My Dumbest Backpacking Mistakes
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Date: 2020-08-18
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Comments and reviews: 10
Wolf
One time on a day hike up Mount Tongariro, our group nearly lost someone to hypothermia - she was wearing only light clothing and it took us a while to notice that she'd stopped interacting with everyone. by which time she was so hypothermic she was practically running on autopilot. We all had plenty of spare warm clothing (if she'd asked us sooner, when she first felt cold, we could've avoided the problem) which we put on her and we had to carry on to get to safety. After a while, she stopped walking of her own volition and would only walk if someone took her hand and led her. Then she got to the point we had to move her feet to get her over difficult bits. By the time we got to the nearest hut, she was practically catatonic. Fortunately, there was a group of Scouts at the hut and they had the fire going. They also had food, sleeping bags and warm drinks. We left someone there with her and the rest of us carried on to get back to town and get medical assistance. Fortunately, we'd got her to shelter in time and she made a full recovery.
Insidious stuff, is hypothermia.
Only night hike I've done was on an established (and familiar to me) trail when we had to bug out from our campsite due to sudden rain and the risk of a flash flood. We'd got to the camping site and set up long before nightfall, but the return home was in the dark lit only by my hand-held dynamo light. Slippery wet trail, rain, darkness - not something I want to repeat again.
Only raging river crossing I've had to make was with a group of friends - once again it was a sudden downpour, this time on the morning we were planning to head back. The river we crossed on the way in was now a raging torrent and we had to form a human chain across it.
The outdoors is fun - but it's got enough risks to keep anyone on their toes.
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One time on a day hike up Mount Tongariro, our group nearly lost someone to hypothermia - she was wearing only light clothing and it took us a while to notice that she'd stopped interacting with everyone. by which time she was so hypothermic she was practically running on autopilot. We all had plenty of spare warm clothing (if she'd asked us sooner, when she first felt cold, we could've avoided the problem) which we put on her and we had to carry on to get to safety. After a while, she stopped walking of her own volition and would only walk if someone took her hand and led her. Then she got to the point we had to move her feet to get her over difficult bits. By the time we got to the nearest hut, she was practically catatonic. Fortunately, there was a group of Scouts at the hut and they had the fire going. They also had food, sleeping bags and warm drinks. We left someone there with her and the rest of us carried on to get back to town and get medical assistance. Fortunately, we'd got her to shelter in time and she made a full recovery.
Insidious stuff, is hypothermia.
Only night hike I've done was on an established (and familiar to me) trail when we had to bug out from our campsite due to sudden rain and the risk of a flash flood. We'd got to the camping site and set up long before nightfall, but the return home was in the dark lit only by my hand-held dynamo light. Slippery wet trail, rain, darkness - not something I want to repeat again.
Only raging river crossing I've had to make was with a group of friends - once again it was a sudden downpour, this time on the morning we were planning to head back. The river we crossed on the way in was now a raging torrent and we had to form a human chain across it.
The outdoors is fun - but it's got enough risks to keep anyone on their toes.
reply
Mel
Not a hiker. but as a surf lifeguard and a kayaker if I were to swim across with a pack:
I'd take the pack off so I can let go if i need to, hold it to my chest or loop one arm through a strap, and then swim across sideways or facing slightly downwards. This technique works regardless of whether your pack is bouyant or not, but obviously your success with any method depends on your swimming ability, pack weight, and river speed+depth.
If your pack happens to be boyant you can also lean on it or use it to prop you up from this position.
If your pack is bouyant, it's probably MORE dangerous to wear it since it may push your head under(like putting a adult life jacket on a child) which is what you also experienced.
I wouldn't ever ride it like you described some people doing since you may fall/roll and hit your head on rocks. Packs aren't made to be stable in water like surfboards or kayaks, especially in rough or fast water it'd be like trying to ride a barrel.
