View Full Version : high visibility clothing
Does anyone else where high visibility clothing when on connecting roads? I have a 75 mile connecting route on back roads and highways. I'm actually bringing my safety vest from work. 13 years of construction have taught me the more visible you are the better...especially around distracted drivers with phones.
Sarcasm the elf
04-13-2016, 17:34
Tractor Supply sells extremely comfortable synthetic tshirts in both lime green and hunter orange colors. I originally picked one up for road running at night, but it's such a nice shirt that I often end up hiking in it as well.
Tipi Walter
04-13-2016, 17:34
I lucked out when I upgraded my rain jacket to an Arcteryx Alpha SV in this color---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2011/Bald-River-with-Tipi-Walter/i-M7Bhf8c/0/L/TRIP%20127%20174-L.jpg
Tipi Walter
04-13-2016, 17:35
Sometimes I wear it over my pack during hunting season---
https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2011/Tipi-Walter-Warriors-Passage/i-q6w9Zd7/0/L/TRIP%20128%20171-L.jpg
That's what I have a light colored bandanna for and under dark or overcast skies a headlamp with red light, strobe and various white light settings. I've been known to step off the side of the road or even wave my arms to alert vehicles on narrow back roads. Never walk on a paved road oblivious to your environment. IMHO, I'm more concerned with getting hit by a vehicle with a drunk, stressed out mommy on a phone, on a texting driver behind the wheel on a hike than any wildlife dangers, water borne parasites, contracting noro virus, or being the trail victim of a homicide, rape, theft, etc.
Oh, I'll also carry my reflective compass on a lanyard around my neck too on busier road walk sections of hikes. Like Tipi's orange Arc T though. Actually I have several lightly colored outer apparel pieces w/ reflective strips or logos I could wear too. Usually my footwear has some light reflectivity to them too.
Just hitch. Life is too short to waste time with road walking. Getting away from the roads is the reason most of us hike. If I ever do another long-distance hike that has any long road walks (on paved roads--I don't mind walking quiet dirt roads for the most part), I will be skipping those sections.
Can't always reliably hitch. Besides country road walks can be a nice scenic change of pace. They can be a worthy part of the hike. Ahh…the CDT(you know that, you hiked the CDT), ahh Sheltowee Trace, ahh AT, ahh Pinhoti, ahh BMT….
Outside of hunting season, I really prefer gear and garments that blend with the surroundings. That said, I do have a bright blue rain jacket and an orange bandanna.
Does anyone else where high visibility clothing when on connecting roads? I have a 75 mile connecting route on back roads and highways. I'm actually bringing my safety vest from work. 13 years of construction have taught me the more visible you are the better...especially around distracted drivers with phones.
It took something like 13 years on Whiteblaze, but finally a post that is better than anything I ever contributed!
Said with total sincerity and respect.
Vegan Packer
04-14-2016, 01:24
Does anyone else where high visibility clothing when on connecting roads? I have a 75 mile connecting route on back roads and highways. I'm actually bringing my safety vest from work. 13 years of construction have taught me the more visible you are the better...especially around distracted drivers with phones.
I wear and carry many safety orange, or as close as I can get to that, items. My ZPacks backpack is the orange dyneema version, my Helium II jacket is that yellow-orange color, etc. More than for roads and walking, I prepare in terms of becoming unconscious and unable to signal for help, and I want the odds in my favor, as much as possible, should someone be searching for me, or in similar situations.
Just hitch. Life is too short to waste time with road walking. Getting away from the roads is the reason most of us hike. If I ever do another long-distance hike that has any long road walks (on paved roads--I don't mind walking quiet dirt roads for the most part), I will be skipping those sections.
Hitching is not an option for me. I want the completeness of walking the trail from start to finish...otherwise it's just driving around. Where is the adventure in that?
Spirit Walker
04-14-2016, 14:05
We have orange vests and hats that we bought for hiking during hunting season on the CDT, but never wore them on roadwalks while hiking. I have bright clothes I wear running, especially on dark days, but have never needed them where we hike.
Hitching is not an option for me. I want the completeness of walking the trail from start to finish...otherwise it's just driving around. Where is the adventure in that?
