was early morning in early spring, so the temperature had to be as low as the 50s, and the canyon was deeply shaded at that hour as well. I knew I was going to have to make it out of there without any shoes and with feet that were already bleeding and possibly broken (one of my toes STILL hurts, I'm sure it suffered some kind of minor fracture but I haven't seen a doc yet). I got up and retrieved my shorts. As I did so, I noticed that a flap of skin fell off my right big toe and stuck behind on a rock. I left blood behind with each step. I had a spare pair of socks in my backpack, so I put them on, just as some minor protection from the ground. See, this was the Arizona desert, so the trail was made up of rough, coarse sand, sharp rocks, sharp plants, and cactus EVERYWHERE. Cactus spines sometimes fall off and lay on the ground, which isn't a problem if you have shoes on, but when you're barefoot, a lot of stuff tends to start sticking into your feet. I limped my way along, shivering, in shock and pain, praying someone would show up, but nobody ever did. Within mere seconds my peaceful morning had devolved into a survival situation. I could see the buildings and houses of Black Canyon City nearby, but the trail kept winding away from them before ever getting close, and in typical trail fashion, rather than following a straight line, it zigzagged and had a billion switchbacks instead. I broke down and called 911, but my phone battery was low to begin with and was now soaking wet so it died mid-call. I barely had told the dispatcher that I was on the Black Canyon Trail near the Agua Fria River and that I was injured, she couldn't get any further info out of me, so I lost all hope that anyone would come to help. I thought I was going to have to painfully limp my way over rocks and through cactus all the way to town. This walk ended up being really traumatic for me and I didn't go hiking again for almost a month after I made my recovery, and even now I get serious anxiety near rivers and creeks (I went hiking today in a river canyon and bailed early because I started feeling really anxious and afraid something bad would happen, and it's been like two and a half months). I ended up being saved by some Sheriff's Deputies who had a feeling I was gonna come out on a certain dirt road, and lo and behold, I did. They took me back to my car at the finish line of the trail and I made it home safe thanks to them. Sorry for the length, I had no idea this would come out as long as it did. TLDR, I done goofed big time and almost drowned and had to hike several miles barefoot over super rough terrain while injured. To anyone who read this far, here's how to safely ford a river: -leave your shoes on, they protect your feet and provide traction. Getting them wet ain't as bad as losing them like I did or slipping and getting all your other gear wet too. If you still gotta take em off, tie them to your backpack or put them inside it. -cross at the WIDEST point, not the shortest. Think about it, the same amount of water is flowing through the narrow spot as is the wide spot, it just has less room to do so, so of course it'll be deeper and faster. -don't face towards the bank like I did, turn your body so that it is squared up facing towards the current and shuffle sideways across to the other side, letting the current pass between your legs. -unbuckle your hip and chest buckles on your backpack, so you can escape from it if you need to. If mine had gotten caught on something like that tree branch, I might not be sitting here typing this right now.
Thanks for the tip! Immodium AD will be placed in my first aid kit immediately. Here's one of my dumbest backpacking mistakes: It was a late, cold, and windy day and the sun had just gone down. I was in high elevation, but not much of a place to pitch my tarp without being demolished by the high winds. (PCT, section D, north fork station). So, thinking it was a brilliant idea, I decided to cowboy camp by the restroom under the mostly enclosed entrance outside the restroom. I was pretty comfy away from the elements and getting ready to call it a night and I turned on my headlamp for the last time to gather all my belongings closer to my corner when I noticed black widow spiders... LOTS OF THEM. Make sure to inspect the area your are going to call home for the night, thoroughly. I didn't get bit or anything... but I had a bad case of the hee-bee gee-bee's and didn't sleep well that night.
Eesh...that is horrible!!!I was nearly done in (as in permanently) by a brown recluse bite six years ago. I quickly developed sepsis, had difficulty breathing, and had a 103 fever for three days. The sickest I've ever been - not to mention the chunk taken out of my leg. Spiders are my #2 fear (running out of water is #1 - happened once), but I take solace in the law of averages that I won't get bitten again.
@@1001RMJ A neighbor's daughter was bit by a recluse on the leg as well. Those guys are not nice at all! I'm glad you made it out alive my friend... be careful out there and happy trails!
I've said heebee jeebies, but just realized I've never seen the words in print. No idea how it's spelled. But that's the best word for remembering spiders! Gah!
Thank you from Sweden. Not everyone like to admit they did something wrong or even stupid. But sharing this kind of videos may save someones life one day. So this kind of videos will always get a big thumb from me.👍
My biggest mistake so far was definitely ill-fitting boots. I had worn them on many, many day hikes and even an overnight, but really no further than maybe 8 miles at a time. Well, I wore them on my first multi-day trip and quickly found out that they didn’t fit as well as I thought, especially since the trail was pretty rough with inclines and declines. This was a couple months ago and I had four toenails go black, with one falling off a few weeks ago and another coming off last night. Thankfully, I watched some of your videos after that trip to get a better handle on footwear options and ended up buying a pair of Altra midboots half a size up and I’m LOVING them so far. I’ve done a couple of 10+ mile days with and without weight and haven’t had any additional issues (plus no more blisters!).
Night hiking up north in Ontario, Canada. I decided to turn off my flashlight and just look up at the Northern lights and stars as the path was fairly wide. 30 seconds later I kicked .. i don't know! Something big and furry sleeping on the path. It let out a "Whoomph!" and took down half the forest as it ran away. I think I got very lucky that night.
Really good advice as usual, Dixie . . . and it's so important to realize that veiled hazards are just as real as obvious ones. That's the trouble with weather/exposure. We once hiked the Happy Isles trail to Half Dome in light October sleet and wind. But most of the trail isn't too exposed, so there was little added danger. That changed completely when we got closer to the cabled part of the dome -- it wasn't really that hard to turn back, for us, anyway. When we got back to the valley floor, other hikers informed us of a lightning fatality earlier that day on Half Dome . . .
I ALWAYS have a printed map w me. Not to find my way along the blazed trail, but in order to find exit points from where I am in case of an emergency and I have to hike somewhere I didn’t plan on going. (It’s like dressing for a motorcycle...you should dress for a fall...not the ride itself.) And some of the best advice I ever heard was remembering that when you’re out in the wild, the trail you’re on IS the shortcut...
Awesome video Dixie! So often, the social media world is all about "how perfect" someone is so I really appreciate you being REAL with your audience and providing some key Lessons Learned that very well could help someone in the future.
My Own Bad Decision: Winter hiking in the Appalachians. Pushed hard to get to where I need to camp, and arrived pretty late - only 15 minutes of light left. Snow was a foot deep and I didn't have time to clear a spot for the tent. In my head I thought, "I've heard snow is fairly insulating, I'll just pitch the tent and sleep on top." Bad idea. The snow quickly packed down into a sheet of ice, and even with my down coat tucked under my body, it was like trying to sleep on a cold radiator...my body heat couldn't compete with an entire slab of ice. After a few hours of penetrating ground cold, and 17 degrees of night air, I got up, quickly made a fire to get warm, and stayed awake the rest of the night till the sun came up to rescue me! :)
No better way to learn than experience that doesn't kill you. And if different but somehow similar experiences affect your sleep in the future? I am a full-on believer that if you're up, you're up...so just get up and stop fussing. It ain't so bad to not sleep. Trying to sleep and not being able to sleep is the worst.
Very excellent and practical advice! I will add pre treating clothes and gear with Permethrin against ticks and spiders especially if you're hiking on the AT.
Always hike with slower people. You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your trail buddies. This strategy may work with lightning, too. It will not work with food poisoning.
It is a mistake to fail to collect water when you have a good chance. You can’t count on that next source being all that easy to access. I have made this mistake as recently as last weekend.
Water management is a thing for me. My more common mistake is to overload if I am not familiar with the area where I am hiking. And that is just poundage.
@@rodrod5000 That's always good to do when you can. But that implies that such information is available (it isn't always) or that everyone knows about and has access to information sources like Guthook, etc. Obviously, when hikers share this kind of information, it helps everyone else.
@@johnalden5821 it's not a mistake to choose the safe side when sources are unknown, and find out later it wasn't necessary. It's the only right thing to do. Carry that water, it's your single most important thing for survival. well, together with stuff to stay dry.
Good points! A few things that I hadn't thought of. Comment about chlorine bleach. Household bleach does not disinfect as well as we think. Chlorine Dioxide is the bleach used in municipal water treatment. Chlorine Dioxide tablets are easy enough to find and easy to carry. And, they don't freeze. Water treatment is a lesson I learned the hard way. Stay safe on the trail. Thanks for another good video!
@@abc-wv4in household chlorine bleach will disinfect, but its effectiveness is unreliable and deteriorates over time. Sunlight and air neutralize its disinfecting ability. In decades past it was praised as a disinfectant. I don't know of any "real experts" that would recommend it now. At best household bleach is a last resort disinfectant in my home. I certainly would not trust my health to household bleach while in the wilderness. Chlorine Dioxide is a different molecular structure. It is more stable, reliable and effective. Municipal water treatment facilities do not use the chlorine formula in household bleach. They use Chlorine Dioxide. Chlorine Dioxide tablets are readily available in sporting good stores. These tablets are easy to pack and carry.
The bleach you get for household disinfecting is a lower concentration and isnt packaged for long term shelf life. It 100% can and will reliably disinfect your water when fresh but light and oxygen break it down quickly. Granulated chlorine can be vacuum sealed for a longer shelf life but be careful with strong chlorine its dangerous. Personally my back up is iodine because for the same weight it's more flexible on use.
I remember watching your completion of the AT and was impressed by your skill and courage finishing your hike Mid October in snow and ice on Mt Katahdin with out spikes. But it wasn’t until this past month watching day hikers on RUclips following the AT trail to the summit of Katahdin in warm weather with much more Video of the trail and getting a better understanding of the difficulty of the climb did I realize what you accomplished. YOUR GOOD!
Hey Dixie, on this topic I was wondering if you'd discuss some of the "mistakes" I witnessed as a newbie backpacker on trail. I was somewhat guilty of it myself. Expectation and goal setting. I set out for a 5 day journey on the Connecticut AT during cool and wet fall weather. As a result, my base weight was over 3 pounds heavier so I could be prepared. On top of that, I was carrying a full five days of food. My pack was almost 8 pounds heavier than it had been on previous trips. Still, I set out on difficult terrain with a ten mile per day goal. I got my ass kicked on my first two days, but was able to adjust my expectations for the next three and was able to reach my destination successfully, in part, because I had scheduled some wiggle room. During my journey, I encountered two groups of section hikers who were trying to accomplish 18 miles per day. They were stressed, sore and exhausted, but pushing on, needing to continue past dark over some precarious terrain. I also met a solo hiker, out for his first overnight trip, who thought he was going to make it 14 miles with a 45 pound pack. He had hiked 7 miles, and had done so much damage to his knees that he could not bend them. He woke up the next day, and had to call off his trip and have someone pick him up, after he had invested about $1500 on top of the line gear and taken a week off from work. The problem with us newbies is that we're watching all you thru hiker youtubers and thinking that doing 20 to 30 miles is a reasonable goal. As "weekenders" or newbies, we should be focused on having fun and enjoying the trail. Since you have so many first timers and the backpacking-curious watching you, I'm hoping that this is a subject you or others think is worth talking about. As always, love what you do and how much it helps this community. ✌🏕🚶♀️
This is a very good comment. It's better to allow shorter distances in the early stages of multi day or thru hikes, to become accustomed to the impact on the body. Plus schedule in enough zero days for adequate muscle recovery, in order to maintain strength for the long haul. ❤️
In one video, Dixie talked about only getting in around 8-9 miles her first few days on the AT. I was pleasantly surprised. My husband and I turned 50 last year and I was a bit sad to only make it around 8 miles the first couple of days on the AT, and over 9 miles the third day. The heat and the mountains were killer to these oldsters from Indiana! But still...we hiked 26 miles in just 3-1/2 days, so not too bad. Still...not what we hear Dixie doing later or Darwin on the Trail doing...