Floundering due to the pack rolling may also mean you;
A) loose the pack
B) get swept further downriver during recovery than you originally intended to go
If you are really struggling, it's better to drop the pack, finish the swim, and pick up the pack downriver where it washes up, or to just accept your loss and try get to a town without it. a couple days trek to town with no food or water, is better than being dead.
If you are starting to feel weak while swimming, are taking on water, or think you are approaching a dangerous area(eg rapids/rocks, it's definitely time to ditch the pack and get to shore ASAP.
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Not a hiker. but as a surf lifeguard and a kayaker if I were to swim across with a pack:
I'd take the pack off so I can let go if i need to, hold it to my chest or loop one arm through a strap, and then swim across sideways or facing slightly downwards. This technique works regardless of whether your pack is bouyant or not, but obviously your success with any method depends on your swimming ability, pack weight, and river speed+depth.
If your pack happens to be boyant you can also lean on it or use it to prop you up from this position.
If your pack is bouyant, it's probably MORE dangerous to wear it since it may push your head under(like putting a adult life jacket on a child) which is what you also experienced.
I wouldn't ever ride it like you described some people doing since you may fall/roll and hit your head on rocks. Packs aren't made to be stable in water like surfboards or kayaks, especially in rough or fast water it'd be like trying to ride a barrel.
Floundering due to the pack rolling may also mean you;
A) loose the pack
B) get swept further downriver during recovery than you originally intended to go
If you are really struggling, it's better to drop the pack, finish the swim, and pick up the pack downriver where it washes up, or to just accept your loss and try get to a town without it. a couple days trek to town with no food or water, is better than being dead.
If you are starting to feel weak while swimming, are taking on water, or think you are approaching a dangerous area(eg rapids/rocks, it's definitely time to ditch the pack and get to shore ASAP.
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Becca
Your crossing story is why women die so less frequently when solo hiking. Great job turning around.
On the pack issue, baby salmon and trout have flotation sacs on their bellies that support the idea of pacs worn on the front are easier.
But maybe the best thing to do is take your pack and gear on one of tla hot summer days to a nearby pond or lake and play around with the most comfortable way to move with your pack in almost too deep water. Yes, all your gear gets wet but it'll dry. But having a plan before it is an issue is so much easier.
I worked as a fisheries field worker and we would practice whitewater techniques like flooding your waders, pretending to lose your footing and be swept away (eddy-ing out, and foot entrapment simulations in safe, lower water conditions with some rope throw bags and folks around. When it actually happened, reacting was so much more instinctual. Plus, it's just really fun to eddy out.
reply
Your crossing story is why women die so less frequently when solo hiking. Great job turning around.
On the pack issue, baby salmon and trout have flotation sacs on their bellies that support the idea of pacs worn on the front are easier.
But maybe the best thing to do is take your pack and gear on one of tla hot summer days to a nearby pond or lake and play around with the most comfortable way to move with your pack in almost too deep water. Yes, all your gear gets wet but it'll dry. But having a plan before it is an issue is so much easier.
I worked as a fisheries field worker and we would practice whitewater techniques like flooding your waders, pretending to lose your footing and be swept away (eddy-ing out, and foot entrapment simulations in safe, lower water conditions with some rope throw bags and folks around. When it actually happened, reacting was so much more instinctual. Plus, it's just really fun to eddy out.
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Kaleb
I find that the best way to cross a stream in a group is facing each other or in a ring if there are 3 people. Sinch up the straps on your shoulders tight to your body and everyone hangs onto the people next to them by those straps. Largest person/people should always be upstream to create an eddy that the smaller folks can wade safely in. Move as a team with as many points of contact with the stream bed as possible at any given time and with good communication. Steer clear of crossing upstream of strainers/sweepers. and always pack an easy access blade for if you fall in the water. Love the video, keep up the amazing work!
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I find that the best way to cross a stream in a group is facing each other or in a ring if there are 3 people. Sinch up the straps on your shoulders tight to your body and everyone hangs onto the people next to them by those straps. Largest person/people should always be upstream to create an eddy that the smaller folks can wade safely in. Move as a team with as many points of contact with the stream bed as possible at any given time and with good communication. Steer clear of crossing upstream of strainers/sweepers. and always pack an easy access blade for if you fall in the water. Love the video, keep up the amazing work!
