Other states, other lives, other souls

Guest blogger and husband Phil Deering shares his tips on how to plan for multiday, long (and successful) hikes. If you read my last post April 5th, you know I will not be among the group of friends that takes these trips!!  More power to them.

For each of the last five years, I’ve taken long, multi-day backpacking trips, some of them over 100 miles long. Each trip has been with a group of 3 – 5 others. This year, in June, five of us will  be hiking the Coast-to-Coast Path in England, which extends 200 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. By now I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out how to plan a long trip so that it is safe and enjoyable. Even more important good planning helps ensure the friends you hike with remain friends.

1. Research, Research, Research: Once you’ve picked your general route, spend time reading (and in cases where there is video) watching reports from your route. Unless you’re some sort of super-extreme explorer, others have gone where you’re going. Their experiences will help you anticipate the challenges and the rewards. By learning from those who have already done your route, you’ll gather insight into how much stuff you need to carry. For example, if parts of the route don’t have much water available, you need to plan for that and carry more heavy water.

2. Refine the route and expectations based on your research. After reading trip reports, assess yourselves. Does it sound harder than you thought? Easier? Are there some boring or dangerous otherwise undesirable sections you want to avoid? Talk about it! What about the budget? Don’t forget to figure in the cost of getting to and from the trail. Will you rent a car and leave it somewhere for a week or two?  Are there shuttles to and from the trailheads?  This is the stage where you decide if your idea is doable given your time, ability, and budget.

3. Meet and Discuss: Understanding expectations, fears, joys, experience, etc. of everyone going on the trip goes a long way to reducing tensions and misunderstandings on a hike. And, it’s really unpleasant to have an argument or shouting or tears after a 12-mile day of wilderness hiking. Get together, drink wine, talk frankly. Go around the circle and have everyone answer questions like: “What I worry about is…” or “For me, this trip will be a success if I….”

4. Build a Spreadsheet: We’ve used Google Sheets to develop and share spreadsheets that give us the route, daily distances, information about meals we need to carry, resupply, and “notes” or comments. Because Google Sheets are free and shareable, everyone in the group can review, add comments, look for problem areas, etc. If you must cache food, note that on your spreadsheet. A link below gives you access to one we used for a long hike on the Olympic Peninsula. (A lot of the this trip was along the Wilderness Coast and tracking tides was important – thus the column labeled Tides.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mYaInNe-18sd6gQhUFM_QulSSPblOBiV9HTX9ovnquU/edit?usp=sharing

5. Figure out the long-lead-time things and get them done. For example, if you need permits, apply for those. The bureaucracies that grant permits are always overworked and slow. On one trip we had to send our food caches ahead to ranger stations in Mount Rainer National Park. advance. Those caches needed to be mailed 8 weeks prior to our trip. For the Coast to Coast hike, we’ve made reservations  at hostels and B and Bs.  Some trips, like the Medford Track or the Routeburn track in New Zealand require reservations up to a year in advance.

6. Take Less, Enjoy More: An ultralight revolution has occurred. The days of 30 pound packs are over! Hooray! In fact, my hiking buddies and I can go for 5 days, with all our food and water with packs that weigh less than 25 pounds on the first day. (The packs get lighter as you eat the food.)
   Ultralight enthusiasts talk about the Big Three which means the three heaviest things you need to carry: a pack, a shelter (tent) and a sleeping bag. Without too much trouble or expense, you can get equipment that will reduce the weight of these three pieces of gear to less than 9 pounds. Either invest in this gear or borrow or rent it.
   But just as important – take less stuff!
   Things you won’t need include:
   • deodorant, shaving gear, or beauty products,
   • a change of clothes (you will want to keep some clothes for sleeping dry, but that can be lightweight long underwear top and bottom),
   • too many warm clothes (bring enough, but mostly you’re either hiking (and stay warm due to exertion), or you’re in a sleeping bag and falling asleep.
   • a big first aid kit (all you’ll need is some duct tape, ibuprofen, Benadryl, some stuff for blisters, a gauze pad or two). Here’s a link to a nice discussion of toiletries and first aid kits.
   • Big tubes of heavy stuff like sunscreen. Just take a few tablespoons. Use a hat and long-sleeved shirt for most of you sun protection.
   • Heavy books: If you want to read, get a cheap, used, Kindle.
   • A big knife. Use one like this:

Also, as part of your planning talk to your hiking partners. Figure out gear the group can share. Everyone doesn’t need a cookpot or a stove. Everyone doesn’t need their own fuel cannister. Talk it through!

