emma_melbourne wrote:@Walk_fatboy_walk and @nezumi
I got the gaiters mainly for snakebite protection. I'm not sure if I'll be wearing pants or a hiking skirt. (I do prefer a hiking skirt, but pants have some sensibility for sun protection and from branches or anything else I rub against, or if I trip help prevent the worst of the scrapes to the skin).
emma_melbourne wrote:Regards the "shakedown" - no I didn't know about it. But I always welcome people "shaking me down". If there's anything crazy in my pack - I'm always open to advice or at least questioning.
I shudder when I think at how much weight I stupidly took out on my first experiences. Ugh! Embarassing! Someone should have literally grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. lol. And the problem is the shops that sell gear want to sell you gear. lol
I was fortunate in that I started hiking in the Duke of Edingburgh program at a relatively young age. On our first hike (an overnighter) the hike leader/head of the DoE program insisted that all participants were driven to the trail head, and that we arrive by 8:00AM for a 9:00AM departure. Once we got there the reason for both of these requirements became apparent - you had to empty out your full pack for checking, and be able to repack it without taking too long. This meant that any useless or ridiculously heavy gear was left behind (
Single burner butane stove anyone?) and that you could repack your gear without needing to meticulously place every single item to cram it all in. He had a few spare replacements for almost any item that had to be abandoned. He also had a set of bathroom scales, to check everyone's pack weight versus body weight.
emma_melbourne wrote:@Walk_fatboy_walk and @nezumi
As I'm solo hiking, it also means I'm building in a bit of safety and redundancy, and taking a PLB and a SOL emergency bivvy "just in case". I haven't ever got into any trouble before. But I remember growing up in NZ you'd read quite frequently about hikers dying. Just last week, two hikers died a very short distance from a hut, and they weren't inexperienced hikers either. They had pretty good gear, but didn't have a map and compass or a PLB, and were caught out in viscious weather with extreme cold and reduced visibility, and got hypothermia and disorientated very quickly.
So I'm not going to die over not taking a compass, map, emergency bivvy, etc.
That's a fair point. There are a couple of phrases that summarise this attitude within the ultralight "community" - 'Hike your own hike' and 'don't go stupid light'. Stupid light is taking measures that reduce your weight, but in doing so put your own safety or the safety of others in jeopardy. Hike your own hike is pretty much "you do you" for hiking - as long as it doesn't hurt me or the environment, I'm not going to tell you how to do a hike.
I fully understand the concern for safety - I am a youngish dad of a 2.25 year old, so I of course want to ensure I take whatever steps are necessary to make it back to him. On the flip side, however, I'm not going to go so far onto the risk averse side that I don't have fun or take a chance on anything.