View Full Version : What is it that makes us go hiking...even in the rain?
johnnybgood
10-24-2009, 22:05
Its another rainy day here in my back yard, yet my plans for a day hike in SNP were still on.
I know thru hikers expect mother nature to deal them all kinds of weather during their 4-6 month long journey.
That too is a question of why anyone would want to endure going days at a time without showering or changing clothes, and at times hike in wet socks and shoes on a muddy trail.
In my case though, I had a choice of staying put at home out of the inclement weather today.
So what makes us go hiking in the rain, the snow, the bitter cold, away from the creature comforts of our own home ?
My answer is below.
Lone Wolf
10-24-2009, 22:21
i only hike in the rain if i'm caught in it.
Jack Tarlin
10-24-2009, 22:27
I did five in the rain today and it was all pretty miserable.
And the fact that it was all in Hanover didn't help much.
SmokyMtn Hiker
10-24-2009, 22:44
I just section hiked Erwin, TN to Hot Springs, NC last week 10/11 - 10/16 and it rained 4 1/2 days of the six. I saw that the weather forecast had changed a couple of days before I left and I went anyway. I had already taken the time off work and had myself prepared to go. I could have easily backed out but I said what the hell, besides it's always better than being at work, at least that was what I was telling myself on day 4 when it seemed like a monsoon had set in on me.
Wise Old Owl
10-24-2009, 22:57
I just try not to think about it, wear a good cap and head gear & keep going, if it gets really bad I tarp up and wait it out.
It's a sickness.
As I now have a real rain jacket, I too hike in the rain on purpose. And I love it,,,,, now! Improper rain gear, now that is a different story. :p
7.5 Days Of Rain Out Of 9 Days On My Recent Section From Franklin To Clingman's Dome. Fun Fun Fun. Now That Is It Over It Is Fun But It Was Pretty Miserable At The Time.
Beas
I don't begin in bitter weather.
I do a little weather forecasting, in fact.
I listen to the weather often at least 10 days in advance, looking at satellite photos and animation. I look as satellite photos of moisture.
I listen to weather radio: marine weather and weather for airline pilots, for lower air and upper air.
I adjust my pack, by reasonably anticipated weather changes, and, by season and by recorded weather for the area, especially so, if a region I have not hiked.
Extreme example, flash floods in slot canyons of The Arizona Strip. Rain many miles away, flash floods in the "desert".
I look at the cloud formations in the sky while outside hiking.
I feel air pressure changes. Other people use an altimeter as a barometer.
I pay attention to abrupt temperature changes. I set up shelter and get in it.
That said, I'll hike in a warm rain. That's fun. Thunder and lightning, no.
In western Washington State, I used to hike in cold rain wearing a Filson shirt and/or double layered ("pearl grey duck" outside and "gold" inside) British Ventile "mountaineering" jacket I got at REI on sale. I loved it.
Mud? Sometimes I wear my water crossing footwear.
One time I wore Seal Skinz "socks" in my boots.
I even have Warmers booties I haven't used, except for kayaking.
There are some "trails" I would consider kayaking.
I don't know how thru-hikers can stand it. Maybe they take a "zero day"?
LIhikers
10-25-2009, 00:12
We're crazy and out of our minds, that's why we do what we do.
At least that's what most of my friends think and family members are just too polite to say it. I bet your friends think so too!
gravy4601
10-25-2009, 00:14
i went hiking in the rain last week to test my new rain gear it worked for the first 10 miles bu even with the vents i managed to get a little wet under the arms
Jonnycat
10-25-2009, 00:18
We're crazy and out of our minds, that's why we do what we do.
Damn straight!
DaveJohns
10-25-2009, 03:16
So is it a good thing, or a bad thing, that i am WAITING for a bad weather day to get out and do 5 miles? I have new raingear, see, and I just thought...
We're crazy ... that's why we do what we do.A fine madness.
Compare perfect hiking days to the deluges and, hey, I'll take perfection. But, regardless of weather, I'll take the remote outdoors to just about anything else.
Its like Cabin Fever sometimes you just have to go. You buy gear that is suppose to make you comfy and you want to prove to your self that you spent the money wisely. Besides sometimes the inclement weather can make a hike even more fun.
