Backpacker October 2010
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Transcript of Backpacker October 2010
B AC K PAC K E R . C O M
OCTOBER 2010
THE SURVIVAL ISSUE
123LIFESAVING SKILLSHOW TOLIGHT A FIRE IN ANY WEATHER
FIND WATER IN THE DESERTBUILD A SURVIVAL SHELTER
STAY WARM IN KILLER STORMSNAVIGATE WITHOUT A MAP
50-Mile Life List
America’s 10 best
weeklong routes
NEW SECTION!
LOCAL HIKES
top trailsnear you28
The Best Park You’ve Never
Visited
PLUS
GU
IDE B
UIL
T.
GU
IDE T
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Bruce Dale for National Geographic
Will the Internet kill magazines?Did instant coffee kill coffee?
New technologies change many things. But not everything.You may surf, search, shop and blog online, but you still readmagazines. And you’re far from alone.
Readership has actually increased over the past fi ve years. Eventhe 18-to-34 segment continues to grow. And typical young adultsnow read more issues per month than their parents. Rather thanbeing displaced by “instant” media, it would seem that magazinesare the ideal complement.
The explanation, while sometimes drowned out by the Internetdrumbeat, is fairly obvious. Magazines do what the Internet doesn’t.Neither obsessed with immediacy nor trapped by the daily newscycle, magazines promote deeper connections. They createrelationships. They engage us in ways distinct from digital media.
In fact, the immersive power of magazines even extends tothe advertising. Magazines remain the number one mediumfor driving purchase consideration and intent. And that’s essentialin every product category.
Including coffee.
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T h e s e c r e t i s
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10.2010 BACKPACKER 5
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EY 16 50-Mile Thru-Hikes
No six-month sabbatical in the works for a long trail? Not a
problem. Here are 10 point-to-point treks with the payoffs of a
thru-hike—new scenery and campsites every day, enough miles
to get into a rhythm—but all sized just right for your real-world
vacation: a week. From Pennsylvania to California, these are the
top routes for a thru-hike you can do this year. By Jim Gorman
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44 Trail EtiquetteGo ahead and get dirty. But please, don’t act like a Neanderthal
just because you’re 14 miles from indoor plumbing. Take our
quiz to see if you’re a civilized hiker—or need to pay a visit to
backcountry fi nishing school.
YOUARE
HERE
DESTINATIONS
26 NEW TRIPS NEAR YOU!
Our expanded Local Hikes section has 28
GPS-enabled trails, from San Francisco to
Atlanta, mapped by our fi eld scouts. Plus:
Free Print & Go planners for select trips.
30 TOP 3 RAINY SEASON HIKES
Get surprising payoffs on hikes in
California, Utah, and Pennsylvania
that save their best for soggy weather.
32 NATURAL WONDERS
Marvel at the country’s deepest gorge, and
watch Colorado’s bighorn sheep clash.
35 RIP & GO WEEKEND ADVENTURES
Less planning, more hiking. Tear out our
weekend guides to Kings Canyon, the inner
Grand Canyon, and the Shenandoahs.
42 MY BACKYARD NORTH CASCADES
See Washington’s jagged and remote
mountains through a ranger’s eyes.
43 THE PEAK MT. MARCY
Take the scenic—and sporting—route to
New York’s highest summit.
SKILLS
46 THE MANUAL PREDICT WEATHER
Can crickets tell you the temperature and a
cup of coffee forecast storms? Here’s how
to become a backcountry meteorologist.
48 HEALTH MEDICINE MAN
Feeling forgetful? Learn whether climbing
those Fourteeners caused brain damage.
50 PREDICAMENT LOST IN THE WOODS
You lose your way while hiking through a
dense forest. And night is falling. Can you
fi nd your way to safety?
52 DIRTBAG/GOURMET FONDUE
Add rich cheese and gourmet fl air to your
backcountry repertoire.
53 GEAR SCHOOL SNOWSHOES
Get expert tips on picking the right size,
shape, and style for optimal performance—
and get out more this winter.
GEAR
58 FIELD NOTES NEW REVIEWS
All-purpose boots, a three-for-one
winter jacket, a hard-duty pack for
peakbagging and bushwhacking, a
versatile three-person tent, and more
October 2010
Cover Photo by Dan Saelinger
FIELD TEST
54Sleeping bags and pads
On the Cover
71
B AC K PAC K E R . C O M
OCTOBER 2010
THE SURVIVAL ISSUE
123LIFESAVING SKILLSHOW TOLIGHT A FIRE IN ANY WEATHERFIND WATER IN THE DESERTBUILD A SURVIVAL SHELTER STAY WARM IN KILLER STORMSNAVIGATE WITHOUT A MAP
50-Mile Life List
America’s 10 best
weeklong routes
NEW SECTION!
LOCAL HIKES
top trailsnear you28
The Best Park You’ve Never
Visited
PLUS
Mountains
Ocean, Sea, or Lake
26
16
42
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WHEN TRAVELING TO MILAN ON BUSINESS, YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER TO PACK VERY SENSIBLE SHOES.
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© 2010 Thule Inc. All trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
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Thoughtfully designed Thule Crossover bags let you seize those opportunities, so you never
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Volume 38 Issue 280 Number 8
EYE IN THE SKY
110
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Identify this deep,
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lake and you could
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10.2010 BACKPACKER 7
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A practical guide to wilderness
catastrophes and the skills you need to:[ ] Navigate without a compass
[ ] Make a splint from sticks
[ ] Improvise a pair of crampons
[ ] Start a fi re with whiskey
[ ] Stay warm without shelter
...and more
Go back far enough, and we’re all descended from hunters, one way
or another. Yet the rift between hikers and hunters grows bigger
every year. But are the unarmed missing out on an important part
of the wilderness experience? Can shooting a deer actually make
you a better backpacker? Rifl e in hand, Bruce Barcott looks for an
answer—and a target—in eastern Washington.
60 Killer Hike
We like to think that a camping trip can
bring anyone together—even three siblings
harboring fi ve decades’ worth of betrayals,
resentments, and maybe one case of semi-
accidental poisoning. Will a backpacking trip
in the Rockies bring this family together—or
tear them apart? By Steve Friedman
92My F*&^ingFamily
84 Test Your Survival IQShort of getting attacked by a bear, lost in a storm, or caught in an avalanche, the best
(and safest!) way to measure your disaster know-how is this quiz. Resist the temptation
to peek at the answer key—and see if you’ll make it out alive.
Would You Survive?Take our quiz to rate your wilderness IQ.
start hereTrue or false: You can
stay alive in the wilds by…
1. Drinking urine
2. Eating snow
3. Drinking from a cactus
4. Sleeping in a space blanket
5. Staying positive
6. Tying bags over plants
7. Eating wild greens
8. True or false: A handful of
roasted, large grasshoppers has
nearly the same number of calo-
ries and protein as a hamburger.
9. True or false: Most bunched
berries are edible.
answers
10. Which mushroom is edible?
A) Cortinarius traganus
B) Clitocybe nuda
11. True or false: When you’re
hopelessly lost in the forest, you
can orient yourself by remem-
bering that all streams lead to
roads, moss grows thicker on the
north side of trees, and spiders
build their webs facing south.
12. You’re still lost, but now
you’re also tired and hungry, and
night is falling. Your only food is
a single energy bar. You should…
A) Save it as long as possible,
because your body will start
burning fat right away and you
might need a quick burst of
energy in the coming days
B) Ration the bar bite by bite,
nibbling on it just enough to
quiet the stomach growls
C) Eat the whole thing, to give you
energy to build a shelter and fire
23. Which of the following are
signs that someone is drowning?
A) Splashing and waving of arms
B) Shouting
C) Silence
D) Upright posture
24. While backpacking along the
Lost Coast, you pitch camp on a
beach and set out for a dip. You see
a spot in the surf where the waves
are flat, and it looks like there’s an
outbound stream on the surface. Is
this a safe place to swim
A) Yes, because the waves are
calmer at that spot
B) No, that is a danger zone
25. How do you escape a rip current?
A) Swim straight to shore using the
most powerful stroke, the crawl
B) Let it carry you out and then
signal a passing boat
C) Swim parallel to the shore
26. Assuming you can’t get to a
stand of tall trees, which of these
spots is the best place to wait out
a lightning storm?
A) Under any lone tree
B) In a low spot or ravine
C) Atop a rock slab
D) Inside a cave
cent constitutes the majority of those
seeking survival instruction.
15. True. These soft, resinous (sappy)
woods have a lower ignition point.
16. False. Diamonds are much
harder than the steel used in blades.
Hitting your wife’s ring against your
knife will gouge the blade but won’t
produce a spark. However, striking
the blade with the sharp edge of an
opal pendant will get the job done.
17. A. Coral snakes live mostly in the
Southeast and Southwest. The
others are harmless. To tell them
apart, remember: Red on yellow, kills
a fellow. Red on black, friend of Jack.
18. C. By restricting circulation, a
If you rewarm them in the field, two
things can happen: First, they might
swell up, preventing you from get-
ting your boots back on, and second,
they might refreeze, causing more
damage. Never use a fire or massage
(friction) to warm frostbitten tissues,
which burn easily under dry heat.
34. C. Says survival expert Laurence
Gonzales, “The personality type best
suited to survival is calm, humble,
curious, deliberate, cautious, and (at
the right times) bold.”
35. B. “When bad things happen,
denial is natural,” Gonzales says.
Getting beyond it fast is critical.
tourniquet prevents blood from
diluting the toxin and reducing tissue
damage. And suction methods have
been shown not to work.
19. All six of these will work (one point
for each), since they have a hardness
between 5 and 6.5 on the Mohs’ scale.
But the last three lose their edges
quickly and require frequent knapping.
20. B. Though cottonwoods are usually
a good sign of water, too, their roots can
reach 40 feet deep. But Bermuda grass
requires water close to the surface.
21. C
22. If you can’t do C, do B (one point for
each). Downed trees form underwater
obstacles called strainers, which can
of water flowing away from shore.
More than 100 Americans drown
in them each year. They can form
anywhere with breaking waves and
are most common around low spots,
breaks in sandbars, piers, and jetties.
Polarized sunglasses help you see
them by reducing glare.
25. C. Rip currents are typically only
30 to 100 feet wide, so you can easily
escape them before they carry you out
to sea. But swimming against the
current will exhaust you.
26. B. Lightning is attracted to high
points, and since wet rock conducts
electricity, lightning can also arc
across slabs and cave openings.
27. Fill in the blanks: If a black bear
attacks, you should and if a
grizzly attacks, .
28. If you stumble across a
bear, you should...
A) Play dead
B) Back away slowly while avoid-
ing eye contact, speaking in a low
voice, and slowly waving your arms
C) Run away
29. True or false: In the broiling des-
ert, stripping off clothes is the best
way to lower your body
temperature.
30. Never cross
ice unless you
know it’s con-
tinuous and at
least…
A) 3 inches thick
B) 4 inches thick
C) 5 inches thick
31. Which of
these is most
dangerous in out-
door emergencies?
A) Panic
B) Haste
C) Despair
D) Overconfidence
32. If you’re caught in an
avalanche, you should…
A) Curl into a tight ball to avoid
being crushed
B) Fight to stay in the slide’s tail
and create an air pocket in front
of your face with your hands
C) Shed your pack so it doesn’t
drag you down, and get your
feet forward
33. What is the best way
to treat frostbitten
feet?
A) Leave your
boots on until you
reach a warm
shelter, then heat
up your feet near
a fire (or apply
heat packets
or warm water
bottles against
the skin); speed
up the process by
rubbing your feet
with your hands
B) Leave your boots on
until you reach a warm
17. Which of these
snakes is deadly?
A) Eastern coral snake
B) Mexican milk snake
C) Organ pipe
shovel-nosed snake
D) California mountain
kingsnake
18. A rattler bites you.
You should...
A) Tie a tourniquet above the bite,
to keep venom from spreading
B) Suck out the venom with a
suction cup or your mouth
C) Immobilize the limb at heart
level and get to a doctor
19. Which of these throw a spark
when struck against a knife?
A) Flint
B) Chert
C) Jasper
D) Quartzite
E) Obsidian
F) Granite
p g
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shelter, then heat them in lukewarm
water or with hot, wet cloths
C) Remove your boots and have
your hiking partner suckle your toes
34. Which personality
type is best equipped
to handle survival
situations?
A) Popeye
B) Eric Cartman
C) Ned Flanders
D) Drill sergeant
E) Foghorn
Leghorn
F) Charlie Brown
35. What is the
most common
mistake people
make in the midst
of emergencies?
A) Attempting
to self-rescue
B) Refusing to accept the situation
C) Relying on others to save them
D) Freaking out and making
rash, irrational decisions
onality
pped
al
st
?
20. In a desert environment,
which of these is a better indica-
tor of accessible water?
A) Cottonwood trees
B) Patches of Bermuda grass
21. Most hikers know that drink-
ing alcohol speeds dehydration,
which creates great danger in
extreme weather conditions. But
how much water must you drink
to offset your booze intake and
avoid dehydration?
A) 2 times as much water
B) 3 times
C) 6 times
D) 10 times
22. Your canoe flipped, and you’re
headed downstream fast. Ahead,
you see a downed tree lying across
part of the river. You should...
A) Swim to it, grab on, and haul
yourself out of the water
B) Swim hard to it and use your
momentum to launch yourself over
C) Avoid it at all costs
D) Float with the current, feet
pointed downstream
when struck against
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
13. Identify the North Star.
14. True or false: Hikers get lost
more than any other group of
outdoor recreationists.
15. You surely know that dead,
dry wood (but not rotted) is
always better than wet for start-
ing a blaze, but type matters,
too. True or false: All else being
equal, pine and spruce will light
faster than maple and oak.
16. True or false:
You can start a fire
by striking a diamond
ring against your knife.
r body
k
k
t-
es?
ce
feet forward
33. What
to trea
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A) L
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13. Identify the North Star.
14 True or false: Hikers get lost
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A B
uited to survival is calm, humble,
urious, deliberate, cautious, and (at
e right times) bold.”
5. B. “When bad things happen,
enial is natural,” Gonzales says.
etting beyond it fast is critical.
10
Score Your OddsGive yourself one point for each correct answer. You are...
0-5 A Fabergé egg that mostly
serves ornamental purposes
6-10 A fickle ficus that thrives
only in a narrow range of
environments
11-25 A Tuff Shed that’s capable
of weathering most conditions
26-40 The love child of
Sir Ernest Shackleton and
Sigourney Weaver
41-43 A cockroach
1. False. It contains too many toxins.
But you can exploit its evaporative-
cooling powers: Pee on a shirt or
bandana, then tie it around your neck.
2. True. Eating snow will hydrate you.
However, if your body temperature
is dropping due to other factors,
chomping on snow will push you into
hypothermia faster.
3. False. The water inside of a barrel
cactus is full of alkaloids, which will
cause you to vomit the liquid. Some
species are also poisonous.
4. False. Although space blankets will
trap heat and are better than nothing,
the nonporous sheet seals in water
5 percent of wild mushrooms are
edible, and one wrong bite can
literally kill you via potent toxins.
11. False. These fables are all unreli-
able. See page 78 for an action plan.
12. C. Only ration the bar if the idea
of having no food freaks you out and
you want the psychological comfort.
13. 1. See page 78.
14. False. Big time. Gino Ferri, PhD,
director of the Survival in the Bush
school, in Ontario, says the vast
majority of lost people are hunters
(56 percent), anglers (24 percent),
and trappers (12 percent). The
remaining 8 percent are hikers and
other “patrons.” Curiously, this 8 per-
snare and drown swimmers.
23. C and D (1 point for each).
Contrary to Hollywood theatrics,
most drowning victims don’t make
a peep. The body’s instinctive
drowning response blocks voluntary
actions like shouting or waving
(though the person might do these
things in the stages preceding
drowning). All actions center around
inhaling, exhaling, and keeping
the mouth above water. Signs of
a drowning person include: mouth
and nose barely breaking the water’s
surface, mouth open, and an upright
posture with no signs of kicking.
24. B. This is a rip current—a stream
pid.” Haste can be good or bad depending
on the situation, and overconfidence
can lure you on into further trouble.
But despair saps the will to live, which
eliminates the #1 reason that people pull
through ordeals.
32. B. Fight: Self-arrest, grab a tree, or
swim (crawl or backstroke) to the side
or back (tail) of the slide, to avoid being
sucked into the subducting head. If you’re
in the head and likely will get buried once
the slide stops (which happens abruptly),
focus on forming a breathing space with
your hands, to disperse carbon dioxide.
33. B. Keep your boots on until you’re in
a place where you can revive your feet
permanently (camp, a cabin, the car).
vapor from your breath and sweat,
so overnight, you’ll wake up wet
and shivering. You’d be better off
using it to rainproof a debris shelter
(see page 73) or to signal rescuers
via the reflective area.
5. True. “Come up with a reason
to live and focus on that,” says
survival expert Tony Nester. “The
drive to get back home has proven
over and over to be the #1 factor in
successful survival stories.”
6. False. Not enough moisture is
produced to keep you alive. Five
gallon-size bags tied around bushy
plants for 24 hours will only pro-
duce a teaspoon or less of water.
27. With a black bear, fight back.
With a grizzly, play dead by lying on
your belly, legs spread for stability
and hands over your neck. If the bear
rolls you, keep rolling until back on
your belly. (One point for each)
28. B
29. False. Clothes block sun, cooling
you off more than going shirtless.
30. B
31. C. Panic usually strikes the
moment you realize your pre-
dicament. While the sensation is
intense, says survival expert Doug
Ritter, “For most people, that panic
dissipates quickly and generally
before they do anything really stu-
ome
s will
thinhing, thhtht
teter
majority of lost people are hu
(56 percent), anglers (24 perc
and trappers (12 percent). The
remaining 8 percent are hikers
other “patrons.” Curiously, this
6. False. Not enough moisture is
produced to keep you alive. Five
gallon-size bags tied around bushy
plants for 24 hours will only pro-
duce a teaspoon or less of water.
7. False. All six-legged insects in
North America are OK, but most
wild plants will wreck havoc on
your GI system. Unless you’re a
skilled botanist, move on; starva-
tion is a slow killer (about 30 days).
8. True. A three-ounce hamburger
patty made from lean ground beef
has about 145 calories and about
15 grams of protein. Approximately
10 large grasshoppers weighing 3.5
ounces total offer about 121 calo-
ries and 13 grams of protein.
9. True. Bunched berries include
raspberries and blueberries.
Avoid white and yellow berries.
10. B. A is poisonous. Less than
Survive!71
October 2010
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“ I was driving up I-80 when an earthquake occurred. A four-foot boulder came
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Editor’s NoteBY JONATHAN DORN
10.2010 BACKPACKER 11
Snakes in a CaveA GOOD FRIEND SURVIVES A HISTORIC
AND GRISLY BRUSH WITH DEATH.
WHEN SHE COULDN’T STAND UP, Michelle Barnes knew
something was seriously wrong. For days, she’d been feeling
achy and lethargic, but when her symptoms escalated to crip-
pling pain and a severe rash, the 44-year-old Coloradoan—
normally averse to doctors—headed out for a checkup. Must
be a bug I caught on my Africa trip, she thought. Some bug.
After 30 minutes in her physician’s offi ce, Michelle’s legs were
suddenly wobbly, and her brain was getting fuzzy.
Soon, she was lying semicoherent in a Denver hospital,
fi ghting for her life. Backpackers can learn how to stay
alive without essential gear (see “Survive!” on page 71), but
Michelle lacked something even more critical: information.
She was desperately ill and didn’t know why.
An avid camper and climber who lives in the shad-
ow of Colorado’s Front Range, Michelle is a longtime
BACKPACKER reader, a friend, and a fellow supporter of
Big City Mountaineers. In October 2007, she’d asked me for
gear advice in advance of a trip to remote Uganda. With
her husband, she planned to hike into Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park, home to the world’s last mountain gorillas.
On Christmas Day, after they’d viewed chimpanzees, their
guide suggested a side trip to a cave that held two horror-
fi lm-huge pythons and several hundred thousand fruit bats.
“We had to scramble up some rocks to look into the cave,”
Michelle recalls. “The stink was horrible, but I watched for 20
minutes as the snakes snapped up bats that fl ew too close.”
Doctors from the Centers for Disease Control would later
speculate that Michelle contracted her illness—the fi rst
known case of Marburg virus ever detected in a
North American—when she touched or inhaled
infected bat guano while climbing to the
ledge. A member of the hemorrhagic fever
family (which includes the Ebola virus and dengue fever),
Marburg is extraordinarily lethal: Some outbreaks have killed
80 percent of their victims. Starting with lethargy and bruis-
ing (caused by the hemorrhaging of millions of capillaries
in your body), symptoms progress to multi-organ meltdown,
as the liver, kidneys, and pancreas fail, typically followed by
the lungs and heart. [Travel alert: Uganda closed the cave
after the CDC confi rmed the bats are carrying Marburg, but
YouTube videos and other reports show that guides are still
taking groups to the lightly policed location.]
There is no vaccine for this killer virus, but Michelle’s sur-
vival might change that. After two weeks in critical condition,
she began to recover. Nowadays, no longer contagious, she
regularly visits the National Institutes of Health to give blood;
the live antibodies she carries are a gold mine for researchers.
Why did she live? Her existing fi tness certainly helped,
as did the timing of her illness, which manifested after
she’d returned to Colorado and its world-class medical care.
Survival experts would also cite Michelle’s will to live. The
technical skills we teach on pages 71-90 are valuable, but the
pros agree that in our darkest moments, the most effective
tool in your arsenal will always be a positive outlook.
Which Michelle has in spades. “My health is better than
ever,” she reports. “No meds, no colds, none of the stuff
that used to bug me—it’s like my
body rebooted and came
back stronger.” She’s
also returned to the
mountains (we
just hiked Pikes
Peak to raise
money for can-
cer treatment),
visited Chile,
and is even mull-
ing a trip to Africa.
“Being in nature is
who I am and what I
do, and I’d never change
that,” she says. “Yeah, bad luck
happens, but I’m proof that you can’t let
it defeat you. I’ll never go in a bat cave again, but
everything else is on the table.”
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
THE NORTH FACE® TRAILHEAD APP
PH
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: KR
ISTOFFER
ERIC
KSO
N
HERVE BARMASSE AND HIS TEAM PREPARE TO EXPLORE NEW ROUTES IN THE SHIMSHAL VALLEY OF PAKISTAN
THENORTHFACE.COM
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
14 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Inside this month...
30 Top 3 Rainy Season Hikes
35 Rip & Go: California’s Kings Canyon
46 The Manual: Predict Weather
50 Predicament: Lost in the Woods
54 Field Test: Ultimate Sleep Systems
DISTANCE YEARNING: GET THE REWARDS OF A THRU-HIKE (LIKE THIS VIEW FROM MILE 16 OF THE HIGH SIERRA TRAIL) WITHOUT TAKING A SIX-MONTH SABBATICAL. TURN THE PAGE FOR OUR TOP 10 WEEKLONG ROUTES.
PHOTO BY PAIGE FALK
BASECAMP
10.2010 BACKPACKER 15
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
16 BACKPACKER 10.2010
PH
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Less Is More
UNEXPECTEDLY AND ABRUPTLY, AT AROUND MILE 30, WE RUN INTO
a group of backpackers in their mid-20s. They are from West Chester,
Pennsylvania, and they’re the first people my buddy Alan and I have seen in
days. They smell like shampoo. They seem to be in a hurry.
“How far ya’ going?” one says.
“How many miles to Angel Falls?” asks another.
The trail chatter snaps me out of a thru-hiker’s hypnosis—I’m not sure what
time it is or exactly where we are on the map. My mind has been floating and drifting,
Six months for a long trail? Most folks don’t have that kind of time. So do the next best thing: Cash in a week on one of our 10 top 50-mile thru-hikes. By Jim Gorman
BA
SE
CA
MP
10.2010 BACKPACKER 17
GUMDROP FOREST: WITH OAK, ASPEN,
MAPLE, BEECH, AND HORNBEAM, YOU’LL
NEED ALL WEEK TO COUNT THE FALL
COLORS ON PENNSYLVANIA’S LOYALSOCK
TRAIL. PICTURED: CANYON VISTA AT MILE 43.
pleasantly void of stress or boundaries
as my feet pad methodically through
mile after mile of hemlock and hick-
ory laced with rushing creeks. This is
long-trail bliss.
The crazy thing? This “long trail” is
only 59 miles end to end, and we’re
already about halfway through. Our
trip isn’t a traditional multi-month,
foot-long-beard-growing, trail name-
acquiring, complicated-mail-dropping,
job-quitting thru-hike. My friend Alan
and I have families, careers, and mort-
gage payments that can’t be put on
hold for six months. But we also
have aspirations for long-trail satis-
faction—accomplishment, adventure,
scenic variety, disconnection, and the
bone-weary exhaustion that rewards
a hard effort. The solution: a point-
to-point hike of about a week. By
passing the aches-and-pain break-in
period of the weekend, getting to
know one trail intimately, and hiking
into new territory, we hope to arrive at
a place where contemplating the fuzzy
caterpillar crossing the trail is infinitely
more important than deciding whether
granite or engineered stone counter-
tops will better enhance resale.
Judging by the looks on the twen-
tysomethings’ faces, our lofty plan
appears to be working. They move on
while I’m still trying to pinpoint our
precise location.
Alan and I are on the Loyalsock
Trail, a little-known route through
the Nowheresville of north-central
Pennsylvania. The path rolls and dips
along the Allegheny Plateau in the
heart of one of the biggest green blobs
Google Earth shows south of Maine.
The scene past the trailhead, near
Hillsgrove Township, is straight out
of the Carboniferous Period. A colony
of fledgling ground pines—Joshua
tree-like evergreens—projects weird
lime-green antennae skyward. Stands
of spruce, their arching branches stud-
ded with needles, cast shadows on
an understory of spongy, star-shaped
mosses. It’s a fascinating prologue, but
we didn’t linger.
“We better get moving if we’re going
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PLAYING THROUGH (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): THE HAYSTACKS ON LOYALSOCK CREEK, TWO MILES FROM THE EASTERN TERMINUS, CREATE CLASS IV+ RAPIDS IN SPRING; THE AUTHOR’S PARTNER AT MARY’S VIEW, MILE 28; MAKING CAMP BELOW HIGH KNOB.
to finish this thing,” Alan had said.
The Loyalsock is diverse. It visits
31 waterfalls, countless drips and run-
nels, and one impressive set of class
IV rapids. It pings to this beaver pond,
pongs to that clearing, then shoots into
an open forest of tall maple and black
cherry underplanted in ferns nipped
with autumn gold. The variety creates
the illusion of covering more ground
than we’d thought possible, a point
driven home as Alan and I take out the
maps while relaxing beside a small fire
at a campsite in Dutters Run. We listen
to a five-foot waterfall and play rewind
on our adventure.
“Wow, still 32 miles to go?” I point
out while tracing my finger back along
the squiggling red line. “Perfect.”
“That climb right there was a killer,”
adds Alan, jabbing a finger at the map.
“And there’s where we got the apples
off that old tree.”
But the best is yet to come. Going
west to east, the Loyalsock’s highlights
go from high to higher. The valleys are
deeper, the streams more acrobatic, and
the views more extensive. Fans of the
trail are divided in pinpointing its apex.
For some, it’s the collision of seven
mountain ranges at Canyon Vista, at mile
43 in World’s End State Park. For others,
it’s the Haystacks at mile 57, a sandstone
outcrop in Loyalsock Creek that forms a
snowmelt-charged, class IV+ rapid that
kayakers paddle in spring.
I say it comes at mile 34 at the
head of Ketchum Run, where the trail
teeters between darkness and light.
Cupped in a west-facing bowl carved
into steep hillsides, the east and west
branches of translucent Ketchum Run
converge in an intimate glen. It’s made
dusky even at midday by steep walls
of schist and a dense canopy of hem-
lock. Licks of cool air and the muffled
roar of Lee’s Falls below drift up on a
breeze. And there’s a campsite, too.
Debating a trail’s best spot can start
a campfire brawl. But as we descend
the final two miles, alongside Loyalsock
Creek, I recall that sweet spot by
Ketchum Run and realize that only one
truth matters: You can never be sure
until you’ve hiked the whole thing.
Contributing editor Jim Gorman vows to
thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail before
he leaves this earth.
50-MILE THRU-HIKES
10.2010 BACKPACKER 19
Hike it The elevation profile (below) of this
59.2-mile trail looks like an EKG of arrhyth-
mia as it cuts through the Endless Mountains
region of north-central Pennsylvania, part of
an immense deciduous woodland that spans
the northern tier of Pennsylvania and south-
ern New York. Target four to six days for a
thru-hike gaining 12,000 feet in elevation.
From the trailhead on PA 87 (1), climb
nearly 1,300 feet in two miles to ledges at
the lip of the Allegheny High Plateau, an
ancient uplift worn to a 2,000-foot-high nub
by glaciers. Quickly descend into rocky Pete’s
Hollow, losing all of that hard-won elevation.
Then it’s right back up again to hawk’s-eye
views of the Loyalsock Valley from atop
Smith Knob (2) at 1,850 feet.
The next seven miles gain minimal eleva-
tion, passing through open forest of cherry,
hickory, and gray birch, and paralleling sev-
eral small creeks. Make it an 8-, 11-, or 12.5-
mile day by picking from excellent campsites
beside mountain streams at Painter (3),
Shingle, and Grandad Runs, respectively.
The Loyalsock continues its mercurial ways,
dropping off of the Allegheny Plateau, then
regaining the heights on a three-mile walk
on Genesee Trail Road (4). The dirt road fol-
lows the Towanda Path, an Iroquois trade
route later used by soldiers in the War of
/// ///MAPS
TOPO PLUSTo view a detailed map, download a GPS tracklog, or share this trip with your hiking partners, go to backpacker.com/loyalsock.
Elevation Profile: Loyalsock Trail
500 ft
2,500 ft
Total miles: 59.2 Total elevation gain: 12,000 feet
10 mi 20 mi 30 mi 40 mi 50 mi
1
2
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1812, and runaway slaves.
Pass remnants of an old resort (5) built to
take advantage of superb views of pastoral
valleys and forested ridges at the brink of
the Allegheny Front. Lunch in open fields
at mile 19, near the trail’s high point (2,140
feet), before entering a section of steep
climbs and beautiful waterfalls, creeks,
and views. Soak tired feet in crystalline
Ogdonia Creek before the rapid ascent to
the .3-mile spur trail to 80-foot Angel Falls
(6). Continue north for two miles to Kettle
Creek, where you’ll be tempted to camp
next to the water but can’t; you’re in a pro-
tected natural area. Dutters Run (7) makes
a fine consolation prize, with four waterfalls
and several streamside campsites scattered
over a half-mile.
Next morning, hike 2.5 miles through
woodland skirted with gardens of maid-
enhair, ostrich, and Christmas fern. The
overlook at High Knob at mile 30 (8), one
of 25 vistas, looks west down sharply cut
Loyalsock Valley. Hike four rolling miles to
a veritable water park of flumes, falls, and
pools in Ketchum Run Gorge (9). From here,
switchback up to Alpine View, which makes
good on its name. Make your third camp at
raucous Double Run at mile 39.7.
The next morning, after two miles of
walking up knobs and grassy clearings, arrive
at Loyalsock Canyon Vista (10) for views of
World’s End State Park’s many deep ravines.
From here, drop 600 feet to a bridge cross-
ing Loyalsock Creek, followed by an 800-
foot climb up the gorge’s other side. Hike
east 2.5 miles to camping at Tamarack Run.
On the last day, recross Loyalsock Creek
on an iron bridge to follow a railroad grade
1.5 miles until the trail returns to the river at
the Haystacks (11), a class IV+ rapid in spring.
Finish with a two-mile, hemlock-shaded riv-
erside hike to the eastern terminus (12).
THE WAY West trailhead: on PA 87, seven
miles north of Montoursville. East trailhead:
.25 mile west of US 220 on Mead Rd., eight
miles northeast of Laporte.
THE SEASON April for enhanced views through
leafless trees, and October for vibrant fall
colors (check hunting season dates with
Loyalsock State Forest: 570-946-4049).
Summers are hot and humid.
GUIDEBOOK AND MAP A Guide to the Loyalsock
Trail ($7, lycoming.org/alpine)
SHUTTLE Local hiker and entrepreneur
Connie Wilson shuttles hikers from either
terminus ($35/hiker, $30/hiker if more than
one, 570-928-9475).
The Loyalsock Trail Go the distance in Penn’s Woods.
3
4
5
7
9
10
11
The Haystacks rapidapid
12
8
Sunset at 2,100- foot High KnobSunsfoot
Angel FallsAngel F
Extra day? Glade-camp in waterfall-rich Ketchum Run.
First reward: the view from Smith Knob, after gaining 2,000 feet
2 34 5
6
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9
1011
12
6
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20 BACKPACKER 10.2010
DESTINATIONS
50-MILE THRU-HIKES
+
(72 miles, 6-7 days)
Toiyabe Crest Trail, NV Cross the state’s loftiest range.
In the big empty of central Nevada, the
Toiyabe Range rises like a line of after-
noon thunderheads. Of Nevada’s 314
mountain ranges, it is the longest and
consistently highest, topping 10,000
feet across an uninterrupted 50 miles.
Riding on or just off the ridgeline, the
Toiyabe Crest Trail exposes thru-hikers
to all of the range’s extremes, from sere
sage to cool aspen, windswept summits
to beaver-dammed marsh, and cattle-
cussed rangelands to pristine meadow.
The TCT was built by the Civilian
Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and
in some sections, it might seem that trail
maintenance hasn’t been done since.
The route’s rough edges mean you
better check yourself: If you haven’t
stalked a trail that habitually disappears
before your eyes, toted 18 pounds of
water at a time for purposes of dry
camping, and trekked in utter isolation,
then skip the Toiyabe Crest. This trek is
for experienced desert hikers with pol-
ished navigation skills. (775) 964-2671;
fs.fed.us/r4/htnf
The way South trailhead: From Tonopah,
go 59.7 miles north on NV 376 to a left
on South Twin Rd. (FR 080), then go
four miles west. North trailhead: on
Kingston Creek Rd., eight miles west of
NV 376 just beyond Groves Lake.