@@jacquelyneporter8637 remember that both Dixie and Darwin are younger than you guys. Every year we age from our mid 30s up, our bodies change a little, and we have to work hard to maintain our fitness. You guys are awesome, and doing great! The best advice is to hike your own hike, and enjoy being in the moment, every single day. The speed is not what counts, it's the experience. 😊 I am now 63, and I am planning on doing Te Araroa here in New Zealand as a thru hike, in the summer season of 22-23 when I retire - I will definitely be hiking my own hike! 👍🏾😂❤️ I am constantly training for fitness, and I am happy with where I am at for my age. 👌🏿🌳🚶♀️🏕️😁
Don’t take Imodium if you think you have food poisoning or some other kind of infection. Diarrhea is the body’s way of flushing those microorganisms from your body. Imodium makes you retain them which allows them to further proliferate. Hydration is your best self-treatment in those situations.
All are really great advice. All backpackers regardless of experience are prone to making mistakes, the important thing is that we all learn from them and help others learn. We recently went up into the crazy mountains when the wind and snow were pretty rough. We should have changed plans but we thought we were prepared and pushed on, one of our tents was blown out of the ground with all the persons gear in it. We packed up and headed down and had to set up camp in the dark. Should have turned around way earlier.
I've had the same thing happen to me with the Sawyer. Luckily I wasn't hiking, I was just camping with some friends, by a stream in the woods a 45 minute walk from my home. I did check the weather forecast, and it was only meant to drop to 5°C. That made me decide to not bother with putting the filter in my quilt. I woke to find a bunch of ice crystals in the filter. I checked the weather app again, and the temperature that they recorded was exactly what was forcasted. Goes to show that the temps next to a stream and in a depression/mini-valley can really be quite a bit lower than elsewhere!
Those weather reports come from a weather station somewhere. Airports are really common. They are not necessarily representative of your particular area. You can get a handheld weather station like a kestrel for that but I'd imagine most people don't carry them around. I'd carry one just to check barometric pressure. Pretty good indicator of when a storm is rolling in.
If you are hiking in bear country at night, which is not smart, at the very least you should have your bear spray in your hands and possibly with the trigger block off. Bears, especially grizzly can be on you with lightning speed, and frequently from behind.
Thanks for posting these videos. I was tempted to hike the Dobson Trail (65km linear) but I realized that I needed water filteration. Coming from a bicycle touring direction where water can be obtained nearly everywhere, I was about to hit that issue dead on! I had to wait over a month for a Pladapus gravity filter to arrive, I was temped to go with MSR pump filter but waiting 2 months was a turn off. I will be obtaining a tree-hammock to avoid the rooty ground. I already have a 1991 Eureka Cirrus2 tent, LLBEAN 72 liter internal frame pack, ample lighting, -10c synthetic mummy, ridgerest pad, Coleman peak1 naptha/gasoline stove, 2 meter and HF HAM radio gear. I prefer hiking boots (Keen) mainly because I hate having to clear pebbles from my shoes.
During my thru-hike of the AT in 2019, I was regularly reminding people to protect their filters in the evening, especially in the beginning, since it was still March. In the end though, my dumbass had to switch out filters not once ... but twice because I ended up forgetting to follow my own advice. Another dumb mistake happened on my thru-hike of the West Highland Way in Scotland: It was my first longer distance hike, I was using B&Bs, hostels and hiker huts along the way and so I kinda forgot to pack my headlamp. When I arrived in Scotland, I figured "Hey... you'll be hiking during the day only and you'll be spending nighttime in a structure... so no need to buy an extra headlamp". But since it was the second week of October in Scotland, sun set between 6 and 7 pm. And this one miserable rainy day, I decided to help out a couple I met during lunch which was way out of their depths. I lost a lot of time that day and I had to navigate a muddy, extremely slippery trail for the last hour .. in the dark. Hiking through the woods in pouring rain did not help either. So: Always pack your headlamps. You never know...
I’ve learned so much from your videos, especially about the water filter. I hadn’t thought of Immodium though! I’ve had some scares with bears and wolves, but the worst was on the CDT in the Pintlers with a forest fire. I could hardly breathe from the smoke, and it’s steep there. I didn’t know whether to go back or keep going. I thought about staying by a stream but it had thick trees on both sides. I ended up keeping on going and met a hiker who said the fire was not actually that close. Keep posting videos. Good stuff!
Happen to me too, not having Imodium and drinking in France! water from some fountain looks like it wasn't potable...wao that was a very long night at campsite on the toilet with cramps and diarrhea, next day crawl to a pharmacy, got Imodium and stay put for the day. In the same tour after putting my tent started to rain, I got in and then a thunderstorm hit the area, me sitting inside my tent and it was terrifying, but running to the building was as dangerous as staying...never again! My cellphone, extra batteries, sawyer filter, all them sleep with me in my sleeping bag =o)) Thanks for another great video...the mud looking and diarrhea talking was a masterpiece!
Great tip about protecting the water filter, wouldn't have thought about it. A piece of advise on the micro spikes, if you are going to be walking on pavement, concrete or rock faces, the ice claws with springs don't work, they slip on smooth non ice surfaces. My I got a pair my first year in Sweden for an urban commute, broke my ankle the first time I used them. The little spikes embedded in rubber are much more versatile. Anti-diahrreal meds; my thought is that if one's body is trying to get rid of something, one should let it. Unless one has Irritable bowel syndrome imodium should be used with caution. May be the diahrrea was caused by Giardia? Even just a bit of unpurefied water can cause it.
I love that you share your REAL experiences. I have learned so much from watching your videos even the mistakes and look forward to planning my own long distance hike. Stay safe and keep trekking.
Not me but a friend I was hiking with this spring: we came to the top of a mountain with a small lake and island. My friend marched straight out into the ice to go to the island. As I approached the edge of the lake I gave it a thump with my trekking pole - it was hollow. My dumb ass friend had walked on hanging ice. If you’re not familiar, it’s ice where the water below has receded so if you fall through it, you might be lucky and just hit rocks, or you might fall into freezing cold water. We were at a high altitude, 5deg C, and sleet was moving in. We were at least three hours of hard trekking from our vehicle and another hour to town on a sketchy mountain road. My friend had to cross it again to make it safely back. Moral of the story: don’t just go barging into ice because you can see the footprints of previous hikers.
Micro spikes, small crampons, etc. are also helpful on really muddy slick trails. We took them on our second hike on Kaui's Na Pali coast and it made a huge difference.
Todayand yesterday I was hiking up on the North York moors. All I can say is my advice for whenever u hike even just for a few hours. Always bring a least a layer more than you think u will need. I have experience with not and its rlly not worth it
Ultra-light hikers will disagree, but I always believe I have planned a load correctly if I end a hike with a little water I did not drink, a little food I did not eat, and a layer of clothing I did not wear.
@@walterronten8008 thats exactly the way I go. Due to the weather here an how quick the visibility drops it would be rlly stupid not to plan that way. If u didn't thats how mountain rescue get called out
@@journeyoflovelight i have a rough measure that for me its a litre for every 2/3hours. Thats in pretty cold climates so u could need more or less depending in yiu
@@walterronten8008 We say there's three types of ultralight hikers: The blissful The miserable The dead We counsel hikers to take enough to fall into the blissful contingent, but not so little or so much that they are miserable.
Regarding lightning, here is a 'sometimes works' experience/test for electrical potential. Once upon reaching a well defined peak, with hands at chest level, I felt nothing, but as I slowly raised my hands above me, a tingling at the tips of my fingers quickly increased. By the time my arm and hand was fully extended upwards, with fingers pointed up (like it was a lightning rod), the tingling was quite intense. A friend confirmed the same experience in the moment. We were wearing helmets, and did not consider adding the 'standing hair' test to our repertoire. The only clouds of substance were several miles away. We quickly began descending and within ~15 minutes, thunder and lightning zapped the peak a couple times. The air was clearly ionized, and so some level of 'grounding' occurred despite wearing rubber soled boots. I have no idea how much more (or possibly less) intense it would have felt had I been barefoot. A second item related to lightning are infrequent, sporadically placed, small (typically, fist size or smaller) patches of glazed, very hard, off-white colored rock in the midst of brown/grey rocky crags. At least in the Sierra, these are NOT localized, hardened bird droppings, but are lightning strikes which fuze the rock and change (bleach) its color.
I love your videos and became obsessed with hiking videos (Yours specifically but had to move on after I watched all of yours.BTW yours are the best.) after suffering a freakish accident where I was off work for four months. I do mean obsessed. Came here to just say thanks for such interesting and entertaining videos. Every once in awhile I ask my self. "Self, could you do one of these hikes?" Self says Nope. But I so enjoy watching you and hiking vicariously through you! Thank you Dixie. :) PS At the beginning of each of your videos I always say Hey Yall! Dixie here! (I'm in Oklahoma so we say yall too.) ;)
Hey Jan! Thank you so much for the kinds words. I’m sorry to hear about your accident, but glad you found a way to occupy your time. Are you pretty well healed up now? I hope so!
I went and bought some crampons after this video...I had no idea. I am also from a warm climate. Winter is heading our way. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures, highs, and lows with us. It’s been giving me a ton of inspiration. Can’t wait for your next video!
One mistake I remember was lazily pulling on the fly sheet of my tent to pull the last stake, rather than reaching for the peg itself (it was a tight spot and not super easy to access). I'd forgotten that the (rented) tent had an elastic loop for the peg, so when it let go it flew into the sky, grazing past my face on the way, never to be seen again. It missed my eye by centimetres. I was hiking solo and while I had a PLB, I doubt I could've found and activated it with a tent peg through my eye. (Mistake #2 - emergency equipment is just extra weight if you don't have it to hand when you need it).
1:29 I heard this out of context and thought you were quitting hiking or something, but then “without an Imodium in my pack” came and I was so relieved.
Dixie....I went on a solo winter night hike and only had one light source...This was years ago with the old style strap mounted light on my forehead and the battery pack at the back of my head. The light failed due to an intermittent wire connection in the pitch dark with no moon. I kept fiddling with the light in the dark for a few minutes and got it to work but now it was crooked on my head and I didn't dare adjust it. So I hiked out the last mile or so with my head turned slightly sideways to be able to see the trail where I was snowshoeing. Now I always have 2 light sources...3 sources of light if you count the "wicked smart" phone. And now always carry an extra set of Lithium Batteries, as well since the Alkaline batteries can freeze and fail early in frosty conditions.
As a native Texan I definitely made the same mistake in not getting micro spikes for a Colorado trip. Luckily it was during summer and we only ran into snow once during the three days. I saw someone mention them in a RUclips video and we all bought them for our two week trip to Washington. They were a lifesaver, and I couldn’t believe the amount of people hiking in half a foot of snow with running shoes! Without proper footwear many of those people couldn’t even finish the trail. Another note on proper footwear, do NOT buy Colombia’s hiking shoes. My feet were killing me after 4 miles in them. I bought Merrill’s and easily went on 8 miles hikes with minimal soreness.
