Self-sufficiency while hiking the AT [Archive]

NorthCountryWoods

01-22-2008, 13:23

Lone Wolf

01-22-2008, 13:26

there's nothing to discuss. be prepared or suffer

Jaybird62

01-22-2008, 13:29

I agree. You have always got to be ready for anything to happen.(rain,snow,sleet,etc.)

NorthCountryWoods

01-22-2008, 13:47

there's nothing to discuss. be prepared or suffer

Then why all the "should I bring ____" threads?

Frolicking Dinosaurs

01-22-2008, 13:51

I agree that you need to carry what you need or suffer the consequences of being without it. Other hikers will help you out if something you couldn't be expected to foresee happens, but nobody likes to have to loan out gear or give special privileges day after day to gram weenies who don't want to carry what they need.

Pedaling Fool

01-22-2008, 13:57

It's a personal choice, I choose to carry maps, but I don't argue with anyone that decides not to, but I will lay out the risks involved. Others carry a personal locator beacon, I wouldn't, but others consider it important and I can't think of an argument against it, other than money.
"Close", like everything else is a relative term. If you're 5 miles from town and on the way to town you fall down a steep slope and break both legs then 5 miles is consideralbly further distance now. It just may be a personal locator beacon is what saves your life, but me, I'll just have to die there, because my life isn't worth that much money:D

scavenger

01-22-2008, 14:06

I guess I don't define self sufficiency the same way as you. It sounds like you just mean being prepared versus risking your safety for a few ounces... cause a hiker certainly doesn't live self-sufficiently in the woods.

dessertrat

01-22-2008, 14:08

Don't be bumming my maps because you couldn't be bothered to carry a map.

Don't be asking people to leave a shelter because you couldn't be bothered to carry a tent.

Don't bum food because you underestimated, due to not wanting to carry the weight in your pack.

There isn't much "should I bring" debate except at the edges. Certain things all should bring, or be prepared to do without.

envirodiver

01-22-2008, 14:23

Then why all the "should I bring ____" threads?

IMO a lot of those questions come from people that do not have much experience in the woods/wilderness. It seems that there are some folks that begin backpacking with an AT thru attempt.

That seems to me like beginning a race car driving career at the Daytona 500. But, to each their own.

To me, part of the allure of backpacking is the self-sufficiency of having everything that you need on your back. If you choose to carry some luxury items, cool, you carry the weight and enjoy it later. If you choose to roll the dice and leave some things that are heavy, but may be needed...cool again. You may win or if you lose suffer the consequences of your personal decision and learn from it. That's the beauty of it...you are on your own. I recognize that an AT thru is not exactly like that, but...I'm just saying.

dixicritter

01-22-2008, 14:35

Even my kids know to make sure they have their gear they need when we go out on the trail. Seems like a no brainer to me.

River Runner

01-22-2008, 14:43

Some things are essential to different people at different times. Unfortunately there are some who try to persuade beginners they don't need things that they may find they do. Fortunately there are those who tell them they need it, so it balances out.

10-K

01-22-2008, 15:12

Don't leave home with out it. And 3 extra candles.

Thomas

ps. but seriously, I had to spend the night alone at Jerry Cabin shelter while it was pouring down rain. I lit my candle lantern and hung it from a food hanger and it really cheered me up.

I like my candle lantern.

Marta

01-22-2008, 15:36

I like my candle lantern.

Me, too...in the winter. In the summer I wouldn't think of bringing one.

Seriously, there's a difference between what you might die if you don't have it; what you'll be suffer if you don't have it; and what you'll be bored/uncomfortable/whiney if you don't have it.

Leaving category 1 things behind is just stupid. A few people choose to leave category 2 things out of their packs and just hang tough. Category 3 items can make a hike more enjoyable.

There's enough traffic on the AT, and it's close enough to civilization that you will likely be rescued even if you omit category 1 items...but everyone will think you're an idiot.;)

JAK

01-22-2008, 16:58

Absolutely. If I can't have a fire I can at least have a candle lantern. :banana

Pyromania. It's what separates us from the lower life forms. :dance

fiddlehead

01-22-2008, 17:41

It just may be a personal locator beacon is what saves your life, but me, I'll just have to die there, because my life isn't worth that much money:D

thanks for the smile on my face here this morning.

I had no idea people actually carried these things on the AT though. Geez, you're never THAT far from a road.

ever read the book: "Touching the Void" ???

Pedaling Fool

01-22-2008, 17:49

...
1) I had no idea people actually carried these things on the AT though. Geez, you're never THAT far from a road.

2) ever read the book: "Touching the Void" ???
1) I think more people are considering carrying one as they become more available: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31973&highlight=personal+locator+beacon

2) Never heard of that book.

Marta

01-22-2008, 20:53

ever read the book: "Touching the Void" ???

I read it a few months ago. It was the scariest damn book I've read in years.

Blissful

01-22-2008, 21:10

...

Is it better to run on the edge or be prepared for the unexpected? Is self sufficiency overkill on the AT?

Discuss.

To me self sufficiency means you ARE prepared. For cold, for hot, for rain, for injury, for getting lost, for ticks, for an ingrown toenail that can give you so much pain you can't take another step, for whatever. But I can tell you, on a trail like the AT, for over 2,000 miles, you are never totally self sufficient. You're always gonna need someone or something sometime along the way.