Shuttle DIY
Season Mid-June (after snow melts) to
mid-July (before water sources go dry)
Guidebook and maps Hiking Nevada,
by Bruce Grubbs ($16, falcon.com);
USGS quads Arc Dome, South Toiyabe
Peak, Tierney Creek, Brewer Canyon,
Bunker Hill, and North Toiyabe Peak
($9 each, store.usgs.gov)
Little Big Hikes
(72 miles, 5-7 days)
High Sierra Trail, CA Go straight to the top in the Range of Light.
This trail has no prologue. The John Muir Trail may hold the high country in a lov-
ing embrace for weeks, but the High Sierra Trail gets right down to business. That’s
because it cuts against the grain of the Sierra Nevada, from Crescent Meadow in
Sequoia National Park to just shy of 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney.
Thru-hikers usually go west to east, leaving the Whitney side-trip for the final
day. Most of the first two days are devoted to climbing to Kaweah Gap, a notch
in the impressively vertical Great Western Divide, a range of 13,000-footers. You’ll
shed that hard-won elevation in a gradual drop to Kern Canyon, a long, forested
trench that looks like it was scraped out of Sierra bedrock by a giant ice cream
scoop. The 49-mile HST officially ends where it intersects the JMT, but that would
leave you a long way from civilization. It’s another 23 miles up the back side of Mt.
Whitney and down to Whitney Portal. (559) 565-3708; nps.gov/seki
The way West trailhead: From Visalia, go 52.8 miles east on CA 198 to Moro Rock-
Crescent Meadow Rd. Turn right and go 2.5 miles. East trailhead: at the end of
Whitney Portal Rd., 11.4 miles west of Lone Pine.
Shuttle DIY or High Sierra Shuttle ($600/pair, highsierrashuttle.com)
Season Mid-August through September, for reliably pleasant, bug-free camping
Guidebook and map Sierra South, by Kathy Morey ($19, wildernesspress.com);
Whitney High Country ($10, tomharrisonmaps.com)
THE GREAT
WESTERN DIVIDE,
FROM MILE 27 ON THE
HIGH SIERRA TRAIL
Enjoy full-immersion backpacking on 9 more point-to-point trails.
10.2010 BACKPACKER 21
(42 miles, 3-5 days)
Greenstone Ridge, MN Traverse a seldom-hiked national park.
Here’s an equation we like: One
seven-hour ferry plus a 42-mile trail
equals zero crowds. Thanks to boat-
only access, the Greenstone Ridge
Trail, which bumps along the view-
draped spine of Isle Royale National
Park, dishes up Alaska-style solitude.
Jump in at either end (usually done east to west, Rock Harbor to Windigo) and
emerge having snarfed thimbleberries by the handful, swum in remote lakes, and
walked grassy heights with lookouts sweeping to shores 50 miles distant. Most
GRT hikers skip the five miles from Lookout Louise to Mt. Franklin. Big mistake.
Arrange at the Rock Harbor Visitor Center for a water taxi ($45) to Hidden Lake
Dock. The views on this stretch are tops. (906) 482-0984; nps.gov/isro
The way/shuttle Take the ferry (from mid-May until late-October) from Grand
Portage, MN ($75 one-way to Rock Harbor, isleroyaleboats.com).
Season Mid-August through September for the first blush of fall color and few bugs
Guidebook and map Foot Trails and Water Routes, by Jim Dufresne ($13, mountain-
eersbooks.org); Trails Illustrated Isle Royale National Park ($12, natgeomaps.com)
(48 miles, 5-7 days)
West Coast Trail, BC Tackle Vancouver Island’s wild coast.
If the Navy SEALs got into trail build-
ing, they’d devise something like this.
Every mile brings a gut check: dizzy-
ing cable car rides across rivers, lad-
ders 20 stories tall, giant log hurdles,
boot-sucking mud, and seaweed-slick-
ened boulder courses. Overlay that
with potentially atrocious weather and
wildly surging tides, and you have a
trail for the brave and the few (just 30
permits for the north and south trail-
heads each day).
But the scenic payoffs are well
worth the physical tests. After watching
a pod of gray whales breach, playing
in the splash pool where Tsusiat Falls
crashes 50 feet to the beach, and hud-
dling by the warmth of a driftwood fire
in the fading light of a pastel ocean
sunset, you’ll be ready for another
tour of duty. (250) 726-3500; pc.gc.ca/
pn-np/bc/pacificrim/index.aspx
The way North trailhead: from Bamfield,
three miles south on Bamfield Rd.
South trailhead: at the Gordon River
Information Center at the end of BC 14.
Shuttle West Coast Trail Express ($85,
railbus.com)
Season August through mid-September
for drier weather (read: better footing)
Guidebook and map Hiking The West
Coast Trail, by Tim Leadem ($13,
dmpibooks.com); CanMap’s West Coast
Trail is free with your reservation.
(45 miles, 3-5 days)
Knobstone Trail, INClimb high (really!) in the Midwest.
Four hundred feet of incline here,
400 feet there, and before you know
it, you’re talking serious elevation.
That’s how it goes on the KT, Indiana’s
resounding rebuttal to misconceptions
that the state is basketball-court flat.
In 45 miles, the Knobstone racks
up a Rockies-esque 10,500 feet of
elevation gain while riding a rugged
escarpment that starts within eye-
shot of Louisville, Kentucky. When
united with its northern section (now
called the Tecumseh Trail), the KT will
extend a hard-to-ignore 140 miles. But
it’s not just hills that distinguish the KT.
You’ll pass through thickly forested
hollows, cross rocky outcrops, gain
tree-top vistas, and likely hear coyotes
yip in the night. Start from the north
in Delaney Creek State Park, leaving
the hardest climbs and best views for
the end. (317) 232-4029; in.gov/dnr/
outdoor/4224.htm
The way South trailhead: From
Louisville, take I-65 north six miles to
IN 60. Go nine miles to Deam Lake
State Recreation Area. North trailhead:
From Salem, IN, take IN 135 for 8.4
miles to E. Rooster Hill Rd. Go 2.3 miles
to Delaney Creek State Park.
Shuttle Go Deep Adventures ($65/two
hikers, 812-967-4620)
Season May for leaf-out. Mid-October
for colors. Must cache water from July
to September.
Guidebook and map Hiking Indiana,
by Phil Bloom ($17, falcon.com);
Indiana DNR Knobstone Trail Topo Map
($4, 317-232-4180)
TSUSIAT FALLS,
WEST COAST TRAIL
KNOBSTONE TRAIL,
DEAM LAKE STATE
RECREATION AREA
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(39 miles, 3-4 days)
Resurrection Pass Trail, AKScore big scenery. No bush plane required.
Grizzlies do it. Moose and wolves
do it. Backpackers? Only occasion-
ally. That is, travel the Resurrection
Pass Trail. Ironic, because in a state
buzzing with bush planes, the RPT is
easy-access and much longer than a
dayhike. Bonus: Eight cabins dot the
trail, making hut-to-hut itineraries pos-
sible ($5/night; recreation.gov). Alaska
newbies, this is the trail for you.
An hour south of Anchorage, seven
of its 39 miles cruise above the trees
on either side of the pass, with snowy
peaks all around. The hike is a long,
gradual rise from near sea level to the
2,600-foot pass and then a long, easy
descent. Simple is good. Creeks line the
trail for much of the way, and cabins
are situated within earshot of tumbling
water, or beside trout-filled lakes. (907)
743-9500; fs.fed.us/r10/chugach
The way North trailhead: four miles
south of Hope on Resurrection Creek
Rd. South trailhead: mile 53.2 on Sterling
Highway in Tablerock State Park.
Shuttle DIY, or hire a cab. ($250/two
hikers, Soldotna Cab, 907-262-4200)
Season The trail is snow-free from mid-
June through September.
Map Trails Illustrated Kenai NWR/
Chugach National Forest ($12, natgeo-
maps.com)
(77 miles, 6-7 days)
Foothills Trail, SCSee bears, gorges, and falls.
Between Sassafras Mountain (at 3,554
feet the highest point in South Carolina)
and Lake Jocassee, the Foothills Trail
enters a mountainous realm containing
one of the East’s densest black bear
populations. What’s good terrain for
Ursus americanus—remote, thickly for-
ested, and cut through with creeks—is
prime habitat for backpackers, too. The
FT’s three distinct and roughly equi-
distant sections all feature waterfalls,
rivers, and creeks stoked on 75 inches
of annual rainfall as the trail drops
from the “Blue Wall” of the Southern
Appalachians to the Piedmont. The
Jocassee Gorges riddle the middle sec-
tion, between miles 14 and 45. Here,
the trail skirts the outstretched arms of
Lake Jocassee and vaults four rivers on
superbly engineered bridges, including
a 225-foot steel suspension bridge over
Toxaway River. Hemmed in by the lake
and the Blue Wall, the FT crosses nary
a paved road for 34 miles through here.
Whitewater Falls, the East’s second
highest waterfall, stair-steps 411 feet
just a short distance from the trail at
mile 46. In the last section, walk along
the churning rapids of the Chattooga
River, where parts of Deliverance were
filmed. (864) 467-9537; foothillstrail.org
The way East trailhead: From Greenville,
take US 276 23.1 miles north to SC 11
west. Head 6.6 miles, and turn left onto
East Ellison Lane, which leads to the
trailhead. West trailhead: From Walhalla,
take SC 107, 12 miles north to Oconee
State Park.
Shuttle The Foothills Trail Conference
(foothillstrail.org) maintains a list of vol-
unteers who offer free shuttles.
Season April for engorged falls. Late-
October for autumn colors.
Guidebook and map Guide to the
Foothills Trail, by Karen LaFleur ($13,
foothillstrail.org); Foothills Trail Map
($11, foothillstrail.org)
50-MILE THRU-HIKES
TABLEROCK MOUNTAIN
NEAR THE TRAILHEAD
JUNEAU FALLS,
RESURRECTION
PASS TRAIL
Outdoor Researchproudly supports
LAUREN O’CONNELL-FUJIITHRU-HIKER / OR RETAIL SALES SPECIALIST / SEATTLE, WA
“ON THE TRAIL, I BREATHE MORE DEEPLY INTO MY LUNGS AND MIND...
outdoorresearch.com/hikingLauren is wearing the Helium Jacket™ and Expressa Shorts™
There’s nothing better than half a year spent on the trail. I have time to think, to make a decision, change it, and then go back to the original decision with no pressure. Walt Whitman summed up a thru-hike perfectly,
“What do you suppose will satisfy the soul, except to walk free and own no superior.” Read more about Lauren, aka LiteBrite, and her thru-hiking experiences at outdoorresearch.com/hiking
ENTER TO
WIN
A
BACKPACKING G
EAR KIT
WW
W.BACK
PACKER.CO
M
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
24 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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(40 miles, 3-5 days)
Middle Fork Trail, NM Trek along—and in—the Gila River.
It’s not quite canyoneering, not quite
hiking. Amphibipacking, anyone? This
trail fords the Middle Fork of the Gila
River no fewer than 100 times as it
pings between steep, ochre-colored
walls on the way to the Gila’s headwa-
ters in the Mogollon Mountains.
The hike up the Middle Fork is never
strenuous but slow nonetheless, due
to slick pebbles and bedrock at river
crossings, plus the occasional patch of
quicksand. The first few miles of walk-
ing, beyond the trailhead in Gila Cliff
Dwellings National Monument, can be
busy with dayhikers, but crowds soon
fade: Beyond Jordan Hot Spring, a 97°F
soaker at the eight-mile mark, you’ll be
alone in the canyon.
Every twist and bend in the river
alters the play of light. At midday,
silvery green leaves of sycamore and
cottonwood stand out in sharp relief
against muted rock walls. At sunset,
the odd spires, flutings, and buttresses
of the cliff walls come alive in glowing
reds and oranges. Dry your soggy toes
by an evening fire and cock an ear for
the echoing howls of Mexican gray
wolves. (575) 388-8201; fs.usda.gov/gila
The way South trailhead: 44 miles north
of Silver City on NM 15. North trailhead:
Snow Lake Campground on NM 159.
Shuttle Gila Backcountry Services
($175/pair, gilabackcountryservices.com)
Season Early summer (after runoff) and
autumn (after monsoons)
Map Silver City Ranger District Gila
Wilderness Map ($9, 575-388-8201)
(44 miles, 4-5 days)
The Press Traverse, WA Cross the Olympic Range on a forgotten explorers’ path.
When James Christie led an expedition across the Olympic Mountains in late 1889,
intent on “unveiling the mystery which wraps the land encircled by the snow-
capped Olympic range,” he and his men weren’t seen again until six months later,
when they emerged tattered and hungry. Strong backpackers can duplicate the
Press Expedition’s heroic feat with only four days of effort on this easy-to-follow
path. But why not take a fifth day to layover at a wildflower-lined lake?
As in Christie’s day, the only way to see the core of what is now Olympic National
Park is on foot. Start at Whiskey Bend in the north and follow the Elwha River Trail
upstream (south) to Low Divide (elevation: 3,602 feet), then take the North Fork
Quinault River Trail to shadow its namesake watercourse from freshet to torrent.
You can still find the expedition’s axe blaze of three stacked lines on trees between
Antelope and Idaho Creeks. You’ll walk through stands of colossal Sitka spruce,
western hemlock, and western red cedar making up one of the largest tracts of
old-growth this side of Canada. (360) 565-3130; nps.gov/olym
The way North trailhead: 8.2 miles south of US 101 on Olympic Hot Springs Rd.
South trailhead: 5.7 miles east off US 101 on North Shore Rd., past Lake Quinault
at North Fork Ranger Station.
Shuttle All Points Charters & Tours ($250/up to six backpackers, goallpoints.com)
Season August through September for drier days and crisp nights
Guidebook and maps Olympic Mountains Trail Guide, by Robert L. Wood ($19,
mountaineersbooks.org); Elwha Valley and Quinault-Colonel Bob maps ($5 each,
customcorrectmaps.com)
DESTINATIONS
50-MILE THRU-HIKES
SPIRES
AT MILE 5,
MIDDLE FORK
TRAIL
THE LILLIAN RIVER,
FROM THE ELWHA
RIVER TRAIL
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storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
26 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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DESTINATIONS
LOCAL HIKES
+
WestHike to a volcano, a 400-foot falls, and a desert oasis.
LAS VEGAS, NVCLIMB TO SOLITUDE
AND A CALM POND
Chelise Simmons
heads to Red Rock
Canyon’s Calico
Tanks for quick
getaways. The
secluded pool
(called a tinaja) at
the route’s turn-
around point is
rimmed by towering
slickrock and home
to brine shrimp. “I
rarely see others on
the trail and always
hear birds singing,”
she says. This 2.5-
mile out-and-back
is just a half-hour
from the Strip.
Trip ID 717877
/// ///MAPS
THE PERFECT TRIP MAP—FREE!Select trips on our Local Hikes pages now come with a companion Print & Go PDF (see example above), giving you turn-by-turn trail instructions and photos embedded on a usable topo map. There’s more: It has a gear checklist, driving directions, and waypoints for finding the trail’s nearest campground, restaurant, gas station, and grocery store. And did we mention it’s free? backpacker.com/printandgo
Ketchum: Hunter Creek You’ll share the trail with moun-
tain goats, elk, and deer on
this remote, 5.6-mile dayhike
in Idaho’s Boulder Mountains.
The trail crisscrosses the creek
six times before starting a mile-
long push to 9,400-foot Hunter
Creek Summit, a broad and
grassy saddle perched between
10,000-foot peaks. Have an
extra day? Spend the night in
the meadow just below the
route’s highpoint. Trip ID 616810
Haleakala NP: Waimoku Falls Here’s one more reason to visit
Maui: the 400-foot waterfall at
the end of the Pipiwai Trail. Hike
two miles northwest of Hana
Highway—passing 40-foot-tall
bamboo trees and an alluring
swimming hole nicknamed the
“Pool of No Return”—to a sheer-
walled lava amphitheater where
spring-fed Waimoku Falls plunges
down mossy cliffs. Trip ID 686237
San Francisco: Mt. Wittenberg Loop Top out on the tall-
est peak in Point
Reyes National
Seashore on a 6.3-
mile loop that begins
at the Bear Valley
trailhead and climbs
past violet Douglas
lilies and miniature
lupine. After crest-
ing the wooded,
1,407-foot summit,
descend 1,000 feet
in roughly two miles
on the Horse Trail.
Trip ID 705578
Portland: Ape Canyon Traverse the eastern fl anks
of the most active volcano
in the Cascades on this 11.3-
mile trek. It links wildfl ower
fi elds, pumice-covered
plains, and boulder-size lava
bombs in Mt. St. Helens
National Monument.
backpacker.com/ape
Trip ID 541023
Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument: Ape Canyon
LOCAL HIKES
Do itWater gets scarce starting in July. Tank up before these sections: Tahoe City to Mt.
2
1
3
45
76
9
8
PAGE 1
MILE
1
DIRECTIONS UTM
0 Ape Canyon trailhead: Descend into second-growth maple and alder forest, heading tk. 0570078E 5112825N
2 .5 The mile-wide mud and rock lahar that wiped out forest on the southeast side of Mt. St. Helens. 0569521E 5113073N
3 3.5 Ridge views start to open to the east showcasing 12,276-foot Mt. Adams and tk-foot Mt. Rainier. 0567794E 5115598N
4 4.3 Stand at the edge of the 100’ slot at the head of Ape Canyon. Enjoy a tremendous view. 0566898E 5116120N
Elevation Profile
5 4.4 Junction with the Loowit Trail. Turn right (N) for 0.8 mile to the natural spring. 0566740E 5116129N
6 5.1 Follow large pyramids of rocks marking the path though the Plains of Abraham. 0566540E 5116658N
7 5.2 A miniature oasis filled with wildflowers at the brink of a towering cliff, amid the desolate pumice plains. 0566787E 5116670N
8 5.6 Giant lava bombs scattered around the area; similar to the the erratics left by passing glaciers. 0566578E 5117226N
9 5.7 A river of rocks at the 6-mile point. A good turnaround spot for a dayhike, or continue on to Windy Ridge for a shuttle hike or backpack.
0566564E 5117303N
300 ft
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
700 ft
1 2 3 4 5
Total Miles: 15.2
Plan it GET THERE From South Lake Tahoe, take US 50 W 7.6 miles
to FR 11NO6C. Turn right and drive .1 mile to a slight right onto
FR 11N06 (becomes Echo Lakes Rd.) and go .9 mile.
GUIDEBOOK AND MAP The Tahoe Rim Trail, by Tim Hauserman
($13; wildernesspress.com); Tom Harrison Maps Lake Tahoe
Recreation Map ($10; tomharrisonmaps.com) The Tahoe
Rim Trail, by Ti
HYDRATION Water gets scarce starting in July. Tank up before
these sections: Tahoe City to Mt. Rose Highway (38 miles;
consider a cache at Brockway Summit); Kingsbury North to
Spooner Lake (20 miles); Spooner Lake to Ophir Creek (18
miles). kway Summit); Kingsbury North to Spooner Lake (20
PERMITS Required only in the Desolation Wilderness. Half
kept for walk-ups ($5/hiker/night; 530-543-2694; fs.fed.
us/R5/LTBMU/). ation WilderneR5/LTBMU/). R5/LTBMU/).
ation WilderneR5/LTBMU/). Thru-hikers must Thru-hikers
must pay fees, but aren’t subject to site quotas.
PAGE 2
Heart Lake and Mt. Sheridan
Restaurant/Bar Gear Shop TrailheadGas Station Grocery Store
Gear Lists
Day Trip
4 sterile, 3x3-inch or
5 1x3-inch adhesive strips
to cover cleaned wounds
2 blister dressings or
moleskin
1 roll tape (½ inch x 5
yards) to
6 200mg tablets ibupro-
fen for pain, inflammation,
and fever
2 packets antibiotic oint-
ment to cover wounds 4
sterile, 3x3-inch or
5 1x3-inch adhesive strips
to cover cleaned wounds
2 blister dressings or
moleskin
1 roll tape (½ inch x 5
yards) to
6 200mg tablets ibupro-
fen for pain, inflammation,
and fever
2 packets antibiotic oint-
ment to cover wounds
1 roll tape (½ inch x 5
yards) to
6 200mg tablets ibupro-
fen for pain, inflammation,
and fever
2 packets antibiotic oint-
ment to cover wounds
CANYON MARKET AND CAFE
Milepost 238.4 Parks Hwy.,
Denali, AK; (907) 683-7467
Tk fact or tip about this
grocery store.
TK NAME OF
RESTAURANT
Milepost 238.4
Parks Hwy.,
Denali, AK;
(907) 683-7467
Tk fact or tip
about this
restaurant.
CONACO
Milepost 238.4 Parks
Hwy.,Denali, AK;
(907) 683-7467
CONACO
Milepost 238.4 Parks
Hwy.,Denali, AK;
(907) 683-7467
Driving Directions from TK1) Start at Tk spot
2) Take a right on St. George Street, go about 3.4 miles. You’ll see the
Save a lot grocery story on your right.
3) Take a left at the grocery store onto Elm St, head on this street for
about 6 miles.
4) Start at Tk spot the Save a lot grocery story on your right.
5) Take a L at the grocery store onto El street for about 6 miles.
6) Start at Tk spot
7) Take a right on St. George Street, go about 3.4 miles. You’ll see the
Save a lot grocery story on your right.
8) Take a left at the grocery store onto Elm St, head on this street for
about 6 miles.
9) Start at Tk spot the Save a lot grocery story on your right.
10) End at trailhead parking lot.
LegendBACKPACKER subscribersper square mileby zip code
New tripsAll backpacker.com trips
20-200
8-20
4-8
2-4
1-2
0.5-1
0.3-0.5
0.1-0.3
0.075-0.1
0.05-0.075
0.025-0.05
0.01-0.025
0.0003-0.01LOW
ES
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T
2 blister dressings or
moleskin
1 roll tape (½ inch x 5
ards) to
6 200 t bl t ib
PRINT & GO!
READERHIKE OF THE MONTH
Joshua Tree NP: Lost Palms Oasis Nope, it’s not a mirage. This 7.4-
mile desert trek really does lead
to a shady grove of palm trees
tucked in a rocky canyon bottom.
From the Cottonwood Spring
trailhead, the route rolls over hills
dotted with spiky yucca, ocotillo,
and cholla cactus before dropping
into a lush oasis. Trip ID 338185
PRINT & GO!
10.2010 BACKPACKER 27
Mountain WestSee the best of Yellowstone, thru-hike the GilaWilderness, and scale a Salt Lake summit.
READERHIKE
OF THE MONTH
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
NATIONAL
PARK, COLINK FOUR HIGH-
COUNTRY LAKES
Barbara Caisse mapped
this colorful, 3.8-mile
(round-trip) dayhike
in Tyndall Gorge in
September, when
the mountainsides
were speckled with
golden aspen groves.
Her route starts at
Bear Lake and climbs
west—passing the lily
pad-covered waters
of Nymph and the
turquoise blues of
Dream and Emerald
Lakes—to the base
of 12,000-foot
Hallett Peak and
Flattop Mountain.
“You’ll find clas-
sic Rocky Mountain
scenery in a relatively
short distance,” says
Caisse. “Make sure
to take plenty of
time to relax by all
the lakes and drink
in the landscape.”
Trip ID 488949
/// ///MAPS
GET MOREDownload GPS data by adding the Trip ID digits to the end of this URL: backpacker.com/hikes/__________. You’ll find maps, directions, trail beta, and more.
On the go? Send them to your mobile phone. Text “imap” and the numerical Trip ID to 32075.
Glacier NP: Grinnell Lake Back-to-back boat rides jump-start this
5.9-mile hike to an emerald-green pool.
Cruise across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake
Josephine ($22; glacierparkboats.com/
manygl.htm), then pick up the well-signed
trail that leads to Grinnell Lake and its
eponymous waterfall. Connect North
Shore and Swiftcurrent Nature Trails to
return to the trailhead. Trip ID 508271
Telluride: Navajo Lake You name it, this 10.2-mile
hike has it. Mountain lakes?
You get two of ’em. Views
of 14,000-foot peaks?
You’ll see a trio. Waterfalls?
Catch a glimpse of one
at mile 3.7. To join in, link
Woods Lake and Navajo
Lake Trails and spend the
night at the lakeside camp-
site. Trip ID 528316
Grand Canyon NP: Grandview Loop
Drop into the Big Ditch on a network
of switchbacks and log stairs on this
three-day, 11.9-mile trek to and around
Horseshoe Mesa. Explore remnants of
Pete Berry’s Last Chance Mine, camp
along secluded Hance or Cottonwood
Creeks, poke your head into the Cave of
the Domes, and enjoy a sweet sunset
view of Zoroaster Temple. (p. 37)
Silver City: Middle Fork Trail Timing is everything on this 40-mile
thru-hike. You need low water, since
you’ll crisscross the Middle Fork of
the Gila River more than 100 times
as you wind along ruddy canyon
walls. Go in early summer for ideal
river fl ows or fall for sycamore and
ash displays. (p. 20)
Yellowstone NP: Heart Lake and Mt. Sheridan Let the crowds wait
for Old Faithful: Experience the rug-
ged side of Yellowstone on this two-
day, 23.2-mile backpack. You’ll track
past steaming creeks and old-growth
lodgepole en route to Heart Lake’s
rocky shoreline and Mt. Sheridan’s
10,305-foot crown. backpacker.com/
heart Trip ID 300069
Salt Lake City: The Pfeifferhorn Take two days to savor this 4.6-
mile (one-way) climb that ends
on a rocky, 11,326-foot peak. From
Little Cottonwood Canyon, hike
roughly three miles and spend the
night by Red Pine Lake. Rise early
for the fi nale, a 1.4-mile ascent
that gains 1,700 feet. Trip ID 728169
M
PRINT & GO!
5 7 0 0 TOTAL TRIPS 0 3 5 0 NEW TRIPS 1 1 8 MAP CONTRIBUTORS JOIN THE TEAM BACKPACKER.COM/POSTATRIPTHE ONLINE TALLY:
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
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MidwestThru-hike Isle Royale, circle a granite monolith, and find hiking bliss in Kansas.
READERHIKE OF THE MONTH
OZARK
HIGHLANDS
TRAIL, ARSEE A NATURAL
ARCH AND
RUSHING RIVERS.
Charlie Williams is
a veteran map
contributor, so we
listen when he
drops phrases like
“one of my all-time
favorites,” which is
how he described
this 40-mile OHT
ramble from Ozone
to Fairview trail-
heads. You’ll cross
the remote Hurricane
Creek Wilderness,
see the state’s only
natural arch, and
ford the knee- to
hip-deep creek twice.
Trip ID 830236
/// ///MAPS
PRINT HIGH-QUALITY TOPOSEvery GPS-enabled trip on our site has a sweet new option. Click on the “Print MyTopo” button in our Map Tools menu, and you can custom-create a map (as large as 36’’ x 48’’) of your route using a topographical grid or aerial photo. BACKPACKER readers get 20 percent off. backpacker.com/hikes
Austin, TX: Enchanted Rock Loop“The Rock” is a huge, pink granite dome
that rises 425 feet above the surround-
ing woodland and covers 640 acres.
Circumnavigate the monolith on this 4.9-
mile loop. Spurs to Moss Lake (backcoun-
try campsites available) and the summit
are short (.4 mile each) and worthwhile.
backpacker.com/enchanted Trip ID 555380
Isle Royale NP: Greenstone Ridge Trail Take a long weekend or
a week to thru-hike this
42-mile trail that bumps
along the view-crazy
backbone of the park
from Rock Harbor to
Windigo. The 3.5 hours
of ferry rides to reach
the trailheads help
ensure hefty doses of
solitude. (p. 17)
Kansas City: Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area Link the Wildlife
Habitat, Hickory
Grove, and Bethany
Falls Trails for a 4.1-
mile loop winding
around limestone
bluffs, glassy ponds,
and deer-frequented
meadows—a 20-min-
ute drive from down-
town. Trip ID 503635
Badlands NP: Pinnacles Overlook Roadtripping?
Stretch your legs
outside of Wall,
South Dakota, on
this .2-mile trek to a
view that rivals any
in canyon country.
Trip ID 504426
Indianapolis: Knobstone TrailNew classic: This
45-mile point-
to-point gains
10,500 feet as it
ratchets along
a craggy ridge in
Deam Lake State
Recreation Area.
Slot four days to
complete it. (p. 17)
Salina: Wilson Purple Loop
Most of Kansas is crop-covered
and pancake flat. Hike into an
anomaly on this 4.7-mile loop in
wildlife-rich Wilson State Park.
From Hell Creek Bridge, drop into
a valley, switchback to a hilltop,
then trace the sandstone shores
of the reservoir. Trip ID 370885
A
PRINT & GO!
10.2010 BACKPACKER 29
EastLeaf-peep in Vermont, climb an Adirondack classic, and catch brown trout.
READERHIKE
OF THE MONTH
STONE
MOUNTAIN, GABAG A SUMMIT
20 MINUTES
FROM TOWN
Terah Shelton hits this
7.4-mile loop when
she needs a breather
from the city. “Within
minutes, you’re sur-
rounded by granite
and trees,” she says.
“And when you reach
the summit, you
can see Kennesaw
Mountain, the
Appalachians, and
the hazy skyline.”
On the way, you’ll
pass the largest high-
relief sculpture in the
world—a carving of
confederate heroes
in the mountainside
that’s larger than
three football fields.
Trip ID 39456
/// ///MAPS
SHARE HIKES, WIN A TRIP! Score a hiking vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park next summer—on BACKPACKER’S tab! Here’s how: Upload GPS data for your favorite hikes to your profile at backpacker.com. We’ll send you a T-shirt for your first submission, then a gift from our gear closet for every fifth hike thereafter. To win the trip? Simple. The reader with the most hikes wins. Go to backpacker.com/mapcontest.
Great Smoky Mountain NP: Charlie’s BunionA 1925 wildfi re incinerated the slopes of this
5,565-foot knob and created the view—and
the peculiar name. A local outdoorsman
named the bulbous peak after his buddy’s
infl amed toe. Scramble to the summit for a
vista with 1,000-foot drop-offs. back-
packer.com/charlie Trip ID 30763
Adirondack Park: Mt. Marcy The
High Peaks region
is ground zero for
mountain climb-
ing in the East.
You could dayhike
to Marcy’s 5,344-
foot summit (the
state’s loftiest), but
take the 25.2-mile
Great Range route
instead. You’ll top
seven more 4,000-
foot peaks. (p. 43)
Hattiesburg: Black Creek TrailBurning quads are rare among Mississippi backpack-
ers. Which is why this 12.9-mile point-to-point along
the Wild and Scenic Black Creek is legendary for
its tough climbs and descents. You’ll roller-coaster
through long-leaf pines, oaks, and beech with inter-
mittent views into adjacent valleys. It’s great training
for mountain trips. Trip ID 330150
Tallahassee: Marsh Island Trail This lightly traveled 9.4-mile path
in Econfina River State Park strings
together sawgrass marshlands,
sandhill flats, and thick forests on
its way to end-of-the-earth views
overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
Watch for egrets, herons, and bald
eagles. Trip ID 7757
Montpelier, VT: Cotton Brook Loop Hike beneath
the confetti of fall colors
on this 9.9-miler. You’ll trek
gentle logging roads and
crisscross Cotton Brook
to views of the Worcester
Range. Trip ID 8335Pittsburgh: Neshannock Creek Just an hour north of the Steel
City lies a rail-trail that parallels
this dreamy snow-fed creek. It’s
shrouded in fiery maples and oaks
come fall and is an ideal family
stroll. Trout bum? Target a rainy day.
This oxygenates and chills the water,
stirring up food and sediment—
encouraging them to bite. (p. 30)
Lexington, KY: Knobby Rock Loop This 4.8-miler links
caves, sandstone
towers, waterfalls,
and, yes, a knobby
overlook of old-
growth forest in
Blanton Forest State
Nature Preserve.
Trip ID 32359
PRINT & GO!
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
30 BACKPACKER 10.2010
DESTINATIONS
DAYHIKES
PH
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NESHANNOCK CREEK, PACAST A FLY TO LAND LUNKER BROWN TROUT.
Throngs of wily, foot-long browns inhabit
this lazy freestone stream (fed by snowmelt
and rain), but bright sunshine spotlights
anglers and scares fish away. Clouds and rain,
however, can ignite a feeding frenzy. Rainfall
oxygenates the water, stirring up food sources
and enough sediment to camouflage trout
and embolden them to bite. Stock up on
streamers at Neshannock Creek Fly Shop
(724-533-3212), pick up the rail-trail across
the street, and head south along the creek’s
western shore. Meander through hemlocks
and maples for 2.5 miles to Big Bend, where
trout cluster at the head of the pool. From
there, wade upstream and fish underwater
snags at the Coal Slide. Retrace your steps
along the shallow, rock-strewn bank back to
the trailhead. Not an angler? Catch the oak
and maple trees, beaming with autumnal
orange and reds. pagameandfish.com
RECHARGE
Warm up with tomato dumpling soup at the
Dumplin’ Haus in Volant. (724) 533-3732
THE WAY
In Volant, drive
north on Main
St. and park at
the fly shop,
opposite the
trailhead.
EMERALD POOLS, UTEXPLORE GUSHING, RAIN-FED WATERFALLS.
Water always dribbles over the cliff between
Middle and Lower Emerald Pools, in Zion
National Park—but rainstorms transform
that trickle into a dazzling torrent that lets
hikers pass behind a 15-foot-wide curtain of
water. From Zion Lodge, the 3.2-mile round-
trip route allows plenty of time to enjoy the
trio of pools. Take the Emerald Pools Trail
and follow the North Fork Virgin River before
contouring along a sandstone wall where
water trickles from above. At Lower Emerald
Pool, you’ll hear water drumming into the
60-foot-wide pond above; to stand at the
source, continue up the trail for another
half-mile to Middle Emerald Pool, where
water spills into a small basin. Cross to the
stream’s east side, then climb 250 feet in a
half-mile to Upper Emerald, which is fed by
a thundering waterfall and affords views of
Cathedral and Red Arch Mountains. Retrace
your steps to the trailhead. nps.gov/zion
RECHARGE
Watch the raindrops tumble as you slurp a
margarita at the Bit & Spur in
Springdale. (435) 772-3498;
bitandspur.com
THE WAY
From Zion Canyon’s south
entrance, ride the shuttle four
miles north to Zion Lodge.
