Trail trailer

[terpodion]

I have been reading about the hundred mile wilderness. We may negotiate it this summer. As you may know it is strongly recommended that one carry ten days of provisions. The thought of that made my shoulders hurt and my back sweat. I began thinking of better ways to carry such a burden. Hire bearers? No, too expensive and too elitist. Suspend the pack from balloons? Lets see, the lifting power of helium is 0.064 pounds per cubic foot. Nope, that would require pretty big balloons and they would be forever getting caught in the trees and might look kind of silly. A trailer? Maybe,.. could be a bit cumbersome. I did a quick web search and came up with this: http://www.kayak-canada.ca/Carrix/carrix.htm I wasn't too impressed. I don't like the single wheel design or the fact that it's a pneumatic tire, bring some "Fixaflat?" or that the load is in the middle effectively making it a second class lever with a large part of the weight pushing down on one's shoulders. I have my own ideas, I may do some tinkering but I had to wonder if others had some experience dragging trailers down the trail.

Cheers:

Terpodion

[Tabasco]

Not the the 100 Mile wilderness is truly "wilderness" or even "officially" wilderness as defined by the USFS, buit interesting rules fo r"official" wilderness:

Each Wilderness has its own set of regulations in addition to the following three regulations, established under the Wilderness Act of 1964, which apply to all Wilderness areas.

Motorized equipment is prohibited, including chain saws, battery powered tools, generators, etc.

Mechanized transportation is prohibited, including, including bicycles, hang gliders or carts.

Aircraft, including helicopters, are prohibited from landing, or dropping off/picking up any materials, supplies or persons.

[bigcranky]

Um, you might find that humping the trailer straight up and down over every small hill, cliff, mountain, large rock, root, river crossing, etc., will get kinda old. Pretty quickly. The trail is neither smooth nor flat, especially in Maine.

I know you are talking about an "off road" trailer. Still.

[take-a-knee]

I would recommend getting into better condition. A good weightlifting routine 2-3 days/week will do wonders. Better still, try this:

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

Look at the menu on the left, go where it says, start here. Look for "Brand X scaled workouts" and it will give info for beginners into the program.

Pure and simple, if you want to enjoy hiking, you are going to have to get into shape. If you are carrying extra pounds on your body, obviously if you lose them you can carry more pack weight.

[Flush2wice]

It doesn't take 10 days to get through there.

[terpodion]

I thought about the problems dragging it over difficult terrain, a good design will move over medium sized rocks, roots and smaller obstructions but as for going over mountains it's just not practical. And of course the right way to do it is to get into condition but ya know, some of us are not exactly spring chickens and have maladies like arthritis and / or are just plain worn out. A good trail trailer would be useful for rescue efforts as well as trail maintenance where equipment needs to be hauled over the trail long distances. Of course one has to obey the regulations of the trail, I know purists aren't going to like it and now that I think about it I probably wouldn't much care for coming upon another hiker taking up the trail with one of these things. Perhaps it's not a device for use on recreational trails but the idea of this has captured my imagination and the engineer in me .

Cheers:

T

[take-a-knee]

I thought about the problems dragging it over difficult terrain, a good design will move over medium sized rocks, roots and smaller obstructions but as for going over mountains it's just not practical. And of course the right way to do it is to get into condition but ya know, some of us are not exactly spring chickens and have maladies like arthritis and / or are just plain worn out. A good trail trailer would be useful for rescue efforts as well as trail maintenance where equipment needs to be hauled over the trail long distances. Of course one has to obey the regulations of the trail, I know purists aren't going to like it and now that I think about it I probably wouldn't much care for coming upon another hiker taking up the trail with one of these things. Perhaps it's not a device for use on recreational trails but the idea of this has captured my imagination and the engineer in me .

Cheers:

T

I'm two years your junior, I am in no way "worn out" and I doubt you are either. If you have arthritis, the absolute worst thing you can do is to avoid exercise, in fact, exercise is about the only remedy for it. For osteo arthritis anyway, rheumatoid is something I'm not qualified to address.

[StepChld]

How about one or two burros? Eat grass-not grain, need little for foot care, not prone to colic or other ailments, cheap-especially if they come from the BLM. Fun to have on a trail...great personalities! (no, I'm being serious). Use them to hump your food, you carry the rest.

[terpodion]

After thinking it over it's a pretty bad idea for any conventional trail. Our hundred mile wilderness trip may well be off as we may be have to bring along a 6 year old ADHD aspergers syndrome boy. The way he is he'd run off into the woods and end up living with a wolf pack. Too much of a responsibility in the wilderness.

Cheers:

T

[snowhoe]

hey terpodion they probably laughed at the guy who 1st invented the backpack. Dont give up. Dont let anyone change your mind on this site or any other site. Who knows maybe in 5-10 years we will all be pulling little trailers instead of packs, and it will all because of you.

[minnesotasmith]

NOT a workable option in the 100 Miles. I hiked it less than two years ago. I can't imagine anyone who has also hiked it who would think it's doable either.

If you're worried about making it through there with your current gear and condition, lighten your gear and improve your condition. (Hint: hiking in warmer weather = less to carry.)

[Heater]

I'm two years your junior, I am in no way "worn out" and I doubt you are either. If you have arthritis, the absolute worst thing you can do is to avoid exercise, in fact, exercise is about the only remedy for it. For osteo arthritis anyway, rheumatoid is something I'm not qualified to address.

I think you are right in my case. I busted my ass slipping and falling a few weeks ago. Hurt my shoulder. It has been bothering me except the days that I work it. I think as long as I work it everyday even if it is only callisthenics, it will be OK. Used to not be a problem when I used it everyday but my job does not have me doing that recently. So, I gotta work 'em out.

[Connie]

I road a jackass name of Fred, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Horses slipped and fell down. He did not.

I found out some jackasses have a nice easy gait, too.

In the Girlscouts I made an 18-day trip in the North Cascades, Washington State. There were two burros for our heavy gear and food and water and kitchen. I got to lead the "lead" burro, because my grandmother told me the "trick". Don't look at them, just walk off, lead rope in hand, and "click" "click" your against the inside of your cheek.

That contraption might be good for hauling out elk: can I say that here?

I like the single wheel design, and the backup wheel for obstacles.

It looks like a travois, to me.

I recommend Walk the World http://www.walkingtheworld.com/travel-products.htm "Walk 500 Book" for getting from couch potato to fit.

Also, you might try lightweight or ultralight backpacking..