Planning and preparations

imported
#41

Uh . . . I have no idea. I stole it from Wolf.
:wink:

Kineo Kid

#42

Bloody Cactus, Do a search for Yerba Mate. This stuff is the bomb and is my trail tea of choice. It has many healing properties and it interacts with your system like caffine (a diuretic, which makes you loose water) giving you that wired energy feeling (like Red Bull, etc.), but it’s not caffine. It has many nutrients, too. Really, you can’t beat this tea.

Also, did you know that you can boil pine needles to make tea? Add a touch of honey and it is very tasty – supposed to be very good for stomach/bowel disorders.

Dawg

Dawgtrekker

#43

bush tea. we brew lots of leaves at home. gum leaf tea is refreshing! ill keep an eye out for yerba mate… have you tried rooibos? its saffer tea. not too bad a drop! nice tea.

i think if i see ross on the trail i’m gonna have to call him Limey! :stuck_out_tongue: hahahahahhhaha

BC, in a strange odd mood tonight…

Bloody Cactii

#44

To Magic Game 03:

Thanx for your kind (and of course, anonymous) words.

Contrary to what you reported, I could care less about what folks chose to bring with them on their trips, where they go, etc. That’s up to them.

However, I think it’s monumentally stupid to travel in the backcountry without maps and the ability to use them. This doesn’t matter if you’re out for 6 hours or 6 months.

On EVERY one of my thru-hikes, I helped look for, or helped to guide other hikers who were lost or injured, or were trying to find folks who were lost. In EVERY case, these folks either didn’t have maps or didn’t know how to use the ones they had. Anyone who’s been involved in Mountain Search and Rescue will tell you the same thing.

There are many other reasons to carry them—to help plan your hiking days better, to know where the difficult climbs are, to know where you’re likely to find a good sunset, to know where alternative water sources are, to know how to get off the Trail and out of the woods in a hurry if an emergency comes up, etc. The only reason NOT to carry them is if you’re lazy, too cheap to buy them, or somehow feel they’re not worth the few ounces they weigh.

Not carrying maps in the backcountry is simply not a particularly bright thing to do, though you, Magic Game, are welcome to do as you wish. Advising other folks to do likewise, tho, is not, in my opinion, particularly useful information to share here.

Jack Tarlin

#45

Let me first say I am one of Baltimore Jack’s biggest fans. He is a sincere and articulate “friend of the Trail.” I believe he tries to help everyone, especially those who are “new to the AT.”

Having said that, I just don’t see the “big deal” with carrying maps on the AT if you have a guide book. I always knew how far I was from the next town; the height of the mountains I was about to climb; where the next shelter or water was, etc. Sure, there may be some side trails nearby…but if you need to exit due to an injury you’re most likely going to need and get help from others who will have to come in after you.

As far as knowing the terrain for a particular section, I for one, preferred to take it as it came. I never bothered others who had maps. In fact I hiked with a great guy for a piece who carried them and often shared what we were in for. That was fine, but I don’t recall hikers without maps pestering those with maps to see them…as some have suggested.

Lazy?..maybe but I don’t think so. I just see them as more of a bother than they’re worth.

Cheap?..Those who hike with me can testify that I’m not cheap… a number of times I picked up the tab for some young hikers without a whole lot.

I just don’t think it’s such a big deal not to carry maps.

Skeemer

#46

Well skeemer, obviously and luckily you never got into a f**ked up situation where a map was needed. Count your blessings. Next time you or someone else might die cuz of your apathy.

Wolf

#47

I personally didn’t carry maps, and didn’t run into any situations where I needed one this year. If you just pay attention and use common sense, it’s practically impossible to get lost on the AT. I think Magic hit on a very important point in saying that you should know your limits, some people need maps more than others. I personally was in a situation where I needed to (and did) save a guy’s life this year. He was a diabetic who had run out of food half a day before civilization. We woke up and he was completely ‘out of it,’ couldn’t talk right or even feed himself. If I didn’t happen to have a bit of extra food, he could easily have died. He had overstepped his limits and skipped a potential resupply, the situation would have been avoided. Maps didn’t help, having half a can of cake frosting and some oatmeal did. Should we tell everyone to carry cake frosting just in case? I bet that a lot of fatalaties on the trail could have been prevented if there was a defibrillator available, should we tell everyone to carry one? Is a person apathetic for not carrying a defibrillator? My point is that it’s not stupid to go out into the woods without a map, it’s stupid to go out without accepting responsibility for yourself.