Forgot your Microspikes? - An old Runners Trick. Quick - Easy way to add spikes to your trail runners / hiking boots. Use these as a substitute for carrying Micro-Spikes or if you need something in an emergency. One bag of screws contain 14 (enough for two shoes) and costs $1.30 . #6 by 3/8 inch Metal Hex screws. #8 by 3/8 inch also work. These metal screws are available at almost all grocery stores, Home Depot, Walmart and Ace hardware. Take a paper clip and heat one end and melt a small “starter” hole in your shoe. Recommend 2 screws for the heel, two in the midstep area and 2 screws in the toe. Use your mult-tool to screw the hex screw into the starter hole. Presto. Grip increased by a large factor. If you have these on - realize you will scratch anything you walk on, like someone’s flooring. These are widely use here in Interior Alaska for running on ice and trails.
Love all the fun stories and gear reviews, but this is the content that's really helpful. Advice from the Pros (and you are absolutely a Pro) is one of the most valuable things. Thanks!
Top off always...I have met a hiker whose trail intersected the pct, she missed the last water stop, because her filter failed, was dry, and the next water was 12 miles away, I had a little left in my hydro pack , and two full liter nalgenes, from topping off...I gave her a liter, and at the next source , filtered water for her.. So top off, and carry some type of chemical backup ...and if you don't, boil water, ...don't pass it up....you may not find help.
When you thru-hike the 3 popular American trails, you're normally no more than 2 days away from civilization, and hours or even minutes away from other hikers. Implying that you're not in that much danger at all, no matter what your injury may be, God willing. That being said, if you venture onto adventures where you and your group might be a bit more alone, and need to maybe be self-reliant, a real first-aid pack is probably the very first thing you need to think about and pack. Very important, because it's very likely that you are not thinking of that kind of need at all, but it will be all-important if needed, even if you're close to home. So make one...and take it with you every hike, regardless of the weight, as long as one person in your group has these necessities, you will be in good shape. So, you be the first aid pack person!!..and divvy up the weight if necessary. Short list, and you can consult innumerable online lists: Meds: Immodium. Ciprofloxacin (or any antibitoic). Ibuprofen x 10 (your most basic insurance). Antihistamine. Antibiotic Ointment (for burns too, take a lot, burns are quite simply common camping injuries!). Antacid. Gear: Bandaids all sizes. Buttterfly strips (close large wounds). Gauze, gauze (dresses burns, dresses wounds). Alcohol wipes. Medical tape. Duct tape!. Tweezers. Knife. Large safety pins (slings). Earplugs (sleep is the blessed healer). individual The very very next thing I would pack is a first aid guide. Unless you are travelling with a physician, this could be invaluable, in innumerable situations. Beyond that..sutures? Powerful painkillers? Syringes and drugs? Dental supplies? Nope, you need to apply the basics and get yourself back to civilization
Proper World Health Organization formula Oral Rehydration Salts taste nasty. Even when you need them. I once had some kind of diarrhea, and got exited to try my rehydration salts. So gross. I think in a lot of cases, you're better off drinking something with a little flavor to it, so it's easier to get down, so you drink more. One that is commonly recommended for Burning Man is Vitalyte, grape.
Early spring in the Sandia Mountains on the east side of Albuquerque. Weather forecast was for fair and warmer. Least the shelter at home. Woke up with six inches of white fair and warmer on my sleeping bag. Take some kind of shelter, even a piece of tyvek. Thanks for sharing!
Crampons are a must. I camped on top of icy mountain and landed on my head after falling on ice. I use crampons all the time now. I still get headaches almost two years later.
Crampons or microspikes? Seems like most folks use these terms interchangeably because they have never actually used crampons. Crampons are absolutely not a must in general... I've used mine only twice and I'm a pretty serious hiker. A situation where you actually need crampons usually require ice axe and serious self-arrest skills. If you don't have them, there is no way anyone would even attempt (it's literally impossible). Even with microspike instead, you'd slide to your death. Microspikes on the other hand, yeah, that's a must in your bag on spring/winter hikes, and you'll use them 50% of the time - and you'll regret not having them. Might still make it without them but much harder and more dangerous.
I use Kahtoola K 10 Hiking Crampons. Call them what ever you want. I have had a head injury walking on frozen packed down snow. Since then, that is what I use hiking.
@@MeMe-cd1wy Then crampons - my bad. The video showed microspikes, but if you use crampons on packed snow, fine. But for folks who don't know the difference, no you can't just "call them whatever you want". It's two different things. Microspikes will be sufficient on packed snow, but they clearly won't cut it on thick sheets of slick and incline ice.
When I first got into wilderness backpacking, I thought everybody told me “bring tampons” when referring to “cramp-ons.” After strapping tampons to my shoes and not seeing an efficiency boost, somebody saw and called me a weirdo. I went back to the Walgreens and they refunded my money.
My dumbest mistake was wearing a new pair of army surplus boots on a 50+ mile hike in the Trinity Alps in the late '60's. Blisters 1st day. Could not take my boots off for the entire hike and had to bear the pain for the first few miles each day until my feet got numb. Second biggest mistake was not on hike but 150 mile kayak trip down the Sacramento River. Forgot my mosquito net after the first night, and the second night was at a place called Mosquito Island. You can fill in the rest. Ooooh so many stupid mistakes to choose from. I have more....
My most common mistake is not checking my bag before I go out. I backpack so often, I get too confident about my packing. Then I'll find myself in the wilderness without some gear. Once camped Kearsarge basin in the snow without tent poles (back when my tent had poles).
My biggest mistake was my brilliant plan for my partner and I to finance our weeks long wilderness ZERO IMPACT camping adventures by building a light-weight sluice, getting some pans and prospecting for gold along the many creeks and rivers our treks took us to. Right, go into the most beautiful, pristine and sensitive areas on Earth, and tear it all to $*%$ for shiny rocks; I still cringe thinking about it... And to add insult to nature's injury, on the two ventures prospecting we worked our butts off and found fewer than a dozen specks ( >$1 ).
The Hubs got a hankerin' to try panning for gold. We were camped near the Similkameen River, a place that routinely gives up nuggets and the lode has never been located. The man spent roughly three minutes crouched in cold water before declaring it "too hard," "stupid," and "boring." I kept my uproarious laughter to myself. I knew it was hard work, but I figured it'd be best to let him figure that out himself.
I placed my cookpot, which I had just used to cook ramen, in my tent vestibule. A bear tried busting open my bear can (which was placed way far away from my tent, wind blowing away from my tent), then apparently detected the faint bit of ramen scent in my pot - so she/he came over and stuck their paw inside the vestibule. Luckily, the sound of my head turning on my pillow scared the bear off, but it was not a pleasant night for me after that.
@@ashlee9117 Yup, I put my fuel canister inside my pot, then that all goes into my bear can and I pack everything around it. I don't use a bowl, since I just boil my water in the pot and then pour that water into the dinner ziploc. Hope this helps!
Thanks for leading by example! We all know what it’s like to fail forward. 😎 My night hiking experience was on the AT (just past Standing Bear Farm area) and I started 2 bear and a rattlesnake that evening. HR was thumpin’!! 😂
I am amazed at your ingenuity for coming up with new themes around hiking. Sensible advice, no doubt. Hope to see you on a trail again soon! but I understand (I'm sure all your viewers do) that in this crazy year you don't have it all in your own hands.
Instead of a bandana, I recommend carrying cheesecloth for filtering out particulates. I got stuck without water in Zion when the creek I was camped by went silty and I only had a bandana and UV filter. Thanks for your openness in admitting your mistakes - that’s the best way to learn.
I am addicted to your videos. I just finished my first weekend trek and LOST MY SPORK on the first day. Thank you, thank you thank you..because somehow I remembered your suggestion that a tent stake works...not elegant, but I ate! Fellow hikers did find my spork, so I only suffered one night...now that spork is zipped!
We always have to use instep-crampons when backpacking the A.T. in the winter in the Smokies. The trail is so worn it's like hiking in a ditch. The ditch collects water and it freezes at night creating a icy path.
I went to Norway a few years ago. Within 20 minutes of me arriving and walking around the town I went straight into a store that sold ice spikes and NEVER went out with them after that
Over the years, river trails in particular can be re-routed after washouts and changes in the river's path. Should one be following an old GPS track that seems to indicate one should cross a deep and fast moving glacial river at an unsafe point, consider that something like this may be going on. I admit nothing.
As a rookie hiker this all is such great advice! It sounds like common sense when you hear it but I wouldn’t have thought of any of the things you mentioned on my own.
I've done a lot of hiking & backpacking and will freely admit I have never worried about my water filter freezing! Something else to think about on the trail! Thanks!
Great job explaining "this is a thru hike. you have to make miles to get through it." There is an element of danger in seeking your goal. That is actually part of the fun, not knowing.
Reminds me of some of the general aviation (private planes) that had "mishaps" because of "get-there-itis." Sometimes goals just need to be adjusted. But all's well that ended well, so there's that!
That’s why I do my thru-hiking in extremes. I deliberately show up without water bottles or a sleep system or even a form of navigation. The unknown is so fun.
Loved the pix of James Peak. We see it from our house. We learned early in our 14-er career how quickly thunderstorms move in and how dangerous it can be. Scary memories from climbing Mount Sherman.
There’s one more mistake to avoid: Not having enough light for the night. Sometimes you end up with unplanned night hikes, and you don’t want to end up spending the night in a dark damp valley because you can barely see your own hand in front of you, like I did once. I forgot my headlamp on a hike once, and thought “ah, I’ll manage with the light on my cell phone”. Only mid trip did I find out that one of the maps I’d brought was of the wrong area, and not much later I ended up on the wrong path with no map of the area. I met some people going up the same valley I was going down, and they claimed it was only a two hour trip to a village so I thought “why not” and went ahead. But of course it was rocky, wild and beautiful, and it took me way more than two hours. The night fell on, my already well used cell phone battery went out and the clouds descended into night fog and rain. And I was stuck sitting on my backpack with my bivvy bag and a progressively wet sleeping bag. I came through the experience tired, shivering and packing up to leave at earliest light, but without having brought the sleeping bag and bivvy i could have been dead.
Great video! I think its a good idea to carry meds for constipation and fever too. Very good suggestion about electrolytes! Thanks! But the dumbest thing you ever did was night hike the Florida trail thru those swamps where the very same day you couldn't see the water moccasin in the black water ripples right in front of you in broad daylight! The dumby-o-meter hit one hundred that night! Man! I was glad you two finished that one!
In fact, the water filter one can ruin you if you're far away and not in condition to walk back for xyz reasons. It can happenn SO easily. I just setup a system of ropes on mine so it stays tied to my bag with a carabiner xD
Good thinking 👍 Glad you took notice. maybe the title should have been something like "Don't make these life-risking mistakes, like I did" or something a little smoother..
@@_timetravels4528 Which is why you should always have a different water filtration system as back up on a long distance hike. I always carry tablets just in case my squeeze freezes
Recently a friend and I were hiking in the Adirondacks and hiking one of the higher 46. It was a warm day following a cold snap and there was a huge steep stretch of pure ice. Neither of us had micro spikes or even trekking poles because it was a dayhike, so needless to say it was a long, arduous experience going up and down, especially with the days shortening and the threat of descending in the dark! Not an experience I’d care to repeat.
Weeellllp... a big mistake in my opinion it's not to carry some back-ups for low temperature like an emergency blanket and a big dog food bag that also has aluminum and so it can keep things dry into the back pack apart from keeping our feet and legs warm. Also a rain back up like a poncho, not only to keep us and all our gear dry but also to prevent lighting bolts by picking a safe place (far from trees and NOT in a high elevation) and sitting in a log or in the ground in open field until the risks passes. And last but not least (¿guess what?) carrying a KNIFE and learning basic things that we all can do with it.