Rainy Season HikesMake the best of fall storms on trails that improve with soggy weather.
MILL CREEK, CARAINS SUMMON SALMON AND SLUGS.
In any season, the 300-foot-tall redwoods
lining Mill Creek in Jedediah Smith Redwoods
State Park would be reason enough to
hike this 5.4-mile (round-trip) trail—but
autumn rains conjure a bonus. As precipita-
tion plumps up Mill Creek, steelhead, coho,
and chinook salmon take advantage of the
deeper waters to swim upstream and spawn.
Rain-lubricated leaves also create smooth
sliding surfaces for neon-yellow banana
slugs. Spot them among understory vines
and maple leaves glowing brilliant red and
yellow from October through December.
Start at the western trailhead on Howland
Hill Road and follow Mill Creek Trail as it bobs
among the ferns on the stream’s west side.
At 2.5 miles, you’ll hike right through a grove
of fat, wrinkled old-growth redwoods before
arriving at Stout Grove parking lot, your turn-
around point. nps.gov/redw
RECHARGE
Gulp down fish and chips at Crescent City’s
Chart Room. (707) 464-5993;
chartroomcrescentcity.com
THE WAY
From Crescent City, take US 101
one mile south, then turn left on
Elk Valley Rd. In one mile, turn
right on Howland Hill Rd. and go
2.5 miles to the trailhead.
3TOP
+ //////
HALO EFFECT: SUNLIGHT
POURS THROUGH THE
MIST NEAR MILL CREEK.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
32 BACKPACKER 10.2010
THE PERFECT SPLITMerrell Split™Technology
Our fall Refuge collection—rugged performers that never give up. Also available in Pro and Core Mid.
Merrell's visible technology joins dual- density EVA under the heel to absorb shock and promote stability.
Softer exterior for cushioninggives you a smooth ride.
Firmer interior for stability keeps you in control.
Merrell Refuge Core
The Wonder Open stands of virgin longleaf pines interspersed with low grasses once cov-
ered up to 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas, forming the Southeast’s dominant ecosys-
tem. In the last 200 years, fire suppression has allowed other species to flourish, while logging
of this sturdy, slow-growing tree with 1.5-foot needles has decimated 97 percent of its historic
range. Of the 2 to 3 million remaining acres, less than 1 percent contain gnarled old-growth
specimens, which can exceed 300 years in age and provide vital habitat
for endangered species like red-cockaded woodpeckers.
The Way The Nature Conservancy’s Moody Natural
Area 100 miles west of Savannah, Georgia, preserves
about 250 acres of old-growth longleaf pine. Tour it
on Tavia’s Trail, a three-mile lollipop beginning one
mile west of the park’s office. At .25 mile, look right
for the characteristic crooked crown at the 100-foot
tops of otherwise spear-straight trunks. Wander
among the giants, then turn left at .5 mile and drop
about 100 feet to the Altamaha River floodplain.
Follow the loop back to the office. nature.org
Natural Wonders
The Southeast’s Last Longleaf PinesWalk beneath trees that predate the Revolutionary War.
The Wonder From 9,393-foot He Devil Peak on its east rim, Hells Canyon on the Oregon/
Idaho border plunges 8,043 feet to the Snake River. About 6 million years ago, the area
uplifted and the Snake began its long descent, revealing igneous rocks on the lower canyon
walls that date back 300 million years. Melting glaciers, plus a spillover from nearby Lake
Bonneville about 16,000 years ago, fed the Snake and helped
accelerate the canyon’s ongoing deepening.
The Way From 6,982-foot Hat Point Lookout, the highest point
on the Oregon side of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area,
pick up Hat Point Trail for a four-mile out-and-back. Switchback
down nearly 1,500 vertical feet, looking east for top-to-bottom
views of the gorge and He Devil Peak, 10 miles away. At mile
two, enjoy a 180-degree view of the Snake, 4,000 feet below.
Climb back the way you came. fs.fed.us/hellscanyon
North America’s Deepest River GorgeHike into a canyon that could hold five stacked Sears Towers.
The Wonder Bighorn sheep’s namesake spirals of bone and
protein can surpass two feet in length and constitute 10 percent
of a ram’s body weight, or up to 30 pounds. Shielded by a hon-
eycombed skull that can absorb 20-mph impacts, rams clash
their mighty horns to establish dominance and mating rights to
females during the late-autumn rut.
The Way Pack 10x30 binoculars and park at the 8,500-foot
base of Saxon Mountain Road on the northernmost end of Main
Street in Georgetown, Colorado. Hike up 1,300 vertical feet of
switchbacks on an unnamed trail through lodgepole pine and aspen. At four miles, stop at
a west-facing overlook to glass the 330-member Georgetown herd—one of the largest and
oldest in the state—which often grazes on the opposite slope, about a mile away. Look for
the sheep’s white “long johns,” or rump patches that extend down their legs, and listen for
the gunshot-bang of rams clashing horns. Return for an eight-mile out-and-back, or continue
three more miles to the summit of 11,546-foot Saxon Mountain. town.georgetown.co.us
The West’s Most Violent Mating DisplayWitness bighorn rams’ skull-bashing attempts to win a date.
Three treks to life-list phenomena
DESTINATIONS
DAYHIKES
PH
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///// /WEB EXTRA
RIDE THE SNAKEGet full beta on a 31.5-mile paddle through Hells Canyon’s class IV whitewater at backpacker.com/hellscanyon.
MERRELL PROUDLY SUPPORTS
THE REFUGE MIDMerrell Split™technology allows stabilityand alignment, while providing the best inshock-absorption—giving you the perfectbalance for any adventure.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
Technology rules.
Internal Locking SystemSUPERLOCK
External Locking System
©201
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Do it There’s no shortage of
wilderness areas named
paradise, but with its
waterfall-a-mile pace and
neck-craning granite walls,
this 18.2-mile out-and-back
actually lives up to that heavenly moniker.
You’ll see wildlife galore (think bears—can-
isters required—pine martens, bobcats,
and ringtails), and ascend to 7,000 feet on
this Sierra overnighter. Pick up your permit
at Road’s End Ranger Station (1) and head
east on the level Bubbs Creek Trail, where
you’ll meander through incense cedar,
white pine, and oak. The sandy trail passes
through a glacier-deposited boulder garden
(2) at mile .7 before dipping into a marshy
lowland along the banks of the South Fork
of the Kings River. Continue to the junction
with the Woods Creek Trail (3) at mile 1.9,
and head left (north). Trace the river and
its tributary creeks, passing beneath gran-
ite cliffs that tower more than 3,000 feet
above; their chiseled, chunky slopes could’ve
been painted by a Cubist-period Picasso.
You’ll begin your nearly 2,000-foot ascent
at mile 3.2 on a short-and-steep stone stair-
case (4) alongside the raging Kings River.
Glance back for a perfectly framed vista (5)
of The Sphinx, a 9,146-foot outcrop that
resembles its mythical namesake. The trail
passes tumbling cascades at mile 3.6 (6),
but press on for the real prize—Mist Falls (7),
a thundering, 60-foot wall of water .4 mile
later (see back page). From here, you’ll gain
almost a thousand feet in 1.6 miles en route
to riverside campsites at Lower Paradise
Valley (8). Continue past Middle Paradise
Valley camp (9), scanning for black bears
in the meadows to your right. The trail rolls
over several gentle hills, offering glimpses
of yet another waterfall pouring from the
northward cliffs. Reach your final destina-
tion—Upper Paradise Valley camp (10)—at
mile 9.1. Pitch your tent beneath behemoth
Jeffrey pines at site six, and let the river’s
roar lull you to sleep. Next day, retrace your
steps back to Road’s End.
TripPlanner
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Get there From Fresno,
take CA 180 east for 40
miles. Enter the park at Big
Stump and drive to Road’s
End Ranger Station, six
miles past Cedar Grove.
Permit Required (May to
September, $15). Reserve
them beginning March 1.
nps .gov/seki
Gear up The General Store
at Hume Lake Christian
Camp, 64144 Hume Lake
Road, Hume. (559) 305-
1275; humelake.org
Map Rae Lakes Loop Trail ($9,
sequoiahistory.org)
Trip data backpacker.com/
hikes/826549
✁
Hike in the spray of waterfalls deep in the heart of black bear country.
Paradise Valley Kings Canyon National Park
//// //MOBILE
MAP PLUS Send any Rip
& Go to your cell: Text
“imap” and the Trip ID
(826549 for this hike, from
Trip data, above) to 32075.
Day 1 Day 2
5,000 ft
8,000 ft
Rip&Go
Total Miles: 18.2
Data Map
MAP DATUM WGS84
1.3 1.61.2.7
mi.
2.1
23 4
9
1.4 9.1
5
1
10
8
6
7
.4.3.1
RETURN TO EDEN:
BEACH CAMPSITES LINE
THE SOUTH FORK KINGS
RIVER AT MILE 5.6.
UTM
11S 0362184E 4077589N
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
Hundreds of black bears
patrol Kings Canyon, and
Paradise Valley is one
of their favorite haunts.
Typically, the bruins aren’t
aggressive; but they are
gifted when it comes to raid-
ing your food. Don’t let them.
“When a bear gets human
food, it’s like a person shoot-
ing heroin for the first time,”
says wildlife biologist Daniel
Gammons. Here’s how to
handle three common bear
encounters.
Frontcountry If overnighting in
a car campsite prior to your
hike, don’t let the proximity
to infrastructure lull you into
a false sense of security. In
fact, “frontcountry bears
get very gutsy,” says wilder-
ness assistant Irene Corrao.
Prevent encounters by stow-
ing all smellables in your
site’s bear locker. If a bear
does come into your camp-
site, yell, bang pots, or honk
your horn until it retreats.
[ ] granola bars (1)
[ ] cookies (1)
[ ] Lipton Pasta
Sides (1)
[ ] raisins (1)
[ ] trail mix (1)
[ ] apricots (1)
[ ] bagels (1)
[ ] pancake mix (2)
[ ] avocado (3)
[ ] apples (3)
[ ] broccoli (3)
[ ] mushrooms (3)
[ ] cheddar cheese
(refrigerator)
[ ] salami (refrigerator)
Pack Vegetable oil,
maple syrup
THE GROCERY LISTOn The Menu
Breakfast 1
On the road
Lunches 1 & 2
Avocado and
cheese bagel;
apples
Dinner
Paradise Pasta
Breakfast 2
Bear Bait Pancakes
Snacks
Granola bars, trail
mix, cookies
Trail Backcountry bears tend
to shy away from hikers. Sing
or talk loudly, especially in
the meadows near Lower
Paradise Valley. Spot one?
Make noise to announce
yourself—a startled bear is a
dangerous bear—and back
away slowly. Never run. If a
black bear attacks, fight back.
Backcountry Store all smelly
items in campsite lockers or
a bear canister at least 50
yards from your tent. Avoid
stash spots near the river,
(lest it end up in the drink),
and don’t pin it between
rocks or branches, where a
bear could leverage off the
lid. Clean dishes and avoid
particularly fragrant foods
like bacon. If you wake to a
bear rummaging around your
site, get out of your tent and
drive it away by shouting
and throwing small rocks.
Continue hazing the bruin. If it
won’t be persuaded, pack up
and move camp.
NEAREST
GROCERY STORE
CLINGAN’S JUNCTION GROCERY35468 E. Kings Canyon Rd.,
Squaw Valley, CA; (559) 338-2404
36 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Key Skill
MIST FALLSThe inviting series
of cascades dotting
the South Fork of the
Kings, along the lower
Woods Creek Trail,
are just preamble
for the main show:
Mist Falls. The rag-
ing waters shroud
the area in a constant curtain of mist, supporting a
community of spray-loving mosses, false buttercup,
and woodland stars. Hike the trail in late May to wit-
ness peak flow. Swimming is too dangerous, but the
inescapable spray provides refreshing relief after the
exposed, 600-foot climb over the previous two miles.
Bear Bait Pancakes A berry-laden and energy-
packed breakfast
1 cup blueberry pancake mix
¾ cup water
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dried apricots
Vegetable oil
Maple syrup
Prepack oil and syrup in spill-
proof containers. Mix water,
raisins, and chopped apricots.
Heat oil over medium flame.
Spoon three tablespoons of
batter onto skillet; cook two
to three minutes per side.
Paradise Pasta Superhearty carbs dished up with
veggies and cheese
1 packet Lipton Pasta Sides (any
cheese flavor)
1 cup fresh broccoli
1 cup assorted mushrooms
3 ounces salami
3 ounces cheddar cheese
Cook pasta according to pack-
age directions. Chop broccoli and
mushrooms and add to pasta as
it cooks. Dice salami and cheese
and add to pot when pasta is
cooked; remove from heat and
stir until the cheese melts.
*
See This
Keeping food safe from bears
WEEKENDS
PIT STOP Get a custom slice (or three) at the Pizza Parlor in Grant Grove Village, where you can build your
own pie with helpings of sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and more. Three miles east of Big Stump park
entrance on CA 180; (866) 522-6966 ext. 334, sequoiakingscanyon.com/cabins.html
Paradise Valley
Locals KnowGot more than a weekend? You’re in luck: Paradise Valley forms the western leg of
the classic, 46-mile Rae Lakes Loop that links sparkling lakes, 11,000-foot passes,
flower-choked meadows, and granite canyons. Take a week to cover this challeng-
ing terrain. Start heading north through Paradise Valley and hike clockwise to the
South Fork Trail, pitching your tent at Upper Paradise Valley, Woods Creek junction,
60 Lakes Basin, Rae Lakes, Charlotte Lake, and Junction Meadow. Note: This loop is
popular in summer, but by October, you can usually score walk-up permits.
DESTINATIONS
//////VIDEOS
BEAR AWARE
Learn how to
scour dishes clean
at backpacker.com/
cleancamp.
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Do it Take this steep path
to a rare, 11.9-mile inner-
canyon loop hike, sublime
views from Horseshoe
Mesa, and a peek into the
Canyon’s mining past. Hike
September to June to avoid the searing heat;
in winter, pack lightweight crampons—ice
can make the upper trail treacherous. From
Grandview Point (1), pack a gallon of water
per person and descend gravel switchbacks
on the Grandview Trail. At mile 1.1, rest your
knees at Coconino Saddle (2), a shady over-
look above an east-facing gully. Continue
down past daisies and vibrant-red desert
paintbrushes (May), then emerge onto
wide-open Horseshoe Mesa, which reaches
two long arms west and north (3). Here,
you’ll encounter Pete Berry’s Last Chance
Mine, a shady nook with copper-mining-era
pickaxes rusting in place. Head east past the
ruined cookhouse (4) at mile 2.8, and take
the East Horseshoe Mesa Trail toward Hance
Creek. Descend steeply off the mesa with
views of the Canyon’s clay-red slopes dotted
with juniper and sagebrush. At mile 3.5, fill
reservoirs at Miner’s Spring (5), a perennial
oasis with a small pool and fresh drip, and
camp near Hance Creek. Next morning, take
the Tonto Trail (6) heading northwest to
begin a relatively level, 4.7-mile loop around
Horseshoe Mesa. At mile 7.3, reach the junc-
tion with a use trail (7) looking south into the
mesa’s thousand-foot-high walls layered in
heather, russet, and slate blue. From here,
take your pick: Continue northwest on the
Tonto Trail to Cottonwood Creek and camp
near the spring at mile 9.4, or head south to
ascend the easy route up Horseshoe Mesa
and camp in a designated site (8). The latter
option shaves 1,200 feet off the next day’s
climbing and clears the way for a 1.5-mile
(one-way) hike over razor-edge cliffs to catch
the sunset on Horseshoe Mesa’s western-
most tip. The 300-degree view of sunset-
streaked Zoroaster Temple will redefine your
sense of grandeur. Next morning, link up
with the Grandview Trail and begin the long,
2,600-foot ascent up to Grandview Point.
Descend to the Ditch’s primitive core on a three-day loop.
Grandview LoopGrand Canyon, South Rim
The way From the South
Rim entrance, drive 12 miles
east along Desert View Dr.
to Grandview Point.
Permit $10 plus $5/person
per night. Reserve four
months ahead. Download
permit request form (nps
.gov/grca/planyourvisit/
upload/permit-request.pdf)
and fax to (928) 638-2125.
Gear up Canyon Village
Marketplace, South Rim.
(928) 638-2262
TripPlanner
//// //MOBILE
APP PLUS Navigate easily
with GPS Trails for your
smartphone. backpacker
.com/iphone or /android
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
3,500 ft8,000 ft
Rip&Go
✁
Maps USGS quads Cape
Royal and Grandview Point
($8, store.usgs.gov)
Trip data backpacker.com/
hikes/823945
Total Miles: 11.9
1.1 .81.6 3.0 2.9
42 6
573
mi.
8
1.7.7
1
MAP DATUM WGS84
Data Map
BABY GRAND: SCORE THIS VIEW OF
ZOROASTER TEMPLE FROM THE
WESTERN ARM OF HORSESHOE MESA.
UTM 12S 0411447E 3988317N
.1
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
38 BACKPACKER 10.2010
+
DESTINATIONS
The killer combination of dry
heat, relentless sun, infre-
quent water sources, and
steep terrain makes dehydra-
tion and heat-related illness
all too common in the Grand.
Here’s how to stay safe:
Water You’ll need to carry a
gallon of water per person
per day. MSR Dromedary
bags come in four sizes, the
nylon outer resists punctures,
and the cap screws on tight
to prevent accidental leak-
age—even under pressure.
A hard rubber collar around
the opening makes it easy to
hold while filling. Attach the
Hydration Kit ($20) hose to
the reservoir to keep water at
hand and encourage constant
sipping. $35; 6.9 oz. (for the
four-liter); msrcorp.com
Back up Pack two hard-sided
one-liter bottles and store
them inside your pack to keep
water cooler.
[ ] hoagies (deli)
[ ] baby spinach
(produce)
[ ] 1 cucumber (produce)
[ ] 2 small tomatoes
(produce)
[ ] parsley (produce)
[ ] lemon (produce)
[ ] bagels (1)
[ ] pitas (1)
[ ] dinner rolls (1)
[ ] sunflower seeds (1)
[ ] cannellini beans (2)
[ ] 1 box couscous (2)
[ ] granola (2)
[ ] dried milk (2)
[ ] 6 oz. pouch tuna (3)
[ ] 7 oz. pouch chicken (3)
[ ] peanut butter (5)
[ ] honey (5)
[ ] salad dressing (5)
[ ] dried blueberries (6)
[ ] craisins (6)
[ ] trail mix (6)
Pack Olive oil
Breakfast 1
On the road
Lunch 1
Hoagies from
Canyon Village
Dinner 1
Switchback Salad
Breakfast 2 and 3
Granola with dried
blueberries
Lunch 2
Bagels with peanut
butter and honey
Dinner 2
Canyon Couscous
Snacks
Trail mix
CAVE OF THE DOMES An estimated 1,000 caves
pock the Grand Canyon’s
Redwall, but only one is
open to recreational use.
Spend a cool afternoon
in Cave of the Domes,
accessed via the precipi-
tous Trail-of-the-Caves
Trail, near the ruined cookhouse at mile 2.8. Crawl
inside, and explore the cave’s many rooms, rough
walls, stone pillars, and 10-plus-foot-high, domed
ceilings with inscriptions dating back more than 100
years. If you plan to explore the cave, carry a head-
lamp, backup flashlight, and extra batteries. Some
spelunkers unspool rope to avoid becoming lost.
Switchback SaladA protein-rich, no-cook meal
Bag of baby spinach
15 ounces cannellini beans
6-ounce pouch tuna
1 cucumber, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 small lemon for juice
Small bunch parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine first five ingredients
in a bowl. Mix olive oil and
lemon juice, and pour over
salad. Serve with dinner rolls.
Canyon No-Cook CouscousNutritious, delicious, and easy
1 box couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1¼ cup water
½ cup craisins
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 packet salad dressing
1 7-ounce pouch chicken
Day before: Combine couscous,
water, and olive oil in a zip-top
bag and let sit overnight.
Night of: Stir in remaining ingre-
dients and spoon into pitas.
*
See This
Heat-aware hiking
WEEKENDS
On The Menu THE GROCERY LIST
NEAREST GROCERY STORETHE CANYON VILLAGE MARKETPLACEGrand Canyon Village,South Rim; (928) 638-2262
PIT STOP Fuel up with a burger at Cruisers Café, and sample the Sunset Amber Ale—one
of seven canyon-inspired microbrews—from the adjacent Grand Canyon Brewing
Company. 233 W. Rte. 66, Williams, AZ; (928) 635-2445
Grandview Loop
Timing Start early (6 a.m.)
and rest frequently. Avoid
hiking between 10 a.m. and
3 p.m., the hottest part of
the day.
Danger Feeling flushed? The
early stages of heat-related
illness include cramps,
fatigue, and muscle pain.
Apply cool water to the
neck, armpits, and inner
thighs (where the carotid,
brachial, and femoral arter-
ies approach the skin’s sur-
face), and fan to facilitate
evaporative cooling.
KeySkill
(AISLE #) IN NEAREST STORE BELOW
Locals KnowPete Berry’s Last Chance copper mine thrived at the turn of the 20th century.
In 1893, Berry constructed the Grandview Trail—loosely following an old Native
American route—to get supplies in and ore out, with heavily laden mules traveling
the steep path daily. Hikers still use the cobblestone paths and original log “cribs”
that support the steep cliffside switchbacks, all of which Berry and his work-
ers built by hand. When mining became unprofitable, Berry built the two-story
Grandview Hotel, and mules carried visitors instead of ore. Around the mine ruins,
find chips of blue ore that Native Americans used to make dye.
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10.2010 BACKPACKER 39
Do it This 16.8-mile loop
serves up a weekend clas-
sic: waterfall-filled hollows,
lush forests, and gorgeous
backcountry campsites.
Take Skyline Drive to
Mile 21 and the trailhead (1). Follow the
Appalachian Trail .2 mile before turning
right and beginning a gentle southbound
descent on the shady Sugarloaf Trail,
then east on the Pole Bridge Link Trail (2),
beneath a canopy of maple and ash that
burn crimson and orange in October. After
crossing Keyser Run Road, yellow poplars
line the path to Little Devils Stairs Trail
(3). Begin the rocky 1,200-foot descent
down Keyser Run, preparing for wide and
slippery crossings of the stream pouring
into the narrow gorge. Rest at the hollow’s
end before heading southwest on Keyser
Run Fire Road and veering right as you
pass through a gate (4) just 30 yards later.
Continue south on Hull School Trail, explor-
ing the quiet Jenkins/Keyser cemetery, bear-
ing the ancestral graves of frontier family
members evicted in the 1930s. Trace the
western base of 2,531-foot Pignut Mountain
(5) before turning left onto Piney Branch
Trail for .1 mile (6). Cross Piney River and
turn right to return to the yellow-blazed Hull
School Trail. At the four-way junction (7),
take a right onto Thornton River Trail. Head
north, passing between narrowing granite
walls and winding along a sinuous river.
The path swerves left after a short ford of
North Fork Thornton River (8). Go right off-
trail and camp in a sheltered glade .1 mile
later. Next day, hike up the Blue Ridge, cross
Skyline Drive, and stay left on the Thornton
River Trail (9). Turn right onto the AT, and
climb the wooded ridgeline for two miles.
Head left onto Elkwallow Trail (10) and
begin the sharp climb up Jeremy’s Run. At
Mathews Arm Campground, cross the road
to pick up Mathews Arm Trail (11). Climb the
Tuscarora Trail (12), and power 500 feet up
the western ridge of Hogback Mountain.
Head left on the AT (13) to the trailhead.
✁
Ramble through brilliant red and yellow fall foliage.
Mathews Arm Loop Shenandoah National Park
The way From Front Royal,
take Skyline Dr. south to
mile marker 21 and park
in the lot on the right after
Hogback Overlook.
Gear up Weasel Creek
Outfitters, Inc., 221 East
Main St., Front Royal, VA.
(540) 622-6909
Permit Required (free);
available at the Front Royal
Entrance Station.
Map Trails Illustrated
TripPlanner
1,200 ft
Rip&Go
YOUR TURN Submit trip
reports for a chance
to win free gear! Go to
backpacker.com/mapcontest.
Shenandoah National Park
($12, natgeomaps.com)
Trip data backpacker.com/
hikes/17056
Total Miles: 16.8
4,000 ft
1.7
mi.
.5 1.4
Data Map
EMERALD TO RUBY: THE ASH CANOPY NEAR THE THORNTON RIVER TRAIL (MILE 7.5) MORPHS INTO DEEP RED COME OCTOBER.
UTM 17S 0736655E 4288530N
2.0 1.2 1.51.4.7 2.5
MAP DATUM WGS84
2.4
Day 1 Day 2
/// ///MAPS
2 31 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1312
.5 .7 .3
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
40 BACKPACKER 10.2010
DESTINATIONS
[ ] whole-grain
bread (entrance)
[ ] 1 jar almond
butter (2)
[ ] honey (2)
[ ] 1 bag dried
fruit (2)
[ ] 1 pouch tuna (3)
[ ] linguine (4)
[ ] cinnamon (5)
[ ] dried oregano (5)
[ ] garlic powder (5)
[ ] red pepper
flakes (5)
[ ] 1 bag cheddar
sticks (17)
[ ] 2 tomatoes
(produce)
Pack Olive oil, salt
THE GROCERY LISTOn The Menu
Breakfast 1
On the road
Lunches 1 & 2
Tomato sandwich
with garlic-olive oil
dressing
Dinner 1
Spicy Tuna Linguine
Breakfast 2
Mathews Arm
Almond Toast
Snacks
Cheddar sticks,
dried fruit
SHENANDOAH SALAMANDERThis endangered, finger-length amphibian lives exclu-
sively in moist soil under rocks and forest debris on the
talus slopes of Shenandoah’s Pinnacles, Stony Man,
and Hawksbill Mountains. Scientists don’t know how
many individuals inhabit this tiny range, which includes
a similar-looking,
more common—and
competing—relative,
the red-backed sala-
mander. Both sport a
yellowish-red stripe
on their backs, but
the Shenandoah’s is
much narrower—just
one-third of its body.
Spicy Tuna LinguineA one-pot, Italian classic
8 ounces linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 pouch tuna in oil
Salt to taste
Boil pasta, drain, and set aside.
Sauté spices in olive oil until
garlic powder turns golden
brown. Add tuna and heat until
bubbling. Return linguine to pot,
toss and serve.
Skyline Almond ToastCinnamon dresses up this sur-
prisingly satisfying breakfast.
2 slices whole-grain bread
2 oz. almond butter
1 oz. honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pan fry bread until toasted.
Spread almond butter on each
slice, drizzle with honey, and
sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Repeat. Devour.
*
See This
WEEKENDS
KeySkillDitch the itch
Within Shenandoah’s nearly
200,000 forested acres
lurk blistering poison ivy
and disease-carrying ticks.
Follow these tips to enjoy the
Shennies rash-free.
Defend
Wear long sleeves and tuck
pant legs into socks to avoid
poison ivy (three-leaved
plants that turn red in fall);
apply deet to fend off ticks
(we like 3M Ultrathon;
solutions.3m.com). If you
touch a suspicious plant,
wipe skin with rubbing
alcohol, then rinse with
water—removing poison ivy’s
irritating urushiol oil within
about an hour improves your
chance of preventing or mini-
mizing a reaction.
(AISLE #) IN NEAREST STORE BELOW
Mathews Arm Loop
Locals KnowAbout 98 percent of Shenandoah’s leaves
change color each fall, usually peaking the
second or third week of October. “We’ve
got quite a diversity [about 150 to 200
species] of trees here,” park ranger Mara
Meisel says. “So the color range is really
tremendous.” Though rust-colored oak is the predominant hue, the park’s
varied elevation, moisture, and forest age result in a patchwork of golden
hickory and poplar, scarlet black gum and maple, and even purple dogwood.
For classic dayhiker vistas, walk to Hogback Overlook just east of the Mathews
Arm Loop trailhead. To gain views without the throngs of leaf-peepers, climb the
3,212-foot summit of South Marshall, a generally quiet 1.5-mile out-and-back
on the AT (starting from Skyline Drive at mile 15.9). Also look for unexpected
fall flair in the trailside understory, where spidery yellow flowers adorn the bare,
twiggy branches of witch hazel.
PIT STOP Taste the South with a house-rubbed pulled pork sandwich at Soul
Mountain Restaurant, 300 E. Main Street, Front Royal, VA; (540) 636-0070.
Diagnose
About eight to 48 hours after
ivy exposure, an itchy, red,
streaky, blistered (but non-
contagious) rash will appear.
Check daily for ticks; initially
they look like inconspicuous
black dots at the hairline,
waistband, and sockline. You
may not feel them even once
they’ve begun burrowing.
Treat
Soothe ivy rashes with wet
compresses and calamine
lotion (or make a salve of
cold water and oatmeal).
Pluck embedded ticks with
tweezers; pull straight out,
slow and steady, then wash
area with soap and water.
Fever or new rash within a
month? See a doctor.
NEAREST GROCERY STORE FOOD LION260 Remount Rd., Front Royal, VA; (540) 622-2704
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We recommend
CorkliteSpeedLock poles.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
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My Backyard: North Cascades by Cori Connerk d: North Cascades by
Wilderness Patrol
Supervisor Cori Conner,
32, is a 12-year veteran
of the Park Service. She
spends 75 percent of her
time in the field, and has
joined 50-plus SAR ops.
Why the Cascades?
Because I feel that I am com-
pletely in the wild. The park
is pure, unadulterated wil-
derness. It’s rugged, remote,
inaccessible, and most of all,
completely untamed.
When is the best time to visit?
Late summer or early
autumn. The colors are turn-
ing, the weather is generally
clear and crisp, and the mos-
quitoes are finally down.
How do you beat the crowds?
What crowds? Forty-two
years after its designation,
the park is still an undiscov-
ered gem. There are nearly
unlimited opportunities for
solitude in beautiful places.
We only issue about 10,000
backcountry permits a year,
and that is for the entire
684,000 acres. Help us
keep this place wild. If you
come to visit, leave no trace.
EPICENTER
My Backyard: NNor
1. TOP RIDGE WALK
The 34.3-mile Copper Ridge
loop offers four days of bird’s-
eye views, glaciated peaks,
and shimmering lakes. From
the Hannegan trailhead, hike
up the Copper Ridge Trail to
see 9,127-foot Mt. Shuksan
across the often-cloud-filled
Chilliwack Valley. Return via
the Chilliwack River Trail.
DESTINATIONS
7. FAVORITE FOREST DAYHIKE
Old-growth fir and red
cedars give way to lodge-
pole pines on the short,
four-mile loop on Thunder
Knob Trail. You’ll pass from
wet, moss-lined forest to
a drier area with between-
the-pines views of 6,120-
foot Sourdough Mountain.3
42 BACKPACKER 10.2010
8. TOP FIRE-TOWER HIKE
Take the 6.8-mile (one-
way) Desolation Peak
Trail up the dry, rocky
path to summit the
6,102-foot peak and
see the fire tower Jack
Kerouac tended as he
wrote Dharma Bums and
Desolation Angels.
3. PREMIER CAMPSITE
Perched high above its name-
sake glacier, Sahale Glacier
Camp is your dry land in a sea
of ice and sky-tearing peaks.
Pitch your tent here for argu-
ably the best view in the park.
Get there: Link Cascade Pass
and Sahale Arm Trails for a
10.6-mile overnight.
the C
2. BEST ALPINE CLIMBMt. Shuksan via the FisherChimneys route. Start at LakeAnn trailhead, climb throughthe Chimneys with sectionsof gentle 5.2 rock, and stayroped up for 40-degreesnowfields on Winnie’s Slideto Sulphide Glacier at HellsHighway. Top out for summitviews of 10,781-foot Mt. Baker.
/// ///MAPS
GO DEEPExplore the North Cascades’ famously wild interior with five trips at backpacker.com/northcascades.
+
5. EASY-ACCESS FLY-FISHING
Pull wriggling rainbow and
cutthroat trout out of milky
blue Stehekin River. Camp
along the water at Harlequin
Camp, 4.4 miles up the River
Trail from Stehekin Landing.
ner
g.
2
4. DEEPEST SNOW
Strap on snowshoes (or
posthole up to your eye-
balls) for a 10-mile loop
on the Thornton Lake Trail.
You’ll cross countless small
creeks, fir-covered slopes,
and talus fields opening
onto unhindered views
of the snaggletoothed
Southern Pickets.
4
5
8
7
9. PUREST SOLITUDE
At Whatcom Pass, deep in
the park’s rugged interior,
you’ll enjoy private views of
the Beaver Creek Drainage
and glacier-sheathed
Whatcom Peak. Access it
on a five-day, 46.8-mile
trek from Hannegan trail-
head to Ross Dam.
6. BEST SKI ADVENTURE
Tackle the experts-only,
19-mile Forbidden Ski Tour.
You’ll weave around glaciers
and yo-yo through 21,000 feet
of elevation change. Start at
Eldorado Creek trailhead, nav-
igate around Forbidden Peak,
then descend to glacier-blue
Moraine Lake. Close the loop
along Rousch Creek drainage.
1
6
9
10.2010 BACKPACKER 43
It’s always about the journey, of course, but some-
times that’s more true than others. Such as on a
climb of 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy, where you’ll shoot
into the most peak-packed section of 6-million-acre
Adirondack Park. The most sporting route is the
25.2-mile Great Range approach. You’ll scramble as much as hike as
you tag eight of the range’s tallest 46 peaks.