The trail is usually not the roads to and from the trailhead... :) If you wish to walk from Chief Joseph Pass to Salmon, ID (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Salmon,+ID/Chief+Joseph+Pass,+Montana+59871/@45.434875,-114.2234388,10z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x53582f0ac1c6b9 5f:0xf0e171459132c687!2m2!1d-113.8959008!2d45.1757547!1m5!1m1!1s0x535911cf3f6ff ee3:0x5f4143cd29d74b59!2m2!1d-113.9331323!2d45.6846422!3e2), I suppose that could be an adventure. But, I was to happy to hitch into town and then back to the CDT.
And since the idea of being an Alphabet Soup Hiker no longer holds an appeal to me, I don't think of paved road walks as part of the outdoor experience anymore ( to go with Burger's point. ).
A philosophical conundrum: Sometimes the outdoor experience is not compatible with a trail experience and the reverse, of course. Sometimes they intersect, but not always.
The trail is usually not the roads to and from the trailhead... :) If you wish to walk from Chief Joseph Pass to Salmon, ID (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Salmon,+ID/Chief+Joseph+Pass,+Montana+59871/@45.434875,-114.2234388,10z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x53582f0ac1c6b9 5f:0xf0e171459132c687!2m2!1d-113.8959008!2d45.1757547!1m5!1m1!1s0x535911cf3f6ff ee3:0x5f4143cd29d74b59!2m2!1d-113.9331323!2d45.6846422!3e2), I suppose that could be an adventure. But, I was to happy to hitch into town and then back to the CDT.
And since the idea of being an Alphabet Soup Hiker no longer holds an appeal to me, I don't think of paved road walks as part of the outdoor experience anymore ( to go with Burger's point. ).
A philosophical conundrum: Sometimes the outdoor experience is not compatible with a trail experience and the reverse, of course. Sometimes they intersect, but not always.
I get where your coming from but the route I'm traveling is the ice age trail. 600 miles of "footpath" and 600 miles of roads designed to connect wisconsin cities and towns together. So in this particular case walking the scenic roads of wisconsin is part of the "trail." Not trying to start a debate on the definition of a hiking trail, just wondering what safety precautions people used when on the road.
The trail is usually not the roads to and from the trailhead... :) If you wish to walk from Chief Joseph Pass to Salmon, ID (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Salmon,+ID/Chief+Joseph+Pass,+Montana+59871/@45.434875,-114.2234388,10z/am=t/data=%213m1%214b1%214m14%214m13%211m5%211m1%211s0x 53582f0ac1c6b95f:0xf0e171459132c687%212m2%211d-113.8959008%212d45.1757547%211m5%211m1%211s0x53591 1cf3f6ffee3:0x5f4143cd29d74b59%212m2%211d-113.9331323%212d45.6846422%213e2), I suppose that could be an adventure. But, I was to happy to hitch into town and then back to the CDT.
And since the idea of being an Alphabet Soup Hiker no longer holds an appeal to me, I don't think of paved road walks as part of the outdoor experience anymore ( to go with Burger's point. ).
A philosophical conundrum: Sometimes the outdoor experience is not compatible with a trail experience and the reverse, of course. Sometimes they intersect, but not always.
What, are we now going to start hitching paved roads as a matter of recourse because they aren't deemed part of the outdoor experience?
..."I don't think of paved road walks as part of the outdoor experience anymore..." This is a shame because you could be missing out on alot! ...as said..."not always"... hitching paved roads when they are intentionally part of the trail just because they are deemed incompatible with the outdoor experience or experienced with the intention of gaining a trail acronym touting puritanical ABC trail virtues as a matter of normalcy are both ridiculous. Sure I hitched into Salmon too. That was a resupply. That's not the same though as walking a safe paved scenic historically interesting pastural country road that maybe takes in a river or crosses a cool bridge or architectural interests or some interesting barns painted with various quilt or hex or old Coca Cola signs etc or takes in a farm stand AS PART OF THE INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED EXPERIENCE AND SEGMENT OF THE TRAIL. These types of paved road walks can be part of the outdoor experience as well. They are chosen as part of the trail. That's a far cry from walking a busy unsafe rather scenically uninteresting dull connector section of paved road just to achieve another I'm holier than thou trail acronym.
Several "trails" are intentionally designed with worthy to hike paved road walks or walking right next to a paved road like New York's Long Path, Cali's Coastal Tr, Oregon's Coastal Tr, the Florida Tr, the c2 c route, Ice Age Tr, Buckeye Tr, North Country Tr, American Discovery Tr, Camino de Santiago, etc all worthy OUTDOOR hiking/walking experiences, including some of the paved road walks. Not every hike is a JMT or Idaho's Centennial Tr single track hike or a SHR or WRRT off trail route. Part of a worthy AT experience is walking along paved roads through Hot Springs and Hanover.