I have been binge watching your videos for 3 weeks and am slowly purchasing gear for a thru hike while going on day hikes to build up my stamina. The AT is now on my bucket list. After watching the video where u told your mummy story I had a dream that I was running across the country from a raging bear that had it out for me. It was much faster than a mummy😰. I love your videos!
I did Colorado outward bound 51 years ago and ended up on top of mountain with storm coming through. Hair straight up we started descent and ended up in big trouble. I was okay but others were not. Helicopter rescue after 3 days of caring for 3 compound fractures.on 2 companions. One was the instructor. Yikes.
Good profile of some readily shareable mistakes. Imodium and a laxative. Abrupt diet changes and even moderate dehydration can cause gut changes. I have been at the wrong end of both mistakes. You can mitigate "bursted" water filters by having a flat of water treatment tabs in the first aid kit. I had a big handed friend roughneck and break a my water filter. Another hiker gave us his emergency supply and the tip. I triggered a mountain lion, probably female, on forced hike on a moonlit night, just as the moon disappeared. I roared back. Why? That came from some where in my wiring. And kept trucking.
Hiking Mount Washington (New Hampshire) in late October without proper layers/winter gear. Got in a pretty bad snowstorm near the summit, luckily the weather station at the top had workers in it and we waited out until it was better.
Mine was not using a foam pad or under quilt on my hammock while camping even here in the warm part of Australia. I could use the same sleeping bag on the ground without a tent just fine though. Poeple kept telling me the ground saps away your heat more that the air around you, so i thought that being suspended up off the ground in a hammock would be warmer.
@@tonydoggett7627 oh yeah they can be bad, luckily where i live the mosquitos are super bad for about 3 months and then almost non existent for the rest of the year so i can usually avoid them. Mosquitos are the reason i even got a tent, because once you start getting mesh and zippers and extra little ropes on your hammock you might as well just use a tent at that point, especially since your going to be sweating in that mesh anyway
Just a small comment about Yaktrax or any other microspike item using rubber material: before you put them in your pack, actually try them out on your shoes - before every single hike. The rubber can become brittle over time and snap when you try and put them on. You don't want that to happen right when you need them. Love yaktrax though, I use them for running on packed snow on the rare days it actually snows around here.
I have a headlamp by Fenix, the HM61R and I love it. It comes with a proprietary magnetic charging cable and I don’t think I used it once. I have a 2-battery external USB charger from Nitecore. Being able to charge outside the headlamp allows me to charge one or even two batteries and use the headlamp with another at the same time. Prevents having your headlamp die at the wrong moment. Is there ever a right moment for a headlamp to die? 🤣 It uses 18650 Lithium batteries that hold a lot of power. It’s another thing to carry but I have poor night vision so I depend on a good light at night. It has a right angle design so if you’re hiking in rough terrain with a lot of roots or something you can clip it to your self at waist level and it will help to see where you’re putting your feet but still use it at a fairly dim setting to save battery. 🥳🥰👍
Along with an antidiarrheal, pack some Benadryl antihistamine, can be a sleep aid, allergy med. Not a particularly allergic person but of all things had an insect bite don't know what kind of bug on my eyelid, no pain or sting, but eye lid was nearly swollen shut. Try hiking with one eye, sucked, plus had to listen to one-eyed pirate jokes. Luckily one of others in party had Benadryl, and eye lid swell subsided in a few hours.
That sounds like a kissing bug bite but I sure hope not. They carry a parasite that can get into your bloodstream from a bite and kill you over the course of several years, causing heart failure and other nasty stuff, it's called chagas disease and it's no joke. Most never know they have it. I had to be tested for it once but it came back negative.
i am just an old scout leader at heart. i do not like freeze dry or regurge foods; prefer real deal and cans....................... teach variable methods of trail cooking to both adults and scouts. Have rescued a few non-trained outers that either didn't read instructions and some that laughed at me going up trails with my selection of food items. I have shared a steak and potato dinner when too much water was used in a retort meal.
I think the biggest mistakes I've made are the A word. You guessed it "Assumptions" or "Assume". You are out in the middle of nowhere and what do you do? You think "I don't need to get water here. The stream a few miles up looks big on the map, I'll wait until then." or, as happened to me, "I'm high up on a mountain. Theres no way a flash flood will happen here." or "That hot spot on my foot is only beginning, I can make it until ..." or "It's only a day hike. I don't need rain gear (or insert your questionable item here)" and on and on. Don't assume, plan.
Tie a Christmas jingle bell to your shoes in bear Country. Bells are a constant noise that can cut through brush like a whistle. If you ever found yourself yelling across a river or through woods and wondering why friends won't reply. Voice don't carry far. Bells and whistles do.
Like some talk about, water planning. After crazy water insecurity NOBO on CDT this summer in NM, when I got to Colo and all the streams.. I relaxed. Big mistake as some ridge sections are far above any streams for long distances. (So now I have nightmares about water to go with the nightmares about crossing iced over trails.) :)
My beginner boo-boo was keeping my food in my tent. I was at Pine Mountain GA. thinking there’s no bears here. So I kept my food bag in the vestibule. At about 1AM an animal was easing it out of my tent. I shook my tent yelled and then went outside. Never saw it though. Probably a raccoon.
Haha, smart buggers! I was woke up in the middle of the night once to a weird noise like an animal trying to get into my RTT. Turns out some sort of ferret or weasel was playing trampoline on top of it! Spent a good 10 mins listening to the guy bounce and roll around. Both my husband and dogs slept through the whole thing.
In Florida, a very secluded trail, and by myself, and actually trying to cut off trail via a forest service road, I started to try and hike though standing water, I didn't know how deep it was, got about mid-thigh high, and started to feel my boots get sucked into the mud... Lesson learned, don't hike in water you don't know how deep it is, especially off trail, and by yourself.
A few years ago, I camped on a ridgetop because I wanted to see the sunrise on a nearby mountain. That night, a storm blew in. I sleep in a hammock, so I was in the only clump of trees in the area. I was so mad at myself -- what would I have done if I heard thunder? I got really luck because there wasn't any lightning that night. And it was overcast at sunrise so I couldn't even see the nearby mountain.
Where I live in the Okanagan, and hike in the Graysokes and Monashees ,If we hike we are always in black bear and Grizz country, along with cougars. Bear spray and know how to use it. Always be aware. Hiking in Bear country is just hiking where I live. Even city hiking trails have bear warning signs. It is not a mistake just life.
Everyone makes mistakes, but the important thing is to learn from them. Lots of respect for owning up to your mistakes, and sharing the lessons you learned.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Here's a little tip: Along with bear spray, I carry a small craft safety/signal horn. They are super small, weigh almost nothing, and boy are they loud. Three times I've encountered mountain lions and bears where they started to approach me on trail. I've never got to use the bear spray because the boat horn had them running as fast as their paws could carry them. I keep it attached to my shoulder strap within easy reach. Of course, the bear spray rides on the other strap just in case the bear is deaf.
How about a picture or a link?
It is a great idea.
I'm brand new to backpacking and hiking and I've always thought this would be a good idea. Thanks for validating that thought
My dumbest backpacking moment was back in March, I was doing an 80-mile desert trail (Black Canyon Trail) near where I live in order to train for the AZT, which I'm planning on attempting next year in the spring. It went perfectly for the first two days, I was staying on top of my nutrition and hydration, my feet were in stellar shape and my spirits were high as the miles fell away behind me. On the morning of the 3rd day, about 40 or so miles into the trail, it entered a canyon which the Agua Fria river flows through. The river's usually pretty low or even dry most years as being very close to Phoenix, there was not much rainfall in that area, but northern Arizona got a TON of snowfall this last winter which meant the river was high and running quite fast. I had camped near it the night before, above the canyon, and descended down to the water early in the morning, getting ready to cross it and then do the last few miles before town and my resupply. I was planning on taking it easy and dropping my mileage that day, maybe spending some time in town, but I never even made it that far. I had no experience with fording rivers at all, at most I had crossed shin-deep creeks before, but from the shore, the Agua Fria looked no different. Only half of the actual riverbed had water in it and the water didn't look that deep or fast. It seemed like a trivial crossing, after which I'd enjoy a pleasant morning hike into town. This is where I made several serious blunders that very nearly got me killed.
First off, I picked the literal worst crossing, simply because it was where the trail picked back up on the other side, and because it was the most narrow spot, and so seemed the easiest and quickest. Because it was the most narrow spot, it was also the deepest and fastest moving part. The river was nice and wide and gentle not far upstream but I waded right in the deep end. Serious blunder number two, by far the worst one, was that I wanted to keep my shoes, socks, and shorts dry, so I took all three of those things off. That's right, I went into the deepest, fastest part of the river barefoot and naked from the waist down. I didn't even put my shoes or shorts into my backpack, I was that confident it would be an easy crossing, so I just held them in my hands. The rocks on the bottom were really slippery and impossible to see, so I kept losing my footing, slipping, banging my foot on a rock, and almost losing my balance and toppling over into the water. The current also started sweeping my leg away every time I lifted it to take a step. I started to completely lose my balance almost immediately and moving was very slow with the rocks hurting my feet every step or making me trip or slip. To try and help, I went for a big tree branch hanging out over the water, hoping to use it as a guardrail in order to maintain my balance better. This was fateful error number three. The branch was hanging over the actual deepest and fastest part and I plunged in up to my chest almost. I wasn't expecting it at all. I couldn't get my feet on the bottom anymore, the current was sweeping so hard that every time I tried, I just kicked rocks and then immediately my leg would go flying back out in front of me. My backpack submerged and started dragging me backwards, down under the current, and the only thing keeping me from being carried downstream was me holding onto that tree branch with both arms for dear life. Because of this, my hiking shoes, the only pair of shoes I had at all, went floating away downstream, lost forever. I almost lost my shorts too but thankfully I threw them over onto the bank.
Trying to regain my footing was like trying to push the positive ends of two magnets together, it just was not happening, so I made the call to let go of the branch and let the current take me to a slower-moving stretch of water. I was close enough to the bank that I could have reached out and touched it if my hands were free, but it may as well have been in Thailand. So, I took a breath, went under, and cleared the branch I had been hanging on to (I was afraid my backpack would catch onto it and I'd drown, so I had to go underneath the water and sail under the branch), then scrambled for the shore. I was so physically exhausted that I just plopped onto my back, not even putting my shorts on yet, and cried. My legs were completely numb from the icy water but it felt like I had really messed them up on the rocks. My feet were bleeding from a dozen different places. I was soaking wet and freezing; even though it was the desert, it was early morning in early spring, so the temperature had to be as low as the 50s, and the canyon was deeply shaded at that hour as well. I knew I was going to have to make it out of there without any shoes and with feet that were already bleeding and possibly broken (one of my toes STILL hurts, I'm sure it suffered some kind of minor fracture but I haven't seen a doc yet). I got up and retrieved my shorts. As I did so, I noticed that a flap of skin fell off my right big toe and stuck behind on a rock. I left blood behind with each step. I had a spare pair of socks in my backpack, so I put them on, just as some minor protection from the ground. See, this was the Arizona desert, so the trail was made up of rough, coarse sand, sharp rocks, sharp plants, and cactus EVERYWHERE. Cactus spines sometimes fall off and lay on the ground, which isn't a problem if you have shoes on, but when you're barefoot, a lot of stuff tends to start sticking into your feet. I limped my way along, shivering, in shock and pain, praying someone would show up, but nobody ever did. Within mere seconds my peaceful morning had devolved into a survival situation. I could see the buildings and houses of Black Canyon City nearby, but the trail kept winding away from them before ever getting close, and in typical trail fashion, rather than following a straight line, it zigzagged and had a billion switchbacks instead. I broke down and called 911, but my phone battery was low to begin with and was now soaking wet so it died mid-call. I barely had told the dispatcher that I was on the Black Canyon Trail near the Agua Fria River and that I was injured, she couldn't get any further info out of me, so I lost all hope that anyone would come to help. I thought I was going to have to painfully limp my way over rocks and through cactus all the way to town. This walk ended up being really traumatic for me and I didn't go hiking again for almost a month after I made my recovery, and even now I get serious anxiety near rivers and creeks (I went hiking today in a river canyon and bailed early because I started feeling really anxious and afraid something bad would happen, and it's been like two and a half months). I ended up being saved by some Sheriff's Deputies who had a feeling I was gonna come out on a certain dirt road, and lo and behold, I did. They took me back to my car at the finish line of the trail and I made it home safe thanks to them.