Pack your bear canister (required) and start the three-day loop
from The Garden trailhead at the end of John’s Brook Road in Keene
Valley. Ascend 2.9 miles on the Southside Trail to the Wolf Jaws
Trail, then set foot on the rocky spine of the Great Range, the most
airy and view-rich traverse in the Adirondacks. Hike along the root-
knotted ridge rising up and over Upper Wolf Jaw and Armstrong
Mountain. Next stop: 4,736-foot Gothics, with backside cables to
assist on the descent, then Saddleback and Basin Mountains. Camp
at the old Sno Bird Lean-To site .8 mile past the summit of Basin,
with room for three tents next to the brook.
Next day, intersect the Haystack Trail in .5 mile and follow it
through stunted spruce over Little Haystack and Mt. Haystack, suck-
ing in your first view of plunging Panther Gorge and Mt. Marcy to
the west. At Four Corners, drop your pack and bag 4,926-foot Mt.
Skylight (a steep, 1.2-mile out-and-back). And now the finale: Climb
up 800 feet over loose rocks and scrub on Marcy’s bald southwest
slope. Alpine vegetation carpets the
summit area, with views of the rounded,
tree-covered High Peaks, and diamond-
bright lakes shining below. Camp at
Slant Rock campsite beneath an over-
hanging boulder, then take the Phelps
Trail 6.5 miles back to The Garden.
Mt. Marcy
/// ///MAPS
SNEAK PEAKSDownload an Adirondacks Five Mountain Loop tracklog at backpacker .com/fivemountainloop.
The Best...Guidebook
Adirondack Trails:
High Peaks Region
($20, adk.org)
Campground
Adirondak Loj
Wilderness
Campground on
the shores of Heart
Lake ($35 for two
people). adk.org
Peak to view Marcy
Climb 4,960-foot
Mt. Haystack, via
3.5-mile-long
Bartlett Ridge from
Warden’s Camp.
You’ll see Panther
Gorge’s deep void
and experience airy
solitude punctuated
by the High Peaks.
Eats
Noonmark Diner
in Keene Valley,
famous for its pies
and killer milkshakes.
noonmarkdiner.com
SOUTHEASTERN VIEW FROM MARCY’S SUMMIT
The
Peak
HIGHPOINT: MT. MARCY (SEEN HERE FROM MT. HAYSTACK) FORMS THE WESTERN
WALL OF PANTHER GORGE.
UTM 18T 0587983E 4884206N
HEART LAKE
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
44 BACKPACKER 10.2010
BASECAMP
Yes, we go into the wilderness to leave civilization behind. But that doesn’t mean it’s OK to act like a barbarian. Take our quiz and rate your trailside manners.
How’s Your Camping Etiquette?
//////
ILLU
STR
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BY
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PH
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1. A big, muddy puddle swamps the trail. Your move?A) Walk off-trail, around the mud, to keep your feet dryB) Slosh on through. That’s what Gore-tex is for.
2. Trail hygiene is tough. When the gorp gets
passed around, you should...A) Dig in—the risk of spreading germs this way is
wildly exaggerated
B) Pour it into your palm, because who knows
whether Joe ‘Nose Blow’ Schmoe dosed with Purell?
C) Set a good example by not sharing your gorp at all.
This definitely prevents contamination.
3. It’s time to clean dishes. What’s the minimum you should do?A) Lick your plates, and let
partners (and Fido) lick theirs
B) Wipe ’em clean with paper
towels and air-dry. The expo-
sure will kill germs by morning.
C) Rinse dishes in boiling water
to sterilize, and air-dry
D) Boil water, add soap, wash
dishes, then rinse them in a pot
of purified water, and air-dry
4. You doused
the campfire
with a big pot
of water. Now
what? At estab-
lished sites, you
should...A) Leave the fire
ring as is
B) Scatter all of
the ash remains
and disassemble
the fire ring
C) Scatter the
big ash pieces so
the mess doesn’t
overwhelm the
fire ring (but
leave the ring so
the next camp-
ers don’t create a
new one)
5. Skinny-dipping in a remote
backcountry lake is...A) Awesome
B) Illegal in 43 states
C) Cool if you’re fairly clean and other
campers aren’t nearby
D) Uncool unless your name is
Megan Fox or Robert Pattinson
6. When you need to whiz, you do it how far from the trail?A) 6 inchesB) 100 yardsC) Out of sight and 200 feet from any water source, except in specific situations 7. Pick the surfaces you should NOT walk on, either for safety or LNT reasons:A) Microbiotic soil
B) 38-degree talus slopes
C) Lichen-covered rocks
D) Graupel
E) The midpoint of a cornice
F) Baby moose or elk tracks
G) Quicksand
8. It’s fire time and you break out the single malt. You should...A) Slug it, pass it around, repeat
B) Taunt people who don’t partake
C) Hoard it—you carried it, after all
D) Trade shots for Snickers
9. While tied into a rope team on Mt.
Rainier, you really have to go—#2. You...A) Hold it, at great risk to your undies
B) Unrope and traverse 100 yards
C) Set to while your partners look away
D) You’re not wearing a diaper?
10. It’s OK to trundle rocks if…A) You look and yell to make sure no one is in the line of fireB) Your friend rolls one firstC) It’s never OK to trundle
10.2010 BACKPACKER 45
11. It’s fine to throw apple cores, orange
peels, and seeds into the forest.A) True B) False
20. In a campground, you should keep noise down until what time in the A.M.?A) 8 a.m.
B) 9 a.m.
C) All day. People go camping for the
peace and quiet.
D) Never. Loud noise (especially heavy
metal) keeps bears away.
12. When nature calls, what should you do with your TP afterward?A) Bury it six inches deep or burn it
B) Pack it out
C) Put it in your partner’s top pocket
D) What TP? I use leaves.
13. Pack out solid waste...A) Always
B) On rivers
C) In fragile
desert areas
14. When two parties meet on a
narrow, cliffside trail, who yields?
Choose all that apply:A) People moving uphill
B) People moving downhill
C) Smaller party
D) Larger party
E) The party with the worst BO
21. You’re hiking on lands protected from hunting, and you
encounter a group of camo-clad hunters. What do you do?A) Lecture time, baby!
B) Say nothing, do nothing. They have guns.
C) Politely ask to see their licenses. Nature can’t protect itself.
D) Ask to borrow some blaze orange
22. Bathing with soap in a river or lake is…A) OK
B) Not OK. Collect water
and bathe 200 feet away
16. Because horses are big and harder to control, they must yield to hikers and bikers on the trail.A) True B) False
23. You’re brushing your teeth. Where to spit?A) Away from camp
B) In the nearest stream
C) On the fire
25. It’s dark, rainy, and the lean-to is full. A soggy hiker approaches. You should…A) Pretend you’re sleepingB) Move over. There’s no such thing as a full shelter in rain.C) Send him away with your regrets. First come, first served.D) Tell him you think you saw another, less-crowded shelter about a mile up the trail
24. Dinner is done and only wash water remains. What to do with it?A) Bottoms up!
You’re an LNT
master!
B) Pour it down
the privy hole
C) Strain and pack
out big bits; dis-
perse liquid 200
feet from water
Genteel or a Heel?
Scoring Give yourself one point for each correct answer.» 0 to 5 You have trouble finding hiking partners, don’t you? Please go to
backpacker.com/camp_etiquette for remedial lessons.
» 6 to 10 We’re laughing with you, not at you. Really.
» 11 to 20 Good showing. There’s room for improvement, but we’re only human.
» 21 to 30 You’re welcome to join our hikes anytime.
» 31 A freakishly perfect score. Relax, would you? It’s the woods!
17. The best way to use a cell phone:A) Bluetooth in ear
B) Secretly and away from others
C) Never. This is the wilderness, dude!
ANSWER KEY 1. B, to prevent erosion 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. C. DEET and sunblock pollute rivers. 6. C, except
when on high-volume rivers (1,000-plus cfs) and you can’t leave the river corridor 7. One point
for each: A (This crust of moss and lichen prevents erosion and promotes plant growth. When
trampled, it can take 250 years to recover.); B (high rockfall hazard); D (These snow pellets can act
like ball bearings underfoot and destabilize snow slopes.); E (The cornice might collapse.); and
G (duh) 8. A 9. C, to avoid falling in a crevasse while doing your business 10. C 11. B. This food, while
biodegradable, is unnatural for wildlife; it can harm them or make them dependent. 12. B. 13. B and
C (one point for each) 14. B 15. B and C (one point for each) 16. B. Both yield to horses. 17. B 18. C
19. B 20. C 21. C. Or call land managers. 22. B. See #5. 23. A. Spray it through pursed lips 24. C 25. B
19. A brand new water purifier is just lying on the trail. Your move?A) Hike on. Who needs extra ballast?
B) Grab it in hopes of finding its owner
C) Pick it up and leave your iodine
tablets behind. Hello upgrade!
15. On a weekend AT trek, you share a camp with two
hungry-looking thru-hikers. You should…A) Keep a close eye on your food bag
B) Make a big dinner and offer them some
C) Give them your remaining food when you hike out
18. You see a fly-fisherman casting at a secluded lake. You...A) Grab your rod and join him!
B) Take a dip, then skip rocks
C) Keep your distance
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
2
1
TheManualForecast the Weather
There’s an old saying in the Presidential Range: “If you don’t like the weather, wait a moment.” Funny how that saying also crops up in the Sierra, the Rockies, the Appalachians, and most other mountain ranges. In the backcountry, weather can—and will—change quickly and dramatically. In our new book, BACKPACKER’s Predicting the Weather ($13, falcon.com), excerpted here, Lisa Densmore teaches you how to read the skies for safer, drier outings.
Elemental Ingredients1. Air temperature While ground temps
determine the number of layers you wear, the
mercury up high dictates whether you’ll need
raingear. As warm air rises, it cools off and
approaches its dew point (the temperature
at which water vapor turns to droplets).
Heavy droplets then fall to earth as precip.
2. Wind The stronger it is, the colder it feels
(e.g., a 30°F day with 30-mph winds feels like
15°F). For a windchill chart, go to backpacker
.com/windchill. Wind also signals change.
3. Humidity Relative humidity (RH) is the
amount of moisture in the air divided by how
much water the air can hold at that temp
(times 100). So an RH of 100 percent means
the air is saturated (aka, at its dew point),
and rain is coming. High humidity makes cold
feel colder and heat hotter, via conduction. As
air rises and cools, relative humidity increases.
4. Barometric pressure This is the weight
(per unit area) that the air exerts on the earth.
A warm air mass is always lighter (less dense)
than a cold air mass, and thus exerts less
pressure. If the barometric pressure is falling,
a warm front is coming in. If the barometric
pressure is rising, a cold front is approaching.
FIGURING OUT FRONTS Colliding air masses are known as fronts. Like one car rear-ending another, the
incoming front—typically from the west in the northern hemisphere—rams into
the outgoing front, pushing it eastward. The faster the new front, the more vio-
lent the collision and the stormier the resulting weather. There are three types:
SKILLS
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Warm Air
Cold AirCool Air
Warm Occluded Front
Warm Front
Warm Air
Cold Occluded Front
Very Cold Air Cold Air
Warm Air
Cold Front
Cold Air
1. Warm fronts A warm air mass arrives and
rises slowly above the cold air ahead and
gradually cools to its dew point.
Signs Low barometric pressure, high
humidity, low cloud ceiling
Result Fairly calm winds (max speed
of 20 mph) at the front’s leading
edge; steady rain for days
2. Cold fronts Fast-moving, unstable
cold air pushes under the warm air
ahead, forcing it up quickly and cool-
ing it. Heavy rain might result.
Signs High barometric pressure, high
cloud ceiling, good visibility unless
precipitation is present
Result Fair weather that can change
quickly; strong winds, generally from
the north or west; and severe but
brief thunderstorms or snow squalls
3. Occluded fronts A battle royal of three
air masses. A fast-moving cold front over-
takes a warm front, lifting (occluding) the
warm air mass. The incoming cold front
then collides with the departing cold air
mass. If the incoming cold front is warmer
than the departing one (a situation
dubbed a warm occluded front, WOF), the
new cold front climbs over the exiting one
while trapping the warm front high in the
middle. If the incoming cold front is colder
than the departing one, it wedges under it
(aka, a cold occluded front, COF).
Signs Wind direction changes, usually so it
blows from the north-northwest; falling,
then rising barometric pressure
Result Storms possible; light to heavy rain
followed by dry weather after the front
exits. With WOFs, cold temps get milder;
with COFs, cold temps get even colder.
46 BACKPACKER 10.2010
+ //////
10.2010 BACKPACKER 47
45
3Altitude Check If your altimeter shows a rise
in elevation even though you
haven’t moved, it means the
barometric pressure has fallen
and a low-pressure storm system
has arrived. A fall in elevation
signals rising barometric pressure
and an incoming high-pressure
(good weather) system.
TEST YOUR METEOROLOGICAL IQWhich of these old wives’ tales are accurate and which are bunk?
1. Tornadoes never occur in the mountains. T/F
2. The sky’s color at sunset predicts the weather. T/F
3. Geese won’t fly before a storm. T/F
4. You can predict a fair day with a cup of coffee. T/F
5. Songbirds sing louder just before a storm. T/F
ANSWERS 1. False Though less frequent, they do happen. In 2004 a tornado touched down
in Sequoia NP at an elevation of 12,000 feet. 2. True and false You’ve heard, “Red sky at night,
sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” The sky’s redness is caused
by sunrays reflecting off dust particles when there’s little cloud cover and stable air. Our
weather typically comes from the west, so a red sky at dusk means a high-pressure
system (good weather) is coming. A red sky as the sun rises in the east means the
high-pressure system has already passed, and a low-pressure storm system may be
approaching, especially if the sky is a deep, fiery red (a sign of water vapor). With pol-
luted air, all bets are off. Smog causes red skies at dawn and dusk. 3. True Neither will
seagulls; hoofed animals, meanwhile, head for lower elevations. 4. True Stir your coffee,
creating bubbles. If the bubbles amass in the center, you’re in a high-pressure system,
which is making the coffee’s surface convex (higher in the middle). Since bubbles
are mostly air, they migrate to the highest point. It’s going to be a beautiful day. If the
bubbles form a ring around the sides of the mug, you’re in a low-pressure system, mak-
ing the surface concave. Rain is likely. Note: It has to be strong, brewed coffee to have
enough oil to work, and the mug must have straight sides. 5. False In fact, some become
quiet. 6. True With low barometric pressure, natural springs flow from the ground faster.
Also, ponds look cloudier since a higher volume of marsh gases brings muck to the sur-
face. 7. True Count the chirps for 14 seconds, then add 40. So 20 chirps means it’s 60°F
outside. Crickets are correct within one or two degrees 75 percent of the time. 8. True This
means a high-pressure system is upon you. But if, on a calm night, smoke hugs the ground,
then disperses, a low-pressure system has arrived. 9. True Humidity and wind from low-
pressure systems carry sound waves farther. 10. Mostly true It’s the calm before the storm.
6. Springs flow faster when a storm approaches. T/F
7. Counting cricket chirps tells you the temperature. T/F
8. Smoke rising straight signals a fair day tomorrow. T/F
9. Sound travels farther when a storm approaches. T/F
10. If the wind dies suddenly, it’s about to pour. T/F
Prevailing PatternsMountains In a process called adiabatic cooling, air cools by 5.5°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation gained (if there’s no moisture). Add humidity, and the rate slows to 3.2°F per 1,000 vertical feet. This can create precipitation on a peak even if the plains below are dry. Also: Wind flows upslope during the day as the air heats up, then downslope in the cool evening. So the earlier you summit, the less windy and cloudy it likely will be. Still, widespread clouds or strong prevailing winds can neutralize mountain effects. Valleys Since cold air sinks, valleys are usually cooler than surrounding hillsides.Ocean, sea, or lake It takes a huge body of water to impact the weather significantly. Water changes temperature more slowly than land, so during the day, breezes blow inland as air flows from the colder water toward the warmer land. At night, gusts travel from the cool land toward the warmer water. Thick clouds cancel this effect because they prevent a significant temperature differential between the lake or sea and the land. So coastal wind on a cloudy day signals an approaching front and likely a storm. Glaciers and snowfields These create downslope breezes that travel about a third of a mile below them.Deserts One big weather danger here? Thermals: columns of rising air that occur over hot spots on land or water. Air rushes to fill the column’s low-pressure zone, spawning sandstorms with up to 75-mph winds. Thermal action builds during the day, making sandstorms more likely in the afternoon. They also interfere with electronic transmissions like cell phones and radio. Wear goggles, a windshell, and a bandanna over your mouth and nose; seek shelter.
Mountains
Ocean, Sea, or Lake
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
48 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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HEALTH
Reader Shot of the Month Are the vivid colors in this photo of Lake Superior real? No, but they weren’t Photoshopped,
either. Shooter Amanda Allard, of Duluth, Minnesota, employed one of Ansel Adams’s favor-
ite tools: a tinted filter. Here’s how you can get a similar shot.
CHOOSE YOUR COLOR Tinted filters sit in front of the lens and block certain wavelengths of
light, resulting in a color shift in the final image. Ansel Adams often used yellow and red fil-
ters to darken blue skies. Here, Allard used a graduated orange filter (Gradual Fluo Orange
2; $23; cokin.fr) to create an apricot sky and leave the bottom of the photo unchanged.
PICK THE RIGHT FOCAL LENGTH For the moon to appear huge, you need a long focal length.
Anything less than 200mm and it’ll just be a little white dot. Allard zoomed all the way in
with a Canon EF 100-400mm lens on a Canon Rebel Xsi. Like most entry-level DLSRs, it
has a smaller sensor size than a 35mm camera—making the effective focal length about
600mm. So the moon hovered large while still leaving room for the horizon and shoreline.
USE A TRIPOD Allard used a somewhat slow shutter speed (1/50 second) to capture the
waves’ motion. You don’t always need a tripod for that speed, but with such a long focal
length, 1/50 is slow enough that you’ll get camera shake if you handhold it. Don’t forget the
other moving object: the moon. Shutter speeds slower than 1/30 second will blur it.
MEDICINEMANBUCK MAKES YOU RIGHT.
Air Head?Q: Somebody recently told me that climbing a Fourteener kills brain cells because of the low oxygen levels. Is this true?
Terry, Colorado Springs, CO
A: Medical researchers are pretty sure that exposure to altitudes above 15,000 feet causes
some brain-cell damage (such as lesions or atrophy), resulting in either short-term or long-
term loss of neurocognitive function. But the impact is small enough that most climbers don’t
notice a cognitive loss. Still, we don’t know if the damage raises dementia risk down the road.
As for whether any damage occurs in the brain below 15,000 feet, that is unknown,
so I can’t say anything definitive. But I doubt you need to worry about brain damage on
Fourteeners if you acclimatize properly (meaning not gaining more than about 1,500 to
2,000 feet per day until your body has adapted). A 2006 Spanish study (albeit on people
at 15,770 feet or higher) found that proper acclimatization reduces the brain-damage risk.
Buck Tilton is co-founder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute and author of Wilderness First Responder ($35, falcon.com), a guide to backcountry medical emergencies.
B A S E L A Y E R S > A C C E S S O R I E S > S O C K S
PaulRunner, mountain biker,
B+ biology student
NeNeNew NewNewNew Neew ZealZZZealZealZealZealZ and’and’and’and’nd’and’dn s Fis Fis Fis Fiss Fis FiF nestnestnestnestnestneste MerMerMer Mer Mere MerMe ino ino ino ino ino ino WoolWoolWoolWWWW
It’s why when the trail ends, you don’t have to.
Each of us has an internal odometer. For some, the numbers
barely move. For you, they click by… That’s why you layer up
in SmartWool. It keeps you warm and dry. And it keeps you
out on the trail, long after you’ve left it behind.
That’s the Power of Comfort.
Where will it lead you?F ind a dealer near you at smartwool.com
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storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
50 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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SURVIVAL
//////
THE PREDICAMENT Lost in the Woods
Sign up for our free monthly newsletter featuring great hikes and activities, plus travel deals and expert tips for making the most of your park vacation. Go to www.NationalParkTrips.com.
NationalParkTrips.com
Dream it, plan it and live it with the best in
trip-planning tools, tips and resources:
• FREE trip-planning kits
• Insider advice on what to do, where to stay,
what to pack
• Interactive maps and driving tours
• Money-saving coupons
• And much, much more!
Your one-stop-shop for a vacation of a lifetime!
Five fantastic National Park sites offering the
most comprehensive, relevant and timely travel
tips for planning your perfect park vacation.
To access all fi ve websites, go to
NationalParkTrips.com or check out one of
the following National Park sites.
Plan Your Ultimate
National Park Experience
• MyGrandCanyonPark.com
• MyRockyMountainPark.com
• MyYellowstonePark.com
• MyYosemitePark.com
• MyZionPark.com
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
52 BACKPACKER 10.2010
SKILLS
RECIPES
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Half of a 10-ounce can of condensed cream
of celery soup
6 slices American cheese
¼ can of beer (our pick: a light ale)
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 five-ounce can of Vienna sausages
1 five-ounce package of baby carrots
24 long, thick pretzel rods
AT HOME
Transfer soup to a spillproof container and
red pepper to a zip-top bag. Store pretzels in
a hard container.
IN CAMP
Combine soup with ½ cup water in a pot;
bring to a simmer over medium heat. Slice
cheese into half-inch squares and add to
soup, stirring until cheese is melted (about
four minutes). Mix in beer and pepper. Reduce
flame to low to keep cheese warm. Dunk dip-
pers in pot, or serve small cheese bowls.
1 eight-ounce package Gruyère cheese
(or a similar hard cheese such as Fontina,
Emmental, or Swiss)
1 tablespoon white flour
¾ cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
2 Granny Smith apples
1 small head of broccoli
3 dinner rolls
AT HOME
Grate cheese. Place cheese, flour, and
herbs in separate zip-top bags. Pour wine
into a spillproof, airtight container. Wash
apples and broccoli, and remove stems
from broccoli.
ON TRAIL
Chop garlic, slice apples, and cut rolls into
bite-size pieces; arrange morsels on bam-
boo skewers (or just use forks). Cook wine and garlic in a covered
pot over high heat for about three minutes, until simmering. Toss
cheese with the flour in a zip-top bag, then add to the wine mixture.
Turn heat to low and stir until cheese melts (about two minutes).
Mix in herbs, then dip your skewers, or serve small cheese bowls.
Add rich, cheesy flair to your backcountry fare.
Fonduedirtbag / gourmet
DIRTBAG
Beer and Pretzel DipGOURMET
Savory Gruyère Fondue
Minutes Hours
Prep time2 min
Cook time8 min
Price $2 per serving
Weight 8 ounces per
serving
Serves 2 to 3
Calories 1,018*
Fat 48 g
Carbs 104 g
Protein 40 g
*Nutrition info is per serving based on two servings.
Prep time4 min
Cook time10 min
Price $5 per serving
Weight 8 ounces per
serving
Serves 2 to 3
Calories 939*
Fat 41 g
Carbs 87 g
Protein 47 g
Beyond bread Get creative with your dippers. All kinds of fruits,
veggies, chips, crackers, or canned meats work. We like: dried
salami, sliced pears, cherry tomatoes, steak, and chili peppers.
Heat cleaning After you’ve finished eating, fill the cheese-
encrusted, tough-to-clean pot with biodegradable soap and
water, cover with a lid, and return to the stove. Heat until boiling,
remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes before scrubbing.
////// VIDEOS
DON’T FORGET DESSERTWant an easy, mess-free method for making divine chocolate fondue in the backcountry—without burning the chocolate on the pot? Learn how at backpacker.com/chocolatefondue.
10.2010 BACKPACKER 53
Gear School
SHOP >> Size A snowshoe’s length and width determine the amount of flota-
tion. You want more flotation for more body weight and for deeper,
softer snow. The heavier you and your pack are, the wider and longer
your ’shoes should be. Narrower, shorter ones are best for dayhikes on
packed snow. (See chart above; if you spend most of your time in fresh
snow or on big-load treks, add your pack weight to your body weight.)
>> Frame Choose featherweight aluminum (more durable) or hard
plastic (less expensive). See above for shape information.
>> Decking The cover across the frame is typically made of hard plastic
or softer synthetics like neoprene. “The materials are so durable,” says
Carl Heilman, a snowshoe-design consultant for several manufactur-
ers. “They can take a beating. Wear and tear isn’t much of an issue.”
>> Crampons Most snowshoes have a claw-style crampon under the
foot platform. You want points angled in all directions for the best
grab. Some ’shoes also have frame crampons for steep and icy ter-
rain. Stainless steel works best for rocky conditions; for snow-only
hikes, aluminum is fine. You want the points long enough to grip the
surface, but not so long that they catch or trip you.
>> Bindings The straps or molding that wraps around your boots should
provide a secure and stable attachment. Bring the boots you snow-
shoe in to the store, and make sure the binding mechanism is easy to
operate and fits snugly around the tops of your feet and your heels.
>> Pivot point Situated under the ball of the foot, this lets your foot
move up and down naturally. With fixed rotation models, the ’shoe also
lifts up some with each step, making it easier to back up and step high,
but flipping up snow. With free rotation, the foot fully pivots, which
facilitates climbing and means you lift less weight with each step.
USE>> Striding Keep your feet a little wider apart than usual to avoid over-
lapping or colliding snowshoes. Use trekking poles to aid balance.
>> Ascending When hiking uphill in soft powder, kick your snowshoes
toe-first into the snow to create a step; in hard snow, rely on your
crampons—the binding’s pivot point will let you walk straight up mod-
erate slopes with your ankle in a comfortable position.
>> Descending Bend your knees so your weight shifts slightly backward,
and rely on your crampons for traction. In soft and hard snow, you
can walk down moderate slopes without traversing.
>> Traversing Jam the side of the snowshoe into the snow and lean into
the slope slightly. “Keep the ’shoe as level as possible,” Heilman says.
>> Bridging Never use the snowshoes to straddle a gap between rocks
or the limbs of a fallen tree; you risk snapping the snowshoe frames.
FIX Carry a multitool so you can tighten screws or make other repairs. Use
tent repair patches or duct tape to patch minor tears in the decking; if
it rips off the frame, use plastic zip ties or a hose clamp for a field fix.
SnowshoesGet out more this winter with the right pair of ’shoes.
Frame shape Oval designs increase flotation,
while diamond and hourglass shapes allow a
more natural stride, as they position your feet
closer together.
Crampons Sharp points
under the heel and toe
increase traction on hard-
pack snow and ice. Teeth
on the frame enhance
grip on uneven terrain, but
about 90 percent of the
traction comes from the
underfoot crampons.
-80 100
20- 22
25-26
30
35- 36
120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300+
body weight (lbs.)
sno
wsh
oe
len
gth
(in
.)
OPTIMAL OKOK
OPTIMAL OKOK
OPTIMAL OKOK
OPTIMAL OKOK
PICK YOUR SIZE
Heel lifts Aka ascenders or climbing
bars, these hinged supports allow
an easier stride on steep slopes.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
BASECAMP
For five months, we tested 50 bags, pads, and other snooze-related gear
to find perfect sleep systems for every season. By Kelly Bastone
Ultimate Backcountry Beds
54 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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[FIELD TEST]
+All weights are for regular size (unless noted) on BACKPACKER scales.
[bag]
Rab Neutrino 400 Tempted by a two-pound bag, but don’t want to sacrifice comfort details? A superlight shell, 800-fill down,
and features like a full-length zipper (which allows maximum ventilation for summer use) help the 25°F
Neutrino achieve a rare double: outstanding warmth-to-weight and luxe comfort. During a spring hike in
Colorado’s Sarvis Creek Wilderness, at 10,000 feet, one tester stayed plenty warm—even her feet, without
socks—when a hard frost encrusted her tent and temps dipped into the 20s. Thanks to high-lofting down and
a Pertex Quantum shell, which is weather-resistant yet so light it doesn’t compress the feathers, the Neutrino
puffs up to nine inches thick at the chest. Insulation is enhanced by a comfortably efficient mummy cut (avail-
able in regular and women’s versions), plus a fat draft tube and adjustable collar that seal in heat. When our
cold-sleeping tester cinched the collar close to her neck, she could toss and turn without admit-
ting bursts of icy air. As befits a bag this light (and pricy), the Neutrino packs down to
soccer-ball size in the included compression sack. Downside? Hikers who
push the coldest edges of spring and fall will want a touch more
warmth. If that’s you, get another 10 degrees from MontBell’s UL
Spiral Down Hugger #1 (Editors’ Choice Award 2009; $299;
2 lbs.; 15°F; montbell.com). $310; 2 lbs.; 25°F; rab.uk.com
Reader service #101
BARGAIN WARMTH Don’t camp in sub-
freezing temps? The Eureka! Riner 40°F uses
inexpensive synthetic fill, yet it kept our
tester warm on a Minnesota hike with a low
of 33°F. And it’s compact for the price class
(about watermelon size). $90; 2 lbs. 8 oz.;
40°F; eurekatent.com Reader service #102
[pad]
NEMO Cosmo AirThis category-blurring pad is plus-size in every direction—it’s five inches wider and four inches
longer than standard, and has a whopping three inches of cushion. “The Cosmo is so thick it let
me camp in places I couldn’t have with a thinner pad,” said our tester after a night atop clumps
of desert scrub in Colorado National Monument. But even though it’s as deluxe as many car-
camping mattresses, it weighs well under two pounds—pair it with a light and compressible
bag, like the Rab, and you have an ultracomfortable, lightweight system. Horizontal air baffles
enhance performance by evenly distributing pressure points and eliminating the bouncy “pool
raft” feel that’s common among air-chamber pads. (Like other air-only models, it’s best for
temps above 30°F; campers who regularly see the 20s might want more insulation.) Despite
the Cosmo’s plumpness, inflating it is quick—about two minutes with the built-in foot pump.
Bonus: For over-the-top comfort when basecamping, slip on the Cosmo Pillowtop ($70, 2 lbs.
3 oz.), which adds an inch of soft, insulating foam. Bummer: Even without the Pillowtop, the
Cosmo is a tad bulky (about 13”x5” when rolled), so be prepared to strap it to the outside of
smaller packs. And that extra width could infringe on your partner’s pad space in a compact
tent. $90; 1 lb. 12 oz.; 25”x76”x3”; nemoequipment.com Reader service #103
LOW BULK It’s designated a women’s mat, but anyone under
5’8” can carry less with Pacific Outdoor’s Equipment’s Peak Oyl
Mtn Women’s Petite. Side-sleeping testers like the self-inflator
because zoned cushioning puts more padding under the hips.
Eco-bonus: It’s made with 100-percent recycled PET material.
$120; 1 lb. 6 oz.; 20”x66”x1.5”; pacoutdoor.com Reader service #104
(
; m
3
Three-Season SystemGet big comfort, low weight from a premium down bag and a super-cush pad.
TEST NUMBERS 109 bag nights; temps
from 0°F to 85°F; 0 sleepless nights
10.2010 BACKPACKER 55Testers: Kelly Bastone, Kari Bodnarchuk, Berne Broudy, Matthew Conroy, Ben Fullerton, Ken Haag, John Harlan, Kristin Hostetter, John Hovey, Tiffani Miller, Steve Pulford, Ben Russell, Geoff Ward
Sleep BetterGot the gear but still can’t get any rest? These 10 tips will improve your snooze.
>> Pack your iPod and some favorite mel-
low tunes. Music can help relax you after
an adrenaline-filled day.
>> Use earplugs to tune out snoring part-
ners and flapping tents.
>> Cover your eyes. Get a multipurpose
Buff (also use it as a headband, hat, gai-
ter, and more). Starts at $14 (buff.es).
>> Camp near white noise, like the steady,
soothing sound of a river or waterfall.
>> Hike farther. Exhaustion equals sleep.
>> Pack your pillowcase from home. The
familiarity can help you sleep better.
>> Match your bag and pad to your sleeping
style. Mummy shapes work best for back
sleepers; thrashers and side-curlers will
want a roomier bag and wider pad.
>> Go to bed warm. Do a few situps or
pushups before getting in the sack.
>> Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed, and
drink water instead to stay hydrated.
>> Stick to routine. Go to sleep at your
normal bedtime hour.
Winter Warmth Stay toasty in the deepest freeze with an overstuffed bag and cold-weather pad.
[bag]
Sierra Designs BTU -20 It could have been a gear-tester horror story—an open-air bivy, between snowdrifts, on a 0°F night in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
But this Arctic-worthy 800-fill down mummy kept our tester off the evening news. “I was warm and comfortable all night, even though the
clothes I slept in were sweat-soaked from the day’s hike,” our guinea pig reports. “I usually have trouble keeping my feet warm in winter, but the
microfleece-lined footbox eliminated that problem.” When he awoke, the bag’s exterior was caked in ice, but it dried after 20 minutes in the sun.
The extra warmth and superior weatherproofing, thanks to a Drizone waterproof/breathable shell, make this -20°F bag worth the money and
weight for hikers who camp in deep-winter conditions: It’s like an insurance policy against bad weather. The cut is efficiently trim, reports our
thin, 165-pound tester, but not confining, and the weight-shaving, jacket-style hood fits closely—
big guys and restless sleepers should try it in the store. The BTU packs down small compared to
similarly warm winter bags (9”x19”) in the included compression sack, and for the weight, few
bags deliver more warmth. $529; 4 lbs. 2 oz.; -20°F; sierradesigns.com Reader service #105
LIGHTER If you don’t camp in temps below 0°F, and don’t need a waterproof shell, get
the Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0°. A thread count exceeding 400 per inch makes the 800-
fill down bag luxuriously silky, and testers loved the superfat draft collar. (“Warm as a mink
stole,” says one). $475; 2 lbs. 10 oz.; 0°F; mountainhardwear.com Reader service #106
[bag]
[pad]
Big Agnes Dual CoreUnlike most winter-rated pads, this insulated air mattress is warm
and supremely packable (just half-gallon size when rolled in its
sack). It pairs air chambers with a sandwich of high-density foam
and PrimaLoft Eco synthetic insulation, making it true to its 0°F
rating. During a spring trip in Colorado’s Williams Fork Mountains,
testers never felt the icy rocks under them, even when they slept on
their sides (which often means that hips bottom out against the cold
ground). Plus, the pad’s 2.5 inches of cushion smoothed out lumpy
snow and felt decadently plush. Nitpick: It takes big lungs (and about
five minutes) to inflate this raft. Below 0°F, supplement the Dual
Core with a closed-cell foam pad for extra insulation. $100; 2 lbs. 6 oz.;
20”x72”x2.5”; bigagnes.com Reader service #107
PORTABLE HEAT Take the Klean Kanteen Classic to bed. Filled with
hot water and stuffed into a sock or the company’s Built Insulated
Tote ($12, pictured)—either will keep the metal from burning your
skin—this 27-ouncer delivers heater-warmth all night. And the
stainless steel releases no chemicals when exposed to heat (unlike
some plastics). $20; 7 oz.; kleankanteen.com Reader service #108
///// /WEB EXTRA
SLEEP SECRETSNo one knows all-conditions snoozing like explorers who spend more than 200 nights a year outdoors. Learn from the pros at backpacker.com/sleepbetter.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
56 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Basecamp LuxuryGet all the comforts of home with this fo ur-star setup.
[bag]
Mountain Hardwear Pinole 20°This affordable mummy is generously shaped for stretch-and-sprawl
comfort, and the interior fabric (50-denier polyester taffeta) feels
sumptuously soft. The included stuffsack is even lined with micro-
fleece, so you can turn it inside-out, stuff it with a jacket, and use it as
a pillow. Our 5’11”, 205-pound tester praised the spacious cut, which
gave him ample room through his hips and shoulders. Even the foot-
box is big. The synthetic Thermic MX insulation combines solid fibers
(for loft and softness) with hollow ones (which trap heat in tiny air
spaces). Warmth proved sufficient for most sleepers, but one cold-
sleeping tester wished for a draft collar on a subfreezing night along
Maine’s Kennebec River (in chilly conditions you can rig one by wrap-
ping a jacket around your neck and shoulders). Bonus: The Pinole
compresses enough (think medium watermelon) to use on short-
mileage backpacking trips when pack space is not an issue. $80; 3 lbs.
4 oz.; 20°F; mountainhardwear.com Reader service #109
DOUBLE UP Separate is not equal when you want to snuggle with
your sweetie. The two-person Big Agnes Cabin Creek kept our couple
warm down to 20°F in New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains, and the
separate hoods and draft collars let them each customize venting.
$240; 5 lbs. 8 oz.; 15°F; bigagnes.com Reader service #110
[pad]
Therm-a-Rest DreamTime Full disclosure: This mattress is not light,
cheap, or packable. But if you do a lot of car
camping, you won’t care. “It’s honestly like
sleeping on my bed at home,” says our gear
editor after using the oversize DreamTime
for two years all over New England. It pairs
a 2.5-inch-thick, self-inflating air mattress
with a one-inch layer of memory foam that’s
wrapped in a removable (and machine-
washable) microfiber cover. The fabric feels
oh-so-soft against skin, and the air/foam
combo delivers the ultimate in springy, cushy
comfort. The mattress needs a few breaths
to bring it to full
loft—but it still
required far less
effort than any
other comfort
pad we tested. It
also packs eas-
ily: Just roll and
secure with the
attached buckles.
Bonus: Big guys
will love the extra
length and width.
$190; 6 lbs. 11 oz.;
25”x75”x3.5”;
cascadedesigns
.com Reader
service #111
[pillow]
NEMO FilloThe clincher on
total basecamp
comfort? A real pil-
low. You could bring
one from home,
but this inflatable
model is compress-
ible enough for
backpacking (about
bike-bottle size),
and is so deluxe
you might just start
using it at home.
Baffles reduce any
trampoline effect on
its three-inch-thick
air chamber, and
microfiber-covered
memory foam deliv-
ers luxury softness.
Bonus: Elastic cords
on the bottom let
you stuff jackets
underneath, elevat-
ing the Fillo for side-
sleepers. $40; 11 oz.;
nemoequipment.com
Reader service #112s
[bag]
Deuter Dream Lite 500Everything about this bag is scant: its weight, packed size, and price.
Even without a compression sack, this 40°F mummy squishes down
smaller than a one-liter water bottle, so it disappears inside a pack.
It’s stuffed with Polydown, a short-staple polyester fiber. (Short-staple
insulation has filaments that are cut into small pieces to make it more
compressible.) For one cold-sleeping tester, the thin blanket of insulation
proved sufficient for summer nights down to 50°F in the high desert of
Colorado National Monument. A cinchable hood and zipper draft guard
boost warmth when temps dip into the 40s. When the mercury rose, the
full-length zipper offered head-to-toe venting. Our broad-shouldered,
5’11” tester found the bag’s dimensions to be “trim but comfortable.” The
Dream Lite also proved useful for winter hut-tripping, when it kept testers
warm in drafty, wood-heated yurts and cabins. Downside: The insulation
and fabric (nylon tactel taffeta for the lining, and water-resistant ripstop
nylon for the shell) delivered below-average breathability when humidity
was high: Testers felt clammy unless the bag was unzipped at least par-
tially. $79; 1 lb. 2 oz.; 40°F; deuterusa.com Reader service #113
LIGHTER For extremely warm temps (around 70°F and above), skip the bag and go with
a liner like Sea to Summit’s Reactor Thermolite. It’s made of stretchy Thermolite that breathes
and wicks well, and can also be used to add more insulation to a winter system (about
10°F, says our tester). $55; 9 oz.; seatosummit.com Reader service #114
Ultralight BargainFor warm summer nights, this two-pound system delivers sweet dreams for just $138.
[pad]
Exped SIM Lite 2.5 Short In summer, why carry a full-length mat
when the insulation is superfluous and you
really only need cushion from head to hips?
This one-inch-thick shortie packs down to
cantaloupe-size, and air channels in the
perforated foam deliver a surprising amount
of cushion, given its trim weight. “It turned a
rocky meadow into a tolerable bed,” reported
our tester after using it in Colorado’s Hunter-
Fryingpan Wilderness. The brushed polyester
fabric kept testers from sliding off. Warm
sleepers might push it to shoulder-season
use (put your empty pack underfoot), but
the SIM Lite is primarily a summer-only pad,
as the weight-saving holes in the foam limit
insulation. Want more length and warmth?
Go with Therm-a-Rest’s Neo Air (Editors’
Choice Award 2009; starting at $120; 13
oz.; thermarest.com) $59; 15 oz.; 20”x47”x1”;
exped.com Reader service #115
PH
OTO
S B
Y C
OU
RTE
SY
GEAR
+ //////
FIELD TEST
Explore new terrain. Escape the everyday. Defy convention without
turning your back on tradition. Because with the cotton twill
Salt Creek Shirt and the right companion, you’re free to travel
wherever the trail takes you.
} The Salt Creek Shirt: Timeless style. Familiar comfort. | woolrich.com
Follow label directions.
Live it out.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
PH
OTO
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CLO
CK
WIS
E F
RO
M T
OP
) P
ETE
R R
IVE
S;
KE
LLY
BA
STO
NE
; C
OU
RTE
SY;
BE
N F
UL
LE
RT
ON
; C
OU
RT
ES
Y (
5)
GEAR
REVIEWS
58 BACKPACKER 10.2010
NEMO Espri 3P It was pouring when we arrived at camp in Hanging Rock State
Park, but the ball-and-socket pole connectors and intuitive
configuration made for such a quick first-time setup that the inte-
rior stayed bone dry. The best part? Three vestibule options range
from ultralight (read: no vestibule) to standard
(15 square feet, included), to a 24-square-foot
whopper (add $125) that pitches with a trek-
king pole and nearly doubles sheltered space.
Complaints: The 38-square-foot floor is a squeeze
for three, and when open, the door lies on the
floor. nemoequipment.com Reader service #118
Three-season
backpacking
in the foulest
weather
> Peter Rives
> Duration April-July
> Locales/conditions TN,
NC; 40°F-80°F, rain
> “We stayed perfectly
dry in a deluge, thanks to
plentiful guy-out points
that kept the fly taut and
the tent well-ventilated
through the mostly
mesh canopy.”
Arc’teryx Miura 50
As a mountain guide who schleps heavy gear day in and day out, I’m
brutally tough on packs. But the Miura is brutally tough right back.
I bushwhacked through thickets, scrambled up gullies, clawed up
narrows, and this pack—made of 630-denier “Superpack” nylon and
rubbery Hypalon trim—never flinched. The roll-top
closure opens wide to accept an entire climb-
ing rack. The Miura is heavy for the capacity, but
in exchange you get that durability and support
that easily handles 40-pound loads. Gripe: The
padded back panel could ventilate better—it gets
sweaty. arcteryx.com Reader service #119
Craggers,
climbers, and
hikers who
favor punishing
approaches
and off-trail
trekking
> Matt Conroy
> Duration Feb. to June
> Locales/conditions VT,
NH; rain, sun, 43°F-85°F
> “Though not
technically waterproof,
the heavy-duty nylon
resists precipitation and
kept my cell phone and
guidebook dry through
hours of rain.”
> $225
> 4 lbs. 12 oz. (reg.)
> 50 liters/3059
cu. in.
> short, reg., tall
+
The North Face Syncline GTX
Talk about mixed conditions: Over the course of 14 hours and 6,500
feet of vertical gain on Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, I
dealt with crumbling volcanic rock that shifted underfoot, loose gravel,
slushy snow, glaciated hardpack, and mist so thick it settled like rain.
This high-cut, Gore-tex-lined boot barreled through it all without giv-
ing me so much as a hot spot or a drip of internal
condensation. The nylon mesh upper with nubuck
reinforcements is light but tough, and offered ample
ankle support for up to 30-pound loads on the
uneven terrain. The Vibram tread gripped securely on
slush, mud, and hardpack. Ideal for medium- to nar-
row-width feet. thenorthface.com Reader service #116
> Anthony Cerretani
> Duration May to July
> Locales/conditions CO,
Iceland; rain, snow, ice;
rocky, muddy trail
> “The high, gusseted
tongue kept water,
stones, pebbles, and
debris from sneaking
in, even when I was
scrambling down steep
scree slopes.”
PRODUCT VERDICT BEST FOR TESTER DATA
FIELD NOTES THE LATEST WORD
FROM OUR TESTERS
Hikers looking
for a water-
proof boot
with comfort
for dayhikes
and support
for weekends
Skiers, snow-
boarders,
snowshoers,
and cool-
weather hikers
Three-in-one jacket systems are usually bulky and ill-fitting, but this
breaks the mold. The 700-fill inner jacket is lined with Omni-Heat, a
silver layer that reflects body heat and boosted my warmth in single-
digit temps on Mt. Washington. The puffy mates with a waterproof/
breathable, seam-sealed nylon shell, and pit
zips on both pieces line up perfectly when worn
together. A microfleece liner in the shell adds
weight, but made it comfy (not clammy) when I
wore the jacket over a tank top on a spring trip in
Idaho. columbia.com Reader service #117
> Berne Broudy
(plus: Jane Melrose)
> Duration Dec. to April
> Locales/conditions VT, NY,
PA, CA, Spain; 5°F-60°F,
wind, rain, sleet, snow, sun
> “The long cut in back
repelled kicked-up snow
when I snowshoed.”
> $280
> 2 lbs. 5 oz. (w’s M)
> men’s S-XXL;
women’s XS-XL
Costa Fathom with 580P lens
Want to see the world in high-def? Put these glasses on. Costa’s 580
lens technology, available now for the first time in impact-resistant
polycarbonate, screens out yellow light (580 nanometers on the light
spectrum), which is harder for the eye to process than red, blue, and
green. The result is razor-sharp color and definition. The polarized
gray lens proved versatile for changing light while I was hiking, biking,
and paddling. Side vents prevented fogging on
sweaty trail runs, and a hydrophobic coating
kept the lenses free of water streaks when I was
bouncing down rapids on California’s Trinity River.
costadelmar.com Reader service #120
Anyone who
wants eye
protection with
superior clarity
> Dennis Lewon
> Duration June-July
> Locales/conditions CA,
CO, WY; bright sun, rivers,
dappled forest cover
> $159
> 1 oz.
> $150
> 2lbs. 14 oz.
(m’s 12)
> men’s 8-14;
women’s 6-11
> $370
> 3 lbs. 13 oz. (no
vesti); 4 lbs. 4 oz.
(med. vesti); 5 lbs.
11 oz. (large vesti)
///// /WEB EXTRA
MORE REVIEWS!Every week, our field testers post exclusive new reviews online—check for this week’s products, plus searchable archives at backpacker.com/gear.
Columbia Carabineer II /Frosty Forest Parka
SEVENTYONE years ago, in the fallof 1939, the eyes of an adventurousAmerican nation turned south.
To Antarctica.
With a World War looming on thehorizon, President Franklin Rooseveltcalled on expertise ofAdmiral RichardByrd, tasking the legendary polarexplorer with a return to the frozenlandscape of Antarctica.
It was to be Byrd’s third trip to theremote region – but his first with theofficial backing of the USGovernment. Bringing 125 men, twoice-breaking ships, three airplanes anda monstrous 60-foot all-terrainvehicle, the dynamic affair caught andheld the nation’s attention.
Byrd’s expedition was supported by akey collection of the nation’s topprivate companies, individuallyselected to support specific needs. Forthe critical choice of winter apparel,trip suppliers turned to Woolrich, the“Original Outdoor ClothingCompany,” requesting and receivingclose to 1,300 all-wool wintergarments.
The Woolrich woolen gear wasessential, needed to protect Byrd andhis men against the cold blasts, snow,ice and temperatures as low as 60degrees below zero. The woolen gearwas a proven success as well, asmembers of the expeditionary forcehad worn the apparel before andknew that it would stand up tothe challenge.
The list of items provided byWoolrich to the expeditionincluded heavy woolshirts, reinforced pants,special red and black huntingbreeches, heavy 32-ounce wool pants,
and special virgin wool huntingcoats.
No heavier than regular Woolrichwinter wear, the only modificationsmade to the apparel were the additionof longer sleeves, caps and hoods toprotect the hands and faces againstthe extreme Antarctic weather.
Geared head to foot in Woolrichwoolen apparel, Byrd and his menspent the winter of 1940 inAntarcticain three camps, conducting numerousscientific obervations and mappingthe curious coastline.
Wool’s presence on the Byrdexpedition wasn’t the first time thefabric had supported adventure, norwas it the last. For while the longhistory of wool dates back thousandsof years, it’s direct contribution tomodern adventure has included apresence on the pioneering climbs ofMt. Everest and the Seven Summits,on first whitewater descentsthroughout the world, and on the 20thcentury’s major backpackingexplorations.
A DV E R T O R I A L
American-madewool for Americanoutdoor adventures
For nearly two centuries,
Woolrich has been synonymous
with outdoor adventure.
Beginning by supplying the
lumber camps of central
Pennsylvania by horseback
with woolen fabrics, socks and
coverlets, Woolrich opened
their own woolen mill in 1845.
Still in active operation, the
mill in Woolrich, Pennsylvania
blends the finest modern
techniques with a heritage of
performance to create high
quality clothing of remarkable
comfort and style.
Computer-controlled worksta-
tions, automated cutting
systems and a global presence
from Manhattan to Paris mark
the modern Woolrich, which
continues to celebrate its
heritage by keeping its
headquarters in the little
Pennsylvania village where the
company got its start.
That same mix of proven
products and non-stop innova-
tion are inherent in Woolrich
clothing, where legendary
products like the Buffalo Check
shirt and Railroad vest meet
cutting edge for play, adventure
and work.
Leading the way in how we
enjoy and benefit from the
wonders of wool, for 180 years
Woolrich has been what
America wears outdoors.
+
Woolrich Adventures:Admiral Byrd Returns to Antarctica
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
60 BACKPACKER 10.2010
killer hikeWhen a lifelong backpacker decides to shoot a deer, will he
lose touch with the wilderness he loves—or get closer to it?
By Bruce Barcott • Photography by Paolo Marchesi
10.2010 BACKPACKER 61
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
62 BACKPACKER 10.2010
The thought runs through my head as I walk across a
stubbled wheat field on a freezing October morning in
eastern Washington. I’m in the Palouse, a land of gently
rolling bluffs and prairies. The land here unfolds in sensuous
dips and swirls, like the topography of a bell pepper. In
farming circles, the topsoil under my boots is legendary. A
good man with a tractor can grow 75 bushels of wheat an
acre, twice what the dirt yields in Kansas. Nobody’s plowing
or harvesting at the moment, though. It’s opening day of deer
season. Every farmer in the county—or so it seems—is duded
up in a blaze-orange vest, rifle in hand, looking to bag a buck.
I’m here on the same mission. I’m wearing the orange
vest, the camo cap, and the two-day growth on my chin.
I’m toting a Ruger .270, and in my pocket is a permission
slip from the state of Washington that allows me to fire it at
properly antlered ungulates. I am, for this day at least, and
for the first time in my life, a hunter.
“We’ll check out this dry creekbed,” Jennifer says,
whispering just loud enough to be heard over the sound
of our boots crackling the wheat remnants. “But stay low
on the hill. Be careful not to skyline.” Skyline, a verb: To
allow one’s silhouette to appear over the crown of a ridge,
spooking potential game.
Jennifer Brenner is my mentor. She’s a farm girl raised
nearby, and a hunter since she could walk. Brenner, 42, is
one part naturalist, one part park ranger (her day job), and
two parts Gretchen Wilson. Deer hunting at dawn? Hell yeah!
Nothing flushes from the creek, so we raise our binoculars
and glass the hillside across the valley. “I see three over by
the eyebrow,” says Brenner. “They’re bucks.”
Eyebrow? I have no idea what she’s talking about. I scan
until I see something vaguely deerlike. “By the clump of
trees?” I ask.
There’s an uncomfortable pause.
“No,” she says. “Those are our horses.”
We keep walking. Brenner asks, cautiously, “Your rifle’s
unloaded, right?”
I open the bolt. “Right.”
We head up a little rise and spot more deer. Six muleys,
three bucks of legal size. Ever so slowly, I ease the rifle bolt
forward and raise the scope to eye level. Brenner, looking
at the deer through her binoculars, whispers the go-ahead.
They’re legal. Through the crosshairs, I can see a clear shot.
I can also see my point of decision: To take a life or let it go.
I’ve been walking with a deadly explosive. Now I’m
aiming it.
We live in a world too cleanly divided. We are red states or blue states, urban or rural, creamy or crunchy.
The outdoor world suffers miserably from this binary split.
We are hikers or hunters, two cultures divided by a chasm
of ignorance and mistrust. We wear Patagonia R2 fleece
or Mossy Oak Break-Up camouflage. Our seasons have
different names: One person’s duck season is another’s ski
season. The catalogs in our mailbox define us: Cabela’s
or REI. Six years ago, the rift was distilled in two political
bumper stickers. Sportsmen for Bush. Climbers for Kerry.
I’m troubled by this great divide. As a member of REI
Nation, I’ve been a backpacker, a car camper, and a bird-
watcher. I’ve thrown bait and flies at Alaskan salmon and
Rocky Mountain trout. I’ve climbed Cascade volcanoes,
paddled Sierra rivers, and I’m a skier of catholic taste. But
I’ve never been hunting.
I find that a little strange. Hunting is, after all, the original
outdoor activity. But what’s more puzzling is the fact that
nobody’s ever asked me to go hunting—or wanted to know
if I’ve ever been. I’m so deeply smothered by the fleecy
bosom of my demographic that the notion never arises. In this
polarized world of us and them, hunting is something they do.
And who are they? If you believe Hollywood type casting,
they’re beer-guzzling good old boys. They’re Toby Keith
in a trucker cap. They love wildlife they can kill, but don’t
have much use for the rest of nature. They run generators
in campgrounds and drive F-250s with NRA stickers in the
window. Not our kind, dear.
At least that’s the way I used to think. And then, little by
little, my assumptions changed. As an outdoor writer, my job
often requires me to drop into backcountry terrain where I’m
a stranger to the land. Years ago, I discovered that sportsmen
offer an excellent perspective on the local wild. I’ll find the
best hunter in the county and spend an afternoon with him,
without weapons, crashing through the forest. A hunter’s
eyes, ears, and nose are tuned differently than a hiker’s. He
sees things that are invisible to those of us trained to follow
signs and stay on trails.
I’ve also learned that there are plenty of hunters who are
hikers, and vice versa—among them, readers of this magazine.
For them—and maybe that includes you—the notion of a
divide would be a mystery, perhaps even an insult.
Still, every statistic indicates that crossovers are a distinct
minority. Among most backpackers, and among most
hunters, the culture divide grows wider. In a hiking club,
the word “hunting” can suck all the air out of the room. It’s
become a conversational taboo.
Hunting is the act of hiking with a bomb in your hands.
Any issue that volatile is worth investigating. So I decided
to meet the hunters, explore their world, and attempt the
pursuit myself. I wanted to bridge the gap with a gun.
I figured I’d need a partner, so I called my friend Mike
“Gator” Gauthier, who was then the head climbing ranger
at Mt. Rainier National Park. (He’s since been promoted to
Interior Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.) I
explained the project.
“So…we’d actually go hunting,” he said. “Not just hang out
and watch some hunters?”
Yes.
“I’m in,” he said. “How do we do it?”
“I have no idea,” I told him. “Maybe we should find a
hunter we can go with.” That’s when we realized that, well,
we didn’t know any hunters.
Hikers or not, our lack of gun-toting acquaintances wasn’t surprising. Hunting in America is a dying pastime.
In my home state of Washington, nearly one in three
hunters has hung up his rifle in the past decade. It’s
happening everywhere. Hunting permits are down 20 percent
in West Virginia over the past 10 years. According to the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service, the number of Americans who hunt
has fallen 25 percent since 1980, to less than 13 million.
Hunting’s decline isn’t due to lack of game. Whitetail deer
are overpopulated in 73 percent of their range. A century
ago, only 50,000 elk roamed the continent. Today, the
combined North American herds total one million strong.
The biggest culprit is land development. Specifically,
the loss of private farmland, where much of the country’s
hunting has traditionally occurred. According to the National
Farmland Trust, two acres of prime American farmland are
lost every minute. If hunting were hiking, that would be like
losing one Grand Canyon National Park each year.
Hunting’s decline can’t all be blamed on the loss of open
space, though. Powerful cultural forces have also been at
work. Hunting is commonly passed down from fathers to
sons and daughters. But over the past two generations, the
hunting gene has withered on the vine.
I saw it happen in my own family. My grandfather was a
duck hunter. When my father was young, Grandpa Barcott
took him out for predawn shotgunning parties. “We went out
with dad’s buddies, and they had a great time—cooking up
steaks, hash browns, the whole deal,” Dad told me. “But by
the time I got good enough with the shotgun to shoot ’em on
the fly, in my early 20s, I found that I just didn’t want to do it.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“The ducks,” Dad said. “They were just too beautiful.”
Sooner or later, every hunter comes face to face with the
same issue. To hunt is to kill a living creature. And we’re not
talking about squashing a mosquito. In the early stages of
my hunting interest, I browsed the rifle section of a Dick’s
Sporting Goods store. My six-year-old son was with me.
“Why do you want a gun, Dad?” he asked.
“I’m thinking about maybe going deer hunting,” I said.
He thought about that for a minute.
“Why do you want to shoot a deer?” he asked.
My answer was so half-hearted and halting that a passerby
overhearing the conversation would have been embarrassed
for me. Clearly, I had some philosophical work to do.
I went to the experts for perspective.
I put the question to Bruce Friedrich, vice president of
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and Ted
Nugent, guitar hero and prolific hunter: Should we hunt?
Friedrich treated the phrase “ethical hunting” as an
LIVING LANDSCAPE: “I FEEL LIKE I’VE BEEN GIVEN A FRESH PAIR OF EYES,” SAYS THE AUTHOR (ABOVE, IN BALLCAP), AFTER TRACKING DEER IN THE SNAKE RIVER BLUFFS (RIGHT) AND ON FARMLAND IN EASTERN WASHINGTON (PREVIOUS SPREAD).
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
64 BACKPACKER 10.2010
oxymoron. “There’s no ethical difference between shooting
a deer and shooting a cat or a dog,” he told me. “The deer
has the same intelligence and range of emotions, the same
capacity to feel pain.”
But don’t hunters help keep the deer population in check?
“Some people just enjoy shooting defenseless animals, and
that’s one way they justify it,” he said. “Future generations
will look back on our shooting animals with the sort of moral
incredulity that we reserve for past abuses of human beings.”
When did hunting cease to be morally justified?
He thought for a second. “It could
have been phased out 10,000 years ago,
with the development of agriculture.”
Ted Nugent begged to differ. “Don’t
let the lunatic fringe keep you from
hunting,” he said. (Actually he emailed
me between hunts. The Nuge is a very
busy beast slayer.)
Nugent, of course, is the 1970s
rock star who reinvented himself as
America’s foremost hunter. Nugent
views animal rights advocates like
Bruce Friedrich as nutjobs divorced
from the natural cycle of life.
“Do we really need to shoot wild animals when there’s
a Safeway down the street?” I asked The Nuge. “Is this just
murder as sport?”
“That’s like saying recorded music is available, so none
of us needs to make our own,” he said. “Vegetables are on
store shelves, so we don’t need to tend gardens. I’m sure we
could find someone else to breed our wives for us, too. Not
me. I have nothing to do with the mass assembly of food.
I hunt, kill, butcher, and cook my own, knowing that it’s
the healthiest, most natural nutrition available to mankind—
while at the same time bringing balance to the environment.
Remaining connected to the good Mother Earth is a driving
force in all the hunters, fishermen, and trappers that I know.”
“Hunting,” Nugent assured me, “will cleanse your soul.”
As much as my soul could use a scrub, I didn’t put a lot
of faith in the Motor City Madman’s method. I doubted that
any epiphanies would come attached to a smoking gun. At
the same time, I found myself falling closer to Nugent than
to the guy from PETA. I’m an enthusiastic carnivore. Over the
past 40 years, dozens of cows, pigs, and chickens have been
slaughtered on my behalf—butchered out of sight and out of
mind. Like a lot of Americans these days, I’m trying to live
closer to my food. I’m eating backyard vegetables and buying
eggs from my neighbors. I decided it was time I met my meat.
Ironically, explaining my desire to kill a deer to a six-year-old was the most challenging aspect of preparing for
a hunt. Everything else fell into place in short order. In August,
Gator found us a hunter. “Her name’s Jennifer Brenner,” he
told me. “She’s the girlfriend of my friend Shaun Bristol.
They’re both state park rangers over in eastern Washington.”
And acquiring a weapon was surprisingly easy. I strolled
into a local gun shop, picked out a used bolt-action Ruger, and
laid down my Visa card. The sale was delayed for 10 minutes
while the salesman carried out a background check to make
sure I wasn’t certifiably insane, or an ex-con, or both.
The real problem was where to store it. “Go hunting, by
all means,” said the wife. “Just don’t bring the gun anywhere
near the house. Ever.”
Gator offered a solution. He had
secure storage and no kids. I became
a rifle divorcee. Gator got custody. I got
visitation rights.
I called Jennifer to discuss what we’d
hunt. Hunting elk seemed an overreach
for a rookie. I hadn’t earned an elk
hunt. Moreover, I’d moved among elk
in the mountains. They are majestic
creatures. I doubted I could pull the
trigger on one. Deer, on the other hand,
are common as squirrels. They’re tick
spreaders, garden killers, poop-pellet
producers. Therefore, deer.
“Have you handled a rifle before?” she asked.
Nope.
She told me to take a hunter-safety course. “If you’re going
hunting with me, we’re going to do it the right way.”
If you’ve ever suffered through the mind-screwing tedium of childbirth classes, you have a fair idea of the
hunter-safety course. It’s childbirth class with bullets.
On a Monday evening in September, I slipped in the
back door of the Bainbridge Island Sportsmen’s Club and
claimed one of the few empty seats. The Sportsmen’s Club
was straight out of “The Red Green Show”: knotty pine
paneling, a moose head above the fireplace, and a sign that
read “Absolutely No Drinking While Shooting Is In Progress.”
If hunting is in decline, you wouldn’t have guessed it by
the turnout. The place was packed.
“Welcome to Hunter Safety,” said Jim Walkowski. A
grandfatherly man in an orange vest and green ballcap,
Walkowski is an ex-cop and Navy survival instructor who’d
taught this class for 35 years. “Hunting is a privilege,” he told
us, “and safety is our number one priority.”
Safety, it turns out, is a relative thing. Walkowski assured
us that hunting was safer than playing football or driving a
car. “Of the 25 most popular activities in the United States,”
he told us, “hunting is the 13th safest.”
I looked it up. According to the International Hunter
Education Association, a group that promotes hunter-safety
courses in the U.S. and Canada, there were 241 fatal hunting
accidents from 2005 through 2009. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
“There’s no
ethical difference
between shooting
a deer and
shooting a cat
or a dog,” said
Friedrich.
STILL LIFE: THE AUTHOR
APPROACHES THE THREE-POINT
BUCK HE SHOT SECONDS EARLIER.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
66 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Service estimates that about 12.5 million Americans hunt
every year. That works out to a risk rate of about 0.38 fatalities
per 100,000 hunters annually. Comparing the risk rates of
different sports is a tricky and often suspect proposition—
there are a lot of apples-to-oranges problems—but based
purely on fatalities per participant, hunting appears safer
than, say, swimming (6.57 drownings per 100,000 swimmers)
and bicycling (1.87 fatalities per 100,000 cyclists), but not,
technically, football (0.2 per 100,000).
And yet over the five-day course, Walkowski and his
fellow instructors rattled off an endless string of hunting-
accident anecdotes. One guy’s friend got shot climbing
over a fence. A husband and wife picked up their rifles
after lunch. “Boom!” said Walkowski. “Killed their partners.”
One evening, Walkowski pointed to his rifle and said, “That
.30-30 right there, my brother-in-law killed his brother with
it. Drinking. So there you go.”
Holy crap! There you go what?
I stepped outside and rethought the whole proposition. It
occurred to me that there might be a scared-straight method
to Walkowski’s madness. “Maybe it’s like reading Accidents
in North American Mountaineering to climbing students,” I
told my wife. “Gets them to pay attention.”
Night after night, I returned to the Sportsmen’s Club
to receive hot cups of Walkowski’s wisdom. In fairness, I
learned quite a lot. Stuff like: Aim for a deer’s lungs, not its
head. It’s illegal in Washington to have a loaded rifle in a
vehicle. If you get some dirt in the muzzle, a fired shot could
split the barrel like a banana peel.
Walkowski and his fellow Club members were friendly,
generous men. One of them, a former Army sniper, gave
up an afternoon to let me shoot his rifles on the range.
(I practiced with my own as well.) And yet, as I slipped
my Subaru between massive pickups in the parking lot, I
couldn’t help but feel like a blue spy in the house of red.
That’s worth considering. One of the sources of the hiker-
hunter rift can be found in the post-Vietnam shift in military
culture. Prior to the 1970s, military service was an experience
common to the American man. (A draft will do that.) Basic
training acquainted a wide spectrum of society—conservative
and liberal, rich and poor—with firearms. Nowadays, that
doesn’t happen. Today’s soldiers and sailors are self-selected,
and they tend to be a politically conservative demographic.
Distrust of the military, driven by misadventures like Vietnam
and Iraq, and years of urban violence and mass murders like
Columbine and Virginia Tech have made a hostility toward
guns part of the liberal package deal. Almost all of my liberal
friends consider themselves environmentalists. Almost none
own a gun. If you’re not comfortable around firearms, you
aren’t likely to become a hunter.
The irony, of course, is that hunters founded the modern
conservation movement. Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot,
Aldo Leopold, and Stewart Udall all hunted. (Though John
Muir and Rachel Carson did not.) In the 1930s, conservation-
minded hunters crafted the Pittman-Robertson Act, which
established some of the nation’s first habitat-restoration
programs using gun and ammunition excise taxes. Last year,
$300 million in gun and ammo tax went to conservation
programs—and that’s to say nothing of the more than $1
billion collected in hunting and fishing permit fees.
The big rift opened in the late 1970s. Conservative leaders
realized they could use gun control as a wedge issue to turn
rural, conservation-minded voters against urban enviros. Many
liberal leaders categorically embraced the era’s animal rights
movement, which painted hunters as cold-blooded murderers.
The hard feelings still linger. A couple of years ago, I
praised a local wilderness group for reaching out to hunting
and fishing groups. The director of the group thanked me
for the kudos, but admitted that the great reach-out wasn’t
a huge success. “We lost members over that one,” she said.
HARVEST: JENNIFER BRENNER (ABOVE, RIGHT) SHOWS THE AUTHOR (IN RED CHECKED SHIRT, ABOVE, AND AT LEFT) HOW TO DRESS A DEER ; HIDE, BONES, AND BLOOD ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY A THIRD OF A MATURE BUCK’S WEIGHT.
10.2010 BACKPACKER 67
Opening day broke cold and clear. On the first Saturday in October, I rose in the predawn darkness and
pulled on two shirts, a thick hoodie, a down vest, a fleece
jacket, a Gore-Tex shell, and a bright orange vest. With all
of that padding, I felt I could stop a bullet myself. But I
needed it. Outside, it was 31°F, a light dusting of frost on the
ground. In the rolling hills above the Snake River, hundreds
of hunters fueled up on coffee.
Plan your hunt, hunt your plan. Those were Jim Walkowski’s
words. Our plan was to hunt three types of terrain over three
days: wheat fields, river bluffs, and mountain forest.
Unfortunately, Gator was delayed. “Duty calls,” he told us
from his office at Mt. Rainier. “We’re opening a new visitor
center, and the Interior Secretary is here.” Gator would arrive
late on the first night.
As a streak of blue snaked into the black sky, Jennifer and
I set out across an open field. We were hunting her family’s
700-acre farm about a mile from the Snake River, prime deer
habitat. “The mule deer and whitetail come into the fields to
feed on grain left over after the harvest,” she told me.
The family farm was also a practical choice, as we
wouldn’t have to worry about access or opening-day
crowds. For backpackers, route planning is as easy as
opening a Trails Illustrated map. For hunters, though,
land access is a challenge. Not all public land is open
to hunting. Rules change even within states. Shooting a
whitetail deer might be legal on one side of a dirt road
and illegal on the other.
