Planning a 9 Day Hike...

[Flyboy718]

This will be my first backpacking hike, I wanted to do a section of AT but I live 13 hours away. I found the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas and it's only 5 hours away and I think I may do that one unless you guys may have some other suggestions...I live near Dallas. That being said, I am no stranger to rugged hiking, I did nine years of military. But, even though, I tent camp or rather hammock camp quite a lot its only one or two nights and so this will be my first 'civilian' exteneded surviving in the woods. I guess I just need some advice on how far to plan to hike a day...ten miles? That doesn't seem like a whole lot. Food, I have a dehydrator and have been doing some of that on our short one or two night trips. Water, I cannot find a definate answer anywhere but the military always said boil it and drink. I would like to think this is the case in civilian world. I might need to brush up on a little first aid and land naviagation. I build me a penny alcohol stove and just think it is the coolest thing in the world. How much food for nine days? Any and all help is much appreciated.

[rafe]

Miles per day depends on a zillion factors. Your condition, both physical, mental and emotional. The trail's condition. The weight of your pack. The weather. Your hiking companions.

A fit, well-equipped twenty-something can probably crank out 25 mile days without too much sweat once he's got his trail rhythm.

Statistically -- most successful thru-hikers, the ones who actually make it from Georgia to Maine -- average a bit under 15 miles per day overall.

Averages are deceiving though. In reality, they're walking 17, 18 mile days and taking a day off every now and then.

Down in Georgia, the bright-eyed newbs who've never seen mountains are lucky to do 8, 10 mile days.

[Venchka]

I can't add anything to the above.
I might be retired and living north of Tyler while I can still walk. I have been gathering information on trails close to home. I new about the Quachita Trail. Thanks for adding the Ozark Highlands Trail to my list.
Do you know about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge? it is possible to hike in and camp for a few days. I have read online trip reports by folks in the DFW area. It is pretty close to you.
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/
I also know that folks from the DFW area spend a lot of time in Big Bend N.P. Northern New Mexico is about the same distance as Big Bend. Really good wilderness hiking in New Mexico. You are closer to the CDT in northern New Mexico than you are to the AT.
Have fun!

Wayne

[Flyboy718]

I can't add anything to the above.
I might be retired and living north of Tyler while I can still walk. I have been gathering information on trails close to home. I new about the Quachita Trail. Thanks for adding the Ozark Highlands Trail to my list.
Do you know about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge? it is possible to hike in and camp for a few days. I have read online trip reports by folks in the DFW area. It is pretty close to you.
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/
I also know that folks from the DFW area spend a lot of time in Big Bend N.P. Northern New Mexico is about the same distance as Big Bend. Really good wilderness hiking in New Mexico. You are closer to the CDT in northern New Mexico than you are to the AT.
Have fun!

Waynerafe, thanks for post I guess I will just have to find that out when I conplete the hike and just plan for ten mile days. Venchka, thanks! I didnt know these trails nearby I will take a look.

[Ricky&Jack]

Here go here and look http://www.traildino.com/trace/continents-North_America/countries-United_States#Map there's not too many her you. But you have plenty of options within driving distance

[Shutterbug]

This will be my first backpacking hike, I wanted to do a section of AT but I live 13 hours away. I found the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas and it's only 5 hours away and I think I may do that one unless you guys may have some other suggestions...I live near Dallas. That being said, I am no stranger to rugged hiking, I did nine years of military. But, even though, I tent camp or rather hammock camp quite a lot its only one or two nights and so this will be my first 'civilian' exteneded surviving in the woods. I guess I just need some advice on how far to plan to hike a day...ten miles? That doesn't seem like a whole lot. Food, I have a dehydrator and have been doing some of that on our short one or two night trips. Water, I cannot find a definate answer anywhere but the military always said boil it and drink. I would like to think this is the case in civilian world. I might need to brush up on a little first aid and land naviagation. I build me a penny alcohol stove and just think it is the coolest thing in the world. How much food for nine days? Any and all help is much appreciated.

I frequently take people who are new to hiking on multi-day hikes. The most common mistake is carrying to much food and not enough water. If you run short on food, it isn't a bid deal. If you run out of water, things get serious in a hurry.

Boiling drinking water isn't practical for me. It takes too much fuel. I use the steripen. It is light weight and quick. Once treated, the water is safe to drink immediately.

Ten miles a day on the Ozark Highland Trail seems reasonable to me. On multiday hikes, I try to plan camps that are 8 to 14 miles apart. Pack weight is an issue. On he first day when your pack is heaviest, plan less than later. One good thing about the Ozark Highland Trail is that you don't have to stick to your plan. If you arrive at the planned camp site and feel like hiking more you can continue. My extended hikes are usually on the Wonderland Trail where one is required to stick to the camp shown on the permit.

