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  1. #1
    TuanJie's Avatar
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    Outdoor Activities

    A thread for sharing our passion for the outdoors. Dreams, plans, ideas, successes, failures, surprises, gear, tips, tricks, stories, links, the whole shebang.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    @Shredder
    Just picking up where we left on the blog section...
    I like your idea of dehydrating food yourself. Not restricted to the outdoors. The Australian climate is perfect for a solar powered diy apparatus, I recon. Been wanting to build one for ages. Never got to it.

    I have practically zero experience using dehydrated food in the field. Probably a must for a more daring/longer expedition. Would be great to hear about your future experiments with it. Have you used dehydrated meals a lot?

    Researching shoes for the Camino I came across Merrell shoes quite a bit. A lot of people are fond of them. Pretty affordable too. They were in the race for me too. Over here it's becoming increasingly difficult to find an actual store to try on shoes before purchasing. Another reason I ended up with the Decathlon shoes. Just ordering a bunch and sending most back I don't particularly like. I usually watch tonnes of vids on a particular topic and look for experienced, no BS folks who know what they're talking about. Hopefully patterns start to emerge after a while.

    With regards to blogging on a hike, my first idea is that it's an extra hassle, even a pain in the arse. But that's partially my aversion to the phone in general speaking. Or I'm not social enough, lol. Perhaps voice recording is an option. It's way faster. We'll see.

    Are you familiar with OsmAnd? It requires no cell reception or sim card to work. Just works with satellite. Free of charge. Been using it for navigation in an old smart phone for years this way. This is what I used to get to the caravan in Portugal in the dark as well. Just the phone mounted on the bike, loaded with a route I had saved as a gpx file. It saved my arse. Plenty of spots without reception there too. Navigation is a weak point of mine. I'd mess up with a compass and map. Especially in the dark and even more so in the rain.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    @Shredder
    A friend just did the Munda Biddi trail by bike. 1040 km. With Roughly 35 degrees C temps. That would destroy me.
    @Kesky
    Is walking a shorter leg of the PCT an option for you? I mean, the PCT isn't exactly a walk in the park. I've come across many vids around it, while researching for the Camino. I do get this an ultimate sense of freedom vibe from some vloggers. Once infected, it'll probably change you forever.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    Kesky's Avatar
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    @TuanJie

    I've hiked several of the central/northern sections but only on day hikes. I've never been backpacking at all so it's likely something that, if I were to get serious, would entail some short overnighters. I'm having some health problems I'm hoping can be alleviated. Right now I would be more inclined to find a way to get to the Amazon and stay in one of the eco lodges. I had the lodge picked out around 5 years ago but lost track of my research. My first love is the rainforest. I may be able to compromise and do Costa Rica or an Hawaiian Island etc. I've gotta get myself in better shape though. Right now I'm ok endurance-wise but probably at about 60 to 70%.

  5. #5
    Otherside's Avatar
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    Weatjers a bit rubbish so not done much hiking. Thinking of going foraging in the woods near here though. Seeing if there is any sloes left for gin. Wild garlic should start to appear soon as well.
    I'M GONNA FIGHT 'EM ALL
    A SEVEN NATION ARMY COULDN'T HOLD ME BACK.......


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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    @Kesky
    How was it to hike those central/northern sections of the PCT? Those damn health issues. Sorry about that man. I'm with you on the rain forest. Ever since I was a kid, it has been a dream to visit one. I had dreams about becoming a researcher there too. The only time I came close was in the South of China, in a park. I didn't want to leave. I felt so much at home there. A serious case of biophilia. Some health issues are making me dread going to a hot and humid environment though. I have a histamine issue, giving me hives in those conditions. Plus hot nights often spell nightmares and terrible sleep quality for me. I may take my chances one day though. I'm not familiar with eco lodges. Do you have a link perhaps? I do find it well worth working towards a goal like this. It's uplifting, and motivates to take on some challenges to get in shape on various levels.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    @Otherside
    Foraging in winter, nice I'm embarrassed to say I haven't explored the UK. The idea of hiking there in summer got really interesting to me in recent years. I find myself wanting to escape even the Dutch sun, since summers have become pretty brutal here too. As a kid I was excited by the prospect of our summers getting warmer. Far from it now.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    Yesterday I sat out for a 22km hike with the gear I'm considering to use on the Camino. The route went mostly through farmland, without much options for shelter. The weather forecast was good for the purpose of early stage testing. Just a couple of degrees above freezing, no sun, a bit of a breeze, no rain predicted. I decided to hazard it and not take a jacket. My poncho could function as such, in case I got too cold. It was a bit too cold, actually. As long as I was hiking, it was just about doable. For some reason I didn't feel like unpacking the poncho, so I did the whole hike with one layer short.