As it became light, Jennifer began pointing out signs of
wildlife. A badger hole, a coyote print. “Deer track,” she said,
pointing out a print I’d nearly stepped on. “It’s a buck.”
“How can you tell?”
“Bucks have dewclaws that leave a little mark in the
ground; does’ dewclaws don’t make prints.”
We kept walking, careful to keep our profiles below the
ridgeline. Jennifer kept her body still. Her eyes constantly
scanned the horizon. She learned how to spot wildlife when
she was a kid, going hunting with her dad.
At the top of a rise, we stopped to glass the distant fields.
“There’s one,” Jennifer said. “A whitetail.”
It took me a while to find the deer. It was a tiny speck on
the landscape, at least a mile distant.
We crossed a barbed-wire fence and hopped a stream. As
a hiker, I would have overlooked this as dross land, the junk
you’d cross to reach the trailhead. As a hunter, it came alive
with excitement and potential. My eyes became attuned to
the terrain. Pockets of brush—chokecherries and rosehips,
mostly—turned into deer refuges. Cresting a hill became a
test of stealth and readiness. Ever so slowly, I began to think
like a deer. What’s good cover? Where’s the food?
As we came over another rise, Jennifer and I froze. Four
whitetail deer grazed in a pocket of brush below us. In an
instant, they spotted us and bolted. They were over the hill
before I could even swing the rifle off of my back.
My hopes crashed. I knew the deer would move. I just
didn’t know they’d move so fast.
“Why don’t you put one in the chamber,” Jennifer said. “We’ll be ready next time.”
I loaded a bullet and we kept walking, a little quieter now.
All we could hear was the sound of wheat stalks crunching
under our boots. Then I spotted them. One deer. No, two.
Then I saw all six, browsing in a wheat pocket below us.
I glanced at Jennifer. She and I slowly backed away from
the edge of the bluff, erasing our bodies from the herd’s sight.
We crouched and glassed them. “Muleys,” Jennifer whispered.
Mule deer are less skittish than whitetail deer. A whitetail
will be in the next county by the time a muley starts thinking
about trotting away.
At least one of the deer looked legal: Three points on each
side of his rack. I belly-crawled to the lip of the bluff. Grass
tickled my cheek. The buck stood broadside, offering a perfect
target. The others were bedded down. I glanced at Jennifer.
“The one standing,” I whispered. “Is he legal?”
“Yes.”
I looked through the scope and confirmed it.
And here we came to the point of decision. “You can’t call
a bullet back” is a common saying among hunters. At this
moment, I can take my finger off the trigger and walk away.
But I don’t. Neither my head nor my heart feels the flutter of
Crossing the Divide Can hikers and hunters just get along? We
asked readers and Facebook fans to weigh in.
Should hunting be
allowed in national parks?
NO 67% YES 33%
Have you participated in a hunt in the last five years?No 69% Yes 31%
If you were to take up hunting, would you choose a…Gun 54%Bow 43%Trap 3%
On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1=not cool and 5=cool, what’s your opinion of shooting wolves from a helicopter?
1: 82% 2: 4% 3: 11% 4: 1% 5: 2%
If you had to share your trails with one of these groups, which would you choose?
Hunters 39%
Horsebackriders 32%
ATVers 2%
Mountainbikers27%
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
68 BACKPACKER 10.2010
any last-second moral qualms. Instead, I find myself thinking
about bringing food home to my family. Ridiculous? Maybe.
But that’s what’s in my head when I pull the trigger.
BOOM.
Though I’d fired it a couple of dozen times, the .270 still
rattles me to the core. The calm, clear-eyed world seen
through the riflescope goes herky-jerky. For a full second,
all six deer freeze.
“Is he hit?” I ask.
“Yep,” says Jennifer. “You got him.”
Five of the deer scatter. They hop over the bluff and tear
east for the Snake River. The sixth deer doesn’t get that far. He
takes one full step, then bucks high into the air and collapses
on his side. He kicks once more before lying still. He’s dead.
“Wow,” I say. “My god.”
Jennifer and I stand and watch the herd disappear over
the ridge.
“So how did it feel?” she asks.
“Amazing,” I say, and can’t find words after that. Here’s
what I feel, and it’s not going to make me popular among
my vegetarian friends. I feel happy. Proud. Fulfilled. The
two minutes and 10 seconds that elapsed between the time
we spotted the deer and when I pulled the trigger (I kept
my tape recorder running, and timed it later) were among
the most intense, primal, and profound moments I’ve ever
spent in the outdoors. I can’t explain those feelings. But I
can’t deny them, either.
“Field dressing” is a pretty term for a bloody, messy, disgusting operation. It involves cutting open a freshly
killed animal and removing its guts and organs. It’s done
on the spot, at the point of the kill—otherwise, the carcass
is too heavy to haul. The guts are left for coyotes and other
scavengers. Jennifer tutors me on the finer points.
“Start your cut here,” she says, pointing to the deer’s nether
regions. Jennifer and I spend the next half an hour slicing
FAQ: Hunting 101WHERE CAN I LEARN HOW TO USE A GUN? Find a local firing range
with rentals and instruction. A .30-06 rifle works for anything from
antelope to buffalo. Start here: wheretoshoot.org.
WHEN DOES HUNTING SEASON START? Seasons vary by state, by
animal, and by weapon. Bow season often starts before rifle
season, for example. Tip: Avoid the (very busy) opening day of
deer season, when accidents are more likely. Find links to state
wildlife departments at huntinfo.org.
DO I NEED A PERMIT? Yes, you need a license specific to the type of
hunting you’ll do. You’ll likely need to take a hunter-safety course
(some states offer an “apprentice license” that lets you go with a
more experienced hunter first). See nssf.org/hunting/getstarted.
WHERE SHOULD I GO HUNTING? Start with relatively easy terrain
(fields, rolling hills, open forest) so you can focus on learning new
skills without significant backcountry challenges. Hike away from
roads for solitude; just be certain you can pack a dead animal out.
A vehicle rollover, a downed aircraft, a blizzard. If you push limits,
the world will periodically push back. That’s why the Crank™ is an
edged weapon fi rst and a multi-tool second. No other tool in your
kit can defend, feed, and shelter
you. It’s plan-B when plan-A is
in flames and taking on water.
Frame holes. Lash it to a
stick to make a survival
spear.
1/2-inch wrench.
The most common size.
Single-bevel edge.
Easier to sharpen
in the fi eld.
Stout pocket clip for
dependable retention.
Hardened 7075 aluminum frame;
just 1.2 ounces.
Insert quarter or penny for two sizes of fi eld expedient fl athead screw drivers.
3-inch, 154CM stainless steel blade. Designed for extreme use.
Bottle opener. For a sweet celebration when you get home alive.
Protected cord cutter.
Blade bar lock. Protects fi ngers from injury.
10.2010 BACKPACKER 69
Continues on page 108
through deer hide
and peeling through
the animal’s thin,
mucousy layer of fat.
The shifting breeze
sends a briny funk of
odor—the smell of
warm blood mixed
with body gasses—
up my nose. I fight
back a dry-heave.
By the time Gator
arrives that evening,
my deer is cooling
in a local meat locker. “Time to get
you yours,” I tell him. I can’t believe I’m
saying those words even as they leave
my mouth.
Gator is a bit of a legend in
mountaineering circles. He pulled injured
climbers off of Mt. Rainier for nearly 20
years. He’s almost as famous for his
eclectic collection of friends. Senators,
CEOs, Everest-climbing superstars, and
backwoods hippies all consider Gator
their righteous bro. One of those friends,
Ted Cox, is a seasonal Rainier employee
in his 60s who’s come along on the
hunting trip to…well, nobody’s quite
sure why he’s come along. Ted opposes
hunting like dogs oppose cats—with
loudness and constancy. “I’m here to
witness the slaughter,” Ted declares.
The next morning, Gator, Ted, and
I are up just before dawn, pounding
coffee. Gator’s day often starts with
a 2 a.m. alpine start, so this is a lazy
Sunday for him. “Sure beats getting up
in the middle of the night in a storm on
the side of a mountain,” he says.
“I can’t believe you’re really going
through with this,” scolds Ted. “What
have you got against some poor,
defenseless creature?”
Gator laughs. “Aw, Ted. What about
those fish you like to catch?”
“That’s different,” says Ted.
We hike through fields to the sloping
coulees of the Snake River canyon. At
the rim we pause to take in the scene, a
classic Western vista that hasn’t changed
much since Lewis and Clark came upon
it more than 200 years ago. The Snake
drains most of Idaho, and the river’s
breaks are formidable—dry gulches and
ravines falling away and folding in on
themselves for more than a mile before
hitting water. Deer, coyotes, and other
wildlife come here to hide out in the
rock crevices and pockets of brush.
Gator and I scramble over steep
terrain. Because of the rifle on my
back, I find myself placing steps with
newfound precision. A tumble here
could easily lead to a misfire, or worse.
“You’ve got to add something to
the equation when you’re hunting the
breaks,” Jennifer had told us. “That’s
whether you can haul a 150-pound
deer up the cliffs after you shoot it.”
“Honestly, I’m not that worried about
bagging a deer,” Gator says. “The
main thing I’m concerned about is not
making a lousy shot and letting some
poor animal wander off wounded.”
We crouch by a pocket of trees
and brambles. “There’s got to be
something in there,” I say. “Why
don’t you set up a shot while I
flush?” Gator hugs the ground and
props himself on his elbows. I toss
some rocks into the trees. After the
crackle and thunk, movement.
“Two of ’em,” I say.
“I see them,” Gator murmurs.
A doe and her yearling emerge from
the shadows. Gator takes his finger off
the trigger. Our tags are for bucks, not
CARNIVORE’S DILEMMA:
EXPECT A GALLON OF
BLOOD FROM A BUCK.
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10.2010 BACKPACKER 71
What to do when the you-know-what hits the fan ➜
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72 BACKPACKER 10.2010
When Sir Ernest Shackleton crossed the icy glaciers
of South Georgia Island in 1916—the final hurdle of his
16-month epic in Antarctica—he didn’t have crampons, so
he twisted metal boat screws into the soles of his boots
for traction. In a similarly brilliant stroke, John Wesley
Powell, trapped on a cliff 400 feet above the Colorado River without a
rope, had his men scramble up to nearby ledges and pin him to the wall
with long oars so he could climb down. And John Muir crawled inside
a hollow tree trunk to escape the flames of a Sierra wildfire. It seems
H.G. Wells was right: “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable
imperative.” To learn how to grapple with life-or-death scenarios,
improvise survival tools when key gear gets lost, and grade your own
emergency skills, read on.
Long before satellite beacons, humans thrived in the wild with the best technology available: a knife. And with that one tool and some basic knowledge, they fulfilled all life-sustaining needs. Flagstaff, Arizona–based survival expert Tony Nester helps today’s tech-dependent humans get back to their primal roots with his popular “Knife Only” course. “A knifeless man is a lifeless man,” Nester says. Here is how to cut, slice, and pry your way out of any mess with these sur-vival fundamentals.
For thousands of years, humans made fire by rubbing two sticks together (aka the hand drill). Here’s how to make one:
1. For the spindle and fireboard, find some dry, soft, and non-resinous (no sap) wood—like yucca, cottonwood, poplar, cedar, cypress, or elm—which are easier to create friction with. The spindle stick should be about 16 inches long, ¾-inch thick, and fairly straight. Sharpen the bottom end like a pencil tip, and whittle away any jagged or rough spots on the shaft so you can easily run your hands along it.
2. The fireboard should be about six inches by one inch wide, and ¾-inch thick. Carve this rectangular piece so it lies flat on the ground. Cut a V-shaped notch, half as deep as the board, into the edge. Next, carve out a pencil-eraser-size depression at the base of the V, where you will place the spindle tip.
3. Position a leaf, piece of thin bark, or your knife blade (any-thing as thick as an index card) under the board to catch the coal that will fall out of the board’s notch.
4. For the tinder bundle, gather dry and pithy materials (cat-tails, mullein, grass, bark, moss), and shape them into a bird’s nest. Place it within arm’s reach.
5. Get in a stable kneeling or sitting position, with one foot on the edge of the fireboard to steady it. Put the tip of the spindle in the board’s depression, and place your hands at the top. Using significant downward pressure, roll your hands back and forth, up and down the spindle. Go slowly at first to deepen the board’s notch. Then go faster (a lot faster), bear-ing down on the spindle with your body weight as you roll it in your hands. Hot dust will be generated first, then smoke, and as the spindle glows red from the friction, a tiny ember will appear in the notch. If the ember doesn’t automatically fall into your catching device, gingerly tap the board.
6. Transfer the ember to the center of the tinder, blow gently until you have flames, then erect small sticks around it, tepee-style.
Survival Secret
Always carry a reliable firestarter. Nester favors a magnesium spark rod and Vaseline-coated cotton balls, which burn even in rain. Rub one teaspoon of Vaseline into a cot-ton ball; pack a few loosely in a film canister. Also good: butane lighters. P
HO
TO
BY
CO
UR
TE
SY. TE
XT B
Y A
NN
ETTE
MC
GIV
NE
Y.
KN
IFE
: B
EN
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(P
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In the wild with…
Only aKnife
Photography by Dan Saelinger /// Illustrations by Peter Sucheski
The most energy-efficient option is to create a nest. Pile up leaves, pine needles, and moss to create a giant
sleeping bag that will trap your body heat. Make the mound about the length and width of a single mattress and five feet high, if possible. “You should have two feet of insulation below you and two feet above,” Nester says. “I’ve stayed warm like this on 10°F nights.” To tuck yourself in, scoop out a trough in the middle, sit inside butt first, then pull the debris over your body, working up from your feet.
On rainy nights fashion a lean-to against a short tree like a juniper. Use a sturdy, low branch as the shelter’s ridgepole. Knife-chop boughs (or scavenge) and lean them against the branch, then fill in the holes with forest debris so no light shows through. Insulate the floor with one foot of leaves and pine needles.
Also, site your shelter wisely. Avoid ravine bottoms, since cold air sinks, and high, wind-whipped spots. Instead, set up next to a broad rock face or tree that has been soaking up the sun’s warmth all day and will release it at night.
10.2010 BACKPACKER 73
Survival Secret For hours of extra warmth, place football-size rocks at the campfire’s edge until they’re warm to the touch. Hug one against your chest (under a jacket but over a shirt), and put one between your legs and another near your neck or head.
In most emergen-cies, food isn’t a priority. Depending on your extra reserves (love han-dles were never so welcome), it takes a month or more to starve to death. Conserve energy and water by stay-ing put rather than foraging. “The fasting body taps into its fuel stores,” Nester says. “In survival situations, people can last 25 percent longer this way compared to those who burn calories looking for a measly morsel.”
But you can graze on nearby food like: acorns and other tree nuts; ants and ant larvae; grasshop-pers and crickets (roast these first to avoid stomach upset); and fish.
To make a fish-ing spear, carve a 10-inch tip onto a sturdy stick about eight feet long and 1.5 inches thick; saplings work well. Harden the tip in hot coals for a few minutes. Then pin a fish to the creek bed and grab it with your hands.
« This is a knife! A Swedish Mora with a 3 7⁄8-inch fixed blade is Tony Nester’s preferred tool for bushcraft ($20, apathways.com). The reason: A fixed blade with a full tang (meaning the blade runs through the length of the handle) is stronger, so the handle never breaks. He favors carbon steel because you can sharpen it against a smooth river stone using an arcing motion against the rock. It also sparks when you strike the back of the blade with a piece of quartzite, flint, or chert.
That’s Not a
Knife
Stay cool Hole up in the shade andwait until dusk to hunt for water. If
you have a bottle of liquid left, drink it at your normal pace, or until your urine is mostly clear. “Rationing water, especially in the desert or the tropics, hastens heat exhaustion,” says Nester.Search smartly Top spots to look: shady areas at the base of north-facing cliffs; islands of green vegetation; rock depressions; tree trunk cavities; undercut banks or shady, outer bends in dry riverbeds; and anywhere you see birds and insects gathering. No sources nearby? Head down gullies, or dig wells with your knife: Find a spot that’s likely near the water table such as a riverbed. Dig a few holes, about two feet deep, and wait five minutes. If water seeps up, line the hole with pebbles so it’s less porous. Sop up mud with a shirt and wring the moisture into your mouth.No purification method? Guzzle anyway. Most water bugs take weeks to incubate, but you can die in days from dehydration.
SURVIVE!
p the suns warmthd will
Find H20Find food
Cave Man
For instructions on building an emergency win-ter shelter, see backpacker.com/
snowshelter.
«brsr
a
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74 BACKPACKER 10.2010
So you’ve zigzagged into the woods to drink your sad self into oblivion with a fifth of Johnnie Walker Red, hop-ing night freezes away life’s pain. Then a bluebird alights on your shoulder, chirps a sweet song of hope, and you realize life is possibly worth living. But now you’re lost! Crikey—what next? Well, friend, dry those tears and put that hooch to good use.
Survival guru Tony Nester suggests tying a bandana or shoelace around the bottle’s neck, then hanging the bottle somewhere elevated, like a tree branch. The key is to get it off the ground, so you expose more surface area and maximize glint. This passive signal-ing method also frees you up to perform key tasks like shelter-building. Any shiny object will work: bottles, mirrors, space blankets, hubcaps, bike parts, even a machete.
Early settlers in Canada’s Red River area who mixed a little whiskey into their drinking water had fewer inci-dences of waterborne illness than their counterparts, reports BACKPACKER columnist and wilderness-medicine expert Buck Tilton. Add a shot to your liter of water, then wait 20 minutes. You want dead—not drunk—giardia.
Survival Secret One thing liquor won’t do is warm you: Although alcohol makes you feel flushed temporarily, via peripheral vasodi-lation, the dilated vessels near your skin’s surface shed heat into a cold environment faster than narrower vessels. Alcohol’s diuretic effect further abets hypothermia, since temperature con-trol is harder when you’re dehydrated.
To make wood more flammable, whiskey-soak it to the core, then wait a few minutes so the vapors disperse, reducing the risk of a fireball. In damp conditions, resin-ous woods (pine, spruce, fir, mesquite)—which have a lower ignition point—work best; avoid oaks and maples.
Nester also suggests filling a small can (like a tuna or Altoids can) with whiskey and lighting it. Or you can build a sand fire by scooping a cupful of dirt into a mound; it must be a dry substrate like sand, or clay formed into a small clay pinch pot. Then pour in a quart of whiskey. It should burn 10 to 30 minutes; as the flame dies, use a stirring stick to bring fuel back to the surface and add a few minutes of life. Although your sand fire won’t be hot enough to boil water, it can provide warmth, heat food, or help light a signal fire. For the latter, feed in twigs, then transfer the burning twigs to a fire pit. (Beware of wildfire hazard in dry backcountry areas.)
If you don’t have a lighter, pour out the whiskey, fill the bottle with water, and start a fire magnifying-glass style. With the sun at its zenith (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), focus the sun’s beams onto some rotten, punky wood, dry cow pies, or elk droppings until you get a glowing ember. Nestle this in grass or dry bark, then blow it into a flame. If the bottle has broken, try a shard: Add one or two beads of liquid, then lie flat with your forearms supported, focusing the beam as per above, with the water-droplet side facing the sun. You must let the pinpoint of light concentrate for 20 to 30 sec-onds on the tinder before it will ignite, so keep still and be patient.
Now imagine you’re injured—does the old cowboy “whiskey in the wound” method work? Modern liquor, including bourbon,
clocks in at 40 percent alcohol, only half the punch of the Wild West moonshines, but it still kills topical germs, Tilton says. It might also kill healthy cells, however, and it burns like hell, mak-ing clean water a better option. Whiskey does work to sterilize instruments and to blunt pain—drinking two ounces of 90-proof George Dickel reduces pain roughly 50 percent for two hours.
+ =
Care for cuts
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Treat iffy water
Lost with…
Only a Bottle of Whiskey
10.2010 BACKPACKER 75
You’re hiking. You slip. You’re hurt. But the first-aid kit is back in the car—12 miles away. What should you do? First, don’t panic. “You can improvise almost everything in your first-aid kit,” says Tod Schimelpfenig, curricu-lum director of the Wilderness Medicine Institute of the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Research shows that plain ol’ water cleans cuts very effec-tively. Irrigate the injury with at least one liter of the cleanest water available; ideally, use purified water (iodine is fine) and squirt it through a bladder or zip-top bag. If you have soap, apply it to the surrounding skin but not inside the wound itself, rinsing with water when you’re done. Otherwise, just bandage it until you’re back in antiseptic’s reach.
The key is creativity. Some good choices: long bundles of grass (align them lengthwise along the limb); your sleeping pad; a stove screen; trekking poles; sticks; or pack stays. Secure the splint with strips of cloth, straps, or vines. Make sure the splint is firm but padded, and immobilizes the joints above and below the fracture (so if you break your shinbone, immobilize the knee and ankle). The splint shouldn’t constrict blood flow, and it should allow access to fingers and toes, so you can check circulation.
Find the cleanest fabric handy, tear off a piece, then fold or crumple it, and place it on the cut. Apply pressure. If you need to add more bandages, apply them without removing the first. Once bleeding has stopped, clean the wound and rebandage. Hold fabric in place with straps or strips of cloth. For gap-ing (nonvenomous) wounds, use ¼-inch strips of duct tape to close the cut as close as possible to the original skin position.
People have applied old-man’s beard (usnea) as an antiseptic for centuries. These greenish, hair-like tufts grow on tree branches worldwide. Pull back the main stem’s sheath; usnea has a white cord in the center. Place a clump on the cut.
For every 1,000 vertical feet gained, UV exposure increases by five percent; and snowfields reflect 90 percent of the sun’s glare. To prevent snowblindness, always wear sunglasses. But if a fashionable marmot swipes your Ray-Bans, cut UV exposure by folding a one-foot piece of duct tape in half to cover the sticky side. Cut eye slits one-inch wide and ¼-inch tall; punch holes in the ends; and tie them with a cord.
Injured with…
No First-Aid Kit
Above treeline with...
No Sunglasses
Nature’s antibiotic
SURVIVE!
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
76 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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You’re floundering on a frozen snowfield while your cram-pons sit forlorn and forgotten on the credenza at home. If you encounter steep snow or icy trails without crampons, it’s best to turn back or find another way. But if quitting isn’t an option, you can increase traction on snow and ice by embed-ding nails or screws in your boot treads. If you’re loathe to per-forate the soles, drive the screws through a thin plank of wood or bark, and secure one plank to each foot with straps or duct tape. Since most hikers don’t pack extra screws, you might be able to scavenge them from a miner’s cabin or fence. Strands of barbed wire, rusty mattress springs (stretched flush against the sole and over the sides), and shredded aluminum-can bottoms
also work. A less effective but more widely available approach is to wrap a densely knot-ted rope around the bottom of your shoes, like tire chains. Polar explorer Ranulph Fiennes depended on this approach while descending the Beardmore Glacier during his successful 1992-93 Antarctic crossing.
Survival Secret Need to ascend a steep snowfield but don’t have an ice axe? Carry a tent stake to help you self-arrest in case of an unex-pected and possi-bly perilous slide.
Few forms of hiking are more frustrating, exhausting, and potentially dead-ending than postholing (aka, flailing through thigh-deep snow). If a storm struck overnight or you forgot to pack snowshoes—but still have miles to go—save energy and stay drier by constructing your own Ojibwas.
Cut down two pine branches that are still green, full of needles, and about three times the length of your boots. Densely needled boughs perform
better than strips of bark or wooden boards because the gaps between the needles let the snow sift through, just like the lattices found in regular snowshoes.
Step lengthwise onto the center of each branch; orient them so the tips face forward and the woody stems extend behind you. Strap the boughs
securely to your boot soles using compression straps, cordage, or tent guy-lines. Trim the branches so there's not excess overlap, which can trip you up.
To keep the boughs from shifting as you walk, weave the straps through your boot laces. (Prefer high-performance snowshoes? See
page 53 for tips on buying the right model.)
Need fire but have…
No TinderWhen the ground is drenched, look in your pack for dry, flammable fuel.
Burn this…› Alcohol-based hand sanitizer A grape-size dab will burn almost invisibly for 90 seconds.
› White gas Though it evaporates in the open air, it does so slowly.
› Cooking oil Unrefined oils work best.
› DEET bug sprays Burning OFF! might create some unhealthy fumes, but it’s worth it if you need a fire.
› Gauze bandages Or paper products like TP, tissue, trash, or playing cards
› Steel wool It lights even when wet.
› Fabric Apply the above fire acceler-ants to cotton or wool garments, or silnylon. Torn strips of cotton ignite easily and blaze brightly. Tighter weaves burn longer, so shirts and underwear work better than socks.
Don’t burn…› Butane from an opened lighter When exposed to air, it evaporates quickly.
› Polyester Synthetics light slowly and melt into a fire-killing plastic
Stuck in powder with...
No Snowshoes
1
2
3
10.2010 BACKPACKER 77
Here in the world of professional backpacking, those of us who have been around the backcountry block and have seen some things—and, yes, escaped a few brushes with physi-cal and other kinds of nearly certain death—we possess a secret survival method that’s as effective as it is unorthodox. Variously known as the Pringles Primer, the Fritos Firestarter, or the (more on this later) Fritos Firebomb, this mystery is one we reveal here only because, frankly, photographer Dan Saelinger shot a really cool picture of it. Inadvertently invented at an ’80s bonfire in southern Ohio, the technique
Word up to Eric Schlosser and all you other health-food ninnies out there: A bag of greasy chips could save your triglyceride-loathing, carb-counting, GMO-bashing arses.
is dirtbag simple: Flick a Bic under a greasy sliver of potato, and that all-American farm product will burn for 45 to 60 seconds (per 1.87g serving—the weight of an average chip these miserly days). The flame won’t cook the rabbit you just snared, but several blazing crisps will lick your recalcitrant kindling enough to get a real fire going. We never carry chips on trips (though we love Tim’s Cascade Jalapeño afterward), but extensive testing reveals that Fritos Scoops! is the sine
qua non of incendiary snacks. As for the Firebomb, put on your pyro thinking cap and imagine a white gas marinade.
SURVIVE!
Lost with...
Only Some Junk Food
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78 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Uh-oh, you forgot to download free maps at Backpacker.com, and now you’re lost in the woods without any navigational tools. Smart! Now follow these rules to get found.
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Start by locating the sun. It rises in the east and sets in the west (yes, lost persons have messed this up). It also sits low on the southern horizon during winter and, by midsummer, is almost overhead. If the time is close to noon, use this watch method to fix a direction more accurately: Take an analog watch (or draw one on the ground, taking the time from your digital watch). Position the watch so the hour hand points at the sun. The line that bisects the angle between the hour hand and 12 o’clock (1 o’clock during DST) is aligned north to south; find north by recalling that the sun tracks through the southern horizon.
Survival Secret
If you’re lost, regularly double-check your direc-tion as you hike to make sure you’re not wandering in circles or letting the terrain deter-mine your path.
At night, you can identify Polaris (the North Star) by first finding the eas-ily recognized Big Dipper. Take the two stars that form the lip of the Big Dipper’s cup, and trace a
line upward (for about five times the distance between the two stars) until you reach a faint star. This is Polaris, and it always points north. Mark this direction in the dirt before sheltering for the night, and follow it in the morning.
Stop moving and start thinking about your last known location, usually a singular spot like a summit, trail sign, river crossing, or a lake. Return to that place if possible. If you can’t back-track, you’ll need to navigate by dead reckoning. The good news is that most hikers lose their way within a mile of a marked trail, road, parking lot, or structure. So if you know a road or a trail is somewhere east of your location—and you’re certain you can travel east without a compass—head in that direction. The bad news is that lost people generally cannot follow a straight line across wilderness terrain. Unless you are totally confident, stay put and wait for rescue.
Fording the river didn’t seem risky until the moment your butt hit the water. Now you’re soaked up to your pits as the evening mercury drops below 45°F. Your goal: Prevent hypothermia.
Find a spot sheltered from the wind and, if possible, in the sun. Remove wet cloth-ing, including socks and underwear, and don the warmest, driest layers you have; cover your head and neck, too. No dry clothes? Start a fire. Also, insulate your-self from the ground with a pad or pack.
Still shivering or feeling clumsy? You need to raise your temp fast. Pitch your tent and unroll your sleeping bag inside, so it’s ready. Do jumping jacks, and cook up a warm drink that has no caffeine or alcohol (both are diuretics, and dehydra-tion hampers temperature regulation).
Slurred speech, resisting help, and confu-sion signal hypothermia’s downward spiral. If those symptoms develop, zip the victim into a dry sleeping bag, treat for shock by raising his feet, and place a water bottle or bladder filled with lukewarm—not hot—water against his chest, back, groin, and head. Before you strip naked to spoon with your buddy, know that a 1994 Canadian study in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that body-to-body contact doesn’t warm up hypothermia victims any faster than applying heated water bottles at these key areas. Plus, it chills another person.
Survival Secret
Sugary drinks and foods boost a hypo-thermic person’s ability to generate body heat. For other key tips, check out BACKPACKER’S Outdoor Survival: Skills to
Survive and Stay Alive ($13, falcon.com).
Orient yourself
Get dry
Treat hypothermia
Warm things up
North StarTrue North
Little Dipper
Big Dipper
10.2010 BACKPACKER 79
Doing more (fresh-baked pizza and rumaki hors d’oeuvres) with less (a canister stove and a frying pan) is the essence of backcountry cooking. But when you’re stuck without pots, pans, or utensils for more than a week, knowing how to cook and boil water with these four stand-in containers can be a vital, calorie-providing skill.
It is possible to boil water in plastic jugs—even flimsy #1 PET soda bottles. Since too much heat will melt plastic, shield the bottle from direct flames by suspending it from a cord or shoelace four to six inches above the fire. Spin the bottle to distribute the heat. Hard plastic bottles and water bladders are more heat-resistant, but still never put them directly in flames.
Survival SecretsUse tent stakes—not poles—to create a grill over a fire, since they resist heat better.
A prickly pear pad effectively filters water. Slice the pad in half and place both halves, insides facing down, in the water container or well (let sediment set-tle in the container first). The pad’s thick gum will soak up most of the dirt and nasty bacteria after about 30 minutes.
To cook freeze-dried meals without a pot, remove the dry food from the foil pouch, fill it with water, and heat it over a stove or fire. When the water boils, add the food, and mix as instructed. Save the bag to heat additional water later.
Unlike foil pouches, zip-top plastic bags won’t sur-vive high heat. But you can steam-cook with them. First, place a flat rock atop a stove or fire. (Note: Avoid using river rocks; the latent water inside their crevices might cause the rocks to expand and frac-ture when heated.) Suspend a zipped bag containing your water and uncooked food (pasta, rice, vegeta-bles, tea, etc.) directly over the hot rock. Drip water onto the rock to generate steam, which will cook the food without destroying the bag. Cooking times vary widely, but ballpark is 10 minutes.
If you’re feeling prehistoric, light a wood fire in a hole about one foot deep and three feet wide. When the fire peaks, add large rocks; as the flames die into coals, cover the rocks with wet, green plant material—the wetter, the better. Add a layer of uncooked food (red meat, fish, veggies), then a second layer of flora. Cover the pit with two to four inches of dirt and wait several hours until the food is cooked.
Famished but with…
No Cooking Pots
The Survival Encyclopedia Find 7 ways to light a fire (including with your cell phone!), 10 essen-tial knots, and much more at our Survival 101 Center at backpacker
.com/survival101.
Heat pouchesSteam-cook in zip-top bags
Bake dinner in a pit oven
5
6
4
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1
LAYERS
1. Dirt
2. Plants
3. Food
4. Plants
5. Rocks
6. Coals
SURVIVE!
Boil - in - the - bottle
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
80 BACKPACKER 10.2010
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Josh and Jacob Gately, two brothers from Missouri, began their descent of Colorado’s Mount of the Holy Cross together back in October 2007. As mist swirled around them at 13,000 feet, Jacob hiked ahead of his brother and became separated by the rugged terrain. When Josh arrived at base-camp a few hours later, his brother wasn’t there. Scenarios like this play out all the time in the wilderness. If faced with it, here’s what to do.
First, look at your watch. Knowing how long your buddy has been gone will help you and SAR teams calculate how far he might have traveled. Then orga-nize anyone else in camp for a quick hunt in the immediate vicinity. Spend only an hour sweeping the area, because only 40 percent of hasty searches are successful.
If you don’t make contact quickly, leave a note in case he returns, then head toward the last known point where you saw the missing person. If that fails, apply these stats to the terrain around you to determine where to search next: Two-thirds of lost hikers show up within two miles of their final known location; more than half move downhill; and 75 percent follow trails, streams, drainages, and other easy paths (at an average speed of two mph). One-third continue to move after dark, but most stop mov-ing after 24 hours.
If the lost hiker doesn’t turn up within a few hours, or you’re concerned about cold weather or his ability to survive the night, contact rangers or call 911 to initiate a pro-fessional search. That’s what Josh did, and two days later, a SAR team discovered Jacob hypothermic and frostbitten—but alive.
“Start as a group, hike as a group, and end as a group,” says Lt. Todd Bogardus, SAR coordinator with New Hampshire Fish and Game. Since groups naturally spread out, make it a rule to assemble at every junction, turn, and sign. Also, assign a sweeper to bring up the rear, and make sure everyone carries a map and a whistle, and knows the rally point (like a campsite or a trailhead).
Ounce for ounce, few items can improve your survival chances more than a humble trash bag. And you’re prob-ably packing several already, as liners for your stuffsacks and as cheap pack covers. But when trouble arises, they can do much more. Note: For these tasks, opt for brightly colored, heavy-duty lawn bags 30 to 55 gallons in size and 3 mils (1/1000 of an inch) thick.
Create two buoyancy chambers—and a place in-between to grab on to—by filling the bottom of the trash bag with air and cinching down the middle section with tape or cord. Then inflate the top of the bag with air and tie it closed. Trash bags can also be used to collect water.
Survival Secret
Bright-yellow bags are more visible in low light and at night than black or red ones. Unfurl and wave them to signal airborne rescuers.
