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

Imgur.com maybe? Would love to see one, your pics are great! I haven't done any hiking really around Mt. Hood, how long of a drive was it to Zigzag? I gather you're in the Portland area? Your dispatches from the Wallowas upthread are fantastic, a quick peek at a map says those are a ways away though, haven't had time to get much further than the Gorge lately, on account of a very small human in my care...

What is your go-to spot in the Gorge? I just discovered the Coyote Wall area last year, and I haven't gone anywhere else since (besides Elowah Falls but that's kind of like my church)

My go-to spot in the Columbia Gorge has been discovered by the masses and no longer is the peaceful backwater it was just a decade ago. The trailhead at Herman Creek provides access to several trails:

• Herman Creek trail
• Nick Eaton Ridge trail
• Gorton Creek trail to Indian Point
• PCT to Benson Plateau
• PCT to Dry Creek Falls

On the right sort of day in October, hiking up past Multnomah Falls toward Larch Mountain is great (once you leave behind the crowds at the top of the falls). Multnomah Creek above the falls is quite lovely and has several more waterfalls worth seeing.

Guess I can't be mad about more people going hiking, though the solitude vibe is a big one for me. Elowah used to feel like my little secret, and the last time I made it out there the row of cars lining the road was straight outta Eagle Creek.

That's another point for Coyote Wall though, tons of trails, very few hikers if any, and plenty of tiny lizards and deer and I even saw a lynx once! Or it saw me anyway, kind of spooky!

Haven't ever ventured further than the top of Multnomah, I will remember that for October thanks!

A great resource for local Portland area hikers is Oregonhikers.org.

best ilx thread title ever

i'm going hiking tomorrow

hope you bring a jacket

Hiked out of the Grand Canyon after a rafting trip last week. Bright Angel trail. Not exactly the road less travelled but it was pretty wild. Starting in total quiet at sunrise and finishing in the middle of a huge mob at the rim.

The rafting portion is HIGHLY recommended if you ever get the chance

was in ny not md so no jacket needed. this hurt so bad. i can't even walk now. i hated it. https://drive.google.com/open?id=10TWvX9CF6ACuE7fo4FFdVw6i_Kw&usp=sharing https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1241647123

just got back from a great hiking trip in Oregon

here i am atop Triple Falls in the Columbia River gorge

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w197/mamabrain/20160529_182245_HDR.jpg

Nice. The Columbia Gorge is so full of waterfalls I sometimes forget how amazing they are.

http://imgur.com/a/m4hqT

wow, woman in the dunes !

was that taken by a hovering helicopter

ha no.

it was taken from a cliff on the other side. the trail curves along a ridge on the right, out of view of the photo.

This summer I've been forced by circumstances to forego backpacking trips and most camping of any description, but I have been able to get out for some day hikes.

The last two were a hike of 13 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain, and another of 12 miles with 3000 feet of uphill. Both were forested hikes with few expansive views, but on those two hikes I saw a total of three other people on the first hike and not another living soul on the second! I hope to get another similar hike in this week, but it's been hard to get away from my responsibilities long enough to take a whole day away.

love stuff like this

https://www.outsideonline.com/2125031/what-happens-your-body-thru-hike

That's for a 500 mile thru-hike. Thru-hikers on the PCT cover 2650 miles and what that does to their bodies is a bit more extreme and not quite as benign. By the end of the hike they are usually burning muscle mass, not just fat.

ya i wouldn't want to do 2650 miles in nearly one go

once you reach a point where you're burning muscle mass, that's where i draw the line

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.
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn)

^ http://www.cleverhiker.com/blog/ditch-boots

i don't hike but this thread title always makes me smile

I do hike. I switched over to trail running shoes about eight years ago. I haven't had one blister on my feet since then.

I have recurrent ankle issues so I just wear ankle brace when going on long or difficult hikes. Can't remember last time I actually wore boots.

I have an ancient pair of Timberlands I still wear if I expect to encounter snow or especially rocky terrain. A couple years ago my buddy and I came across a guy trying to traverse a pretty steep snowfield in toe shoes. I gave him my Tims and he went across, then my friend brought my boots back and I went across. It was pretty funny, and he smoked us out for the trouble. Anyway, yeah trail runners are nearly almost always fine. I’ll often wear Chaco sandals for summer hikes with a lighter pack.

Aimless those are great pics upthread from 3 years ago. That’s my neck of the woods. Love it.

i was forcibly converted to trail runners over boots almost twenty years ago when someone stole my treasured asolos while they were drying outside a hut. never looked back. also a chacos guy in the summer (tho i just replaced my ten yr old pair of those with the even more minimalist and v weird looking and v comfortable bedrock sandals)

really stoked to do some hiking up in the pecos this summer

This year may not yield many backpacks or camping trips, but I am getting in some nice day hikes in the area. Yesterday I was able to get out for a 13-mile round trip to the top of a small local mountain (Salmon Butte) with 3100 ft. of elevation gain and loss. that's my most strenuous hike so far this year. Had to hike up through the clouds/fog, but broke out into sun on top. Had the place to myself. A very good day!

has anyone hiked a decent chunk of the trans canada trail? I have questions.

also, for anyone who's long-distance hiked, anything you wish you'd brought that hadn't occurred to you? or essentials you found yourself unexpectedly reliant upon?