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Derek
Not necessarily backpacking, but when I was probably 15 or 16 I was camping in northern Ontario with a friend's family. My friend and I took a canoe out and decided to climb a waterfall. I slipped, and I started to get pushed by the flow of water. Luckily there was a little rocky shelf that I happened to be lined up with at the time or I would have been dead. I earned a lot of respect for flowing water that day.
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Not necessarily backpacking, but when I was probably 15 or 16 I was camping in northern Ontario with a friend's family. My friend and I took a canoe out and decided to climb a waterfall. I slipped, and I started to get pushed by the flow of water. Luckily there was a little rocky shelf that I happened to be lined up with at the time or I would have been dead. I earned a lot of respect for flowing water that day.
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Becca
I heard a statistic that hypothermia is most common between 40-60 degrees in wet conditions. Usually when it gets colder than that people instinctively bundle up and wear appropriate layers. At these moderate temperatures, when your body is exerting a lot of energy, you may under dress. The under dressing leads to being wet. When you stop moving, it is so much more dangerous.
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I heard a statistic that hypothermia is most common between 40-60 degrees in wet conditions. Usually when it gets colder than that people instinctively bundle up and wear appropriate layers. At these moderate temperatures, when your body is exerting a lot of energy, you may under dress. The under dressing leads to being wet. When you stop moving, it is so much more dangerous.
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Helen
I think one of the things l have to be wary of is comparison. A few of the times when l have messed up have been following along and copying someone else. Someone younger, stronger, lighter weight, more fit and with more resilience than myself. .. That's when l need to take a reality check and lose the feeling of shame/embarrassment. I need to find my own solution and own it.
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I think one of the things l have to be wary of is comparison. A few of the times when l have messed up have been following along and copying someone else. Someone younger, stronger, lighter weight, more fit and with more resilience than myself. .. That's when l need to take a reality check and lose the feeling of shame/embarrassment. I need to find my own solution and own it.
reply
ParisLondonRoma
In his autobiography, Ulysses S Grant describes moving across a cold steam while on horseback. He misjudged the stream, and ended-up in water up to is neck and floating down the stream. He made it out ok obvioulsy, but even t underscores how sneaky water can be. In the end, Grant needed to find a place to get dry. He end-up meeting his wife that way.
reply
In his autobiography, Ulysses S Grant describes moving across a cold steam while on horseback. He misjudged the stream, and ended-up in water up to is neck and floating down the stream. He made it out ok obvioulsy, but even t underscores how sneaky water can be. In the end, Grant needed to find a place to get dry. He end-up meeting his wife that way.
reply
John
I wish there was a way to find out how many people's lives you have literally saved sharing your hard earned wisdom. I bet the number is astonishing! If anyone deserves a Presidential Award, or what ever you consider the highest praise, you get my vote. The things you share here will be helping future generations long after you hang up your trail runners.
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I wish there was a way to find out how many people's lives you have literally saved sharing your hard earned wisdom. I bet the number is astonishing! If anyone deserves a Presidential Award, or what ever you consider the highest praise, you get my vote. The things you share here will be helping future generations long after you hang up your trail runners.
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derekspace
Yeah ya got to get out there but as a wise man once said. A man(or woman) has got to know their limitations. Lady your info you put out might save a life. I'm not kidding. Your info is top notch. Good on you. Keep doing what ya doing. Great content. I don't backpack any more but people got tot think things thru. Thank you! Just subbed.
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Yeah ya got to get out there but as a wise man once said. A man(or woman) has got to know their limitations. Lady your info you put out might save a life. I'm not kidding. Your info is top notch. Good on you. Keep doing what ya doing. Great content. I don't backpack any more but people got tot think things thru. Thank you! Just subbed.
reply
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