Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with hike

GPS suited to waypoint fastpacking sought, for GPS newbie.

penciltopper — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:46:52 -0800

Outdoor tech: GPS units - for backpacking, not for a car? Looking for something best suited to solo already-know-waypoint 2-3 day fastpacks. To repeat, I'm not looking for a TomTom or anything else that is GPS for a car.

My time available for backpacking, both on and off trail, is getting limited for the next few years, and it looks like I'll be soloing almost all the time. My idea is that I'd start saving planning time and trail days by doing "canned" GPS waypoint trips, like those found in Backpacker as fastpacks - carry less, lighter gear and/or resupply and cover miles fast vs. taking a week to cover the same miles carrying a week of plush gear and food.

But I don't have a GPS for that and haven't used one before. I can use a topo and compass, and will be taking one anyway, but I'm looking for something that will help get me from trailhead to waypoint to waypoint and back without falling off a cliff or getting lost. So I think something pretty basic should do fine.

But I have questions about features from real-world users:
1) I don't need, and won't be buying, models with 3-D holographic topo maps on a 10-inch display. But is there a big benefit you've seen between a b&wLCD simple direction-and-distance indicator and a color LCD with a small map section?
2) Even though I'll be soloing, I'm not very interested in personal locator beacons - but are the models with built-in walkie-talkies, like the Rino, worth it? Again, I'd be soloing, so it would only be to contact help in emergencies, not to keep track of a team.
3) Hardware things to consider that a GPS newbie knows nothing about: Batteries? Connecting to a PC to load waypoints/maps? Are there several GPS standards/frequencies/formats that I should be aware of when shopping?

Good hiking trails in Carmel, NY?

KateHasQuestions — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:46:51 -0800

Good hiking trails around Carmel, NY, preferably at Ninham Mountain? Either google has failed me or I'm doing something wrong. Are there good hiking trails in Carmel, NY? I know Ninham Mountain should be the tallest one in the area, does anyone know where any of the trails start? I'd need directions for how to drive up to the trail and everything. Trail should be at least a couple miles long, but not 15 miles long (I've seen some mountain bike trails for the area, but would like to see if there are shorter hikes). If the trail ended in a nice scenic view from the top of the mountain that'd be great.

I'd prefer something within 5 miles of Carmel.

RoadTrip TipS!

madmamasmith — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:26:27 -0800

I'm going to Yellowstone in May , traveling from Austin TX via New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming then back through Kansas and Oklhoma. I would really appreciate recomendations for any cool places to stop along the way. Cool museums, cheap flea markets, places to buy cool jewelry, cool parks, places to camp, vegetarian resteraunts etc. And also the best places to stay in Yellowstone as thAT's where we'll be spending most of our time.

Help me find some awesome hiking in central CA.

kdar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:54:17 -0800

Where are some good day-hike areas along the CA central coast? My girlfriend and I are going to be hiking for a few days in a couple weeks in California. We'll be leaving from Santa Barbara, and originally the plan was to go to Monterey and hike around Big Sur, but doing research I'm wondering whether or not we should consider other areas. We're interested in areas between Santa Barbara (but not actually in Santa Barbara; Morro Bay has come up as a good possibility) and the Big Sur area. Also, we'd like to stay in a hotel/motel -- cheap is fine, but if the only accommodations are camping sites, that's unfortunately out.

So, what are people's favorite day-hike areas? Specific examples would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I like elevation changes.

Bonus: with the UC spring break coming up, will that affect things at all?

Please help me climb Kili on a volunteer's budget...

allkindsoftime — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:16 -0800

Kilimanjaro-filter. I want to climb it. I don't want to pay $3k pp. Help, please. A friend and I are looking to do a Kili climb in mid-to-late March. Problem is we're a bit awash in the number of tour operators, options, and the big swinging price-range. We will likely be coming to Kili from Johannesburg, SA (returning to the same).

Flights right now look to be around $1k US and the cheapest climbs I've found are around $1.5k, and 2.5 is about .5 higher than my budget. I don't want to skimp on the operator we go with, but I would like to get the best deal for our money. We can't do a very long trip - only 5-6 days on mountain. I can't fathom paying $2k plus for just the climb alone.

I've seen packages from SA for under $2k US including flights, but they look to be budget-operators going up the Coca-Cola route. We're both in great shape, experienced backcountry / climbers (and familiar with our acclimation rates), and would like to do something a bit more off the beaten path, but still a relatively fast climb.

Anyone got any experience with this? I only found 1-2 previous questions on it. I'm particularly interested in what operators you went with, what your impression was of them, what route you took, and how much you dropped on the whole thing.

Yes, I know we are late season. Yes, I know our timeframe for climbing will limit our summit attempts. Yes, I know I don't want to go cheap on a budget operator.

THANKS.

Advice for big hike in Yosemite

The_Partridge_Family — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:19:33 -0800

Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point - I plan on spending next weekend in Yosemite, staying in a tent cabin at Curry Village and doing this hike with a friend. Has anyone done this trail and/ or have advice to offer? Any information would be useful - what to wear, what to bring, whether it'll be hot or cold, how much (and what) food to bring (and where to get it), turn around time, how to survive in a tent cabin after dark with no electricity, whether the included breakfast at Curry Village is worth the extra cash etc etc.

I know this question makes me sound a little clueless - I'm not, I'm just looking for any useful advice from experience. I've hiked a lot, but never a full day.

I do have the Lonely Planet guide to Yosemite, and we're both in our 30s in reasonably good shape.

