best known hiking tidbits

matt gilbert · Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 698 Location: Mesa

Instead of putting gatorade in your bladder try putting a teaspoon of baking powder in for each quart or so of water. It does lend a bit of a funny taste but your body can more easily and quickly absorb and use the water this way. This is great for really hot days when you need to take in more water.
_________________
Cogito ergo ambulo cum sacculo
-Matt Gilbert

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

oh, I forgot a couple...
Mayonnaise packs also replace the need to bring margarine, messy messy margarine. I tried it, with suspicion, but the mayo taste really goes away when it cooks into food. Its basically veg. oil anyway. Thanks Trish

especially for the ladies.... you can use corn starch to wash your hair! Just rub it in dry, then brush it out and it absorbs all the oil from your scalp. Make sure to get it all or your friends will point and laugh at your lice problem.

I have a very small and cheap digital camera, and I have found a way to strap it to my head, over a hat, using an old Petzl headlamp strap. Its always close in a pinch, and I dont have to deal with a camera swinging from my neck or waist. Just in case I ever spot these aliens I hear so much about. Beam me up

_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

Daddee · Posted: 6/17/2004, 3:11 pm Post subject:

Always bring one special luxury item. Food, clothing, convenience - doesn't matter. It give's you that little sense of joy when you get to use it.
_________________
"Only small minds want always to be right."
- Louis XIV

"...haven't you lived long enough to know that two men may honestly differ about a question and both be right?"
- Abraham Lincoln

maryphyl · Posted: 7/4/2004, 11:19 pm Post subject:

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

MaryPhyl, some day were going to share ultralite hiking tips... que no?
spare socks double as 1) pot gripper 2) french press insulator 3) gloves
4) tent broom 5) washcloth

also I have thrown out my bear bag/tent staking/general purpose nylon twine and replaced it with a much lighter, stronger, and no-stretch Dacron salt water fishing line, 100# test.

are you guys taking notes?
_________________
http://www.arizonahikers.com/board/albums/albwb18/BRIDGE.sized.jpg
bridge hammock, quilts and tarp (all DIY)

what i do

matt gilbert · Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 698 Location: Mesa

Yes MP. Thank you.
_________________
Cogito ergo ambulo cum sacculo
-Matt Gilbert

pfredricks · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 347 Location: Peoria, AZ

I wish I had more time to devote to this ....., but I have a few quickies.

1. If you think you might be lost-You were already lost 20 minutes prior. STOP moving immediately. Get safe, get sane, get seen!!!
2. Buy only gear with YKK zippers (pack, bag, etc.)
3. When it comes to trail gourmet, MikeinFHAZ is the bomb.
4. Bring Tom (packmuleinGilbert), because you wont need to bring much gear of your own.
5. emergency bags not blankets are worth it if you are dayhiking. Believe me.
6. About half of Matt's ideas are great the other half are just plain wacky
7. Never take hiking advice from Tim, unless you think sacrificing a sleeping bag in freezing weather in favor of a 12 pack is a good idea. Especially if you only have light clothing.
8. Never store the above 12 pack in a grocery bag and place it in a stream. (stream will fill bag and drag it parachute style) The end result will result in a small party downstream.
no beer, no sleeping bag. A great story. Sad Tim.
miss you all!!
_________________
"I am just going outside and may be some time."- Explorer Oates' last words before crawling out of his tent in -40 C temps. Sacrificed himself so as not to hold back his 1912 South Pole expedition teamates.

matt gilbert · Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 698 Location: Mesa

We looked for that beer the entire way down the canyon. Didn't find a thing.
_________________
Cogito ergo ambulo cum sacculo
-Matt Gilbert

Trishness · Posted: 7/5/2004, 3:55 pm Post subject:

Pete....

I just had to smile at more than one of your "hiking tidbits". Thanks for making me laugh today!

Mr. Green

_________________
~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

matt gilbert · Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 698 Location: Mesa

maryphyl · Posted: 7/5/2004, 6:53 pm Post subject:

Some of these are probably already mentioned....

Drink a quart of water just before starting a hike. It will give you a queasy tummy for about 5 minutes but it is 2 pounds you don't have on your back.

Eat a salty breakfast.

Pounds are made from ounces--buy a scale.

Knees can only last for so long--be kind to them and keep that pack light when you are young even though you are able to carry lots. If you cannot dance in your pack it is too heavy Rolling Eyes

Buy a small light pack so you are not tempted to take too much.

If your load is less than 20 or 25 pounds you may be able to remove pack stays and use something firm like your sleeping pad to keep the pack's shape.

Lighten up!!!!! Wink

_________________
Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha.
I walk in beauty.

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

MikeInFHAZ · Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location

Trishness · Posted: 7/5/2004, 7:46 pm Post subject: