All nights in tents are long.Originally Posted by hikerboy57
Originally Posted by Another Kevin
"I find that a bath is a morale booster. It's not even too badly chilling if you're out of the wind, washing with warm water, and have a warm sleeping bag to crawl into afterward." Quote
As an unconventional hiker, I actually bathe more often on the trail than I do at home. I get very sweaty every time I hike. Not so much at home. Nothing beats a bath on the trail after a long slog, weather be damned.
Last edited by aficion; 09-30-2013 at 21:29.
On the other hand, I rarely trouble to shave, or even bring a razor, on the trail, while in town, a scratchy face bothers me. I suspect that if I were a long-distance hiker, I'd be that guy with a grey beard that looks moth-eaten. I've never had all that much facial hair, and next to no sideburns at all.As an unconventional hiker, I actually bathe more often on the trail than I do at home. I get very sweaty every time I hike. Not so much at home. Nothing beats a bath on the trail after a long slog, weather be damned.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Your avatar suggests a certain amount of facial fungus is normal.
I have grown two beards in my life - a 6 week one for the Bibbulmun Track and a 6 month for the AT.
Neither remained.
It is not a good look for me.
Aficion you need to get over your cleanliness issues. Finding showers at regular intervals gets you a lot of flak.
Oz, had a 6 week beard after hiking the AT this summer. While I loved not having to shave, my wife said it was not a good look for me. Something about looking 10 years older.
The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
Richard Ewell, CSA General
+1. Also if you get lost you always know day light is coming. Where as the other you might get more and more lost before day light ever comes.
The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
Richard Ewell, CSA General
I usually find my shower right in my pack where I put it.
I guess I'd like to see the hike... at least the first time through. So hiking in the dark wouldn't be my cup of tea.
You could practice pronouncing Maine pond and lake names until you fell asleep:
Little Sabattus Pond
Scopan Lake
Mattawamkeag Lake
Madawaska Lake
Umsaskis Lake
Meduxnekeag (Drews) Lake
Wytopitlock Lake
Mattaseunk Lake
Skitacook Lake
Rockabema Lake
Upper Macwahoc Lake
Kennebago Lake
Kamankeag Pond
Nicatous Lake
Alamoosook Lake
Narraguagus Lake
Cobbosseeconte Lake
Androscoggin Lake
Messalonskee Lake
Annabessacook Lake
Last edited by Furlough; 10-01-2013 at 14:55. Reason: add the word could
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
You could learn a foreign language. I like the Pimsleur lessons. You can download them as MP3 audio files. Just make sure you are alone, otherwise the person in the next tent will hear you repeating "Arkadaşlarımla İzmir'e gidiyorum" over and over.
... the really light weight Kindle and tunes ...
My wife picks on me, cause ill do every thing to save weight down to the last ounce, then toss in a big old paperback!
I just had to look when I saw whack had posted in this thread
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
I can't sleep more than seven hours, max, so I always bring something to do.
Write in journal. Make notes to go with pictures I've taken during the day.
Bring cards. Play solitaire. Or if with companions, rummy. Or poker, for pieces of twigs.
If it's too cold to hang around outside, read.
If not NOW, then WHEN?
ME>GA 2006
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=3277
Instagram hiking photos: five.leafed.clover
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep
Before electric lights this was common. The key is to not have any anxiety over being awake which leads to tossing and turning. You will get enough sleep. Embrace the nightime wakefulness, do some low-light reading or writing. When you are tired once more, put your head down and see what happens.
I do this sometimes. I'll read for awhile (which kills my neck), then turn out the headlamp and just lie in my sleeping bag. I just think... in peace. Listen to the wind, or the rain (if I'm lucky). Eventually I'll fall asleep and may wake up at 1:00 in the morning. Listen, think, then wake up at sunrise. I NEVER sleep more than 7 hours a night at home, but in my tent I can sleep more than 10 hours. Don't understand it.
I read. A lot. Like 3 full books in this last 2 week AT jaunt. Kindle reader on cell phone, zero extra weight (assuming you carry a phone) and takes very little battery juice if display brightness turned way down, but still plenty readable. I also have a bridge app (old card game most folks under 50 have never even heard of). On a 3 week Alaska trip with four of us (big tent) we "discovered" good old Yatzee. You think October has long nights? We do a lot of deep winter multi-night camping/climbing here in Colorado... dark at 4:30pm, light at 7:30am. Sure do get caught up on sleep on these trips!
I like to read the descriptions of the upcoming day's hike (as well as the day I just finished) and study the terrain that is up ahead. I make photocopies of the guidebooks and also the maps of the hike and stow them in a gallon zip lock in the top of my pack. I don't like to listen to my iPod because I get that stimulation every day and love being away from it for a week or so -- but that is a personal choice.
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