As for the food. I plan for one hot meal a day. I like Mountain House meals and get two meals from each package. Chilimac is the best. The best price is at WalMart.
For the cold meals, I take a jar of peanut butter and canned cheese. I take crackers or tortillas (bread takes up too much room). I take some hard candy and lots of nuts. If the weather is cool, I take a few Snicker Bars. I take some beef jerky. I also take some powdered hot chocolate. Finally, I take some fruit (fresh for he first day and dried for later).

I probably need to explain how I get two meals from one Mountain House package, because it takes advance planning. Mountain House meals are normally cooked in their foil package. To get two meals from one package, I open the foil package and divide the contents into two packages. I vacuum seal the two packages. In the field, I heat one cup of boiling water in my jet boil. I open the vacuum sealed package and pour the contents into the Jet Boil Cup and stir it well. I put the lid on the Jet Boil and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I eat the Chilimac right out of the Jet Boil cup. This method gets two meals out of one Mountain House and I don't have the foil package to carry out.

[bigcranky]

Ten miles a day isn't a bad plan, though depending on your age and condition you'll likely walk farther. Using a hammock opens up a lot more possible campsites for you, meaning you can be a lot more flexible. Consider the option of stopping for dinner then continuing for another hour or two in the evening, then stopping to set up the hammock for the night.

Boiling water is a pain, and I don't think any civilian backpacker does that anymore. Beyond the fuel weight, there is the fact that you now have two quarts of very hot water to drink on a hot summer day. Ick. Use Aqua Mira drops, or buy a Sawyer Mini filter for $30 from Amazon. Great little filter. I try to maintain an average of 1 liter per two hours of hiking, and every other liter gets a tube of Gatorade powder mixed in.

Our food usually weighs around 2 pounds per person day. I don't mind because I like to eat when I hike. :) If you can leave a food drop about halfway through your hike that will help with the initial food weight. Most hikers on the AT go into town every 4 or 5 days for resupply, so they are carrying 3-4 days at a time (though there are still some carrying two weeks of food. Not me.)

Keep an eye on your total pack weight. You don't have to be obsessive about it, but it does make a difference. Most beginning backpackers take far too much clothing, usually of the wrong type (my first trip I had a clean pair of cotton jeans for each day on the trail. Not a good idea on all sorts of levels.) In addition, they have far too much food, and lots of little things that make camping more fun but make the hiking part less fun.

Good luck and have fun.

[Shutterbug]

...
Do you know about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge? it is possible to hike in and camp for a few days. I have read online trip reports by folks in the DFW area. It is pretty close to you.
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/
I also know that folks from the DFW area spend a lot of time in Big Bend N.P. Northern New Mexico is about the same distance as Big Bend. Really good wilderness hiking in New Mexico. You are closer to the CDT in northern New Mexico than you are to the AT.
Have fun!

Wayne

I have spent a lot of time in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The USAF used to use it for helicopter pilot training. I was stationed at Sheppard AFB and flew to the Wichita Mountains every day for training.

In my opinion, it is a great place for a day hike, but not the kind of place where I like to camp -- too much traffic. I like to hike there because of the abundance of wildlife. The "mountains" are what I call "hills" but one can still have a challenging hike, particularly if they leave the designated trails. The bison (buffalo) make it interesting. The bulls are sometimes aggressive, but I have never known of anyone being gored. They are big animals and the ones in the refuge aren't tame like the ones in Yellowstone.

Here are some pictures from a hike I did a few years ago: (For some reason, I can't seem to post the link. It is at http://www.davemcclung.com. In my photo albums it is named "Wichita Wildlife Refuge".

[Venchka]

Thank you!

Wayne

[Flyboy718]

Thanks for all the replies keep them coming! I will turn 35 on this hike. Does the Lifestraw work well? It says it will treat 264 gallons

[Venchka]

27386

From Dave's album. Spending a night or two up here looks good to me.

Wayne

[Preacher_68]

I have a Sawyer squeeze, 1 million gallon guarantee and it has worked well for me. I did 10 active duty and like the civilian version much better

[thetribalpavs]

FWIW, my wife and I hike with the LifeStraw and we love it so much...we'll never go back to traditional water filtering. Can't beat the price at $20 a pop and it's lighter and simpler than most water filtration systems. No chemical taste either. We always bring Aquamira drops as a backup, but the LifeStraw has held up like a champ. Just make sure you bring a water bottle with a large mouth (e.g. Nalgene or a large Gatorade bottle) because the straw is pretty thick.

First post here, woohoo! Long time lurker on these forums. Thru hiking the OHT next month...looking forward to the fall color and the crisp, cool temperatures that we rarely get to experience here in Tampa!

[MuddyWaters]

www.backpackingarkansas.com (http://www.backpackingarkansas.com)

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