Phoenix-Area Daytrips?

Alterscape — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:20:11 -0800

I'm looking for ideas for day/weekend-trips to interesting outdoors places around but outside the Phoenix, AZ metro area. Last weekend, my girlfriend and I drove up to the Montezuma Castle/Well national park in Camp Verde. Getting out of the city for a day was a wonderful experience, and we decided we'd like to commit to doing it together at least once a month. Unfortunately, we're both relatively new to this area and don't know what's outside the city that well. We both enjoy day-hiking and photography (and photographing interesting things while hiking) but other activities/types of places are interesting too, so long as they aren't in the city of Phoenix.

Any thoughts?

Aspens in New Mexico?

1f2frfbf — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:35:45 -0800

Amateur photographers want to find aspens in New Mexico. I will be visiting my father in Las Cruces, NM on the first week of October. We recently read in the National Geographic about the decline in Aspen populations, so we'd like to stage our own "Last Chance to See" trip. What's the best/closest place to go see a stand of aspen in a natural environment (ie. National or State Park, National Forest, etc), and how far would we have to go to find then in fall color?

Fast access to Escalante slots?

forallmankind — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:59:05 -0800

Searching flickr for Escalante slot reveals incredible photos of various slot canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. If I arrive in Escalante on Thursday night and wish to sleep in Salt Lake City on Friday night (meaning I can get there at any late hour), will it be possible to hit some slot canyons? The guidebooks I got out of the library (Fodors and Moon) are vague about specific hikes to get to the slots. I'm 35 and in good shape so I can tackle a good hike, but given the time constraint I'd prefer to err on the side of accessibility.

Good hikes around Seattle.

bamassippi — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:33:20 -0800

Good hikes around Seattle. Although it's raining right now outside my office window, us Seattleites are still hopeful for a beautiful Summer weekend.

I'm new(er) to the area and have yet to go on a good day-hike in the area. I've heard that Mt. Rainier National Park is beautiful, but I'm looking for any suggestions from the MeFi-ers.

What are some good (relatively easy/relaxing) hikes that you would suggest?

I don't want to drive more than 2 hours in one direction... gas is too dang expensive. (Also...do any buses run from the city to any parks? I'd love to spare mother nature, as well as my wallet.)

How bad can an insect bite be?

godawful — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:06:23 -0800

I was thinking of hiking in New England for three weeks this May. Was that is, until everyone started pitching in with scare stories of blackflies and other insects. Am I going to die? I have three weeks to play with in May. My plan was to try some of the Appalachian trail through Massachusetts and Vermont, maybe taking in some of the Long Trail in Vermont.

Only now I'm encountering stories about plagues of insects. How bad will it be? Even if they're everywhere, are their attacks really that bad?

Can one make this a mere inconvenience with suitable precautions?

Thanks everyone!

Hiking the Inca Trail

subtle-t — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:22:15 -0800

I have some questions about hiking the Inca Trail? We're planning to take a 2 week trip to Peru and Argentina in late July / early August. We're thinking of doing the first week in Peru (2 days in Cusco, 4 day hike, train back then fly to Buenos aires). I was wondering if any other mefites had done the hike lately. I think we'd probably prefer a package tour, is this the best way to go about it? What should I know about the hike generally?

Somewhat related question, we don't want to take all of our luggage on the hike, where in Cusco can we leave it for those four days?

I shall walk into the wild...

pallen123 — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:25:27 -0800

I shall walk into the wild maybe for a week or so, depending on the weather, blisters, etc. Who has recommendations for (relatively safe) *long* solitary walks in the U.S. or Canada? Specifically, I'm looking for a hike/trail/path that I can follow -- walking 7-10 hours a day, for 5-7 days in a row. No cell phone, no computer, no schedule. This would be a sort of annual retreat/walk/vacation/time-to-reset-my-body, that I'd like to do every year. Time to think, lose a few pounds, kick-up my metabolism, detox, chill out, regroup, spiritually recharge, etc. Assuming I don't want to carry a gun into the wild (to protect against critters or humans), where are some interesting, safe destinations??? I'm not a survivalist and I'm not looking for an adventure per se. Prefer a minimum of life-threatening hazards and/or 100+ degree temperatures or freezing nights.

Sore wallet=sore legs?

@homer — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:27:06 -0800

AT thru-hike on $5 a day. Possible? I'm beyond broke. I want to do the AT before the Robert Redford movie is released and traffic picks up. I'll have about $5 a day for food and whatever else comes up. I'm resigned to the fact that ramen, peanut butter and bagels will be my best friends. Is it worth the attempt or am I just plain nuts?

What to do in Royal Oak, MD?

handful of rain — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 06:52:07 -0800

Travel Advice Filter: I'll be in Annapolis and Royal Oak, Maryland, for a wedding this weekend. My husband and I will have a couple of pockets of time to use as we wish, and I'd appreciate first-hand advice on what to do in the area. I've done some searching on the web, but I'd very much appreciate input from people who have been to this area! The couple that's getting married hasn't provided much information along these lines, and I really hate to bother them about it this close to the big day. We'll probably have some time on Friday during the day (but will need to stay close to Royal Oak). We depart from BWI on Sunday night (we'll need to be at the airport by 5:00), so we'll have most of the day to explore (either there or in Annapolis, or someplace in between). We're probably most interested in restaurant recommendations and outdoor activities. Are there any good hikes or walks? I found what appears to be a state park near Annapolis, but the Google satelite maps make it look like a big marina.