While I enjoy great weather to hike in, a rain filled hike is still looked forward to. It is all part of the overall hiking experience. Spent the weekend up in Grayson Highlands several weeks ago in lots of rain. We stopped in a shelter for lunch and found it filled with hikers waiting out the rain. after lunch we proceeded on our way. Having good gear for the occaison helps, I found that my rainjacket needed a new coating to keep it waterproof. A tarp to cook and lounge under and a dry sleeping bag made for a dry warm night.
Call me nuts maybe, but the rain is no reason for me to not go out. It brings a inner reflection that is different from those of great weather. I also like to hike in the snow.
i love the rain :D ... but then again ive never hiked 20 or so miles in it :-? but hey its a free shower right :P haha
FIRST POST EVER :D :banana:banana:banana :D
mister krabs
10-25-2009, 06:46
i love the rain :D ... but then again ive never hiked 20 or so miles in it :-? but hey its a free shower right :P haha
FIRST POST EVER :D :banana:banana:banana :D
:welcome to whiteblaze! :banana
cascader
10-25-2009, 08:27
maybe it's b/c I too am from Western Washington State, but light rains don't bother me. I'd much rather hike in a light rain than in 80 plus degrees heat--as I get older the heat really slows me down. A light rain often means cooler temps.
Thundershowers--I do notice those. I read once that on the AT, the majority of thundershowers don't start till after 4 pm. So, when I see those thunderheads sailing my way, I try to get to shelter or set up my tent by 4. I love being nice and dry in a shelter when the skies open up and rain pours down!
garlic08
10-25-2009, 10:38
I never thought about this. I think I only hike in wet weather if I need to get somewhere, whether on a thru hike or around town. I seldom do it for enjoyment. Now the snow is a different story--that can be downright pretty.
But there are many different types of rain, and I can think of several rainy days that would be very welcome. On my two hikes across Montana and Idaho, wildland fire was a real threat, if not to personal safety, then to continuing the hike. A nice cool rainy day without lightning would have been the most welcome day imaginable. I can remember one shower that cooled off a very hot day and the rain drops were beading off the lupine leaves--one my best memories of the hike.
There are also types of rain that can be extremely hazardous, like in the slot canyons as Blissful mentioned, and lightning storms above treeline, or freezing rain on rock which can turn a Class I walk into a Class V adventure.
buff_jeff
10-25-2009, 13:53
I actually enjoy hiking in warm rain. If it's cold and rainy...it's not good.
Bezekid609
10-25-2009, 15:03
ha indeed a good qoute... my one trip to shenandoah my only souvenier aside from memories and pictures is a blue shirt with a scene off one of SNPs many vistas with that very qoute underneath it and shenandoah national park above it... i couldnt agree more, im really looking forward to a winter hike or two this upcoming season. enjoy the trails
Why do I hike in the rain?????/ Because I get 1 and 1/2 off from work a week.
I try not to hike in the rain. I live in southern California so it's not hard to avoid.
FritztheCat
10-25-2009, 22:03
Its another rainy day here in my back yard, yet my plans for a day hike in SNP were still on.
Hope you made it to SNP! I just came back from a weekend hike there and it was awesome! Wet only on Saturday but then cleared up Saturday night.
The only time I truly dread the rain is at the start of a trip. Hate stepping out into the rain with all dry gear. Once I'm out, or if it starts while I'm out, I don't mind it, in fact, most of the time I enjoy it. It's pretty easy to stay warm while hiking, can get a bit tiring if you don't get a chance to stop for a break, but an extra insulating layer handy to put on quickly helps there too.
I think the forests are extremely beautiful in the subdued light and while wet. Even tree bark, rocks and mud becomes vivid. Add to that some lingering wet green leaves or better yet fall color and it can't be beat. Try some photography.
I also get a very "snug" feeling if I'm hiking in the rain, but have on my rain gear and I'm staying comfortable (squishing feet must be ignored), listening to the rain pelt my hood. Kinda like the same coziness I feel when lying in my bag on a winter morning, warm and secure.
Maybe I'm weird, but I often choose to take walks around home on rainy nights or, even better heavy, snowy nights. I feel great.
Having said all that, I also feel great when I make it to the shelter/camp just in time and watch the waterworks start from inside. Go figure!
Because staying inside sucks...