Sorry for the length, I had no idea this would come out as long as it did. TLDR, I done goofed big time and almost drowned and had to hike several miles barefoot over super rough terrain while injured. To anyone who read this far, here's how to safely ford a river:
-leave your shoes on, they protect your feet and provide traction. Getting them wet ain't as bad as losing them like I did or slipping and getting all your other gear wet too. If you still gotta take em off, tie them to your backpack or put them inside it.
-cross at the WIDEST point, not the shortest. Think about it, the same amount of water is flowing through the narrow spot as is the wide spot, it just has less room to do so, so of course it'll be deeper and faster.
-don't face towards the bank like I did, turn your body so that it is squared up facing towards the current and shuffle sideways across to the other side, letting the current pass between your legs.
-unbuckle your hip and chest buckles on your backpack, so you can escape from it if you need to. If mine had gotten caught on something like that tree branch, I might not be sitting here typing this right now.
Oh wow, what a thrilling story. Glad you made it out alright, and could share this with us. Thank you 🙏
I learn from my mistakes so that I can move on to bigger and better mistakes in the future.
😂
Me too
Same
We had a similar quote. "The more I learn from my mistakes, the bigger trouble I can now get into." ;)
Mickey,
Thanks for the tip! Immodium AD will be placed in my first aid kit immediately.
Here's one of my dumbest backpacking mistakes: It was a late, cold, and windy day and the sun had just gone down. I was in high elevation, but not much of a place to pitch my tarp without being demolished by the high winds. (PCT, section D, north fork station). So, thinking it was a brilliant idea, I decided to cowboy camp by the restroom under the mostly enclosed entrance outside the restroom. I was pretty comfy away from the elements and getting ready to call it a night and I turned on my headlamp for the last time to gather all my belongings closer to my corner when I noticed black widow spiders... LOTS OF THEM. Make sure to inspect the area your are going to call home for the night, thoroughly.
I didn't get bit or anything... but I had a bad case of the hee-bee gee-bee's and didn't sleep well that night.
I would suggest pepto bismol tablets as immodium slows bowels which may keep infections brewing longer.
Eesh...that is horrible!!!I was nearly done in (as in permanently) by a brown recluse bite six years ago. I quickly developed sepsis, had difficulty breathing, and had a 103 fever for three days. The sickest I've ever been - not to mention the chunk taken out of my leg. Spiders are my #2 fear (running out of water is #1 - happened once), but I take solace in the law of averages that I won't get bitten again.
@@1001RMJ A neighbor's daughter was bit by a recluse on the leg as well. Those guys are not nice at all! I'm glad you made it out alive my friend... be careful out there and happy trails!
I've said heebee jeebies, but just realized I've never seen the words in print. No idea how it's spelled. But that's the best word for remembering spiders! Gah!
@@navigodelaney119 Lol. I'm not too fond of snakes or roaches either.
Thank you from Sweden. Not everyone like to admit they did something wrong or even stupid. But sharing this kind of videos may save someones life one day. So this kind of videos will always get a big thumb from me.👍
Looking at mud, hearing about diarrhea. Cinematography level, genius.
Thankful for Aaron ♥️
Can we be sure that was "mud"? Ha!
Agreed!
@@coughingowloutdoors8579 that was just her cat hole from one day 🤣
Peanut butter.
My biggest mistake so far was definitely ill-fitting boots. I had worn them on many, many day hikes and even an overnight, but really no further than maybe 8 miles at a time. Well, I wore them on my first multi-day trip and quickly found out that they didn’t fit as well as I thought, especially since the trail was pretty rough with inclines and declines.
This was a couple months ago and I had four toenails go black, with one falling off a few weeks ago and another coming off last night. Thankfully, I watched some of your videos after that trip to get a better handle on footwear options and ended up buying a pair of Altra midboots half a size up and I’m LOVING them so far. I’ve done a couple of 10+ mile days with and without weight and haven’t had any additional issues (plus no more blisters!).
Night hiking up north in Ontario, Canada. I decided to turn off my flashlight and just look up at the Northern lights and stars as the path was fairly wide. 30 seconds later I kicked .. i don't know! Something big and furry sleeping on the path. It let out a "Whoomph!" and took down half the forest as it ran away. I think I got very lucky that night.
It was an ewok, you weren't in any danger
@@kurtrussell5228 Nah, those are in California.
Yeah them ewoks sleep right on the path, and they run do clumsily, ....but they are harmless.
Really good advice as usual, Dixie . . . and it's so important to realize that veiled hazards are just as real as obvious ones. That's the trouble with weather/exposure. We once hiked the Happy Isles trail to Half Dome in light October sleet and wind. But most of the trail isn't too exposed, so there was little added danger. That changed completely when we got closer to the cabled part of the dome -- it wasn't really that hard to turn back, for us, anyway. When we got back to the valley floor, other hikers informed us of a lightning fatality earlier that day on Half Dome . . .
Oh wow..
I ALWAYS have a printed map w me. Not to find my way along the blazed trail, but in order to find exit points from where I am in case of an emergency and I have to hike somewhere I didn’t plan on going. (It’s like dressing for a motorcycle...you should dress for a fall...not the ride itself.)
And some of the best advice I ever heard was remembering that when you’re out in the wild, the trail you’re on IS the shortcut...
Awesome video Dixie! So often, the social media world is all about "how perfect" someone is so I really appreciate you being REAL with your audience and providing some key Lessons Learned that very well could help someone in the future.
Absolutely!
My Own Bad Decision: Winter hiking in the Appalachians. Pushed hard to get to where I need to camp, and arrived pretty late - only 15 minutes of light left. Snow was a foot deep and I didn't have time to clear a spot for the tent. In my head I thought, "I've heard snow is fairly insulating, I'll just pitch the tent and sleep on top." Bad idea. The snow quickly packed down into a sheet of ice, and even with my down coat tucked under my body, it was like trying to sleep on a cold radiator...my body heat couldn't compete with an entire slab of ice. After a few hours of penetrating ground cold, and 17 degrees of night air, I got up, quickly made a fire to get warm, and stayed awake the rest of the night till the sun came up to rescue me! :)
orrr just stop counting every gram, and get proper inflatable mat and proper tent. that is able to camp on a glacier, if needed.
Neoair xtherm and you would of been fine. Slept like a baby. Need that r value.
Does not have the ring of truth, if you could build a fire you could clear a spot.
No better way to learn than experience that doesn't kill you. And if different but somehow similar experiences affect your sleep in the future? I am a full-on believer that if you're up, you're up...so just get up and stop fussing. It ain't so bad to not sleep. Trying to sleep and not being able to sleep is the worst.
@@eramosat nice, the next day when crossing a pass, slip a step due to exhaustion, and fall 300m down. Best strategy.
Very excellent and practical advice! I will add pre treating clothes and gear with Permethrin against ticks and spiders especially if you're hiking on the AT.
Always hike with slower people. You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your trail buddies. This strategy may work with lightning, too. It will not work with food poisoning.
LOL
😂
🤣
It is a mistake to fail to collect water when you have a good chance. You can’t count on that next source being all that easy to access. I have made this mistake as recently as last weekend.
Water management is a thing for me. My more common mistake is to overload if I am not familiar with the area where I am hiking. And that is just poundage.
Know where a next real water source is - if you can.
@@rodrod5000 That's always good to do when you can. But that implies that such information is available (it isn't always) or that everyone knows about and has access to information sources like Guthook, etc. Obviously, when hikers share this kind of information, it helps everyone else.
@@johnalden5821 it's not a mistake to choose the safe side when sources are unknown, and find out later it wasn't necessary. It's the only right thing to do. Carry that water, it's your single most important thing for survival. well, together with stuff to stay dry.
So happy you’re so candid with your experiences. You do a great service to the backpacking community.
It's nice to see someone be humble enough to say "I was really an idiot for doing this..."
Good points! A few things that I hadn't thought of. Comment about chlorine bleach. Household bleach does not disinfect as well as we think. Chlorine Dioxide is the bleach used in municipal water treatment. Chlorine Dioxide tablets are easy enough to find and easy to carry. And, they don't freeze. Water treatment is a lesson I learned the hard way. Stay safe on the trail. Thanks for another good video!
Interesting. I've never heard that household chlorine bleach was not good for disinfecting water. Many experts recommend it. ??
@@abc-wv4in household chlorine bleach will disinfect, but its effectiveness is unreliable and deteriorates over time. Sunlight and air neutralize its disinfecting ability. In decades past it was praised as a disinfectant. I don't know of any "real experts" that would recommend it now. At best household bleach is a last resort disinfectant in my home. I certainly would not trust my health to household bleach while in the wilderness. Chlorine Dioxide is a different molecular structure. It is more stable, reliable and effective. Municipal water treatment facilities do not use the chlorine formula in household bleach. They use Chlorine Dioxide. Chlorine Dioxide tablets are readily available in sporting good stores. These tablets are easy to pack and carry.
I thought - a very small amount of - potassium permanganate could be used for water treatment?
The bleach you get for household disinfecting is a lower concentration and isnt packaged for long term shelf life. It 100% can and will reliably disinfect your water when fresh but light and oxygen break it down quickly. Granulated chlorine can be vacuum sealed for a longer shelf life but be careful with strong chlorine its dangerous. Personally my back up is iodine because for the same weight it's more flexible on use.
@@M0USEP0TAT0 calcium hypochlorite.
You cannot hear these words of wisdom enough. I for one, love these videos, and as more of an amateur hiker, this advice is priceless! Thanks Dixie!
I remember watching your completion of the AT and was impressed by your skill and courage finishing your hike Mid October in snow and ice on Mt Katahdin with out spikes. But it wasn’t until this past month watching day hikers on RUclips following the AT trail to the summit of Katahdin in warm weather with much more Video of the trail and getting a better understanding of the difficulty of the climb did I realize what you accomplished. YOUR GOOD!
Hey Dixie, on this topic I was wondering if you'd discuss some of the "mistakes" I witnessed as a newbie backpacker on trail. I was somewhat guilty of it myself.
Expectation and goal setting.
I set out for a 5 day journey on the Connecticut AT during cool and wet fall weather. As a result, my base weight was over 3 pounds heavier so I could be prepared. On top of that, I was carrying a full five days of food. My pack was almost 8 pounds heavier than it had been on previous trips. Still, I set out on difficult terrain with a ten mile per day goal. I got my ass kicked on my first two days, but was able to adjust my expectations for the next three and was able to reach my destination successfully, in part, because I had scheduled some wiggle room.