    By the end of the hike I had a bunch of aches. Nothing serious, just uncomfortable. I was definitively stretching it a bit, but seemed to get away with it. I had planned to take off my shoes and vent my feet roughly half way, but I couldn't find a spot to do so. By the end, I suspected I had seriously sweaty feet (this is why I'd love to not wear goretex/mid cut shoes). No sense of blisters forming though. I had used vaseline as a precaution. One thing I wanted to find out was how well this would work for me over such a stretch. When I finally managed to take off the shoes, I was relieved to see it had mainly worked as hoped. Except for one spot that got too wrinkly to my liking. Talc is another option, but it would make such a mess (in the albergues) that I'd rather not opt for that. I'm curious to see if it works better if I apply a bit more vaseline next time. So one more thing to test. I did end up deciding I definitely need to take a puffer jacket on the Camino. Now I'm doubting whether to leave my thin fleece at home, use the zipper in the puffer jacket to adjust for the temperature, and hope it's warm enough to get me through some more serious cold plus wind. Mainly the first day through the Pyrenees is a concern. I saw a vid of people surprised by a blizzard, April first or so. I'm aiming to go one week prior to that. Yet also to take the lower route, which I haven't filled in the details of. This kind of cold is potentially dangerous, so if there's any part of the journey I can't afford to be careless about, it's this one. Sometimes I'm actually happy with my anxious brain.

    I ended up walking 32km overall that day. Way more than anticipated and what I'm used to running. It's good to know I can handle that. At least on the flat and paved roads over here. I'm very happy I didn't get blisters or anything like it, so the shoes seem to be a good choice. Despite them being too much of a sauna for my feet. This morning I ordered a puffer jacket which can be folded very compactly. On paper it's only 370 gram and comfy between 5C below and above freezing. Sounds like the perfect weight to functionality ratio for the purpose. A productive test :-)
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    Shredder's Avatar
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    @TuanJie Well done with the test hike! I've loaded OsmAnd (thanks for the tip!) and imported a trail I'm thinking of doing - It's a 28km, Grade 4 circuit hike over 2 days with about 1100m of steep climbing. Lots of rivers, gorges and there is an old disused goldmine to explore near the designated campsite.

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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    @Shredder
    Thanks. That plan for that hike sounds exciting. Pretty brutal too. Middle of nowhere-ish?
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    TuanJie's Avatar
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    If anybody has experience using a tool to calculate hiking time in a mountainous area, I'd be happy to hear. Especially if it's an app, which works off line. This is a web based version of something I'd like to have installed on my phone.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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    Kesky's Avatar
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    @TuanJie

    I love any wilderness trail and the sections of the PCT I've hiked were beautiful. I tend to hike very fast, charging ahead to see what's over the next ridge or around the next turn or to get to the forest canopy. I'm at home in the thicket, deep forest or jungle, stream-crossing etc. so I much prefer the rain forest (done numerous hikes in Hawaii) even though I am a mosquito magnet. I tend to slow down and savor it more when in the jungle. I do like the mountains but the air is too dry for my liking. I like a higher degree of humidity. I had a lodge picked out in the Amazon 5 or 6 years ago but it was cost prohibitive. I'm not sure they're still operating but there are some that are similar. I would want to be as remote as possible, preferably a research outpost or something like that. This is one I found recently that looks interesting...

    https://www.amazonadventures.com/tam...ch-center.html

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    Kesky's Avatar
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    This hike sounds really cool @Shredder . Keep us posted. @TuanJie Good luck on your hike as well!
    Now I've got to follow your examples and get off my ass.
    My current hikes are half hour dog walks.

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    Quote TuanJie View Post
    Middle of nowhere-ish?
    It's about 1 hour drive to get there. I imagine I'll bump into others on the hike. Ultimately, I 'd like to get real far away and secluded but I want to get some experience under my belt first.
    @TuanJie That hiking calculator would be an asset. I have to admit that when I walk locally, I just go... then once I'm walking my mind tends to go off into la-la-land which can be kinda dangerous if I'm in a remote or unfamiliar location. Often when I walk I don't even know where I'm going, I just put one foot in front of the other. The whole planning and calculation side of things is rather challenging for me.

    @Kesky hiking the amazon would be an incredible experience!!!

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    @Kesky
    That is awesome! And I totally get your wish to be there. I had no idea a research outpost was an option for hikers. Expensive, off course.
    The best book I read about trauma since '97 is Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving

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