:)
ShelterLeopard
10-26-2009, 01:17
I love hiking in the rain. If it's the last day of the hike and I'm on my way to warm clothes and a bath. Honestly though, I really don't mind the rain or the cold. I've gotten to be an expert at keeping my in camp stuff dry- no matter how wet I am whilst hiking, I can always (knock on wood) get dry in camp. Especially if I'm in a sturdy, dry shelter.
I've learned that, for me, a layer of plastic in my pack just doesn't cut it. I use Outdoor Research dry bags (the kind you use for kayaking to keep things dry), because they aren't too heavy and NEVER fail, for all my clothing and my sleeping bag. I use double ziplocs on everything else, and I use a really good pack cover. I'm a dry freak. One thing I make sure, is that my gear can stay dry. That way, when I'm hiking and it rains, I totally don't care that my hiking clothes and boots are soaked. When I pull in to camp, I can be dry again! Waking up and forcing yourself to put those wet freezing cold clothes back on though? Takes a lot of will power. Never give in to temptation to wear your dry clothes during the day-always keep one set of everything dry-socks, underwear, shirt, pants- if you have all wet clothing, the chance you'll get hypothermic shoots through the roof. They will get wet.
(I'll admit though, after five solid days of rain and no sun? Things get a little damp...)
:-?I know you didn't ask how to keep stuff dry. You just asked why we do what we do. But I just got carried away. :banana
I wish there was a good way to keep your feet dry and prevent that squishing in the shoes. Then I think I would really enjoy the rain.
I wish there was a good way to keep your feet dry and prevent that squishing in the shoes. Then I think I would really enjoy the rain.
If it's really important to you, you might try putting plastic bags over your socks before putting your boots on. This will keep your socks dry from rain/snow. Have to watch out for how much you sweat.
In extremely cold weather, you should put plastic bags on your feet, then your socks, then another plastic bag. This system works as a vapor barrier and keeps the socks dry from both sweat and snow/rain.
Bread bags work well. Used this method since I was a kid and was being sent out to play all day. Try it, you might like it.
Bread bags work well. Used this method since I was a kid and was being sent out to play all day. Try it, you might like it.
BagTex! :)
I have a hard time getting out of my tent in the rain. Last week I went on a four day hike and had three days of great weather. The fourth morning it was raining. When it stopped I got out of my tent to pack up, and as soon as I had my tent down with most of my stuff laying on the ground it began to downpour. It was the last day of my trip so I made the choice to walk three road miles rather than the 5.3 trail miles to get back to the trailhead. I rarely seek out the rain.
johnnybgood
10-26-2009, 16:05
Hope you made it to SNP! I just came back from a weekend hike there and it was awesome! Wet only on Saturday but then cleared up Saturday night.
I went ahead with my plans cause Sunday wasn't gonna work for me, there were other obligations .
Ironically enough , I needed to make-up a section between Gravel Springs Hut to Elkwallow because I took a zero day to dry out after 3 days of solid rain back in May during my section.
To stay the course I jumped ahead .
Oh well , I really don't mind hiking in the rain for a day.
It beats being at work more times than not.;)
ChinMusic
10-26-2009, 16:18
Thunder and Lightning are the bomb. But, I've never been caught on a ridge. I guess that might change my thoughts.
ShoelessWanderer
10-26-2009, 16:32
Its another rainy day here in my back yard, yet my plans for a day hike in SNP were still on.
I know thru hikers expect mother nature to deal them all kinds of weather during their 4-6 month long journey.
That too is a question of why anyone would want to endure going days at a time without showering or changing clothes, and at times hike in wet socks and shoes on a muddy trail.
In my case though, I had a choice of staying put at home out of the inclement weather today.
So what makes us go hiking in the rain, the snow, the bitter cold, away from the creature comforts of our own home ?
My answer is below.
Was hiking in SNP this weekend also. Loved it! Why not hike in the rain? How else did you get to enjoy everything mother nature offers?
I have tried bags on my feet but they break after a few minutes. Plus it feels weird. I wish that my rain chaps had footies that slipped over my shoes or something like that so that the "plastic bags" could be on the outside. Then there would be no squishing, either.
ShoelessWanderer
10-27-2009, 10:50
Hope you made it to SNP! I just came back from a weekend hike there and it was awesome! Wet only on Saturday but then cleared up Saturday night.
Hmm :-?...are you sure you were at SNP this weekend...I don't believe you... :rolleyes:
Rain Man
10-27-2009, 11:11
Because it's my name?! LOL You do get to see things in the rain that you don't see otherwise.