During my journey, I encountered two groups of section hikers who were trying to accomplish 18 miles per day. They were stressed, sore and exhausted, but pushing on, needing to continue past dark over some precarious terrain. I also met a solo hiker, out for his first overnight trip, who thought he was going to make it 14 miles with a 45 pound pack. He had hiked 7 miles, and had done so much damage to his knees that he could not bend them. He woke up the next day, and had to call off his trip and have someone pick him up, after he had invested about $1500 on top of the line gear and taken a week off from work.
The problem with us newbies is that we're watching all you thru hiker youtubers and thinking that doing 20 to 30 miles is a reasonable goal. As "weekenders" or newbies, we should be focused on having fun and enjoying the trail. Since you have so many first timers and the backpacking-curious watching you, I'm hoping that this is a subject you or others think is worth talking about.
As always, love what you do and how much it helps this community. ✌🏕🚶♀️
This is a very good comment.
It's better to allow shorter distances in the early stages of multi day or thru hikes, to become accustomed to the impact on the body. Plus schedule in enough zero days for adequate muscle recovery, in order to maintain strength for the long haul. ❤️
I am gonna hike my hike and enjoy myself. Whether I make 5 miles or 15 not gonna make it a job.
@@tinamcclure7984 good decision, and that is what I will do when I get to do my thru hike of Te Araroa. ❤️
In one video, Dixie talked about only getting in around 8-9 miles her first few days on the AT. I was pleasantly surprised. My husband and I turned 50 last year and I was a bit sad to only make it around 8 miles the first couple of days on the AT, and over 9 miles the third day. The heat and the mountains were killer to these oldsters from Indiana! But still...we hiked 26 miles in just 3-1/2 days, so not too bad. Still...not what we hear Dixie doing later or Darwin on the Trail doing...
@@jacquelyneporter8637 remember that both Dixie and Darwin are younger than you guys. Every year we age from our mid 30s up, our bodies change a little, and we have to work hard to maintain our fitness. You guys are awesome, and doing great!
The best advice is to hike your own hike, and enjoy being in the moment, every single day.
The speed is not what counts, it's the experience. 😊
I am now 63, and I am planning on doing Te Araroa here in New Zealand as a thru hike, in the summer season of 22-23 when I retire - I will definitely be hiking my own hike! 👍🏾😂❤️
I am constantly training for fitness, and I am happy with where I am at for my age. 👌🏿🌳🚶♀️🏕️😁
Don’t take Imodium if you think you have food poisoning or some other kind of infection. Diarrhea is the body’s way of flushing those microorganisms from your body. Imodium makes you retain them which allows them to further proliferate. Hydration is your best self-treatment in those situations.
All are really great advice. All backpackers regardless of experience are prone to making mistakes, the important thing is that we all learn from them and help others learn. We recently went up into the crazy mountains when the wind and snow were pretty rough. We should have changed plans but we thought we were prepared and pushed on, one of our tents was blown out of the ground with all the persons gear in it. We packed up and headed down and had to set up camp in the dark. Should have turned around way earlier.
I can’t relate, Kalman...since I’ve not made any mistakes on the trail! 😬
@@ChrisBeanInCincy bahahaha, I know that is not true my old hiking buddy.
Not me, I’m perfect.
I've had the same thing happen to me with the Sawyer. Luckily I wasn't hiking, I was just camping with some friends, by a stream in the woods a 45 minute walk from my home.
I did check the weather forecast, and it was only meant to drop to 5°C. That made me decide to not bother with putting the filter in my quilt. I woke to find a bunch of ice crystals in the filter.
I checked the weather app again, and the temperature that they recorded was exactly what was forcasted.
Goes to show that the temps next to a stream and in a depression/mini-valley can really be quite a bit lower than elsewhere!
Those weather reports come from a weather station somewhere. Airports are really common. They are not necessarily representative of your particular area. You can get a handheld weather station like a kestrel for that but I'd imagine most people don't carry them around. I'd carry one just to check barometric pressure. Pretty good indicator of when a storm is rolling in.
If you are hiking in bear country at night, which is not smart, at the very least you should have your bear spray in your hands and possibly with the trigger block off. Bears, especially grizzly can be on you with lightning speed, and frequently from behind.
Thanks for posting these videos. I was tempted to hike the Dobson Trail (65km linear) but I realized that I needed water filteration. Coming from a bicycle touring direction where water can be obtained nearly everywhere, I was about to hit that issue dead on! I had to wait over a month for a Pladapus gravity filter to arrive, I was temped to go with MSR pump filter but waiting 2 months was a turn off. I will be obtaining a tree-hammock to avoid the rooty ground. I already have a 1991 Eureka Cirrus2 tent, LLBEAN 72 liter internal frame pack, ample lighting, -10c synthetic mummy, ridgerest pad, Coleman peak1 naptha/gasoline stove, 2 meter and HF HAM radio gear. I prefer hiking boots (Keen) mainly because I hate having to clear pebbles from my shoes.
During my thru-hike of the AT in 2019, I was regularly reminding people to protect their filters in the evening, especially in the beginning, since it was still March. In the end though, my dumbass had to switch out filters not once ... but twice because I ended up forgetting to follow my own advice. Another dumb mistake happened on my thru-hike of the West Highland Way in Scotland: It was my first longer distance hike, I was using B&Bs, hostels and hiker huts along the way and so I kinda forgot to pack my headlamp. When I arrived in Scotland, I figured "Hey... you'll be hiking during the day only and you'll be spending nighttime in a structure... so no need to buy an extra headlamp". But since it was the second week of October in Scotland, sun set between 6 and 7 pm. And this one miserable rainy day, I decided to help out a couple I met during lunch which was way out of their depths. I lost a lot of time that day and I had to navigate a muddy, extremely slippery trail for the last hour .. in the dark. Hiking through the woods in pouring rain did not help either. So: Always pack your headlamps. You never know...
3 things I always pack even in my day pack: rain jacket, headlamp, power bank
@@yongkim2088 same here! And some kind of sugar.
@@haamification
I should try that idea too.
@@yongkim2088 dried fruits worked best for me, if I need a quick energy boost at the end of a long day hike.
I’ve learned so much from your videos, especially about the water filter. I hadn’t thought of Immodium though! I’ve had some scares with bears and wolves, but the worst was on the CDT in the Pintlers with a forest fire. I could hardly breathe from the smoke, and it’s steep there. I didn’t know whether to go back or keep going. I thought about staying by a stream but it had thick trees on both sides. I ended up keeping on going and met a hiker who said the fire was not actually that close. Keep posting videos. Good stuff!
I live in Washington State, and I think I worry more about fires than I do about cougars.
You can make a water filter with a funnel(old water bottle), charcoal(burn/cooked wood), small stones and sand.
Happen to me too, not having Imodium and drinking in France! water from some fountain looks like it wasn't potable...wao that was a very long night at campsite on the toilet with cramps and diarrhea, next day crawl to a pharmacy, got Imodium and stay put for the day. In the same tour after putting my tent started to rain, I got in and then a thunderstorm hit the area, me sitting inside my tent and it was terrifying, but running to the building was as dangerous as staying...never again! My cellphone, extra batteries, sawyer filter, all them sleep with me in my sleeping bag =o)) Thanks for another great video...the mud looking and diarrhea talking was a masterpiece!
Great tip about protecting the water filter, wouldn't have thought about it.
A piece of advise on the micro spikes, if you are going to be walking on pavement, concrete or rock faces, the ice claws with springs don't work, they slip on smooth non ice surfaces. My I got a pair my first year in Sweden for an urban commute, broke my ankle the first time I used them. The little spikes embedded in rubber are much more versatile.
Anti-diahrreal meds; my thought is that if one's body is trying to get rid of something, one should let it. Unless one has Irritable bowel syndrome imodium should be used with caution. May be the diahrrea was caused by Giardia? Even just a bit of unpurefied water can cause it.
If you're going to night hike in Grizzly country--------be sure to take your Immodium, just in case!!!! 😋
like that'll help. my only grizzly encounter, i was so scared i actually felt my insides turn to water.
And extra shorts
Heck yeah, gotta make sure those bears have some extra seasoning! XD
Don't watch Revenant beforehand
Yeah, seeing theese disgusting bears really induces diarrhea in some people :D
I love that you share your REAL experiences. I have learned so much from watching your videos even the mistakes and look forward to planning my own long distance hike. Stay safe and keep trekking.
Not me but a friend I was hiking with this spring: we came to the top of a mountain with a small lake and island. My friend marched straight out into the ice to go to the island. As I approached the edge of the lake I gave it a thump with my trekking pole - it was hollow. My dumb ass friend had walked on hanging ice. If you’re not familiar, it’s ice where the water below has receded so if you fall through it, you might be lucky and just hit rocks, or you might fall into freezing cold water. We were at a high altitude, 5deg C, and sleet was moving in. We were at least three hours of hard trekking from our vehicle and another hour to town on a sketchy mountain road. My friend had to cross it again to make it safely back. Moral of the story: don’t just go barging into ice because you can see the footprints of previous hikers.
Thanks again for the wonderful video.
The “dumbest mistake “ I have made recently was.... not getting out backpacking. It’s a really terrible thing.
Micro spikes, small crampons, etc. are also helpful on really muddy slick trails. We took them on our second hike on Kaui's Na Pali coast and it made a huge difference.
Todayand yesterday I was hiking up on the North York moors. All I can say is my advice for whenever u hike even just for a few hours. Always bring a least a layer more than you think u will need. I have experience with not and its rlly not worth it
Ultra-light hikers will disagree, but I always believe I have planned a load correctly if I end a hike with a little water I did not drink, a little food I did not eat, and a layer of clothing I did not wear.
@@walterronten8008 Is there a basic formula for how much water you need to be drinking on trail?
@@walterronten8008 thats exactly the way I go. Due to the weather here an how quick the visibility drops it would be rlly stupid not to plan that way. If u didn't thats how mountain rescue get called out
@@journeyoflovelight i have a rough measure that for me its a litre for every 2/3hours. Thats in pretty cold climates so u could need more or less depending in yiu
@@walterronten8008 We say there's three types of ultralight hikers:
The blissful
The miserable
The dead
We counsel hikers to take enough to fall into the blissful contingent, but not so little or so much that they are miserable.
Regarding lightning, here is a 'sometimes works' experience/test for electrical potential. Once upon reaching a well defined peak, with hands at chest level, I felt nothing, but as I slowly raised my hands above me, a tingling at the tips of my fingers quickly increased. By the time my arm and hand was fully extended upwards, with fingers pointed up (like it was a lightning rod), the tingling was quite intense.
A friend confirmed the same experience in the moment. We were wearing helmets, and did not consider adding the 'standing hair' test to our repertoire. The only clouds of substance were several miles away. We quickly began descending and within ~15 minutes, thunder and lightning zapped the peak a couple times. The air was clearly ionized, and so some level of 'grounding' occurred despite wearing rubber soled boots. I have no idea how much more (or possibly less) intense it would have felt had I been barefoot.
A second item related to lightning are infrequent, sporadically placed, small (typically, fist size or smaller) patches of glazed, very hard, off-white colored rock in the midst of brown/grey rocky crags. At least in the Sierra, these are NOT localized, hardened bird droppings, but are lightning strikes which fuze the rock and change (bleach) its color.
