still fuckin with climb cuz climb pays: the ILX hiking thread

thinking of kicking it here for a couple of weeks in the month between submitting thesis and doing viva http://www.banja.no/en/index.html

Re bug repellent, my fam always got Ben's from the camping supply store. I think it's Ben's? Little orange bottle. Was considered pretty hardcore at the time but that was 20 yrs ago.

caek, that place sounds most excellent.

I just returned from a five-night camping trip with my wife. We hiked every day. Nary a soul about, just us. A good time had by all. When the dust settles, I may post a pic.

My pack sitting near a small creek along the trail, last thursday.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4761926614_64e3cc1ecf.jpg

Awesome. So jealous.

great smokies, here i come. one week until departure. excited. wondering if i should buy new shoes as my boots have been bothering (like REALLY bothering) my achilles tendon the last few times i wore them...

Shoes that kill your feet are not shoes; they are instruments of the devil. They are evil.

unless you buy trail runners or mostly synthetic light hikers, buying new boots might hurt your feet worse due the break-in period!

Light hikers work excellently well for me. I am experimenting with trail runners now, too.

i'm just sort of depressed that my boots hurt. i'm going to test them out this week, but the other thing is that wearing boots in 90 degree weather sounds like not such a great idea.

My hiking boots had next to no break-in period! I love them so much.

i think if my grand plans to date someone who likes real hiking (and driving to awesome hiking spots) are to truly pan out, i need to buy some new hiking boots or at least trail runners b/c he's not going to be convinced by my ol' new balance running shoes.

hiking hungry is, like, the best hungry, even better than swimming hungry.

(i had the same hiking boots from age 16-26 and they ruled. i miss them and just kinda want the same pair but that model and make is long gone.)

Welcome to the experience of old people everywhere, rrrobyn. Whatever products (especially clothes) that you love, which exactly meet your needs, they will be superceded, often by something you don't like or want.

real hikers that live hikin will appreciate yr newbies rrrobym

oh man, those new boots i bought? they were replacements for the ones i had from 20-33. and the new ones are the same brand and basically the same model sort of, only they hurt! the old ones fell apart while i was wearing them, and then i duct taped them together so i could walk home :(

hey roxy -- i was just reading on hikinginthesmokies.com that there is a road (roaring fork) closed -- is this an important road to get into trailhead areas from the gatlinburg entrance? it sounds like it is :-/

According to our last update from the park service, the trailheads effected are Baskins, Bullhead, Grapeyard, Old Sugarlands, Rainbow Falls and Trillium

Most of those trails are accessible by other trails that are not on the closed road - is there one in particular you are wanting to go on? The road is closed but the trails are open, so it is just a matter of how you access it

and that road was SCREWED UP

A lot of those are the ones we wanted to go on, but if they're accessible from other areas, I guess it's ok? Do you have recommendations for sites to visit for alternate routes? Trail recommendations? We're looking at day hikes mostly, nothing over 5-6 hrs round trip.

Depends on what sorts of things you want to see - are waterfalls more important or valley/mountain views from up high?

My favorite hikes are Charlie's Bunion further into the park near Newfound Gap with a wonderful view when you reach it, Abrahm's Falls in Cades Cove - gorgeous and easy with swimming at the top and maybe Alum Cave Bluffs which are part of the hike to Mt Leconte, but you can stop at the bluffs.

Stay tuned for pictures of these hikes.

Valley/mtn views! Waterfalls are great, too, but I think they're less urgent. We live in flat old Chicago, so any sort of elevation change is pretty exciting.

CHARLIES BUNION:
You can sit up there and have lunch before heading back. It is round trip 8 miles but I did it once with 15 adolescent boys who had been in treatment for 6 weeks and totally out of shape and they all made it with no problems.
Charlie's Bunion has an AMAZING pay off when you get there - this view:
http://www.matzkoscottage.com/wp-content/images/framed_pics/charlies_bunion_20.jpg

ALUM CAVE BLUFFS:
I once weathered a storm underneath this bluff and didn't get wet at all. Another great place for a picnic. It is 4.6 miles round trip and has some awesome views along the way.
http://image26.webshots.com/26/4/48/93/371944893GmtfHT_ph.jpg

ABRAHMS FALLS:
5 miles round trip and really cool. The fall is 20 feet but there are usually TONS of people on this trail and at the top, just fyi
http://faculty.ucmo.edu/myxo/images/abrams_falls.jpg

Wow. Swimming! Thank you so much -- the pictures are beautiful and I am muy excited about this. You're #1 awesome!

The one with swimming at the top is a fairly easy hike to do and is a nice way to spend a whole day up at the top. Also, the trailhead is on the Cades Cove Loop drive - an 11 mile loop road that shows off the valleys that people once lived in. Some of the cabins are there and you can go walk around in them. There is an old mill that is functioning and they sometimes are selling corn flour they are making if you are there on the right day.

Here is info on the loop:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm

and here is a map of the loop so you can see where the abrahams falls trailhead is:
http://www.cadescove.net/images/ccmap.jpg

A model ranger, you are, Nijoli! Now my husband wants to know if you are able to make it not rain the entire time we're there ;) That's probably asking too much, I realize.

I guess if it does we might have to go into Knoxville to go record shopping or something. Thanks again.