Anyone have experience with the hut system in the Dolomites? Thinking I might have 5-6 days there in July. Looks awesome but I haven’t done a ton of due diligence.

My long distance hikes top out at 210 miles once, and 140 miles a couple of times, which are not particularly long as distance hiking goes. One thing I can say from experience that, once you have a well-thought out and refined gear and clothes system, then managing your pack weight becomes almost entirely a matter of managing your water throughout the day. Knowing ahead about water availability on your day's route is extremely valuable information, if you can get it.

More generally: don't skimp on your sleeping bag and keep it dry. In the cold, wet, windy conditions that conduce to hypothermia, your sleeping bag can save your life. I never hiked far enough to pound my feet all to hell, but foot problems are the most common physical reason long distance hikes fail, followed by other repetitive stress injuries. Mental exhaustion actually sends more thru-hikers home than physical injuries.

Good luck.

Thx a lot A. I have a good sleeping bag and I'm doing tons of research on where and when I'll be able to resupply.

Did a 4 night circuit in Vanoise Nat'l Park a couple weeks ago. SE France, along the Italian border. Completely awesome. Odd that the oldest national park in france could feel a bit undiscovered.

I've only done maybe a dozen day-hikes so far this year. Next week I expect I shall be able to go to NE Oregon and do some serious hiking. I'm considering a 5-day/4-night route that would cover about 40 miles, with a cumulative elevation gain of around 6000 ft. God willing.

were you solo, tobo?

looking forward to my annual summer long-weekend in SW Colorado. gonna get up early enough to finally do Sneffels Highline in Telluride.

this thread title always brightens my day

were you solo, tobo?

Wife and I will be hiking in the Dolomites in early September. Mostly long day hikes, but one overnight stay in a rifugio. One hike has about 1200 meters in elevation gain. Never done anything quite like this - we are really looking forward to it.

tobo73 your trip sounds amazing.

did a great hike in vermont (sunset ridge trail @ mt mansfield aka stowe) last week, extremely recommend it

It was!

Another thing: we ran into a couple of groups who were walking into refuges high in the alpine zone, not far from the ice fields, to meet climbing guides. i think that's a relatively affordable way to get some experience in a less-crowded glacier environment. The groups we chatted with seemed to be building their own skill sets so that they could do this sort of thing on their own some day, rather than just piggy-backing on a guide who would do all the heavy lifting to get clients onto the ice. We've done a bit of this kind of thing and it can be very rewarding in quieter areas.

How did you find out about the private rustic place? Did you just stumble in there w/o a reservation?

I used a guide service that mostly does TMB bookings. They booked the huts for me and suggested a route. This is their "self-guided" service, and the cost was very reasonable imo. I was pretty late in making travel plans and got spooked by how booked-up huts were in busier areas, like the TMB, so the self-guided service sounded like a good way to buy a little peace of mind.

In hindsight, I'm pretty sure we could have stumbled into any of the refuges where we stayed and there would have been plenty of beds. Next time, I'll do the planning and any booking on my own. the booking service really wasn't necessary in Vanoise but I didn't know that in advance.

my girl-friend and i just finished a seven day hike across the alps from gmund/tegernsee to sterzing/vipiteno in south-tirol. it was great. quite a busy route as it has been covered on german tv. we slept in hotels so we could wash our clothes every day by hand. i always ask myself how people do when they stay in huts. are there washing facilites or do they stay in their sweaty clothes all the time? especially the hike from bergfügen to the kellerjoch and then on the ridge up to the arbiskopf offered some great views on the alpine main ridge. i surprised myself that i could somehow could overcome my giddiness. it was quite ok though the warnings made me uneasy beforehand. one day hike involved 1500 m in altitude gain. we organised the accomodation ourselves but here is the website about an organised hike for anyone interested: https://www.die-alpenueberquerung.com/

sorry i meant kreuzjoch not kellerjoch, that was the day before and we only circumvented it.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/pinal-breaking/2019/08/23/group-44-hikers-rescued-trail-lost-dutchman-state-park/2097204001/

44 hikers! WTF. That's too large of a group to be on a trail. I've done that trail before. I do very well in the heat but no way would I hike that trail in middle of summer at hottest time of day.

apparently ppl at AZ State Parks cautioned against the hike but were ignored

Did they all get heatstroke? I am trying to figure out how 44 of them were stuck. I have never been on that trail.

I guess so? It only says "some" had heat issues. 41 of the 44 needed assistance per a different article.
It's also possible they got lost/couldn't find the right path down. At a certain point, there's no official trail to the top of Flatiron, you just scramble up the steep ravine.