Short days, what do you do?

[10-K]

My wife has been going hiking with me lately. Our longest hike was this weekend (fri-sat-sun), 42 miles. She's as fit as I am but doesn't have "trail legs" so we cap our days around 14-15 miles when she's feeling tired.

In a few weeks she'll be going with me on a hike from Springer to Fontana where the terrain is more challenging and I'm expecting our days to be even shorter. So... what I'm wondering is:

What activities do you do in camp to keep from getting bored?

This past weekend we hiked Hwy 321 to Damascus and she was done at 5:00 PM. So... we sat in camp and looked at each other until we left the next morning at 7:30... So we were in camp for 14.5 hours... That's a bit mind-boggling to me.

I'm determined that she have a good time - this is really worth it to me - how can we keep from getting bored? Cards? Kindles?

[Gambit McCrae]

10-k I can most def relate to this. I found that these things work for me: got to make it more about the "Camping Trip" then getting the miles in. Therefor, drag the walking day out as long as you can so that the pace is slow, and try and take in every little thing you can along the way "oh look at the pretty mushroom lets take some pictures" or "what a nice stream lets take a bird bath real quick". This way your not in camp for 4-5 daylight hours twiddling thumbs. Secondly, I have tried to choose campsites that have an attraction, a river, a great overlook, waterfall etc. River bank sites are great (rare on the AT and nill in the section you are doing), but when there is an attraction it is entertainment that doesnt cost weight. Lastly, I always encourage her to help me out with camp chores as a team project, getting water, collecting firewood, preparing food, setting up tent/ bedding ect. And lastly of course is if you could possibly town hop? As you know, you will have lots of opportunity to stay in a hostel or little town like NOC, those might be good for short days to provide entertainment.

[rocketsocks]

Go for a walk.

[garlic08]

Carry six dice or a deck of cards and play a game (ever play Blisters?). Do some word puzzles together. Prepare a complicated meal. Do some woodcraft project like make a grill or a basket out of green sticks. Identify flora and fauna with a field guide book. With these shorter days coming up, bring a good light you both can use together.

[runt13]

Go hunting with your camera. Deer and other critters get very active just before dusk. Go find a natural funnel or some other nice spot and sit and wait, be very quiet. When they show up take plenty of pictures.

RUNT '13''

[bangorme]

As odd as this seems, it is amazing how long one can sleep if they've got nothing else to do. I usually sleep six hours a night. But, when I backkpack in October and November, I'll be crawling into my sleeping bag at 7:00-7:30 PM. And it is such a luxury to just lie there and think. I usually end up getting at least 10 hours of sleep a night. It's hard to do much else when it's really cold out.

[Alligator]

Com'n there buddy, you're bringing your wife. You must have some alone time activities you both are fond of?

Or did you mean candles not Kindles?

[wnderer]

Crossword puzzles

[Malto]

If it were me, I would use all the daylight hours to walk at whatever pace and break schedule achieves your miles then use early evening for a great dinner and maybe even a fire. Morning, get going early and enjoy daybreak.

[rafe]

Hmmm. Read a book? Update your journal? Back when campfires were more common and acceptable, dark of night wasn't such a showstopper. Lightweight, portable LED lights these days can give you all the light you need but not the warmth or magic of a campfire.

For photographers, evening and dusk light can yield beautiful images. Once night falls, you have to be even more creative to make use of a camera -- you might go for images of the sky, moon-lit landscapes, tents lit from within, or goings-on within the tent. (!!)

Still and all, this is why I mostly stick to day-hikes in the winter months. The night is long and cold. I suppose electronics (smartphone, tablet, etc.) could be an alternative time-killer, even if only for reading books.

[Coffee]

I like listening to audio books or saved podcasts. This consumes very little battery life on my phone since the screen isn't used and I can comfortably lie down in my bag and listen whereas reading a book on the phone takes more battery (but still not much) and I would have to be sitting up or on my side. If you are into business news, The Economist has a great audio edition that runs about 7 hours per week. On my last hike, I would download the audio edition in towns and then listen to it over the next few nights. It kept me pretty well informed over the course of a month.

But I hike and camp solo ... if I was camping with others, something like playing cards could be more fun than an audiobook.

[10-K]

Good suggestions all, thanks. I like the idea of putt-putting through the day, taking a lot of breaks. I actually brought a deck of cards on our hike this weekend but it was a bit windy and kind of cold - not good weather to be out playing cards.