HYOH. Beauty can be in the eye of the beholder.
swisscross
04-14-2016, 16:37
I get where your coming from but the route I'm traveling is the ice age trail. 600 miles of "footpath" and 600 miles of roads designed to connect wisconsin cities and towns together. So in this particular case walking the scenic roads of wisconsin is part of the "trail." Not trying to start a debate on the definition of a hiking trail, just wondering what safety precautions people used when on the road.
How about some reflectors, reflective tape or bicycle blinky things.
I have some two sided blinkys that have an elastic band that can be looped on almost anything and some reflective pant straps that go around your ankles. (I have never used them for walking, only on a bike, but might be an option.
Another Kevin
04-14-2016, 17:41
My daily commute is a little over a mile of roadwalk each way.
If I'm doing it after dark, I wear two headlamps, one in the conventional manner, and the other turned around to the back of my head and set to flashing red.
I have an orange pack cover and an orange beanie. I carry an orange vest in hunting season and I suppose I could wear it on a long roadwalk.
rocketsocks
04-14-2016, 18:51
I just tend wear light color clothing in summer, so if yellow and white are considered high-vis, then yes.
Another Kevin
04-14-2016, 18:54
Several "trails" are intentionally designed with worthy to hike paved road walks or walking right next to a paved road like New York's Long Path,
There's a tremendous amount of progress recently in getting the NY LP off the road. It's now off road for pretty much the length of the Shawangunks, except for Vernooy Kill (where trail construction is under way this season. I've whacked the route and it's lovely.) It's entirely off the road through the Catskills, except for a few blocks in Phoenicia and another few blocks in Palenville (and most hikers need to resupply in both places anyway).
There's no fix for the Orange County problem, where there remains a 14-mile roadwalk plus some miles on a rail-trail. But it still counts for a thru if you bypass this section on the AT.
What still remains:
- a bunch of little roadwalks joining the parks on the Palisades. There's astonishingly little of this, considering that it's going through the New York suburbs. Of course, camping and lodging opportunities are minimal, but there's good bus service, so you could always ride the bus and stay in Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Nyack or Haverstraw.
- a fair number of shortish roadwalk sections joining the state forests through the Schoharie Valley and Helderbergs. Those get fewer and shorter over the years, because buying conservation easements on top of the escarpment is a priority for the state.
- a long grind on the Northern Excursion between Altamont and Northville. Even there, there has been the occasional off-road section added, like the walk through the Plotter Kill preserve below Mariaville. It counts as a thru hike if you quit after Thacher Park, so the Northern Excursion isn't necessary. Most of it is a pleasant stroll on little-traveled country roads, but again, lodging and camping opportunities are scarce.
It's really shaped up a long way in the last few years, with the opening of the Romer Mountain and Warner Creek sections, and the easements through the Catskill Center and the Platte Clove Community. The 110 miles from Riggsville (a little north of Wawarsing) to Conesville (just east of the Schoharie Reservoir) are awesome hiking, with great views, many opportunities to camp, and 11 of the Catskill 3500s. 12 if you count Kaaterskill High Peak, It's just off the trail, and a lot of hikers choose to climb it rather than circling it on the snowmobile trail, or make a side trip to it from the north if they're not feeling up to scrambling Hurricane Ledges.
Wise Old Owl
04-14-2016, 20:12
Well I have tried this both ways,,, buying brown, green, dark green and then wearing those bright shirts... here is the rub, you wear bright colors and you can scare the animals and birds away... strange - I have read articles that bright colors attract bears in Alaska and Condors in the Grand Canyon.
you decide.
Most of my clothing and gear ate earth tones and blend into the surroundings. But for hunting season and road walking, I have a pack cover and an 1.8oz wind jacket (Montbell Tachyon Jacket) that are both bright orange.
Kaptainkriz
04-14-2016, 20:35
Does your headlamp have a strobe? The strobes cyclists wear usually get my attention when I am driving.
DuneElliot
04-15-2016, 13:05
Interesting thread.
Most of my clothing is blue or subtle purple. My puffy is bright purple and my pack is light blue. If I was doing any kind of extensive road walking or hiking during hunting season I would do what I usually do when I'm on horseback...a blaze orange vest tied somewhere visible.