I love your videos and became obsessed with hiking videos (Yours specifically but had to move on after I watched all of yours.BTW yours are the best.) after suffering a freakish accident where I was off work for four months. I do mean obsessed. Came here to just say thanks for such interesting and entertaining videos. Every once in awhile I ask my self. "Self, could you do one of these hikes?" Self says Nope. But I so enjoy watching you and hiking vicariously through you!
Thank you Dixie. :)
PS At the beginning of each of your videos I always say Hey Yall! Dixie here! (I'm in Oklahoma so we say yall too.) ;)
Hey Jan! Thank you so much for the kinds words. I’m sorry to hear about your accident, but glad you found a way to occupy your time. Are you pretty well healed up now? I hope so!
I went and bought some crampons after this video...I had no idea. I am also from a warm climate. Winter is heading our way. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures, highs, and lows with us. It’s been giving me a ton of inspiration. Can’t wait for your next video!
One mistake I remember was lazily pulling on the fly sheet of my tent to pull the last stake, rather than reaching for the peg itself (it was a tight spot and not super easy to access). I'd forgotten that the (rented) tent had an elastic loop for the peg, so when it let go it flew into the sky, grazing past my face on the way, never to be seen again. It missed my eye by centimetres. I was hiking solo and while I had a PLB, I doubt I could've found and activated it with a tent peg through my eye. (Mistake #2 - emergency equipment is just extra weight if you don't have it to hand when you need it).
1:29 I heard this out of context and thought you were quitting hiking or something, but then “without an Imodium in my pack” came and I was so relieved.
Dixie....I went on a solo winter night hike and only had one light source...This was years ago with the old style strap mounted light on my forehead and the battery pack at the back of my head. The light failed due to an intermittent wire connection in the pitch dark with no moon. I kept fiddling with the light in the dark for a few minutes and got it to work but now it was crooked on my head and I didn't dare adjust it. So I hiked out the last mile or so with my head turned slightly sideways to be able to see the trail where I was snowshoeing. Now I always have 2 light sources...3 sources of light if you count the "wicked smart" phone. And now always carry an extra set of Lithium Batteries, as well since the Alkaline batteries can freeze and fail early in frosty conditions.
As a native Texan I definitely made the same mistake in not getting micro spikes for a Colorado trip. Luckily it was during summer and we only ran into snow once during the three days. I saw someone mention them in a RUclips video and we all bought them for our two week trip to Washington. They were a lifesaver, and I couldn’t believe the amount of people hiking in half a foot of snow with running shoes! Without proper footwear many of those people couldn’t even finish the trail.
Another note on proper footwear, do NOT buy Colombia’s hiking shoes. My feet were killing me after 4 miles in them. I bought Merrill’s and easily went on 8 miles hikes with minimal soreness.
Forgot your Microspikes? - An old Runners Trick. Quick - Easy way to add spikes to your trail runners / hiking boots. Use these as a substitute for carrying Micro-Spikes or if you need something in an emergency. One bag of screws contain 14 (enough for two shoes) and costs $1.30
. #6 by 3/8 inch Metal Hex screws. #8 by 3/8 inch also work. These metal screws are available at almost all grocery stores, Home Depot, Walmart and Ace hardware. Take a paper clip and heat one end and melt a small “starter” hole in your shoe. Recommend 2 screws for the heel, two in the midstep area and 2 screws in the toe. Use your mult-tool to screw the hex screw into the starter hole. Presto. Grip increased by a large factor. If you have these on - realize you will scratch anything you walk on, like someone’s flooring. These are widely use here in Interior Alaska for running on ice and trails.
There are even trail runners that are designed to have screws added to the soles for traction.
Love all the fun stories and gear reviews, but this is the content that's really helpful. Advice from the Pros (and you are absolutely a Pro) is one of the most valuable things. Thanks!
Great practical video. Blessings from the UK.🙂
Never pass up water unless you're at the end of your hike.
Good one
Top off always...I have met a hiker whose trail intersected the pct, she missed the last water stop, because her filter failed, was dry, and the next water was 12 miles away, I had a little left in my hydro pack , and two full liter nalgenes, from topping off...I gave her a liter, and at the next source , filtered water for her..
So top off, and carry some type of chemical backup ...and if you don't, boil water, ...don't pass it up....you may not find help.
I would add to the Imodium some rehydration packets
Yup, you can get the powder and it's not heavy or bulky at all.
When you thru-hike the 3 popular American trails, you're normally no more than 2 days away from civilization, and hours or even minutes away from other hikers. Implying that you're not in that much danger at all, no matter what your injury may be, God willing.
That being said, if you venture onto adventures where you and your group might be a bit more alone, and need to maybe be self-reliant, a real first-aid pack is probably the very first thing you need to think about and pack. Very important, because it's very likely that you are not thinking of that kind of need at all, but it will be all-important if needed, even if you're close to home. So make one...and take it with you every hike, regardless of the weight, as long as one person in your group has these necessities, you will be in good shape. So, you be the first aid pack person!!..and divvy up the weight if necessary.
Short list, and you can consult innumerable online lists:
Meds: Immodium. Ciprofloxacin (or any antibitoic). Ibuprofen x 10 (your most basic insurance). Antihistamine. Antibiotic Ointment (for burns too, take a lot, burns are quite simply common camping injuries!). Antacid.
Gear: Bandaids all sizes. Buttterfly strips (close large wounds). Gauze, gauze (dresses burns, dresses wounds). Alcohol wipes. Medical tape. Duct tape!.
Tweezers. Knife. Large safety pins (slings). Earplugs (sleep is the blessed healer).
individual
The very very next thing I would pack is a first aid guide. Unless you are travelling with a physician, this could be invaluable, in innumerable situations.
Beyond that..sutures? Powerful painkillers? Syringes and drugs? Dental supplies? Nope, you need to apply the basics and get yourself back to civilization
Proper World Health Organization formula Oral Rehydration Salts taste nasty. Even when you need them. I once had some kind of diarrhea, and got exited to try my rehydration salts. So gross. I think in a lot of cases, you're better off drinking something with a little flavor to it, so it's easier to get down, so you drink more. One that is commonly recommended for Burning Man is Vitalyte, grape.
Early spring in the Sandia Mountains on the east side of Albuquerque. Weather forecast was for fair and warmer. Least the shelter at home. Woke up with six inches of white fair and warmer on my sleeping bag. Take some kind of shelter, even a piece of tyvek. Thanks for sharing!
Crampons are a must. I camped on top of icy mountain and landed on my head after falling on ice. I use crampons all the time now. I still get headaches almost two years later.
Glad you pulled through. Falling on your head is frightening.
Crampons or microspikes? Seems like most folks use these terms interchangeably because they have never actually used crampons. Crampons are absolutely not a must in general... I've used mine only twice and I'm a pretty serious hiker. A situation where you actually need crampons usually require ice axe and serious self-arrest skills. If you don't have them, there is no way anyone would even attempt (it's literally impossible). Even with microspike instead, you'd slide to your death.
Microspikes on the other hand, yeah, that's a must in your bag on spring/winter hikes, and you'll use them 50% of the time - and you'll regret not having them. Might still make it without them but much harder and more dangerous.
I use Kahtoola K 10 Hiking Crampons. Call them what ever you want. I have had a head injury walking on frozen packed down snow. Since then, that is what I use hiking.
@@MeMe-cd1wy Then crampons - my bad. The video showed microspikes, but if you use crampons on packed snow, fine. But for folks who don't know the difference, no you can't just "call them whatever you want". It's two different things. Microspikes will be sufficient on packed snow, but they clearly won't cut it on thick sheets of slick and incline ice.
When I first got into wilderness backpacking, I thought everybody told me “bring tampons” when referring to “cramp-ons.” After strapping tampons to my shoes and not seeing an efficiency boost, somebody saw and called me a weirdo. I went back to the Walgreens and they refunded my money.
My dumbest mistake was wearing a new pair of army surplus boots on a 50+ mile hike in the Trinity Alps in the late '60's. Blisters 1st day. Could not take my boots off for the entire hike and had to bear the pain for the first few miles each day until my feet got numb.
Second biggest mistake was not on hike but 150 mile kayak trip down the Sacramento River. Forgot my mosquito net after the first night, and the second night was at a place called Mosquito Island. You can fill in the rest.
Ooooh so many stupid mistakes to choose from. I have more....
In a pinch,clean wood charcoal helps with stomach issues.
My most common mistake is not checking my bag before I go out. I backpack so often, I get too confident about my packing. Then I'll find myself in the wilderness without some gear. Once camped Kearsarge basin in the snow without tent poles (back when my tent had poles).
Video of tromping through mud while talking about Imodium was grossly brilliant. The 14 year-old boy in my soul laughed out loud.
My biggest mistake was my brilliant plan for my partner and I to finance our weeks long wilderness ZERO IMPACT camping adventures by building a light-weight sluice, getting some pans and prospecting for gold along the many creeks and rivers our treks took us to.
Right, go into the most beautiful, pristine and sensitive areas on Earth, and tear it all to $*%$ for shiny rocks;
I still cringe thinking about it... And to add insult to nature's injury, on the two ventures prospecting we worked our butts off and found fewer than a dozen specks ( >$1 ).
The Hubs got a hankerin' to try panning for gold. We were camped near the Similkameen River, a place that routinely gives up nuggets and the lode has never been located. The man spent roughly three minutes crouched in cold water before declaring it "too hard," "stupid," and "boring."
I kept my uproarious laughter to myself. I knew it was hard work, but I figured it'd be best to let him figure that out himself.
I placed my cookpot, which I had just used to cook ramen, in my tent vestibule. A bear tried busting open my bear can (which was placed way far away from my tent, wind blowing away from my tent), then apparently detected the faint bit of ramen scent in my pot - so she/he came over and stuck their paw inside the vestibule. Luckily, the sound of my head turning on my pillow scared the bear off, but it was not a pleasant night for me after that.
Do you keep your cookpot/bowl in your bear canister now? I was just wondering how I would fit my bowl into my canister
@@ashlee9117 Yup, I put my fuel canister inside my pot, then that all goes into my bear can and I pack everything around it. I don't use a bowl, since I just boil my water in the pot and then pour that water into the dinner ziploc. Hope this helps!
Ramen = College bears.
@@constancemiller3753 Hahaha!! Love this!!
Thanks for leading by example! We all know what it’s like to fail forward. 😎 My night hiking experience was on the AT (just past Standing Bear Farm area) and I started 2 bear and a rattlesnake that evening. HR was thumpin’!! 😂
I am amazed at your ingenuity for coming up with new themes around hiking. Sensible advice, no doubt. Hope to see you on a trail again soon! but I understand (I'm sure all your viewers do) that in this crazy year you don't have it all in your own hands.
Instead of a bandana, I recommend carrying cheesecloth for filtering out particulates. I got stuck without water in Zion when the creek I was camped by went silty and I only had a bandana and UV filter. Thanks for your openness in admitting your mistakes - that’s the best way to learn.
Another great video and having been born in East Tennessee I completely understand the word bursted at 3:29. Love your videos.
I am addicted to your videos. I just finished my first weekend trek and LOST MY SPORK on the first day. Thank you, thank you thank you..because somehow I remembered your suggestion that a tent stake works...not elegant, but I ate! Fellow hikers did find my spork, so I only suffered one night...now that spork is zipped!
We always have to use instep-crampons when backpacking the A.T. in the winter in the Smokies. The trail is so worn it's like hiking in a ditch. The ditch collects water and it freezes at night creating a icy path.
My biggest mistake was going on my first long-distance hike. Now my life is ruined
.??
Why would that ruin your life Brant?
Yep. Now normal life off trail will never be as good.
Haha this is too true!