If you do that, be sure you go to the store where I work, which is Lost and Found Records.

Will do! (My name is Amanda btw -- would hate to introduce myself as "la lechera")
this is what it would be like if i were your neighbor at mesa verde
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3638217365_0626531e61.jpg

aw. i love mesa verde! my sister is headed that way and can't wait.

and my name is heather, by the way!

ok, i will try to visit you if (who am i kidding, WHEN) we have a rainy day

aw

Yeah, you don't need Roaring Fork at all. It's only (? from memory) like 11 miles long, and it's a loop. I've walked it a few times to get to trails when it was closed to traffic. Newfound Gap Rd. will get you everywhere you want to be.

FYI Abrams Falls IS easy, but incredibly rocky and considered one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in America for this reason (and also the fact that people die swimming there). The NPS discourages getting in the water at Abrams. That aside, it is one of my favorite hikes. Skip: Clingman's Dome, unless you are fetishistic about reaching "highest point(s) in _______." It is ugly this time of year, and way too crowded, but it is the highest point in TN. Something I would really recommend is going up to the Mt. Sterling shelter and camping there. It is the only shelter camping experience you can get without hiking a lot, or really, at all. It's close via car to Newfound Gap which is worth a stop for the view (you'll be there anyway if you do Charlie's Bunion, IMO the 2nd best hike in the Smokies, and awesome this time of year). Of course, the jewel in the crown of the Smokies is Mt. Leconte and I can't advise anyone to skip it ever. If you only come here once, you really must do it. Only 5 miles up from the Alum Cave trailhead. A tough 5, but not too tough, and more worth it than anything you'll ever do.

I would recommend the Boulevard as the trail up Mt. Leconte. It's longer, but a lot less (I won't say strenuous, it probably evens out) constantly uphill. It's 8 miles of incredible beauty and surprises. For real. It is THE Smoky Mountain experience.

Also cool and really easy is Kephart Prong (named after ultimate bro Horace Kephart), only 2 miles, and there is a beautiful shelter to camp in. It's great this time of year. Lots of stream crossings (w/ footbridges) and covered in wildflowers. Perfect forest hiking, perfect backwoods camping.

(Should have said "though" after my sentence about the Boulevard. Basically just don't take the Bullhead)

oh phew, it's a relief that roaring fork isn't 100% necessary -- i was worried that it would be the only way that we can access the places we want to go.

i do want to visit the jewel in the crown of the smokies, though -- will not skip. whee forest hiking wildflowers ultimate smoky mtn experience! i am c/p-ing all of this into a doc that i will print and bring along. otherwise i am likely to forget all of your advice.

!!muchisimas gracias!!

seriously, when the SMA was trying to get the feds to make the smokies a national park...they took them to Mt. Leconte.

<3 I hope you love the Smokies. It is my favorite place on earth and I have devoted my life to it.

well, i certainly feel fortunate to have your advice on my visit :)

have fun on tour! sorry i'm missing you in chicago. i will tell mt leconte you said wuzzup/luv.

i loved the smokies! pics forthcoming as soon as i get my shit organized and pick up my (other) dog from the dude who was taking care of him. we took the puppy with us, which interfered with hiking a little bit but mostly interfered because she got her first period while we were there :-/

the short story is that
* hiking in the early morning is MY JAM. so quiet, so spooky.
* charlie's bunion hike was my favorite because it was SO foggy and SO quiet and there was no one there but us. lots of awesome gnarly trees. we saw some people on the way down, but no one on the way up.
* boots were ok, but can anyone explain why my feet felt numb and then extremely painful in the toe area on the way down any steep incline? is it my feet or the boots, you think?
* smokies rule

many thanks to nij/rox for their valuable expertise.

boots too big imo

if they felt numb, probably too tight

i had a pair of amazing ecco gor-tex hiking boots that i couldn't wear bc they did the same thing after 30mins or so - i think it was bc altho the leather would have stretched after wearing them in, the gor-tex wouldn't.

TREES

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4812014025_3b7f02c0fe.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4812648290_75d8dd4126.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4812649230_e499fa6cc2_b.jpg

VIEW
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4812031209_fcbdf59e61.jpg

daaaaaang

so are my boots too big (gbx, doctor) or too small (justin3, shoe expert)?

it is a mystery

i mean if the pain/numbness happens only when going downhill, it might be because your toes are sliding forward and banging the end of yr boots. this has been my experience, at least. you could try some insoles, they usually do a good job of holding yr feet in the same place while you move around

i had some insoles and i removed them because it seemed like they were crowding my toes. it got a little better, but still happened on the final day of hiking. as soon as i took my boots off and rubbed my feet a little, the pain was totally gone. this makes me think it's the boot and not a deformed/fucked up foot.

in my opinion, most numbness, toe-banging, and blister issues arise when boots are too stiff. i really don't think it's necessary to have a traditional leather hiking boot unless you're carrying a pack that's 25 - 30% of your weight. once i finally switched to trail runners as my hiking (and backpacking shoes), i stopped getting problems similar to what you've described.

if you want to stick with boots, i second gbx's recommendation for insoles - get a pair that is advertised as low profile. superfeet insoles are probably best at holding your feet in place, because they have a lot of arch support and a really deep heel cup, or you can get customizable ones from montrail or sole that are a little less extreme.