Take the UltimateSurvival
Quiz!Open here
➥
On your debris shelter’s roof (see page 73), layer one bag between the layers of branches and leaves. For a mat-tress, stuff a second bag with dry litter.
Cut slits for your head and arms, and slip the bag over your torso. Shivering from the wind? Tuck the end into your pants and stuff the interior with dry leaves.
1. Do a hasty search
2. Backtrack
3. Call in help
Lost with…
Only a Trash Bag
Cross a river Improvise a rainshell
Waterproof a shelter
In the backcountry with…
A MissingPartner
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
start hereTrue or false: You can
stay alive in the wilds by…
1. Drinking urine
2. Eating snow
3. Drinking from a cactus
4. Sleeping in a space blanket
5. Staying positive
6. Tying bags over plants
7. Eating wild greens
8. True or false: A handful of
roasted, large grasshoppers has
nearly the same number of calo-
ries and protein as a hamburger.
9. True or false: Most bunched
berries are edible.
answers
10. Which mushroom is edible?
A) Cortinarius traganus
B) Clitocybe nuda
11. True or false: When you’re
hopelessly lost in the forest, you
can orient yourself by remem-
bering that all streams lead to
roads, moss grows thicker on the
north side of trees, and spiders
build their webs facing south.
12. You’re still lost, but now
you’re also tired and hungry, and
night is falling. Your only food is
a single energy bar. You should…
A) Save it as long as possible,
because your body will start
burning fat right away and you
might need a quick burst of
energy in the coming days
B) Ration the bar bite by bite,
nibbling on it just enough to
quiet the stomach growls
C) Eat the whole thing, to give you
energy to build a shelter and fire
13. Identify the North Star.
14. True or false: Hikers get lost
more than any other group of
outdoor recreationists.
15. You surely know that dead,
dry wood (but not rotted) is
always better than wet for start-
ing a blaze, but type matters,
too. True or false: All else being
equal, pine and spruce will light
faster than maple and oak.
16. True or false:
You can start a fire
by striking a diamond
ring against your knife.
84 BACKPACKER 10.2010
�
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A B
1. False. It contains too many toxins.
But you can exploit its evaporative-
cooling powers: Pee on a shirt or
bandana, then tie it around your neck.
2. True. Eating snow will hydrate you.
However, if your body temperature
is dropping due to other factors,
chomping on snow will push you into
hypothermia faster.
3. False. The water inside of a barrel
cactus is full of alkaloids, which will
cause you to vomit the liquid. Some
species are also poisonous.
4. False. Although space blankets will
trap heat and are better than nothing,
the nonporous sheet seals in water
5 percent of wild mushrooms are
edible, and one wrong bite can
literally kill you via potent toxins.
11. False. These fables are all unreli-
able. See page 78 for an action plan.
12. C. Only ration the bar if the idea
of having no food freaks you out and
you want the psychological comfort.
13. 1. See page 78.
14. False. Big time. Gino Ferri, PhD,
director of the Survival in the Bush
school, in Ontario, says the vast
majority of lost people are hunters
(56 percent), anglers (24 percent),
and trappers (12 percent). The
remaining 8 percent are hikers and
other “patrons.” Curiously, this 8 per-
vapor from your breath and sweat,
so overnight, you’ll wake up wet
and shivering. You’d be better off
using it to rainproof a debris shelter
(see page 73) or to signal rescuers
via the reflective area.
5. True. “Come up with a reason
to live and focus on that,” says
survival expert Tony Nester. “The
drive to get back home has proven
over and over to be the #1 factor in
successful survival stories.”
6. False. Not enough moisture is
produced to keep you alive. Five
gallon-size bags tied around bushy
plants for 24 hours will only pro-
duce a teaspoon or less of water.
7. False. All six-legged insects in
North America are OK, but most
wild plants will wreck havoc on
your GI system. Unless you’re a
skilled botanist, move on; starva-
tion is a slow killer (about 30 days).
8. True. A three-ounce hamburger
patty made from lean ground beef
has about 145 calories and about
15 grams of protein. Approximately
10 large grasshoppers weighing 3.5
ounces total offer about 121 calo-
ries and 13 grams of protein.
9. True. Bunched berries include
raspberries and blueberries.
Avoid white and yellow berries.
10. B. A is poisonous. Less than
23. Which of the following are
signs that someone is drowning?
A) Splashing and waving of arms
B) Shouting
C) Silence
D) Upright posture
24. While backpacking along the
Lost Coast, you pitch camp on a
beach and set out for a dip. You see
a spot in the surf where the waves
are flat, and it looks like there’s an
outbound stream on the surface. Is
this a safe place to swim
A) Yes, because the waves are
calmer at that spot
B) No, that is a danger zone
25. How do you escape a rip current?
A) Swim straight to shore using the
most powerful stroke, the crawl
B) Let it carry you out and then
signal a passing boat
C) Swim parallel to the shore
26. Assuming you can’t get to a
stand of tall trees, which of these
spots is the best place to wait out
a lightning storm?
A) Under any lone tree
B) In a low spot or ravine
C) Atop a rock slab
D) Inside a cave
cent constitutes the majority of those
seeking survival instruction.
15. True. These soft, resinous (sappy)
woods have a lower ignition point.
16. False. Diamonds are much
harder than the steel used in blades.
Hitting your wife’s ring against your
knife will gouge the blade but won’t
produce a spark. However, striking
the blade with the sharp edge of an
opal pendant will get the job done.
17. A. Coral snakes live mostly in the
Southeast and Southwest. The
others are harmless. To tell them
apart, remember: Red on yellow, kills
a fellow. Red on black, friend of Jack.
18. C. By restricting circulation, a
tourniquet prevents blood from
diluting the toxin and reducing tissue
damage. And suction methods have
been shown not to work.
19. All six of these will work (one point
for each), since they have a hardness
between 5 and 6.5 on the Mohs’ scale.
But the last three lose their edges
quickly and require frequent knapping.
20. B. Though cottonwoods are usually
a good sign of water, too, their roots can
reach 40 feet deep. But Bermuda grass
requires water close to the surface.
21. C
22. If you can’t do C, do B (one point for
each). Downed trees form underwater
obstacles called strainers, which can
of water flowing away from shore.
More than 100 Americans drown
in them each year. They can form
anywhere with breaking waves and
are most common around low spots,
breaks in sandbars, piers, and jetties.
Polarized sunglasses help you see
them by reducing glare.
25. C. Rip currents are typically only
30 to 100 feet wide, so you can easily
escape them before they carry you out
to sea. But swimming against the
current will exhaust you.
26. B. Lightning is attracted to high
points, and since wet rock conducts
electricity, lightning can also arc
across slabs and cave openings.
17. Which of these
snakes is deadly?
A) Eastern coral snake
B) Mexican milk snake
C) Organ pipe
shovel-nosed snake
D) California mountain
kingsnake
18. A rattler bites you.
You should...
A) Tie a tourniquet above the bite,
to keep venom from spreading
B) Suck out the venom with a
suction cup or your mouth
C) Immobilize the limb at heart
level and get to a doctor
19. Which of these throw a spark
when struck against a knife?
A) Flint
B) Chert
C) Jasper
D) Quartzite
E) Obsidian
F) Granite
20. In a desert environment,
which of these is a better indica-
tor of accessible water?
A) Cottonwood trees
B) Patches of Bermuda grass
21. Most hikers know that drink-
ing alcohol speeds dehydration,
which creates great danger in
extreme weather conditions. But
how much water must you drink
to offset your booze intake and
avoid dehydration?
A) 2 times as much water
B) 3 times
C) 6 times
D) 10 times
22. Your canoe flipped, and you’re
headed downstream fast. Ahead,
you see a downed tree lying across
part of the river. You should...
A) Swim to it, grab on, and haul
yourself out of the water
B) Swim hard to it and use your
momentum to launch yourself over
C) Avoid it at all costs
D) Float with the current, feet
pointed downstream
snare and drown swimmers.
23. C and D (1 point for each).
Contrary to Hollywood theatrics,
most drowning victims don’t make
a peep. The body’s instinctive
drowning response blocks voluntary
actions like shouting or waving
(though the person might do these
things in the stages preceding
drowning). All actions center around
inhaling, exhaling, and keeping
the mouth above water. Signs of
a drowning person include: mouth
and nose barely breaking the water’s
surface, mouth open, and an upright
posture with no signs of kicking.
24. B. This is a rip current—a stream
27. Fill in the blanks:
attacks, you should
grizzly attacks,
28. If you stumble across a
bear, you should...
A) Play dead
B) Back away slowly while avoid-
ing eye contact, speaking in a low
voice, and slowly waving your arms
C) Run away
29. True or false:
ert, stripping off clothes is the best
way to lower your body
temperature.
30. Never cross
ice unless you
know it’s con-
tinuous and at
least…
A) 3 inches thick
B) 4 inches thick
C) 5 inches thick
31. Which of
these is most
dangerous in out-
door emergencies?
A) Panic
B) Haste
C) Despair
D) Overconfidence
27. With a black bear, fight back.
With a grizzly, play dead by lying on
your belly, legs spread for stability
and hands over your neck. If the bear
rolls you, keep rolling until back on
your belly. (One point for each)
28. B
29. False. Clothes block sun, cooling
you off more than going shirtless.
30. B
31. C. Panic usually strikes the
moment you realize your pre-
dicament. While the sensation is
intense, says survival expert Doug
Ritter, “For most people, that panic
dissipates quickly and generally
before they do anything really stu-
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
Would You Survive?Take our quiz to rate your wilderness IQ.
If you rewarm them in the field, two
things can happen: First, they might
swell up, preventing you from get-
ting your boots back on, and second,
they might refreeze, causing more
damage. Never use a fire or massage
(friction) to warm frostbitten tissues,
which burn easily under dry heat.
34. C. Says survival expert Laurence
Gonzales, “The personality type best
suited to survival is calm, humble,
curious, deliberate, cautious, and (at
the right times) bold.”
35. B. “When bad things happen,
denial is natural,” Gonzales says.
Getting beyond it fast is critical.
27. Fill in the blanks: If a black bear
attacks, you should and if a
grizzly attacks, .
28. If you stumble across a
bear, you should...
A) Play dead
B) Back away slowly while avoid-
ing eye contact, speaking in a low
voice, and slowly waving your arms
C) Run away
29. True or false: In the broiling des-
ert, stripping off clothes is the best
way to lower your body
temperature.
30. Never cross
ice unless you
know it’s con-
tinuous and at
least…
A) 3 inches thick
B) 4 inches thick
C) 5 inches thick
31. Which of
these is most
dangerous in out-
door emergencies?
A) Panic
B) Haste
C) Despair
D) Overconfidence
32. If you’re caught in an
avalanche, you should…
A) Curl into a tight ball to avoid
being crushed
B) Fight to stay in the slide’s tail
and create an air pocket in front
of your face with your hands
C) Shed your pack so it doesn’t
drag you down, and get your
feet forward
33. What is the best way
to treat frostbitten
feet?
A) Leave your
boots on until you
reach a warm
shelter, then heat
up your feet near
a fire (or apply
heat packets
or warm water
bottles against
the skin); speed
up the process by
rubbing your feet
with your hands
B) Leave your boots on
until you reach a warm
shelter, then heat them in lukewarm
water or with hot, wet cloths
C) Remove your boots and have
your hiking partner suckle your toes
34. Which personality
type is best equipped
to handle survival
situations?
A) Popeye
B) Eric Cartman
C) Ned Flanders
D) Drill sergeant
E) Foghorn
Leghorn
F) Charlie Brown
35. What is the
most common
mistake people
make in the midst
of emergencies?
A) Attempting
to self-rescue
B) Refusing to accept the situation
C) Relying on others to save them
D) Freaking out and making
rash, irrational decisions
10.2010 BACKPACKER 86
Score Your OddsGive yourself one point for each correct answer. You are...
0-5 A Fabergé egg that mostly
serves ornamental purposes
6-10 A fickle ficus that thrives
only in a narrow range of
environments
11-25 A Tuff Shed that’s capable
of weathering most conditions
26-40 The love child of
Sir Ernest Shackleton and
Sigourney Weaver
41-43 A cockroach
pid.” Haste can be good or bad depending
on the situation, and overconfidence
can lure you on into further trouble.
But despair saps the will to live, which
eliminates the #1 reason that people pull
through ordeals.
32. B. Fight: Self-arrest, grab a tree, or
swim (crawl or backstroke) to the side
or back (tail) of the slide, to avoid being
sucked into the subducting head. If you’re
in the head and likely will get buried once
the slide stops (which happens abruptly),
focus on forming a breathing space with
your hands, to disperse carbon dioxide.
33. B. Keep your boots on until you’re in
a place where you can revive your feet
permanently (camp, a cabin, the car).
27. With a black bear, fight back.
With a grizzly, play dead by lying on
your belly, legs spread for stability
and hands over your neck. If the bear
rolls you, keep rolling until back on
your belly. (One point for each)
28. B
29. False. Clothes block sun, cooling
you off more than going shirtless.
30. B
31. C. Panic usually strikes the
moment you realize your pre-
dicament. While the sensation is
intense, says survival expert Doug
Ritter, “For most people, that panic
dissipates quickly and generally
before they do anything really stu-
10.2010 BACKPACKER 87
PH
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“Hello, this is 911. Please state your emergency.” If you’re calling for backcountry help on your cell phone, what you say—or sob incoherently—next could determine when you get rescued.
Survival Secret Extend your cell phone’s battery life by warming it in an inner pocket before turning it on to make a call. Storing the batteries at cold temperatures is fine, however, and won’t drain the power.
Assume your first call will be your only call, because storms, fading signals, and dying batteries can disrupt
connections. “You initially need to give your name, problem, general location, physi-cal condition, and cell number to the 911 dispatcher,” says Lt. Todd Bogardus, SAR coordinator with New Hampshire Fish and Game. Before calling, write these details down, check your map, complete an injury inventory, and take a deep breath—a calm, prepared caller tends to communicate better and get key details correct. SAR teams also need to know your last known location. This can be a trailhead, a lake, a road or river crossing, a summit, or a trail sign. Focus on known places because lost hikers often misjudge their current position by many miles. Providing additional details like a GPS waypoint, terrain conditions, sun position, types of nearby trees, river crossings, and distinctive landmarks can narrow a search zone, Bogardus says.
Give the 411
Drowning is the #2 cause of outdoor deaths (falls are #1), so avoid wading waist-deep or too-fast rivers (a tossed, fist-size rock shouldn’t move downstream before sinking), but if no choice exists:
Remove your backpack If you topple with it strapped to your back, the pack will force your torso and head underwater, so unbuckle the waist and sternum straps. If the water is up to your waist or above, wrap your pack in a waterproof bag, and either push or
tow it across the river. Yes, it will float.
Hang on to your sleeping pad This is prob-ably your most buoyant gear. Partially inflate the pad, then roll it up, and make arm loops from the compression straps so it can be your emergency PFD as you wade or swim; this also leaves your hands free for poles. Foam pads also work.
Make water wings Link two or more empty plastic water bottles or bladders together with straps to create a chain of buoys.
Use your trousers Remove your pants, tie off the cuffs, grasp the open waistband, and plunge it top first into the water to fill the legs with air. The Red Cross teaches this when no better options exist. Note: Even Bear Grylls had trouble crossing a lake with only his pants keeping him afloat (he had to re-inflate them midway).
Choose your route Wider or braided channels signal slower, shal-lower water. Face the current at a 45-degree angle and carry poles or sticks. If walking across, wear shoes sans socks for trac-tion. If swimming, go barefoot; sodden boots will drag you down.
Before leaving for a hike, activate your phone’s SAR-friendly “Location” options, under the settings menu. Most newer (post-2005) phones contain a GPS chip that tells emergency responders your approximate position—either through cell-tower triangulation, satellite fixes, or both. Enabling the “Location” function for all calls, not just to 911, makes it easier for cell phone companies to find you. Also, make sure call-forwarding and automatic voicemail are disabled. Most importantly, keep your phone turned off and stuffed inside your pack until you need it (to preserve the batteries).
Enable your phone
Must cross a raging river with...
No Personal Flotation Device
SURVIVE!
Wait!Did you
take the
UltimateSurvival
Quiz?
➥
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
88 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Now you’ve done it, fumblefingers: bobbled your belay/rappel device or dropped your harness, with one 5.8 pitch left before the summit and three pitches below you back to the ridge. What to do? Other than screaming Mommy, you have options.
The click, click, crap of a dead battery is about as welcome as the rattle of a diamondback in the latrine. Here’s what to do.
Check the juice Clean crusty deposits from inside the battery posts and terminals. That ensures the engine’s starter is receiv-ing a full charge, says AAA-certified master technician Michael Calkins. Nothing? Ask another hiker for a jump. If no one is around, call AAA. No cell reception? Don’t worry. As long as the dashboard warning lights flash when you turn the key—indicating the bat-tery has some juice—you have options.Warm the battery If you think subzero temps (and not the overhead dome light) drained the battery, you can try warming it up (at 5°F, a lead-acid battery produces only half of its normal cranking power). Calkins recommends removing the battery from the engine block and placing it in a pot of hot (not boiling) water, submerged to within two inches of the battery top. Don’t fully immerse it, or place a heat source directly under the pot. Hot water bottles and bladders are less effective, but will still warm up the internal plates. After an hour, try starting the car. Never place a stove or flames near a battery being charged or jumped; it could ignite hydrogen gases.Try pushing If you drive a manual (stick shift) car, you can push-start it if the battery retains enough reserve power to activate the car’s computer, Calkins says. Shut off the radio, heat, and anything electrical, turn the key to the ‘on’ position, and press down the clutch as you shift into first gear. Release the brake pedal, and tell your friends to start pushing. As the car speeds up to 5 or 10 mph (downhill helps), release the clutch, let the engine turn, and give it gas. Note: This doesn’t work with an automatic because the transmission won’t allow the engine to be cranked by the wheels’ motion.Be proactive Get your car inspected pretrip, and buy a portable jump-starter like Black & Decker’s Start It ($90, amazon.com).
Use a locking carabiner and a Munter hitch, popularized in the 1960s by the Swiss guide Werner Munter. This easy, bomber knot has 2.5 kN of holding power when locked off—versus the roughly 2 kN of most belay devices. Ideally, you’ll have a pear-shaped HMS biner, which easily fits two bends of the rope. First, draw the rope through the biner, and form a bight with a half-twist. Flip the bight another 180 degrees and clip it into the biner (fig. 2). To lock it off, bring the brake-hand strand parallel with the side entering the biner (fig. 4). To rappel (with double lines), form the Munter with both rope strands together. Caveat: Keep the knot clear of the biner gate to lower the risk of opening. Oh, and Munters kink ropes to an unholy degree, so use them sparingly.
Let’s say you took it off to pee…in a wind-storm. Whoops! Or, more likely, you just didn’t bring it, not realizing your “fourth class” objective was actually 5.6. You still have options. Back in the day before har-nesses, climbers tied the rope around their waists with a bowline on a coil. This method can snap ribs in a big fall, but it works in a pinch. Bring the rope snugly around your waist at least three times, leaving two to three feet of tail. Form a bight with a half-twist. Bring this under and back through your waist coils, then tie a bowline with the tail. Add an overhand backup with the remaining tail (fig. 4). Voilà, you’re ready to climb. Comfort tip: Jerry-rig leg loops by girth-hitching slings around your gams; clip them to all of the waist coils.
Say—blackest of horrors—you must rappel sans harness. It’s time for the Dülfersitz. Here’s how: Straddle the rap-pel ropes, bringing them back around one leg and across your hip, then up over the opposite shoulder. Now bring the rope down and across your back, where the brake hand holds it beside the wrapped hip. Step backward over the edge, and use your brake hand and the rope’s cross-body friction to meter your descent—go slowly! While the rope’s fric-tion is punishing (pad your cloth-ing accordingly), rope rash beats an appear-ance in next year’s volume of Accidents in
North American
Mountaineering.
TE
XT B
Y J
AS
ON
STE
VE
NS
ON
(C
AR
BA
TTE
RY
); M
ATT S
AM
ET (
CLIM
BIN
G G
EA
R)
Stuck at a remote trailhead with…
A Dead Car Battery
Belay without a device
Climb without a harness
Cliffed out with...
No Climbing Gear
Rappel without a harness
10.2010 BACKPACKER 89
Some cracks devour ropes the way marmots munch on radia-
tor lines. If your lifeline gets hung up in a crack while you’re
pulling it between rappels, first try flicking it sharply from
different angles. No luck? If there’s enough free cord, your
partner can belay you while you climb to the snag. Otherwise, be
ready with a belay knife—no, you’re not touching the void,
but you might have to cut that irretrievable rope and make
a series of mini rappels with the remaining cord
(melt the ends to prevent fraying). This is
what alpinist Kelly Cordes had to do when bailing off Mt. Hunter,
in Alaska—rapping about 3,000 feet with only half a length of rope.
“Not fun,” he says, “but it worked.”
SURVIVE!
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
90 BACKPACKER 10.2010
PH
OTO
BY
GE
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RTO
N.
TE
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OLD
ER
In an emergency, paracord can prove just as valuable as a knife and firestarter. You can use it for lashings, tourniquets, makeshift shoelaces, snares, and tying splints. You can even tease out the cord’s individual strands and make a fishing line or sew-ing thread. But how do you carry a useful amount—that will always be on your person—without just shoving it in your pocket? Enter the survival bracelet. Often worn by American soldiers, this is not a fashion accessory but a survival tool. Just like your knife and lighter, this can be worn on your body, in case you become sepa-rated from your gear. To construct one, you’ll need scissors, a lighter, a tape measure, and 10 feet of 550 paracord (breaking strength of 550 pounds). Here are the steps:
1. Cut a two-foot length of cord and melt the ends with the lighter. Fold the cord in half.
Wrap the doubled-up cord around your wrist, pulling the tag ends through the loop. Tie an
overhand knot with the ends; this is the stopper knot. Adjust the knot so you can slip a finger
between the cord and your wrist. Do not trim the ends. This is your base cord.
2. Lay the remaining eight feet of cord in front of you horizontally. Now place the base cord—
with the loop at the top—over the middle of the eight-foot cord, forming a T.
3. Make a cobra knot. To start, take the cord on the left and bring it over the top of the base
cord to form an S.
4. Take the right cord and thread it down through the loop on the right side of the base cord;
then go under the base cord and up inside the loop on the left and pull
tight. Make sure the overhand knot will fit through the small opening at the
top of the base cord.
5. Starting on the right, reverse the process. This will complete
the first cobra knot.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 until you are about one-quarter of an inch from
the stopper knot. Check the fit on your wrist by pushing the stopper knot
through the loop at the apex. You can adjust the fit by moving the overhand
knot up or down. The brace-
let needs to fit snugly without
being too tight. When you are
satisfied, trim the tag ends and
melt them with the lighter.
7. To wear, push the stopper
knot through the loop to hold
the bracelet securely on your
wrist. If desired, you can also
add wooden toggles, buttons,
buckles, and other fastening
methods. To use the cord, sim-
ply unweave the bracelet.
DIY Survival Bracelet
SURVIVE!
Accessorize
Find a step-by-
step slideshow
on building this
bracelet at back-
packer.com/surviv-
albracelet.
2010 GET OUT MORE TOUR
BACKPACKER IS COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!The 10th annual Get Out More Tour brings the pages of Backpacker to life in towns across
America! Join Backpacker’s all-star Get Out More team for an engaging 60-minute seminar
full of trail-tested tips. It’s your chance to learn from the experts, check-out the latest gear and
apparel, and win great prizes. Visit backpacker.com/getoutmore for more information and to
enter to win the GET OUT MORE SWEEPSTAKES!
presented by
September/October 2010 SCHEDULE
CITY DATE TIME ADDRESS
Redwood City, CA Sun, Oct 3 2 pm Redwood Trading Post, 1305 El Camino Real
San Jose, CA Tue, Oct 5 7 pm Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods, 1266 W San Carlos St
San Diego, CA Sat, Oct 9 2 pm Adventure 16 , 4620 Alvarado Canyon Rd
Phoenix, AZ Sat, Oct 16 2 pm REI , 12634 N Paradise Village Pkwy
Tuscon, AZ Sun, Oct 17 3 pm Summit Hut, 605 E Wetmore Rd at 1st Ave
Albuquerque, NM Thu, Oct 21 7 pm REI , 1550 Mercantile Ave NE
Oklahoma City, OK Tue, Oct 26 6 pm Bass Pro Shops, 200 Bass Pro Dr
Tulsa, OK Thu, Oct 28 7 pm Sun & Ski Sports, 6808 Memorial Dr
Springdale, AR Sat, Oct 30 2 pm Lewis & Clark Outfi tters, 4915 S Thompson
Dallas, TX Thu, Nov 4 7 pm Whole Earth Provision Company,
5400 E Mockingbird Ln
Austin, TX Sat, Nov 6 2 pm Whole Earth Provision Company, 1014 N Lamar Blvd
New Orleans, LAN Tue, Nov 16 6:30 pm Massey’s Professional Outfi tters, 509 N Carrollton Ave
Jackson, MSJaJ Thu, Nov 18 6 pm Buffalo Peak Outfi tters, 115 Highland Village
Homewood, ALHH Sat, Nov 20 2 pm Alabama Outdoors, 3054 Independence Dr
Apopka, FLAp Sat, Nov 27 1 pm Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 S Washington Ave
Pinellas Park, FL Sat, Dec 4 2 pm Bill Jackson’s , 9501 US Highway 19 N
Jacksonville, FL Sat, Dec 11 12 pm Black Creek Outfi tters, 10051 Skinner Lake Dr
www.backpacker.com/getoutmore
LET’S GET GOING!
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
92 BACKPACKER 10.2010
Backpacking with relatives
can present emotional chal-
lenges, particularly for the
philosophically inclined
camper. I am such a camper,
and I encountered some dif-
ficult moments on a recent trip into the backcountry. During the lightning storm on the way in, for example, when
I found myself shivering and huddling under a tree while allegedly loving family members chortled at my distress;
at 3 a.m. on our first night, at which point I woke with a splitting headache, upset stomach, and a glum suspicion
that my older brother had intentionally poisoned me with giardia-infested hot chocolate; the slightly awkward
instant earlier, during the otherwise peaceful and happy circle around the campfire, when—after I had recounted
to my niece and nephews how Comanches had perfected torture to an art form in this very country, maybe even
at this very campsite, and how that particular tribe of Native Americans could strip off a man’s skin, layer by layer,
Camping is known to bring loved ones closer together, but what happens when your relations include a treacherous sister, murderous brother, and their savage offspring? Steve Friedman leads his clan into the Rockies to resolve fi ve decades’ worth of sibling rivalry and simmering resentment.*
Family!lF*& ing
ly
My
Illustration by Zohar Lazar 10.2010 BACKPACKER 93
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
94 BACKPACKER 10.2010
vein by vein, until all that was left were eyeballs and nerve
endings—my younger sister hollered from her tent to knock
it off and if the kids had nightmares, she was throwing them
into my tent and what the hell was wrong with me, anyway?
Those were challenging experiences by the standards of
any camper, even those not as philosophically inclined as
me. But they weren’t as challenging as the moments when I
was betrayed by the two people I thought I could depend on.
First, the terrible and urgent scream from thigh level.
“You promised us s’mores!”
It was Iris, my seven-year-old niece, my sister’s child. Iris
stands 3 foot 9 inches, weighs 44 pounds, has oceanic blue
eyes, hair so blonde it’s almost white, and a sparkling, toothy
smile that makes strangers gasp with reflexive delight. She
has freckles and a pug nose, too. She has a face that compels
people to pinch it and liken it to an angel’s. If only they knew.
“I know, Iris,” I said, “but Uncle Stevie needs some time to
get settled and he’s not sure where the marshmallows are…”
“You! Promised! S’mores!!!” she shrieked again. It was a hei-
nous sound, a primitive howl of rage and pure animal need.
“Please, Iris,” I said. “Uncle Stevie also promised relaxing,
carefree family fun. I need your help. Have a little patience.
You know how your mommy always says patience is some-
thing that will make you happier when you grow up, if you
had more of it. Well, now is a good time to practice and…”
“S’mores! S’mores! S’mores!”
I rubbed my temples.
“Just give her a piece of chocolate, Uncle Stevie. She’s
hungry and tired. And this is how she gets.”
The soothing voice belonged to Isaac, Iris’s 10-year-old
brother, also towheaded, also blue-eyed. But Isaac is calm
where Iris is stormy, quiet where she’s loud, steady where
she is occasionally psychotic and possibly (though the family
hopes not) criminally insane. I have been cultivating Isaac’s
loyalty since he was a toddler, when I had taught him to say
“Mommy doesn’t need to know we had ice cream for lunch”
and “Bedtime is stupid.” Isaac had been a key ally in my
efforts to organize the first Friedman backpacking trip.
I offered Iris a bar of chocolate, which she tore from
my grasp and fell upon, much as a blonde, blue-eyed, pug-
nosed hyena might fall upon the tender and defenseless neck
flesh of a hapless gazelle. She gnashed and tore and chewed.
The wind picked up. The temperature dropped.
“Uncle Stevie,” Isaac said. He would turn 11 the next morn-
ing. It was one reason we’d all gathered for this trip (there were
other, darker reasons, too, and I’ll get to those in a minute).
“Yes, I-dog?”
And then, the second, even more injurious betrayal. A very
challenging moment for me.
“Uncle Stevie,” Isaac repeated, “this trip really sucks.”
THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF I HAD GOTTEN MY
way, if we had been camping at one of south-
western Colorado’s Ice Lakes, which sit in a glacial
basin. We would have left a day earlier, as I had planned,
ahead of the storm. I might not have misplaced the marshmal-
lows. The kids would not have turned on me. But, of course,
I hadn’t gotten my way. With this group, I—the middle child—
had never gotten my way. My older brother got his way for
many years, because he was bigger. So it didn’t matter that I
preferred suburban St. Louis’s Velvet Freeze ice cream, which
served a simple but proud vanilla, over Baskin Robbins, which
specialized in flavors like Bubble Gum and Apple Pie that
even a five-year-old could tell were cheap, whorish abomina-
tions; or that given my druthers (which I wasn’t), I would have
rather raked the leaves than helped our father push the lawn
mower. But no! I was the little brother, so when it came to
ice cream emporiums and chores, my big brother, Don, got to
decide. (Is it a coincidence that he grew up to marry, bear a
son, and, as CEO, command a large financial services corpora-
tion while I have hopped, philosophically, from writing gig to
writing gig and girlfriend to girlfriend? I think not.)
Then, just as I was ready to start asserting my will and
needs, when I was six years old and my brother was eight,
my little sister was born, and suddenly “the baby” had to be
catered to. That left me, the middle one. The comic relief.
The diplomat. The forgotten child. (There was a brief, embar-
rassing period in my ostensibly adult life when I haunted
the self-help aisles of bookstores to better understand my
underemployment and general malaise; some of the phrases
I learned have stayed with me.)
I’m 54 now, marshmallow-less, chilly, induced to despair
by a savage seven-year-old and her once-dependable
brother. I’m having a challenging moment. The trip is not
turning out quite as I had planned.
“FAMILY RESENTMENTS WILL DRIFT AWAY LIKE
dandelion seeds on the summer wind,” I had
emailed my siblings last spring, lobbying for a
family backpacking trip. “Ancient enmities will melt like the
morning dew in a sun-kissed glade.”
“Whatever,” my sister had emailed back. “But you had bet-
ter not scare the kids with your stupid ghost stories.” (Isaac,
I learned later, had crept into the living room after my last
Colorado visit—at midnight, wide-eyed, refusing to return to
his bedroom. Under interrogation, Isaac admitted that he was
afraid that The Fingernail Mutant was going to get him and
that yeah, Uncle Stevie had told him about the monster.)
“You write pretty,” my brother had replied, “but that
doesn’t mean you’re not insane. No one has forgotten the
giant ham you bought Grandpa for Hanukkah.”
Why did my sister not trust me? Why couldn’t children
keep secrets? Why was my brother forever bringing up painful
episodes from the past? Also, for the record, at the time of the
Hanukkah Ham, I had been seeking a better understanding of
my place in the world. I had been seeking to understand other
holiday traditions and to bridge generational gaps. I had been
seeking to expand my family’s consciousness, and while it’s
true that I had also been smoking lots of marijuana, my shrink
assures me that I have always been a seeker, and that I should *
*
10.2010 BACKPACKER 95
honor that part of my emotional life, because it is sacred.
I had promised my sister—again—that I would not men-
tion The Fingernail Mutant or stolen livers. I told my brother
that I would not steal the chocolate when everyone else was
sleeping, as I’d been accused of doing on previous family
gatherings. Why couldn’t my relatives let go of the past?
What I didn’t say but what I thought was that a bonding
experience together under the stars might help us through
the transitional phases we had recently found ourselves in—
my brother suffering from acid reflux and lower-back pain
brought on, I felt, by overwork, impending global economic
apocalypse, and the imminent departure of his only son,
Eddie, to college; my sister, a single mother of two, living
with her kids and her boyfriend, the couple pondering the
attractions and perils of marriage; and I, girlfriendless, under-
employed, overweight, battling gout, and wondering if lying
about my age by approximately 13 years in my online dating
profile was “pathetic and sick,” as a disturbed, angry, and
distressingly hostile woman whose name I won’t mention
suggested, or merely cagey and forward-looking marketing.
It wasn’t just the grown-ups whom I was thinking of help-
ing. The trip would be good for the youngsters, too. It would
help with the I-dog’s capacious sense of awe and curiosity
regarding the natural world. Camping out would be good for
Eddie, who earns straight As, throws the javelin, plays gui-
tar, paints, is president of his school, and generally acts like
the kind of boy who will never find himself shuffling along
self-help book aisles. I thought some pine-scented, campfire-
smoked wisdom from Uncle Stevie might help prepare Eddie
for his freshman year of college.
But Iris? Would a backpacking trip help Iris? Iris is some-
what of a mystery. On one hand, she is already fairly hardy.
When she was five, in the dead of a frigid mountain winter,
she spent the better part of three months in a grass skirt and
a coconut bra and flip-flops. A year earlier, when she was
four, she had been informed by her older brother during
lunchtime that “Hey, Irie, you know where that hamburger
comes from? It comes from a cow. That’s right, you’re eating
a dead cow right now. Ha ha. Moo. Ha ha.”