Kirby

01-22-2008, 21:15

The "should I bring threads" a lot of time have item X or item Y to choose from, or are asking about something that some people carry, and some don't. Always be prepared.

Kirby

SGT Rock

01-22-2008, 21:18

This sort of thing reminds me of a teenager I once overheard talking about how you don't have to make credit card payments because if you just stop making payments they can't do anything to you.

Someday they will get it, just not in a good way.

Saying you don't need to have your own shelter, maps, compass, or something like that is about the same logic.

shelterbuilder

01-22-2008, 21:32

Me, too...in the winter. In the summer I wouldn't think of bringing one.

Seriously, there's a difference between what you might die if you don't have it; what you'll be suffer if you don't have it; and what you'll be bored/uncomfortable/whiney if you don't have it.

Leaving category 1 things behind is just stupid. A few people choose to leave category 2 things out of their packs and just hang tough. Category 3 items can make a hike more enjoyable.

There's enough traffic on the AT, and it's close enough to civilization that you will likely be rescued even if you omit category 1 items...but everyone will think you're an idiot.;)

If you're a beginner and you leave some Catagory 1 items behind, it's forgivable ONCE. We've all done stupid things out of ignorance on occasion. But don't expect a bail-out if you keep doing it - a working definition of insanity would be: doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result!

I have a problem with personal locator beacons - and cell phones, for that matter - because they tend to give the user a sense that "I can screw up, and somebody will bail me out". What ever happened to the idea of going out PREPARED, so that nobody needed to bail you out?

Pedaling Fool

01-22-2008, 21:51

...What ever happened to the idea of going out PREPARED, so that nobody needed to bail you out?
Whatever happened to the theory that S#!T Happens. But I agree, some people do put too much faith in certain "safe guards", they're just tools, not guarantees.

ed bell

01-22-2008, 21:58

.....a good practice? Or waste of energy?

I realize the AT is close to civilization in most places, and read so many threads about leaving essential stuff out of the long hikes. Rain Gear, maps, nail clippers, tents, etc.

Is it better to run on the edge or be prepared for the unexpected? Is self sufficiency overkill on the AT?

Discuss.Good practice to take care of your own self.:sun Waste of energy to think of ways to cut corners and save a few measly oz's only to find yourself unprepared in the event you find trouble at your doorstep.

AT-HITMAN2005

01-23-2008, 08:02

thru-hikers have no sympathy for the unprepared.

HIKER7s

01-23-2008, 08:41

there's nothing to discuss. be prepared or suffer

Couldnt be said better. If your looking to lighten the load, there is a lot of light gear out there. You should always have the essentials however (section map, weather gear,etc)

Lone Wolf

01-23-2008, 08:43

thru-hikers have no sympathy for the unprepared.

lots of so-called thru-hikers ARE unprepared

nitewalker

01-23-2008, 09:03

there is a big difference between thruhikers and life long backpackers like most of us here on WB..alot of thruhikers are 1st timers who learn as they go. usually they have everthing they need to start and as they head up the trail they get rid of some unwanted gear items that are troublesome in one way or another. seems most thruhikers learn the art of long distance hiking as it comes at them...

backpackers like most of us just dont care much about being prepared because it is 2nd nature to be prepared. after years of backpacking you learn what comes on the trail and what stays home but all in all its different strokes for different folks.. "what you talkin bout willis"....................bring what you think is going to be needed, its better to have than have not!!!!!!

JAK

01-23-2008, 10:23

You don't need to bring everything you might possibly need, and you can't possibly think of everything, but you should never go with the intention of depending on others, and you should always be prepared for find yourself unprepared. For example, you don't need extra batteries for something you really didn't need to bring along to begin with, but its sometimed a good idea to use nails instead of tent pegs and cord for a belt or for your tarp that is the same as your shoe laces, and some way of cutting it, your lighter if nothing else. I take very little, but I always have enough to get by. Sometimes the less you bring the more self-sufficient you are, if you do it right and understand what you are doing and where you are going. Go with what you know.

JAK

01-23-2008, 10:25

It's nice to be able to hike without being dependant on brand names.

NorthCountryWoods

01-23-2008, 12:05

You don't need to bring everything you might possibly need, and you can't possibly think of everything, but you should never go with the intention of depending on others, and you should always be prepared for find yourself unprepared.

This is kinda what I was getting at. Read a lot of advice to prepare for the optimum conditions instead of the realistic.

"what are the odds it'll rain"
"someone will let you peek at their map"
"someone will have a match"
"someone will spare some food"

Believer it or not, realistically, you can spend a night on the AT in an tentsite or shelter with no one else around. And I agree that it is alotta newbies asking questions, but you would think those of us giving advice would want them to be even more prepared?

whitefoot_hp

01-23-2008, 12:05

JAK

01-23-2008, 12:11

Well that's just being nasty.

Don't be mocking the bond that develops between a lonely hiker and his candle lantern.
Very bad karma.

Terry7

01-23-2008, 13:34

I have always had to take care of myself, even as a kid growing up. Why should the AT be any differant.

10-K

01-23-2008, 14:04

OMG, how did you manage to survive a rainy night in a shelter?

It was tough, let me tell you. If I had any idea that hiking was going to involve getting wet and spending the night by myself in a shelter I would have stuck with making potholders.

As it is, I have much money tied up in it to quit so I'm just going to have to deal.....

Thanks
Thomas