My first trip on the AT was from Springer to Neels Gap, three and a half days in July/August. It rained twice every day and it rained every night. LOVED it!
Rain:sunMan
.
texascampgal
10-27-2009, 11:57
Compare perfect hiking days to the deluges and, hey, I'll take perfection. But, regardless of weather, I'll take the remote outdoors to just about anything else.
Well said. Ditto.
lazy river road
10-27-2009, 12:39
Two rain questions.....
1. What type of rain gear to most people use...I hear Arcteryx is the best but its like $400 for a rain jacket a bit above my price range....any other suggestions?
(This is partial question/scenario)
2. You wake up and your hike that day consists off walking several miles along a ridge. Its raining pretty hard, the sky dosent look like it clearing up any time soon. What do you do? Do you take a zero day, do you just go on and hope it dosent lightning while your on the ridge (but that would be stupid and be asking for a lightning bolt through your head). How and what is the best way to determine if it is safe or not to hike that particular day along the particular ridge.
and to answer the question, I hike in the rain bc if we wait for things in life to pass us by then life it's self will pass us by :0)
Its another rainy day here in my back yard, yet my plans for a day hike in SNP were still on.
I know thru hikers expect mother nature to deal them all kinds of weather during their 4-6 month long journey.
That too is a question of why anyone would want to endure going days at a time without showering or changing clothes, and at times hike in wet socks and shoes on a muddy trail.
In my case though, I had a choice of staying put at home out of the inclement weather today.
So what makes us go hiking in the rain, the snow, the bitter cold, away from the creature comforts of our own home ?
My answer is below.
Much of the answer is a matter of perspective. Like Henry Ford is credited with saying, "whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're right." It's how you think about things.
I look at it as, "Nothing makes me hike or hike in the rain. I get to hike. I get to hike in the rain. I get to smell the forest in the rain. I get to hear the tap tap tap of raindrops on the glistening verdant plants. I get to look up into the sky watching 1000's of raindrops freefalling to the Earth. I get to hear how quiet the wet forests are. I get to feel the rain on my face - drip down my forehead, wet my eye lashes, and moisten my lips. I get to see the brooks turn into brown muddy raging rivers. I get to watch the raindrops fall onto the surface of the lake making little expanding bull's eyes. I get to slosh/hike up the trail when it has turned into a river. I get to peel off those soaked clothes at the end of the day. I get to snuggle into my dry sleeping bag after a rainy day. Rain is part of what makes hiking wonderful. That's right! I said it and meant it! Hiking in the rain lets you know you are alive!
Much of the enjoyment of hiking in the rain, even long hard cold rain, is in how one thinks about it and, of course, being properly prepared. For me, it's the same with hiking in 120 temps in Death Valley NP, facing a 5000 ft ascent, a long hitch in to town to resupply, or not seeing another soul for 2 wks. while on a trail. I would find it a shame if someone didn't get to experience and enjoy hiking in the rain! What a great loss!
As for someone enduring something, I ask myself that question all the time. Why would someone endure and endure and endure a job they despise? Why would someone endure hr after mindless hr. letting the airwaves of the Boob Tube turn their brains into mush and program their thoughts/behaviors with someone else's agenda? Why would someone endure day after day month after month yr after yr. in those cramped expensive wheeled boxes caught in traffic snarls choking on pollution? Why does someone not choose to live a life of abundance, health, vitality, and longevity but instead choose to dig their own early graves with their teeth by what they consume?
Sounds a little, maybe a lot, too deep? Perhaps, but then I also laugh, sing and dance in the rain! I have songs on my IPOD that I play when I hike just when it's raining. They remind me how wonderful the rain can be! Singing in the rain! Oh, what a wonderful day!
Graywolf
10-27-2009, 21:10
because it is another way to enjoy nature, those who hike in all weathers understand nature the most...
Thn again, we could be just crazy...:D
Hiking in the rain is fine. It's camping in the rain I can't figure out. I'm afraid to cook under the tarp, because the highest point is the length of my hiking pole(~three feet) and I figure the trangia will melt the sylnylon. A dry bag works once and wet clothes in my bivy turns into condensation and drips on me all night. If I could figure out how to cook and dry my clothes, I wouldn't have a problem with the rain.