One thing I've been doing is bringing separate shelters so we'll have some personal space - I think being together 24/7 is a recipe for friction. She's not comfortable if we're not hiking within visual site of each other so we are together-together all day.

But.. a 2 person tent would allow for more activities because we could get out of the weather.

[Tipi Walter]

What activities do you do in camp to keep from getting bored?

This past weekend we hiked Hwy 321 to Damascus and she was done at 5:00 PM. So... we sat in camp and looked at each other until we left the next morning at 7:30... So we were in camp for 14.5 hours... That's a bit mind-boggling to me.

I'm determined that she have a good time - this is really worth it to me - how can we keep from getting bored? Cards? Kindles?

Spending time in camp is no big deal for me as I often hike a good 5 hours and get around 7 miles which is perfect with my heavy winter load. And if it's raining or snowing I usually pull a zero in-tent day and hang out. I've taken Little Mitten out on a dozen or so backpacking trips and I learned long ago that the best trips are those when she has her own space and freedom. Staying tent-bound together can be torture but having separate tents is the answer---I can snore, she can read, I can toss and turn, she can get up at 3am to eat a snack, I can get up at 4am and write in my journal, etc etc.


The best trips are when Little Mitten has her own little refuge from me and for her own healthy headspace. Highly recommended. Pic taken in the Bob Wedge above Swan Cabin in the Slickrock wilderness.



And of course while I rarely build campfires on solo trips, a fire is vital to keep the women happy and so a fire is good at all times---to keep the bugs away, or in this case during a winter trip. Pic taken on Sycamore Creek/BMT trail.



Here's another tent Mitten used to use---a Mt Hardwear Light Wedge. Separate quarters---Long term Sanity.



Little Mitten likes her Light Wedge. Pic taken in the Bald River wilderness.



When she gets bored she likes to kill time by drawing in the dirt.



A hell storm at 5,000 feet on Whiggs Meadow on the BMT and her Light Wedge deforms even with the 2 flimsy guyouts pegged.

[Gambit McCrae]

Great presentation Tipi, always love the pictures. Pretty dirt flower.

As I didnt think so at first, but now I agree that seperate shelters could be note worthy, remember I always have a Hilleberg for sale

[Kerosene]

10-K, why don't you carry a 2-person shelter while she carries her 1-person, and then you can get into one tent for joint activities? Yes, it's more weight, but at this point you should be able to handle it if you're only covering 15 mpd at a putt-putt pace.

Another option, which takes a bit more forethought, is to identify a handful of meaty topics that you can discuss in camp, perhaps even playing devil's advocate to foster a quasi-debate. Yep, a bit intellectual for the woods, but it forces a level of interaction and thinking that people rarely have time for in the "real world".

One more option might be to take some of the earworms you've been dealing with all day and create some verses that you can perform at Trail Days! Personally, I've got the music part down but the lyrics are quite a bit harder for me. It would've been great to work with someone else to flesh out my music.

[Tipi Walter]

Or you could have a fashion show--- DERELICTE!!



SEE---
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpa...iggs/i-vZFPwDG

[saltysack]

Com'n there buddy, you're bringing your wife. You must have some alone time activities you both are fond of?

Or did you mean candles not Kindles?

Haaa...married life= hall way sex...we say F..U as we pass in the hall...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[John B]

I never get bored, but then I don't need much to keep myself content. After I set up camp, I try to take some sort of bath (eg, scrub pad, Dr Broners, and cut-out bottom of gallon milk jug), collect/filter all the water that I will need for that evening and next morning, change into dry socks and take care of my feet, write a bit in a notepad about that day, eat, take a long nap, read some in whatever paperback I brought along, make hot chocolate and dump in Starbucks instant coffee, sit and listen to the forest, just chill. I never get bored. Being in the woods is so different that I enjoy the down time and don't need anything extra for entertainment.

[Mags]

15 miles with your wife? Wowsers....

After four years of grad school and working full time, the Mrs is out again...for 5-10 MPD. For most backpackers, that is the normal pace; that's what I keep telling myself anyway.

On the trips we've gone together, I make a much nicer-than-normal set of backpacking meals, catch up on reading and take longer breaks.

[Berserker]

You're talking about my normal hiking style. Between the large breaks during the day and putsing around camp at night, I'm usually busy up till I go to sleep. I typically do have some time to sit around at camp with nothing to do, and I love it...I'm super busy in my "normal" life so being able to sit around for an hour or two at the end of the day when I'm hiking and space out is not something I get to do regularly.