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My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

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Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#11

Post by CaptainZapp »

flurdy wrote: post #9
flurdy wrote: post #5

My dumbest backpacking mistake was on day 2 of my interrail [1] trip across Europe and North Africa. Exhausted I fell asleep on a Marseille beach in the afternoon without any suncream on. When I woke up my shoulders was very sunburned. Spent the first week or two of the 6 weeks long trip lifting my heavy backpack off my painful shoulders. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrail

2nd mistake was packing too much stuff. Fixed a week into my trip in a Post office in San Sebastian by stuffing 2/3 of my backpack into a cardboard parcel and posting it home.

My packing rule, slightly tongue in cheek, but not really:

Pack light and then throw out half.

Seriously, I just came back from 3 1/2 weeks in Asia with a backpack with a weight of 11KGs (15, when I returned). I was never short on anything.

This may be slightly different when you have a weighty hobby (scuba diving, or so), kids or go to colder places. But in general my experience is that most people pack far too much.

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#12

Post by 13of40 »

flurdy wrote: post #5

My dumbest backpacking mistake was on day 2 of my interrail [1] trip across Europe and North Africa. Exhausted I fell asleep on a Marseille beach in the afternoon without any suncream on. When I woke up my shoulders was very sunburned. Spent the first week or two of the 6 weeks long trip lifting my heavy backpack off my painful shoulders. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrail

Not strictly backpacking, but I went on a car-free trip to Italy a few years back and thought it would be a great idea to buy new shoes for the occasion. After two weeks of walking eight hours a day, the blisters finally healed.

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#13

Post by harveywi »

crikli wrote: post #7
harveywi wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice mountainmansplain.

Huh? Someone below asked for a TLDW.

> "She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point." Runs fingers through thicket of chest hair "Guess it's time for yours truly to 'splain the right way to do it."

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#14

Post by [deleted] »

flurdy wrote: post #5

My dumbest backpacking mistake was on day 2 of my interrail [1] trip across Europe and North Africa. Exhausted I fell asleep on a Marseille beach in the afternoon without any suncream on. When I woke up my shoulders was very sunburned. Spent the first week or two of the 6 weeks long trip lifting my heavy backpack off my painful shoulders. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrail

[deleted]

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#15

Post by mvexel »

adrianN wrote: post #3

The Hunt for the Death Valley Germans [1] is full of interesting information about hiking in dangerous terrain [1] http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/the-hun...

Okay, there goes my morning... Fascinating. This would have been a fantastic podcast!

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#16

Post by jeremy0x4a »

crikli wrote: post #4

TLDW version: 1) Didn't get familiar with hiking / camping on broken / rough terrain. 2) Didn't plan on how to deal with hypothermia inducing temperatures. 3) Didn't replace shoes quickly enough 4) Not taking black bears seriously enough. 5) Careless / casual with river crossings She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point. Here are some based on my experience: 1) Go out with your pack at night and practice m…

> No RoTs here, water crossing are dangerous. If you are going to cross you have to have a plan for what happens if you lose your pack or get swept downstream. The force of water can be shocking.

Just as importantly, consider in advance how being wet is going to affect you. Wet clothes are heavy and fail to insulate, while wet feet inside wet shoes is a very bad combination for a number of reasons.

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#17

Post by n4r9 »

harveywi wrote: post #13
crikli wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? Someone below asked for a TLDW.

> "She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point." Runs fingers through thicket of chest hair "Guess it's time for yours truly to 'splain the right way to do it."

Some of the HN guidelines that you've broken here:

> Be civil.

> Don't be snarky.

> When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names.

> Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents.

> Please don't post shallow dismissals.

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#18

Post by mvexel »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #11
flurdy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2nd mistake was packing too much stuff. Fixed a week into my trip in a Post office in San Sebastian by stuffing 2/3 of my backpack into a cardboard parcel and posting it home.

My packing rule, slightly tongue in cheek, but not really: Pack light and then throw out half. Seriously, I just came back from 3 1/2 weeks in Asia with a backpack with a weight of 11KGs (15, when I returned). I was never short on anything. This may be slightly different when you have a weighty hobby (scuba diving, or so), kids or go to colder places. But in general my experience is that most people pack far too much…

It's surprising how little you actually need, and as you point out, how little more you need for a 3 week trip than you do for an overnight trip. I don't backpack much but my bikepacking checklist is pretty much the same regardless of the length of the trip. The main (and heavy) variable is the amount of water to bring, and that's more dependent on weather and available water sources than on length of the trip.

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#19

Post by SECProto »

crikli wrote: post #4

TLDW version: 1) Didn't get familiar with hiking / camping on broken / rough terrain. 2) Didn't plan on how to deal with hypothermia inducing temperatures. 3) Didn't replace shoes quickly enough 4) Not taking black bears seriously enough. 5) Careless / casual with river crossings She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point. Here are some based on my experience: 1) Go out with your pack at night and practice m…

> 3) Replace your shoes when mileage equals 500 - your loaded weight (bodyweight + pack). Do not risk your foot health for a hundred bucks.

Converting units to metric (km and kg), Replace your shoes when they are worn 800-3.5*(loaded weight)

Re: My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes (2018) [video]

#20

Post by scatters »

harveywi wrote: post #13
crikli wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? Someone below asked for a TLDW.

> "She doesn't give great rules of thumb on each point." Runs fingers through thicket of chest hair "Guess it's time for yours truly to 'splain the right way to do it."

I didn't see a female expert being shut out of the conversation?
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