“You’re stupid,” Iris had said, calm as a giant toad, then she
returned to her lunch, working over her burger, tearing at it
as the wild African spotted dog tears at the baby wildebeest.
“Mmmmm,” she said, smacking her lips, “cow meat!”
Recently, she has adopted some new favorite phrases.
One is “Seriously!” The other is “I’m very angry!” Uttered
together, the words have made adults weep. They are uttered
together now, after my sister has told me to shut up about the
Comanches, after Isaac has turned on me, after the blue-eyed
mountain beast has swallowed an entire chocolate bar, con-
sidered her surroundings, and delivered her crie d’estomac.
“S’mores!” the tiny omnivore howls. “I’m very angry!
Seriously!”
A MONTH BEFORE THE TRIP, I TELEPHONE MY SISTER
to get her in line with my plans for camping
above treeline.
“Mr. Comfort is going to push for something wimpy,”
I tell her. Mr. Comfort is my brother’s nickname, which he
earned over the years by, whenever backpacking, lugging two
pillows, fresh tomatoes, hammocks, a reclining chair, one or
two hardback books, salt and pepper shakers, and an extra-
long, inflatable air mattress. Mr. Comfort is a complicated man.
In his professional life, he is demanding and hyper-focused.
But he also finds a way to take a short nap every afternoon,
no matter his location or social obligations, or the value of the
stock market. He is implacable about this, but never overly
confrontational. He is like a combination of Rupert Murdoch,
Gandhi, and Yoda—but lazier. Lately, he has been lobbying
for hiking trips on which no hiking actually takes place, on
horses. “Or at least some llamas that could carry our stuff.”
“And Mr. Comfort is going to want to camp for only one
night. So you have to promise to stick with me on the plans,
OK? Two nights, Ice Lakes Basin. No horses or anything.”
“I’ll back you, but no ‘I Want My Liver’ story for the kids.”
“That’s not just a story; it’s a parable. It’s a powerful nar-
rative and…”
“No promise, no deal.”
Mr. Comfort and Eddie (Mrs. Comfort stays home) and
I all arrive at my sister’s in Durango,
Colorado, on a Monday afternoon in
early August. Over dinner, I review
the plans for the next day. I extol the
wonders of the Ice Lakes Basin, the
lunar splendor of the tundra-y land-
scape, its spongy beauty and stark,
annihilating isolation.
“I can hike up any mountain!” screams
Iris, who has just finished assaulting a
brick-sized piece of lasagna. “I’m like a
mountain goat! Seriously!”
After dinner, while everyone else
drives to a hot springs for a prehike soak, I recline on the
couch to read more about Ice Lakes, which I have never tech-
nically visited. When the group returns, I encourage everyone
to get a good night’s sleep, because we have an adventurous
three days ahead.
“Um, Steve,” my brother says, “actually, we’re not going in
I told my brother that I would not steal the chocolate when everyone else was sleeping, as I’d been accused of doing on previous family gatherings. Why couldn’t my relatives let go of the past?
*
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When our mother asked what kind of
cake he was going to serve at his 50th
birthday party, he replied, “Why do
you want to know?” When, a few years
ago, at my shrink’s urging, I delivered a
10-minute soliloquy over the telephone
to Mr. Comfort, which I had written out
in advance, regarding the decades of
jealousy, resentment, admiration, and
love I had felt for him, and admitted
that sometimes I hadn’t expressed those
feelings in a way that demonstrated
ownership for my actions, and after
I had vowed to be more emotionally
transparent and kind as we moved into
middle age, he replied, “So noted.”)
“I can’t believe she lets Iris hold her
emotionally hostage,” I tell my brother.
“Mmmm-hmm,” Mr. Comfort replies.
“Children want boundaries,” I say,
tossing a bag of chips into the cart, then
steering toward the dairy section, where
I plan to get some whipped cream, in
case anyone needs a hot fudge sundae
to build strength on the night before we
hike in. “They need boundaries.”
“Uh-huh.”
tomorrow. And we’re not going to Ice
Berg Lake…”
“Ice Lakes Basin. Not Ice Berg Lake!
Ice Lakes Basin! ”
“Yeah, whatever. We’re going to hike
to Highland Mary Lake and stay one
night. It’s six not-too-steep miles, and
it’s got some nice, hilly campsites.”
“What?” I glare at my sister, who
won’t meet my eyes.
“It was her idea,” my brother says.
He has never shied from delivering
unpleasant truths.
“Iris doesn’t want to go tomorrow,”
my sister says. “She’s been on the go
for the past two weeks, and I don’t
want to fight with her in the morning.”
“She’s a seven-year-old!” is what I
want to say. “Make her go!” is what
I want to say. “That’s what mothers
do. They make their kids do things!
You think I wanted to walk to school
on rainy days when the worms were
crawling all over the sidewalks? You
think I wanted to eat mom’s tuna cas-
serole just because you liked it, or mow
the lawn, because Don was hogging
the rake? You think I liked that disgust-
ing bubble gum swill they called ice
cream at Baskin Robbins? You think I
liked it when mom brought you in for
my first-grade show-and-tell, when I
told her very clearly that I really would
have rather presented the giant, dead
caterpillar I had found in the backyard?
You think I liked that?”
But I say none of it. I think it,
though, I think it hard.
“So we’re only going for one night?” I
ask. “And we’re camping in the woods?”
What I mean is, “So the middle
child gets screwed again? So number
two son is ignored one more time, in
a lifetime of getting ignored? So good
old Uncle Stevie takes another one for
the fucking team?”
“I suspected you would be the one
to turn,” I say to Mr. Comfort the next
day, as we load up on trail mix, graham
crackers, and chocolate at a local gro-
cery store. “I didn’t think our sister was
going to stab me in the back.”
“Yeah, well,” Mr. Comfort says. (Over-
sharing is not one of my brother’s sins.
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“You know,” I say, “I was talking to
my shrink last week about the plight of
the forgotten child and…”
“Hey, Steve,” my brother says, “if
you’re planning to sneak the chocolate,
why don’t you just buy a few extra bars
this time? Save some drama.”
THE TRAILHEAD IS A HAPPY
place, filled with the prom-
ise of adventure and the
soothing properties of nature. I am
filled with optimism, as I usually am at
trailheads. I’m so filled with optimism
that I mention, yet again, how this
would be a beautiful day for a real
hike—to a glacial basin—and I reflect
on the spongy beauty of the tundra we
will not be climbing to.
“Give it a rest,” my sister says.
“It’s sad that your mom has no sense
of adventure,” I say to Isaac, who I still
think of as my ally, even though he
squealed about The Fingernail Mutant.
I consider forgiveness and generosity of
spirit to be two of my greatest strengths.
“You mean the kind of adventure
sense that inspired the Hanukkah
Ham?” Mr. Comfort asks.
“Is that like fancy holiday pig meat?”
Iris wants to know.
“Your Uncle Stevie is silly some-
times,” my sister says to her daughter.
“I’m a seeker,” I say. “Seekers seek.
When will everyone understand that?”
“How about seeking your backpack
and putting it on,” my sister says. “I
want to get in before dark. And it looks
like it might rain.”
Mr. Comfort triple-checks to
make sure all the chocolate bars are
accounted for, and then my sister’s boy-
friend announces that it’s time to go.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
I ask.
“What,” my sister says, “do you want
to complain some more?”
“Don’t you think we need to agree
on our trail names?”
“Why do we have to have trail
names?” Isaac asks.
“We have to have trail names
because of safety concerns, mostly,” I
explain. “Say we’re up at our Highland
Mary campsite, which is dangerous to
start with because of the hidden perils
lurking everywhere in the surrounding
forest, unlike at a campsite in a glacial
basin, where you can see everything.
Then a bear, or a mountain lion, or a
plague-carrying marmot attacks, and
someone cries for help. And say, for
example, I-dog, it’s you, so you yell,
‘Hey, Steve!’ or ‘Mom!’”
“Yeah?” Isaac asks. Attacks by wild
animals continue to captivate him. I
love my young nephew and our sacred
teaching moments. Sometimes I suspect
he might be a seeker, too.
“Well, who knows if there might be
other campsites near where we are, and
maybe there will be someone named
Steve there, and another mom, and
none of the adults will be absolutely
positive if it’s he or she who is being
screamed to, or someone else, and that
split second hesitation could spell the
difference between life and death.”
“And it would not be fun to find
yourself between the gaping jaws of a
grizzly!” says Eddie, who has already
*
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benefited from some sacred teaching
moments. “Not fun at all!”
“Seriously!” Iris says.
“That makes sense,” Isaac says. “It
really does. Mom, I think Uncle Stevie
is right on this.”
“Great,” my sister snarls. “Friggin’
awesome. Trail names. OK, let’s have
’em. Give us our goddamn trail names.”
Iris is, of course, Jaws. Mr. Comfort,
at Isaac’s insistence, will henceforth
be known as Dr. Comfort “because it
sounds cooler.” My sister’s boyfriend, a
weirdly calm and sweet-natured guy, is a
captain of the Durango Fire Department,
and hyper-efficient with power tools. He
is The Captain, obviously.
Eddie, at Isaac’s behest, will be
addressed as Hulk because his forearms
are the approximate size of well-fed
anacondas. I suggest The Professor for
Isaac, but he says he’d rather be Ice,
“because it sounds cooler.” I ignore my
sister’s proffering of “Piggy,” “Infant,”
and “SlowMo,” and accept Ice’s sug-
gestion: Java Junkie. (In efforts to self-
medicate my inclination to stillness and
over-philosophizing, I recently upped
my caffeine intake to nine cups a day.)
“What’s mom’s trail name?” Jaws asks.
“I think we’ll call your mom
Quisling,” I say.
“Quis what?” Ice asks.
“Well, children,” I tell them, as the
three of us share another sacred teach-
ing moment and, at my urging, a giant
bar of milk chocolate. “A long time ago,
when the Nazis were going to invade
Norway, one of the head Norwegians
kept promising all the nice people
there that he would fight the Nazis, and
the Norwegians believed him, because
they were nice, and they trusted people
when they made promises, because
that’s what nice, kind, decent people
do, but in secret the head Norwegian,
whose name was Quisling, was plot-
ting to give away the country to the
Nazis, who were really, really bad. So
when someone promises something,
like your mom promised Uncle Stevie,
but then betrays the person…”
“Fine,” my sister snaps. “I’m friggin’
Quisling. Now can we please get going,
because I’d like to have our camp set
up before dark. And I see clouds.”
At a mile and a half, I feel drizzle. I
had packed a lightweight water-resistant
jacket rather than a heavier water-
proof one because, as I explained to
Isaac during a sacred teaching moment,
“An experienced camper has to make
decisions every second, and it’s more
important to travel light than to bur-
den oneself, especially considering that
we’re not traveling to monsoon coun-
try.” After two miles, the drizzle has
turned to a steady downpour. Then the
downpour turns to hail, with thunder.
Then I, who happen to be about 20
yards ahead of everyone, reflecting on
the hard and lonely path of the seeker,
am almost struck by a jagged bolt of
lightning. It’s later alleged by some in
the group that I jumped in the air and
turned 180 degrees in one move. I
might have screamed, too. I scurry back
to the group. To my great displeasure,
the children are laughing.
“You jumped really high,” Jaws says.
We gather under a tree and discuss
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100 BACKPACKER 10.2010
whether that’s such a good idea in
a lightning storm. But at least we’re
protected from the downpour, so we
stand, huddled into a tight group, not
talking, watching the lightning, listening
to the thunder. It’s cold, and at least one
of us is soaked. We crouch so closely
together that we’re touching.
When the rain stops, we resume
our trek, ending up an hour later at
the third of the Highland Mary Lakes,
a half-mile-long, 300-yard-wide smear
of shimmering blue. Ice and Hulk pitch
their tent in a protected spot with good
views of the lake, Quisling and the
Captain claim an area a little closer to
the rocky shore, and I suggest to my
brother that we spread our gear on a
nearby hilltop, because it seems the
safest spot around.
“Isn’t this where lightning will most
likely strike?” Dr. Comfort asks.
I explain to him that we’ll be able
to see any approaching predators, that
camping is all about tradeoffs and risk-
assessment. The CEO grunts. He’s even
quieter than usual. I know that he’s
worked the last 10 weekends, and that
his acid reflux and back pain have been
worsening, and that the college appli-
cations piling up on the dining room
table provide bittersweet reminders
that Eddie will soon be leaving home.
I suggest to Dr. Comfort that he might
be going through an important transi-
tional phase in his life, and perhaps if
he opened up a bit about his feelings,
he would feel better. He grunts again.
I look upward at what are now angry,
swollen clouds. I feel my eyes moisten.
I identify with the obese clouds. (My
nickname as a toddler was “butterball.”)
The dark clouds continue to gather.
AFTER OUR TENTS ARE SET
up, hammocks situated, a
kitchen area built, and gen-
eral campsite preparation taken care of,
the rain returns, so we all retire to our
tents. While Dr. Comfort sleeps, I listen
to the tapping of rain. A few minutes
after the tapping stops, Isaac opens the
tent zipper and sticks his head in.
“Java Junkie?” he says.
“Yes, Ice.”
“I think I heard a feral dog pack
down by the lake. I think they might be
getting ready to attack the camp!”
And so it comes to pass that Ice and
I “secure the perimeter,” which involves
peering toward the lake and throwing
rocks at bushes and, after making Ice
promise not to tell, splitting a chocolate
bar I steal from the group food bag.
After that we stroll down to the lake’s
edge, where we sit on a slab, stare into
the crepuscular gloom, and skip rocks.
“Junkie,” my nephew asks, between
throws, “do all criminals smoke?”
“I don’t think so.”
“In the movies, they seem to.”
“Good point, Ice. Maybe later, we’ll
try to make a list of history’s worst crim-
inals who didn’t smoke. I think Attila
the Hun didn’t smoke, for example.
And Jack the Ripper.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember when you
told me about him.”
“And Hitler. Don’t forget Hitler.”
“Cool,” he says. Then, “Junkie?”
“Yes, Ice.”
“What are the approximate chances
an asteroid will hit our campsite tonight?”
I skip a rock. I regard my philoso-
phizing nephew. My fellow seeker.
I tell him I consulted some cosmo-
logical websites and took some sextant
readings from New York City while I
was planning the trip, and that we’re
definitely safe here for the next day or
so, and then we skip some more rocks.
We throw stones in silence for a
while, and an hour later, the rain stops,
and we gather for dinner. Everyone but
Quisling, who, the Captain informs us,
is not feeling well. She’s suffering from
a headache and upset stomach.
The Captain heads out over the
soaked landscape on a doomed mis-
sion to gather wood, and Dr. Comfort
starts to work on dinner. That leaves
the children and me. I glance toward
the tent, estimate the distance, and
decide Quisling is likely out of earshot.
“Now, kids, you need to be really
quiet, and promise not to tell Mommy
the secrets I’m going to tell you tonight.
Do you know which tribe of Indians
was renowned for making torture an art
form, for how the tribe’s warriors could
strip a man’s flesh until all that was left
were nerve endings and eyeballs?”
“I think they’re called Native
Americans, Stevie,” Ice says.
*
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“His name is Java Junkie!” Jaws
says. “And you’re stupid! And I am
very angry. Very Angry!”
“Both of you are right,” I say.
“They are called Native Americans,
and because we’re in the wilderness,
it’s better to stick with our trail names.”
Then I tell them the terrible secrets
of the mighty Comanches, and my sister
threatens to throw the kids in my tent if
they have nightmares, and I tell the kids
that Mom is a little cranky sometimes.
“Dinner!” Dr. Comfort yells, and after
Jaws runs to her mother’s tent (where
she will also be sleeping), and reports
that Quisling will not be getting out
of the tent anytime soon, the rest of
us gather to eat Dr. Comfort’s noodles
with salami. Then Dr. Comfort boils
water for hot chocolate and distributes
it to the kids. I go off in search of
s’mores ingredients, and after conduct-
ing my first futile hunt for marshmal-
lows, I tell Dr. Comfort that I would
like some hot chocolate, too, so he
prepares me a cup. Only after I take a
gulp do I notice that the water he has
used for my hot chocolate is heating,
but not bubbling.
“Has this water boiled?” I ask.
“I think so,” Dr. Comfort says.
I take a seat and spend a few
moments envisioning the giardia and
other invisible but virulent bugs cur-
rently backstroking through my diges-
tive system. Then I notice the moonlight
is no longer so light. Clouds are massing
over our campsite again. The Captain
returns with a huge armful of wood,
which should make me feel grateful,
but instead sparks envy and anger that
he found wood in this misty hell.
I seek. I seek hard. Why do I so
seldom find?
My hands are shaking and I notice
myself stumbling and gasping more
than usual. Altitude? The cold? Jet lag?
Or the fastest case of water poisoning
ever? I still can’t remember where I
stuck the marshmallows. Will the kids
notice if we have marshmallow-less
dessert? Maybe the kids won’t remem…
“I WANT S’MORES!” Jaws screams.
“YOU PROMISED S’MORES!!!”
Finally, after Jaws feeds on some
chocolate, and screams some more, and
I find the marshmallows, we all settle
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102 BACKPACKER 10.2010
around the now-blazing fire. I suggest
we join hands and pray to the mountain
gods to keep rain and predators away
tonight, because I think it’s good for
children to grow up with faith in some
sort of divine power. Then I get back to
the bloodthirsty Comanches.
As I settle into the story, the moon
rises across the lake and the wind dies
and the only sounds are the crackling of
the fire and the lapping of water on the
rocks. The moment feels sacred.
“Children,” I say, “I’m not sure I
should bring this up, because there
are grown-ups around who don’t think
you’re old enough to hear this story.”
“Sweet!” the Hulk says. “Is it time for
I Want My Liver?”
“I’m old enough, Uncle Stevie,” Iris
says. “Really, I am. Seriously!”
“OK, Jaws, but before I start the
story, everyone’s got to promise not to
tell Mom, OK?”
They agree and I reflect silently on
the subtle and varied types of trust one
encounters in life, and how my sister
might regard the telling of the “I Want
My Liver” tale as a technical violation of
the trust she has placed in me. I worry
about this for a second or two, then
I share the story of the well-meaning
but mischievous little Billy, his dead
and suddenly liver-less grandmother,
the bloody Swiss Army knife gripped
in little Billy’s sweaty fingers, and the
lessons we can all take from the tale.
Then we visit Quisling in her tent,
where Jaws mentions to her mom that
some Native Americans used to strip
flesh from their victims and maybe the
Native Americans used to camp right
here and my sister cuts me a nasty look,
and then we all retire for the evening. A
few hours later, I wake with a splitting
headache, an urge to puke, and a suspi-
cion that Dr. Comfort has poisoned me.
DAWN BREAKS CLEAR AND
chilly and damp. When I
stumble to the campfire, the
others are already finishing their gra-
nola. We wish Ice happy 11th birthday
and then Quisling, who is feeling bet-
ter, tells her son’s birth story, which
involves a yurt, a midwife, horrified
grandparents, and a lot of burning sage.
I sit on a rock, drinking coffee, next
to my brother and sister, watching their
offspring break camp.
“God,” my sister says, looking at
Hulk as he expertly disassembles a
tent, then shows Ice how it should be
packed. “I remember when Eddie was a
baby, just a mushy, smiling little lump.”
“Yep,” Dr. Comfort says. Is he
remembering the infancy of his strap-
ping son? Is he musing on the glory
of growing up, the tragedy of growing
old? Is he, I allow myself to wonder,
wishing he would have granted his
sensitive younger brother one measly
little trip to Velvet Freeze when we
were young? With Dr. Comfort, it’s hard
to know. But his face looks more slack
up here, more relaxed.
Iris sprints over the hills in her flip-
flops, chasing a butterfly. I wonder
if she’ll try to swallow it. Isaac’s and
Eddie’s heads touch as they roll the tent.
“I wonder what the boys are plot-
ting,” my sister says, and suddenly I
remember being Ice’s age, rolling up
sleeping bags and shooting marbles
and riding bikes to Kranson’s drug store
with Dr. Comfort, when he was still
called “Donnie,” both of us dispatched
there by our mother to buy her pack-
ages of Kent cigarettes. She was preg-
nant with Baby Quisling at the time,
and at the drugstore, my big brother
and I would drink grape soda and read
Hawkman and Green Lantern comic
books. I remember hearing grown-ups
call us “the boys” and my eyes sud-
denly start leaking.
“Are you OK?” Dr. Comfort asks.
The sun is shining but my view is
watery, soft-focus. Due to some back-
country miracle, I feel optimistic and
emotionally shattered at the same time.
My sister peers at my contorted face.
“Maybe he’s just overcome with terri-
ble guilt,” Quisling says, “because I’ll be
paying shrink bills for the next 20 years
while my children are having night-
mares about eyeball-eating Apaches.”
“Comanches,” I correct her, through
my tears, “and they didn’t eat the eye-
balls. They just stripped the fles…”
“Jesus Christ, Steve!” my sister shouts.
“You can be such…”
“What?” I ask.
“I mean, really, don’t you reali…”
“WHAT?”
*
She sighs. Her shoulders sag. But she
knows. Seekers seek.
“I mean, Jesus Christ, Java Junkie.”
“Thank you, Quisling,” I say, and
then it’s time to hike out.
HULK AND ICE LEAD THE WAY,
followed by a skipping,
trilling Jaws, then, hold-
ing hands, Quisling and The Captain.
Dr. Comfort comes next, and I follow,
regarding the group, thinking about
family camping trips in general, this trip
in particular, and my future. I wonder
if I might be happier if I moved to
Durango, living closer to women who
spend more time outside and less time
hunched over cell phones. I might
be able to contribute more to soci-
ety’s general good if I were intimately
involved in the day-to-day lives of Jaws
and Ice. I ponder the positive ways I
might help mold their characters. With
painstaking training, I believe Jaws
could be turned into an elite athlete,
or a highly paid professional assassin.
With enough sacred teaching moments,
I might help shape Ice into a critically
acclaimed novelist, or a cult leader.
My eyes start leaking again. I feel a
philosophical urge coming.
“Hey, Ann?” Ann is Quisling’s given
name. “Sorry I told the kids the ‘I Want
My Liver’ story. I know I promised.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You know, you were a pretty cute
baby,” I say. “I actually was glad Mom
brought you for show-and-tell that one
time. I know it wasn’t your fault I never
got to bring in my dead caterpillar.”
“Really? You forgive me for using
my two-month-old telepathic powers
to make Mom ruin your big first-grade
moment with your friggin’ dead cater-
pillar? Jesus, Steve, do you ever think
maybe you should fire your shrink?”
I know she doesn’t mean it. I know
that she’s a good sister, her shocking
treachery regarding the Ice Lakes Basin
notwithstanding, and a good mother,
even though she needs to crack down
more, especially on Iris.
By now I have caught up to Dr.
Comfort. “So,” I ask my brother, “what
was your absolute favorite moment of
the trip? The campfire? The s’mores?”
“When we were under the trees, in
the thunderstorm,” Dr. Comfort says,
which surprises me.
“Really?”
“It was a reminder of how powerless
we are in the face of nature,” he says,
“and how we just have to surrender to
it, and when we do, everything is all
right. It’s a reminder that we don’t have
to struggle so much.” It’s the longest
speech I have heard my brother make
in approximately three decades. It’s
also somewhat prophetic. After the trip,
he starts practicing yoga, stops fretting
over balance sheets on weekends, and
once, when my mother asks him what
they’ll be having for dinner on a night
when she is joining his family, he actu-
ally tells her.
We have been picking up our pace,
until we’re all hiking together.
“Quis?” I ask my sister. “How about
you? What was your favorite moment
of the trip?”
“Under the trees. Intimate, all
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storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
104 BACKPACKER 10.2010
together, and no one was complain-
ing.” (The outdoors and, I like to think,
our lightning-storm bonding work their
magic on Quisling, too. A few months
later, she and The Captain announce
plans to marry. I think I should get
more credit for the nuptials because I
proposed the camping expedition, but
that doesn’t happen. I’m working with
my shrink to let go of that resentment.)
“Ice?”
“Skipping rocks with you, learning
about Attila the Hun and Hit...”
I cough loudly.
“I mean, skipping rocks with you.”
“Hulk?”
“It was all cool.”
“Jaws?”
“S’mores!” cries the flesh-eating cherub.
Me? Has a camping trip with my clos-
est kin transformed me? I philosophize
about this when we arrive back in
Durango, at the house The Captain and
Quisling and the kids share. Inspired
by Dr. Comfort, who does the same, I
pad into an empty room and I lie down
and stare at the ceiling. What I see is
our cozy little campsite. What I hear is
the soft lapping of the mountain lake.
In the interest of efficient philoso-
phizing, I insert the earplugs I always
carry with me to family gatherings.
I stare at the ceiling some more.
Philosophizing with great intent, I return
to our campsite. It is the same place, but
it is different. Great, fat marshmallows
spill from easily accessible pouches. The
clouds are thin and wispy, not overweight,
and the children are well-behaved, and
everyone—even the adults—clamors for
the “I Want My Liver” tale. We recline on
spongy grass, happy and filled with love,
safe from predators, and the ground is soft
and we are in a glacial basin.
I hear a door slam, and the boys
shout. Then Iris screams that she’s hun-
gry. Seriously! I stuff my earplugs in a
little deeper and I put a pillow over my
eyes. I return to the magical campsite. I
seek the crackling fire, the family love,
the moonlit circle where marshmallows
are plentiful and forgotten children are
found, the hushed place where philoso-
phizers are exalted. I seek really hard.
Writer at Large Steve Friedman lives
all by himself in New York City.
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Continued from page 69
Killer Hike
does. We watch them disappear over
the next ridge.
That night we return empty-handed.
Ted is visibly pleased.
“Nothing killed today, fellas?” he
says. “What a shame.”
Centuries ago, kings employed
jesters to keep things lively and to
deliver hard truths in a nonthreatening
package. For Gator and me, Ted
plays the jester for our collective
conscience. He gives voice to the
inner hiker in both of us. All around
us, sportsmen speak of “harvesting”
deer, as if living creatures are barley.
Ted reminds us that we are, in fact,
killing animals.
Day three: Gator’s last chance at a deer. We decide to hit it hard, hunting
the Blue Mountains’ ponderosa pine
forests in the morning and working the
isolated Grande Ronde River breaks in
the afternoon.
At first light, Gator and I and Shaun
Bristol, who has joined us for the
morning, set up on the edge of a
Blue Mountain meadow. We’d seen
some does browsing in the field at
dusk the previous night, and figure
we might catch a buck among them
this morning. We lean against the
rough bark of the ponderosas, trying
to blend in and remain motionless.
If open-field hunting is all about
covering ground and flushing game,
forest hunting requires opposite
tactics: Hide and wait for the prey to
come to you. Or so we think. We’re
hunting for the first time without
Jennifer—a solo flight of sorts.
As Gator creeps forward for a better
view, a spear of meadow barley nails
him in the eye. “God damn,” he says,
pulling the barbs out of his eyelid.
“Um, guys…” Shaun is trying to get
our attention.
“Did you get it out?” I ask. Gator
shakes his head.
“Guys…” Shaun says. I look back at
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10.2010 BACKPACKER 109
BACKPACKER (ISSN 0277-867X) is published nine times a year (January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October and November) by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., 475 Sansome St., Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94111; subscriptions are $29.98 per year in the U.S., $42.98 CDN in Canada, $42.00 elsewhere (surface mail). Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BACKPACKER, PO Box 50022, Boulder, CO 80322-0022. GST #R122988611. BACKPACKER publications, including GearFinder®, Waypoints®, and Adventure Travel®, are registered trademarks of Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. © 2008 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Volume 38, Issue 280, Number 8, October 2010. Subscribers: If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within 2 years.
him. He points to two whitetail bucks quietly crossing the
road 20 yards behind us.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say. The deer catch our
movement and bolt into the forest. I laugh at the thought of
Gator and me standing there, Jethro and Elmer Fudd, as our
prey fearlessly strolls by.
In the afternoon, we load our packs with food and water
and hitch a ride to the rim of the Grande Ronde River canyon.
The Grande Ronde, a tributary of the Snake, unwinds like
a curling ribbon through the Columbia Plateau near the
Oregon-Washington border. It’s world
famous for its steelhead, and the dry,
brushy ravines above the river are
prime habitat for deer, coyote, wild
turkey, chukar, black bear, elk, and
bighorn sheep.
We have a plan. Gator and I will
start about a quarter-mile apart at the
top of the rim, then pick our way
down in a V that meets at the bottom
of the ravine. I’ll flush the deer in
Gator’s direction.
As I heel plunge down the scab-land ravine, my eyes
scanning for movement, Gator in my periphery, a sort of
perfect moment comes over me. My own hunt is done.
Because I’ve already bagged my deer, I can relax and enjoy
the hike, the camaraderie, the strategy and cunning, the
suspense, and the pure joy of physical movement in the wild.
Gator, on the other hand, hunts with all the pressure and
anxiety of a live trigger. If you’re doing it right, hunting comes
with a huge responsibility. You’ve got to line up a good
shot, not carelessly wound the animal, not shoot something
illegal, not crack off an errant bullet that flies into a house a
half-mile away, and not kill your partner. It’s not that far from
mountain climbing, in fact. A certain amount of danger and
risk enhances the experience of moving across wild terrain. It
revs up your adrenaline and puts the senses on edge. Hunting
combines strategy, motion, experience, skill, and danger.
It does something else, too. By the end of our three-
day hunt, I feel like I’ve been given a fresh pair of eyes.
Landscapes that were once barren to me become lush and
vibrant, alive with life, crackling with possibility. Where once
I saw lowland scrub—white noise for a backpacker—now I
see a living habitat where rosehip bushes function as secret
deer beds. Blank hillsides aren’t blank at all; they’re terraced
with game trails. I see water and imagine the animals it might
draw. I start to think like a predator. To be perfectly frank,
hiking as a hunter is fun.
After a couple of hours, I’ve flushed only a doe and a
mangy coyote from the brush. Gator and I take a break. The
late-afternoon sun beats down, and we strip off layers.
“I don’t know if it’s in the cards for us today,” I say.
That’s when Gator spots the buck.
It’s just below us, in a dry creekbed: Mule deer, a buck
of unknown antler points. The deer takes off uphill, moving
over a ridge before Gator can get a look through the scope.
Gator scrambles across the creekbed and muscles up the
ravine. I follow for a while, but I’m in no shape to be chasing
uphill after a man who has climbed Rainier 190 times.
The buck keeps moving high. Gator follows. Over one
ridge, then another. I shadow them from below. Finally, Gator
peeks over the edge of the last ridge and puts the buck in his
crosshairs. The deer stares back at him.
“He was at an angle where his antlers lined up exactly
in a row,” Gator later tells me. “So
I couldn’t get a read on his points. I
couldn’t confirm that he was legal.”
They stood there like that, frozen for
a few moments. Then the deer turned.
Gator saw the antlers—a three-pointer,
legal—but the deer’s butt was angled
toward him. A lousy gut shot if he took
it. A wounded deer, the meat spoiled.
Plenty of hunters have pulled the
trigger in that situation.
Gator didn’t.
As the sun fades behind the canyon’s rim, we hike out
through an old apple orchard to a road beside the river.
There, Jennifer, Shaun, and Ted—a happy, relieved Ted—
greet us with a warm truck and cold beer.
“Well, what do you think of hunting now?” Jennifer
asks me.
“Harder than it looks,” I say. “But a hell of a lot of fun.”
“Are you going to become a hunter now, Bruce?” Ted asks.
It will take some time, some reflection, before I can answer
that question with any certainty. To do it right, hunting
requires long-term preparation. The payoffs, though, can’t
be expressed in antlers or meat. Hunting offered this lifelong
hiker an enriching and profound new way to interact with
the land. Different landscapes opened up to me. I’ve met the
Cabela’s crowd on their turf and, hopefully, shattered some
of their own stereotypes about fleece-wearing treehuggers.
So call me a hunter. I’ve got visitation rights with my rifle,
and if someone asks me to join his deer camp next season,
I just might grab it and go.
Bruce Barcott brought home 55 pounds of venison from this
hunt. He wrote about mapping his new home, Washington’s
Bainbridge Island, for the May 2010 issue.
Landscapes that
were once barren
to me become lush
and vibrant, alive
with life, crackling
with possibility.
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
110 BACKPACKER 10.2010
TE
XT B
Y R
AC
HE
L K
IELY
Eye
Sky
+
Some 7,000 years ago, a volcano
erupted and collapsed on itself, form-
ing the caldera in which this lake now
sits. Originally and oh-so-imaginatively
named Deep Blue Lake by early gold
prospectors, this dazzling body of
water is about six miles wide and
nearly 2,000 feet deep. Can you name
the lake and the park it lies in?
1,852Total backcountry
permits issued by
the park in 2009
1Tally of places you
can legally swim
in the lake. You
access the spot via
a strenuous, 2.2-
mile round-trip hike
with 700 feet of
elevation gain.
38Average water tem-
perature, in degrees
Fahrenheit
1977Release date of a
B-list (OK, C-list)
horror flick about a
meteor that crashes
into this lake, caus-
ing a dinosaur to
hatch from a bur-
ied egg and start
feasting on locals
throughout this area
90Miles of hiking trails
in the park
38Price, in dollars, of
a boat ride to the
larger of the lake’s
two islands. The
764-vertical-foot
hike up the island’s
cinder cone reveals
a crater 300 feet
across and almost
100 feet deep.
Big Blue
in the
//////
WIN! Name this lake, and the park it’s in, for a chance to win a
Mountain Hardwear Hooded Compressor PL jacket (men’s and
women’s versions available). Go to backpacker.com/skyeye for
contest rules. Entries due by September 29.
AUGUST ISSUE ANSWER Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park WINNER Shawn Donahue, Redding, MA
Satellite image by GeoEye
30Number of Snickers
you can scarf to
replace the calo-
ries you’ll burn on
the park’s 33-mile
Pacific Crest Trail
segment
1949The last year the
lake’s surface com-
pletely froze
storemags & fantamag - magazines for all
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