Final note on ultralight. Learn as you go. When you finish a trip, note what gear you didn’t use and leave it home next time. Also note what you really wish you had and bring it next time.

7. Plan Your Food: If you take too much food, you’re carrying a lot of extra weight. If you take too little food, you can get tired, cranky and you’ll spend too many brain cycles thinking about cheeseburgers instead of enjoying your walk. So, here’s what works for me:
   • Estimate how many calories you’ll need. I’ve found somewhere around 2500 calories a day works for me. (Lots of articles indicate you’ll need more, but it’s surprisingly hard to stuff down a lot of food after a long day of hiking).
   • If you plan right, you should be able to get 2500 calories in about 24 ounces of food. So for five days, your food might weigh about 7.5 pounds.
   • Think about meals you don’t have to carry. I.e.: the first day’s breakfast, the last day’s dinner, and will you walk through a town? Pick up food at the grocery or treat yourself to a cheeseburger!
   • Figure out calorie-dense foods you like to eat, and weigh out portions for each meal. Note that lots of “junk food” is calorie rich. Think of Goldfish, or Pringles or Mars Bars.
   • Others in my crowd disagree, but I don’t worry about “quality nutrition”. I figure for even ten days, my body can survive on a fair amount of junk food. And if you hike for eight hours a day, you will lose weight.
   • Full-fat powdered milk is high in calories and can supplement almost anything you eat.
   • The freeze-dried commercial meals almost never have enough calories. Supplement these meals with olive oil, or nuts or powdered milk or cheese.
   • We find that it works best for each hiker to prepare and pack their own breakfast and lunch. Then we cook dinner (cook = boil water and rehydrate something) together.
   • It turns out that about ½ of our suppers are the commercial freeze-dried meals (supplemented, see above) and ½ are meals we devise ourselves.
   • To make your own meals, start with a starch: (couscous, instant rice, dried mashed potatoes, ramen noodles), then add a protein (tuna or salmon in a pouch, nuts, cheese, etc.) then add spices and dried fruit or vegetables. Put it in a Ziploc bag. Write cooking instructions on the bag. Name it: (Cheesy Couscous Surprise, Curried Asian Noodles, etc. ). We try to have suppers add to about 850 – 1000 calories.
   • Oh, and if you imbibe, take along some booze. 1.5 – 2 ounces of scotch or bourbon are really nice right before supper! Of course, don’t bring the bottle. These are great flasks.
   • Check the internet for endless advice and recipes.

8. Plan stuff to talk about, or games to play or ways to keep it interesting. Spending 10 days in the wilderness is a great way to learn more about your friends. We’ve done: Tell your life story, where each person does just that (in any way they please). One person, each night around the fire. We also make up haiku and share them each night.

9. Stay Safe but Don’t Play it Safe: Understand the real risks, prepare for those, but don’t spend time worrying about things that happen once every 10 years or so. Hypothermia is a real risk. Understand how to stay warm and dry. In grizzly country carry bear spray and don’t startle mother bears with cubs. On the other hand, starvation, dying of thirst or being murdered by random sex fiends in the wilderness isn’t going to happen. Don’t avoid the adventure because of a perceived threat.

10. Practice Before You Leave: You don’t have to be super-fit to enjoy long hikes. You do have to be prepared to walk a long way, with 20 pounds on your back. Start preparing by walking around your town with a loaded pack on your back. If you live in the flatland like me, find a hilly area or a long staircase to strengthen the climbing muscles in your legs. Do this frequently for a couple of months before you leave. If possible, take a weekend backpack trip or two with your group. Spend time together before being isolated in the woods.