I made the mistake of doing the Annapurna circuit in 2014. Have never recovered.
I went to Norway a few years ago. Within 20 minutes of me arriving and walking around the town I went straight into a store that sold ice spikes and NEVER went out with them after that
Over the years, river trails in particular can be re-routed after washouts and changes in the river's path. Should one be following an old GPS track that seems to indicate one should cross a deep and fast moving glacial river at an unsafe point, consider that something like this may be going on. I admit nothing.
As a rookie hiker this all is such great advice! It sounds like common sense when you hear it but I wouldn’t have thought of any of the things you mentioned on my own.
I’m not a rookie but I still make the stupidest mistakes.
Got forest road hypnosis on the Allegheny Trail and missed the blazes indicating a turn off. Added over 2 non trail miles to my day.
Thanks for sharing this safety info!
I've done a lot of hiking & backpacking and will freely admit I have never worried about my water filter freezing! Something else to think about on the trail! Thanks!
Great job explaining "this is a thru hike. you have to make miles to get through it." There is an element of danger in seeking your goal. That is actually part of the fun, not knowing.
Reminds me of some of the general aviation (private planes) that had "mishaps" because of "get-there-itis." Sometimes goals just need to be adjusted. But all's well that ended well, so there's that!
That’s why I do my thru-hiking in extremes. I deliberately show up without water bottles or a sleep system or even a form of navigation. The unknown is so fun.
Loved the pix of James Peak. We see it from our house. We learned early in our 14-er career how quickly thunderstorms move in and how dangerous it can be. Scary memories from climbing Mount Sherman.
The water bottle & filter in the sleeping bag in freezing weather is crucial! Thanks for great advice!
There’s one more mistake to avoid:
Not having enough light for the night.
Sometimes you end up with unplanned night hikes, and you don’t want to end up spending the night in a dark damp valley because you can barely see your own hand in front of you, like I did once.
I forgot my headlamp on a hike once, and thought “ah, I’ll manage with the light on my cell phone”. Only mid trip did I find out that one of the maps I’d brought was of the wrong area, and not much later I ended up on the wrong path with no map of the area. I met some people going up the same valley I was going down, and they claimed it was only a two hour trip to a village so I thought “why not” and went ahead. But of course it was rocky, wild and beautiful, and it took me way more than two hours. The night fell on, my already well used cell phone battery went out and the clouds descended into night fog and rain. And I was stuck sitting on my backpack with my bivvy bag and a progressively wet sleeping bag.
I came through the experience tired, shivering and packing up to leave at earliest light, but without having brought the sleeping bag and bivvy i could have been dead.
You got way, way more right! Thanks🙂
Great video! I think its a good idea to carry meds for constipation and fever too. Very good suggestion about electrolytes! Thanks! But the dumbest thing you ever did was night hike the Florida trail thru those swamps where the very same day you couldn't see the water moccasin in the black water ripples right in front of you in broad daylight! The dumby-o-meter hit one hundred that night! Man! I was glad you two finished that one!
cream of tartar is an extremely efficient source of potassium.
The spooky thing is, a lot of these mistakes are actually dangerous to your health/life 😬
Stay safe out there, girl 🙂
In fact, the water filter one can ruin you if you're far away and not in condition to walk back for xyz reasons. It can happenn SO easily.
I just setup a system of ropes on mine so it stays tied to my bag with a carabiner xD
Good thinking 👍 Glad you took notice. maybe the title should have been something like "Don't make these life-risking mistakes, like I did" or something a little smoother..
@@_timetravels4528 Which is why you should always have a different water filtration system as back up on a long distance hike. I always carry tablets just in case my squeeze freezes
Recently a friend and I were hiking in the Adirondacks and hiking one of the higher 46. It was a warm day following a cold snap and there was a huge steep stretch of pure ice. Neither of us had micro spikes or even trekking poles because it was a dayhike, so needless to say it was a long, arduous experience going up and down, especially with the days shortening and the threat of descending in the dark! Not an experience I’d care to repeat.
Weeellllp... a big mistake in my opinion it's not to carry some back-ups for low temperature like an emergency blanket and a big dog food bag that also has aluminum and so it can keep things dry into the back pack apart from keeping our feet and legs warm. Also a rain back up like a poncho, not only to keep us and all our gear dry but also to prevent lighting bolts by picking a safe place (far from trees and NOT in a high elevation) and sitting in a log or in the ground in open field until the risks passes.
And last but not least (¿guess what?) carrying a KNIFE and learning basic things that we all can do with it.
I have been binge watching your videos for 3 weeks and am slowly purchasing gear for a thru hike while going on day hikes to build up my stamina. The AT is now on my bucket list. After watching the video where u told your mummy story I had a dream that I was running across the country from a raging bear that had it out for me. It was much faster than a mummy😰. I love your videos!
Lmfao @ the bear! Love this!!
I did Colorado outward bound 51 years ago and ended up on top of mountain with storm coming through. Hair straight up we started descent and ended up in big trouble. I was okay but others were not. Helicopter rescue after 3 days of caring for 3 compound fractures.on 2 companions. One was the instructor. Yikes.
do you pack powdered electrolytes?
Good questions.
I just bring along some Brawndo Thirst Mutilator and I'm good to go!
Good profile of some readily shareable mistakes. Imodium and a laxative. Abrupt diet changes and even moderate dehydration can cause gut changes.
I have been at the wrong end of both mistakes. You can mitigate "bursted" water filters by having a flat of water treatment tabs in the first aid kit. I had a big handed friend roughneck and break a my water filter. Another hiker gave us his emergency supply and the tip. I triggered a mountain lion, probably female, on forced hike on a moonlit night, just as the moon disappeared.
I roared back. Why? That came from some where in my wiring. And kept trucking.
Hiking Mount Washington (New Hampshire) in late October without proper layers/winter gear. Got in a pretty bad snowstorm near the summit, luckily the weather station at the top had workers in it and we waited out until it was better.
Mine was not using a foam pad or under quilt on my hammock while camping even here in the warm part of Australia. I could use the same sleeping bag on the ground without a tent just fine though.
Poeple kept telling me the ground saps away your heat more that the air around you, so i thought that being suspended up off the ground in a hammock would be warmer.
Also stops the large mosquitos biting through the hammock in the tropics. from an Aussie that stayed in the Malaysian Jungle.
@@tonydoggett7627 oh yeah they can be bad, luckily where i live the mosquitos are super bad for about 3 months and then almost non existent for the rest of the year so i can usually avoid them. Mosquitos are the reason i even got a tent, because once you start getting mesh and zippers and extra little ropes on your hammock you might as well just use a tent at that point, especially since your going to be sweating in that mesh anyway
Just a small comment about Yaktrax or any other microspike item using rubber material: before you put them in your pack, actually try them out on your shoes - before every single hike. The rubber can become brittle over time and snap when you try and put them on. You don't want that to happen right when you need them. Love yaktrax though, I use them for running on packed snow on the rare days it actually snows around here.
I have a headlamp by Fenix, the HM61R and I love it.
It comes with a proprietary magnetic charging cable and I don’t think I used it once. I have a 2-battery external USB charger from Nitecore. Being able to charge outside the headlamp allows me to charge one or even two batteries and use the headlamp with another at the same time. Prevents having your headlamp die at the wrong moment. Is there ever a right moment for a headlamp to die? 🤣
It uses 18650 Lithium batteries that hold a lot of power. It’s another thing to carry but I have poor night vision so I depend on a good light at night. It has a right angle design so if you’re hiking in rough terrain with a lot of roots or something you can clip it to your self at waist level and it will help to see where you’re putting your feet but still use it at a fairly dim setting to save battery. 🥳🥰👍
Along with an antidiarrheal, pack some Benadryl antihistamine, can be a sleep aid, allergy med. Not a particularly allergic person but of all things had an insect bite don't know what kind of bug on my eyelid, no pain or sting, but eye lid was nearly swollen shut. Try hiking with one eye, sucked, plus had to listen to one-eyed pirate jokes. Luckily one of others in party had Benadryl, and eye lid swell subsided in a few hours.
That sounds like a kissing bug bite but I sure hope not. They carry a parasite that can get into your bloodstream from a bite and kill you over the course of several years, causing heart failure and other nasty stuff, it's called chagas disease and it's no joke. Most never know they have it. I had to be tested for it once but it came back negative.
@@allfunny79 yikes !, thanks, I'll check it out .
i am just an old scout leader at heart. i do not like freeze dry or regurge foods; prefer real deal and cans....................... teach variable methods of trail cooking to both adults and scouts. Have rescued a few non-trained outers that either didn't read instructions and some that laughed at me going up trails with my selection of food items. I have shared a steak and potato dinner when too much water was used in a retort meal.
I think the biggest mistakes I've made are the A word. You guessed it "Assumptions" or "Assume". You are out in the middle of nowhere and what do you do? You think "I don't need to get water here. The stream a few miles up looks big on the map, I'll wait until then." or, as happened to me, "I'm high up on a mountain. Theres no way a flash flood will happen here." or "That hot spot on my foot is only beginning, I can make it until ..." or "It's only a day hike. I don't need rain gear (or insert your questionable item here)" and on and on. Don't assume, plan.
Tie a Christmas jingle bell to your shoes in bear Country. Bells are a constant noise that can cut through brush like a whistle. If you ever found yourself yelling across a river or through woods and wondering why friends won't reply. Voice don't carry far. Bells and whistles do.
Like some talk about, water planning. After crazy water insecurity NOBO on CDT this summer in NM, when I got to Colo and all the streams.. I relaxed. Big mistake as some ridge sections are far above any streams for long distances. (So now I have nightmares about water to go with the nightmares about crossing iced over trails.) :)
Easily one the most badass badasses all time!
My beginner boo-boo was keeping my food in my tent. I was at Pine Mountain GA. thinking there’s no bears here. So I kept my food bag in the vestibule. At about 1AM an animal was easing it out of my tent. I shook my tent yelled and then went outside. Never saw it though. Probably a raccoon.
Haha, smart buggers! I was woke up in the middle of the night once to a weird noise like an animal trying to get into my RTT. Turns out some sort of ferret or weasel was playing trampoline on top of it! Spent a good 10 mins listening to the guy bounce and roll around. Both my husband and dogs slept through the whole thing.
B-roll of goopy, boggy mud while talking about diarrhea. Classic.
In Florida, a very secluded trail, and by myself, and actually trying to cut off trail via a forest service road, I started to try and hike though standing water, I didn't know how deep it was, got about mid-thigh high, and started to feel my boots get sucked into the mud... Lesson learned, don't hike in water you don't know how deep it is, especially off trail, and by yourself.
The lightning risk segment with the hair standing up was informative. Glad you are safe. Thanks
A few years ago, I camped on a ridgetop because I wanted to see the sunrise on a nearby mountain. That night, a storm blew in. I sleep in a hammock, so I was in the only clump of trees in the area. I was so mad at myself -- what would I have done if I heard thunder? I got really luck because there wasn't any lightning that night.
And it was overcast at sunrise so I couldn't even see the nearby mountain.
Where I live in the Okanagan, and hike in the Graysokes and Monashees ,If we hike we are always in black bear and Grizz country, along with cougars. Bear spray and know how to use it. Always be aware. Hiking in Bear country is just hiking where I live. Even city hiking trails have bear warning signs. It is not a mistake just life.
I use to pick peach's out there but the heat was the real problem not the bears.
Bursted is my favorite word
thank you
Everyone makes mistakes, but the important thing is to learn from them. Lots of respect for owning up to your mistakes, and sharing the lessons you learned.