Wolf, you say that you would walk right past an injured person just because they don’t carry maps. I sure hope you don’t expect someone to help you when you’re injured just because you can tell them where to carry your lame a$$.

I personally will refuse to help anyone who doesn’t carry cake frosting. :wink:

Skittles

#48

well I am for maps, but I wont be taking any on the AT. I dont consider it ‘backcountry’. If i was going bush and the nearest homestead is a sheep station 1000km away, then sure, maps,compass,gps is a must.

on the pct, maps yes, on the at? hmm i’m not going to take any maps.

Bloody Cactus

#49

Wolf, aren’t you exagerating things just a little?..have you ever heard or read about a single death on the AT attributed to the hiker not having a map to help them find a way off the Trail? Maybe those of you making such strong statements could back them up with some facts that would help others undrstand why maps “must be carried.”…instead of just making “threatening like” statements. I met many, many, hikers on the AT without maps. Were all of them lucky they didn’t DIE? Is the risk REALLY what you make it out to be? If so, the word has not gotten out.

Again, I don’t have a problem with maps and I can see BJ has used them to help others in his extensive travels…they’re great and that’s why so many like and use them. While Woods Dragon and Bluebearee makes strong cases above, the guide books still gives you enough info on where you are if bad weather sets in.

On the other hand, comments from Magic Game03, Skittles and Bloody Cactus, make sense…there’s nothing wrong with not carrying them on a well marked trail like the AT…as long as you have a gude book and/or adequate information on the Trail.

Skeemer

#50

Blooody Cactus–

I wonder if you’ve ever hiked in Maine. Based on a percentage of land mass/acreage, it’s the most heavily forrested state in the nation, and is about the last place in the East you wanna get lost in, especially in the fall, when there aren’t that many folks in the woods. People get lost up here all the time, and in some cases, are never found. If you really don’t consider the A.T. “the backcountry”, well you’re in for a big surprise in a lot of places, especially if you manage to wander off the Trail.

And Skeemer, it’s great that you get all the info you need from Guidebooks, but you’re ignoring the fact that nearly all of the folks who’ve neglected to purchase or carry maps are also NOT carrying Guide Books either. The “Official” Trail Guides put out by the ATC are very well done, but you see very few folks carrying them after the first few weeks on the Trail.

If people feel confident not carrying maps, that’s fine. It’s a personal decision. But advising other folks to do likewise is not, in my opinion, sound advice.

Baltimore Jack

#51

I carried maps at the beganing of the hike. They served good for letting you know much the next mountain is going to torture you. The AT is blazed so well, and you can always look on your fellow hikers maps at the cost of no weight. There will always be someone with a map or a first aid kit. :smokin

buttercup

#52

Opps, I forgot to add, Wingfoots guide book, is the option most use.

buttercup

#53

bjack, i’m an aussie. never been to america. ive hiked in australia. ive seen ‘backcountry’. i shuoldnt be making clams when i havnt hiked the at, but iev looked over what maps I can find all over the internet. i also have the “Hikes in the Virginias (Exploring the Appalachian Trail)” which has all the maps in it for VA.

ive judged for myself that a) I dont need the maps, b) i cant carry all of em at once, c) ive nobody to send me anything as i go, d) cant afford them. i’ll give d is a bit of a copout.

if i was REALLY worried, id have maps, compass, gps, emergeancy dentil kit, emergeancy open hart surgery kit, adrenaline injections, flares, personal beacon, arm amputation kit for being trapped under a boulder and a clean change of underwear.

i’m passing on the maps.

Bloody Cactus