"addicted" to hiking

[kayak karl]

i was left on the job to wait for a inspector in a church hall where we built new bathrooms. while i was waiting i found a box of Lincoln Logs. as i was building SHELTERS the inspector walked in (he knows me). he said "we're going to find you in Riverview Park camping n' cooking the ducks some day. aren't we?" i just smiled

[JAK]

My Momma always said, 'everything in moderation, including moderation'.

[Dogwood]

How do you guys handle this "problem"? I have no desire to do anything but hike right now. I feel like my hike this summer has "ruined" me, and I know the same thing will happen after my next hike. It's just a totally insatiable desire. I've fallen off on school work. I don't care about pursuing a long-term career. I've just been totally indifferent to everything. What helps you guys get through the day when hiking isn't an option at the moment?

Maybe, hiking isn't the problem. Maybe, it's that U have not found a way to organize your life to include more hiking. No matter what situation U R currently in, U can find a way to live your dreams with passion and joy. And, if hiking is your passion, joy, and dream it's your life to live. BUT, if U think hiking is somehow going to keep U from avoiding responsibility, commitment, and work in the long term U R fooling yourself. Life is short. ENJOY IT! Find a way!

[JAK]

Slept out again last night. Windy but not as cold. I used the bivy sac but it didn't rain after all. Put out two apples but nothing came for them in the night. Lower back still killing me. Tonight I will use the ground and see if I can find a spot that fits my butt.

[Tipi Walter]

Slept out again last night. Windy but not as cold. I used the bivy sac but it didn't rain after all. Put out two apples but nothing came for them in the night. Lower back still killing me. Tonight I will use the ground and see if I can find a spot that fits my butt.

Good to hear of your attempts. I like you setting out two apples to lure in the wildlife. I set out a sierra cup of partially eaten lentils one night next to my face and woke up with a skunk slurping up a bit and taking a few seconds to gaze into my eyes before continuing. Gotta love the wildlife. I know, the fear-mongers will chime in with Rabies!! Keep Away!! Wild animals are not Pets!!! Etc . . . . But what do they know? They haven't slept out in years.

Instead of throwing a bedroll on the ground every night, I have a basecamp tent permanently set up on 2 acres behind my GF's "Cherokee Longhouse"(doublewide trailer), and it serves as my bag-night college and outdoor university. Love it, need it, etc.

[JAK]

Nice setup. Git me thinking some more.

While I continue my experiment to fine tune my backpacking camp setups for the coming season (I am still looking for a little more comfort without resorting to inflatables or hammocks) I think I will also build something like a wigwam for the backyard. Just a small one, just big enough for me and my daughter and my Kelly Kettle when sleeping but perhaps a few more of her friends when sitting. If I do it right they will all get together and throw me out and I will have to build another one just for myself.

I think it will be more or less traditional except for the birch bark. Plenty of saplings around for bent poles and sleeping cots, and I think I'll use jute instead of spruce root, but we don't have a lot of big pieces of birch bark and I wouldn't want to use it if we did. Tyvek maybe, but cut into birch bark sized pieces. Be nice to get that stuff without the logos. Maybe a little white paint over that. Maybe a little more paint and it might even look like birch bark. Maybe do some tests with linseed oil and white pigments and burlap to see if I can make my own bark. Make sure it isn't too flammable, or smelly.

[Tipi Walter]

Nice setup. Git me thinking some more.

While I continue my experiment to fine tune my backpacking camp setups for the coming season (I am still looking for a little more comfort without resorting to inflatables or hammocks) I think I will also build something like a wigwam for the backyard. Just a small one, just big enough for me and my daughter and my Kelly Kettle when sleeping but perhaps a few more of her friends when sitting. If I do it right they will all get together and throw me out and I will have to build another one just for myself.

I think it will be more or less traditional except for the birch bark. Plenty of saplings around for bent poles and sleeping cots, and I think I'll use jute instead of spruce root, but we don't have a lot of big pieces of birch bark and I wouldn't want to use it if we did. Tyvek maybe, but cut into birch bark sized pieces. Be nice to get that stuff without the logos. Maybe a little white paint over that. Maybe a little more paint and it might even look like birch bark. Maybe do some tests with linseed oil and white pigments and burlap to see if I can make my own bark. Make sure it isn't too flammable, or smelly.

Before I put up my Cabelas 12x12 basecamp tent in 2005, at the same spot I had a Witu lodge, shaped like a huge sweatlodge with a 14 foot diameter. Check out the fotogs. I had a little woodstove for the winter and covered it in a huge piece of buckskin colored canvas.

[JAK]

Nice. Real nice. Now I see why that beautiful mutt puts up with that ugly mug of yours.

Did the stove pipe work ok like that? Bet it got pretty toasty.

[johnnybgood]

I too find myself thinking about hiking all the time. The people I work with make subtle references about my "mountain man" personna as if I have NOTHING better to do. Wish I could make a decent living hiking and talking to folks who understand the passion that we all have to explore the many different terrains in every corner of this country by simply putting one foot in front of the other.Hiking is the only addiction which keeps me outta trouble bruttha.