Boring Stuff

GWashington1732

GWashington1732

Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
13,240
Well, we all can read up on the hundred or so threads that pop up each month arguing the merits of saws and hatchets over big knives. Or the obscene number of threads showing the "proper" way to beat the crap out of your knife with a log. We can even read up on how to take on a bear with a smatchet. However, with all the focusing on the extremes, what horrible things might, maybe, possibly happen, people tend to forget that there are things that are very likely to happen which will ruin you day just as easily as if a ninja unleashes his pet tiger at you and you have to decide whether to use bear spray and a pointy stick to fend it off. For many of us this information will seem like common knowledge, but I can't count the number of people I've seen who don't understand simple concepts like basic first aid and personal hygiene, or even more simply how to dress themselves properly. I mean, it's great that you can make feather sticks but what good will it do you if you break your ankle because you weren't wearing the proper footwear.

I'm going to post them as I write them so I don't have to do it all at once and so I don't have a novel as a post.
 
Dressing yourself
We'll start with an easy, yet easy to do wrong, subject, dressing yourself for the weather. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people have an absolutely miserable time outdoors because of the way they dressed.

Let's start with your feet. Shoes should fit properly. I've only ever had one pair of shoes that fit me properly, they're my hiking boots. If your shoes aren't comfortable when you try them on in the store imagine how they'll feel after a day of walking in them. You'll want to cry, especially if you have to get up and walk back tomorrow. I have, on occasion, walked barefoot rather than walk in tight shoes. You may need a size of shoe not available at the shoe store, you should try to find it, it's worth it, if only for your hiking boots. Also wear the proper shoe for the occasion. Don't wear sandals on a hike, just don't do it, it's a terrible idea. Sneakers are okay for even terrain but if you're on uneven trails or mountains you should be in boots, they give you more ankle support, they're also good for bug control, I'll get to that later. You should remember that cotton socks get soggy and nasty when wet which feels absolutely miserable when it's cold, wool socks are better, and always pack extras. One other thing before I move on to layering, winter boots are not the same thing as hiking boots, I once saw my brother hike ten miles in winter boots in the middle of July, not the best choice, If nothing else, the smell will kill all wildlife in the area.

When it's cold layering is important, because, as common sense should tell you, you can take some off if it gets warmer. Limit the amount of cotton you wear in the winter, when it gets wet it gets heavy soggy and cold and it's just generally unpleasant, even when it's warm, wet cotton sucks; it's worse when it's cold. The layer that contacts your skin should be something that pulls moisture away from your skin. One thing on pants, jeans+snow=bad. Gloves and a hat are never a bad idea either. Oh, try not to sleep in the clothes you wore during the day unless you want to be a popsicle in a sleeping bag.

To close this part off I'll say one thing, always pack extra underwear, accidents do happen. :p

Feel free to add anything I skipped
 
+1 on proper footwear. Don't necessarily buy into the "they will break in" BS that some shoe salesmen give either. I helped cut disgusting blisters off the feet of a dude who took brand new boots on a trip once.... the moral-know your gear. I'm perfectly willing to spend the extra bucks on good shoes/boots than on the latest doohickey you may not use. Now a plug: Thor-lo socks- expensive but worth it.
 
Personal Hygiene

Think of it like preventative first aid. Some things that with a little care can be easily avoided, can absolutely ruin your trip if you're not careful.

1. Powder up- if you're like me your thighs chafe when you walk a lot, especially in the heat, once it happens your screwed. It can get pretty bad, I remember one day when I came home from work, I was chafed so bad I thought a trip to the hospital might have been in order. You see, if you let it go for too long the chafing will build up so bad that you'll bleed... a lot. Let's not forget crack chafing, the moment of utter terror when you look at the toilet paper and there's a bit of blood on it and you have to try to figure out if you should cry or not. Baby powder is the best solution if you're prone to chafing, it keeps you nice and dry and it keep itching down too. Gold Bond powder is good if you're already chafing and the extra strength stuff is like ice cubes. :thumbup:

2. That seems like a good way to lead into keeping these areas dry, you don't want to get fungus growing down there. Trust me jock itch sucks. In fact, if you sweat a lot, you might be ahead to pack a tube of anti fungal cream, in your first aid kit, just in case. Keeping dry will also prevent your underwear from bunching up and will keep itching down, both of which are pretty annoying when walking, unless you like stopping every couple hundred feet to adjust and scratch yourself.

3. Your feet- You kind of need them when your hiking. As I've already said, you can avoid blisters by wearing proper footwear. But you also need to keep your feet clean, fungus again, athletes foot is unpleasant. There are about a hundred different things that can happen to your feet to ruin your day and most of them can be avoided by keeping your feet warm, dry, and clean.

4. Wash your hands- Psst! Animals poop in the woods, anything you touch has potentially been crapped on recently, wash your hands before eating.

5. Brush your teeth, if you don't brush your teeth even for a few days, it can loosen any fillings you might have.

Once again feel free to chime in with anything you feel should be covered. There will be more.
 
Big garbage bags.
Can be used as rain ponchos, ground-sheets, tarps for shelter roofs...or packing your garbage out of the woods. :)
 
WRGreen said:
+1 on proper footwear. Don't necessarily buy into the "they will break in" BS that some shoe salesmen give either. I helped cut disgusting blisters off the feet of a dude who took brand new boots on a trip once.... the moral-know your gear. I'm perfectly willing to spend the extra bucks on good shoes/boots than on the latest doohickey you may not use. Now a plug: Thor-lo socks- expensive but worth it.
Click to expand...

Don't shop at the shoe store if they tell you they'll break in. They'll break in alright, in fact, they'll likely break out, all of my sneakers have holes where my toes have ripped through the sides. This is made worse by the fact that if your shoes are too tight, the soles are likely too small, this will result in you rolling your ankle a lot, and ankle injuries take forever to heal completely. I went out in my current boots on an 11 mile hike when I first got them, no blisters, they never even got uncomfortable. Fitting shoes are worth it.
 
Pesky bugs

Well there is a high risk of animal attacks in the woods, unfortunately, the type of animal I am thinking can not be fought off with a knife no matter how much you might like to try. I'm speaking of course of tiny little animals. Flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and mites are one of the unpleasant parts of the woods but there are ways to keep them off.

Chiggers will ruin your life, let alone your trip. Chiggers bites are the single most relentless unpleasant intensely itchy things on the planet. You can't imagine the itch, it could seriously trigger PTSD. This is one that your folding saw will help you with, because you'll try to use it to remove your feet. Unlike scabies these mite larva do not burrow into the skin, they attach like ticks eat predigested skin and drop off, once you have the bites they're long gone. There's also no treatment, you're stuck with them until they clear up, that could be weeks, and nothing makes them stop itching, the only thing that helps me when I get them is dunking my feet in a bucket of ice water, I was sleeping that way for a while. The only good treatment is prevention. Chiggers are most active late summer to early fall and they attack mostly on your ankles and it's not just high grass, it's any grass. The best thing I've used to keep them off is Buggspray, it goes by different names. The stuff you want is peremithrin spray for clothing, it won't work on skin, but if you spray your clothes, socks especially, down with this it will kill any mites that try to attach to you, should keep ticks and insects off you too. Also tuck your pants into your shoes. You really don't want to get these things on you.

Ticks and annoying and they carry diseases. If you get one on you, pull it of gently with tweezers. The worst part about ticks is, they love warm areas. Can you think of any warm areas on your body where you would never want something biting you? :eek: Prevention is the same as for chiggers pants in your boots, peremithrin, anything with DEET will work too. Make sure you check yourself good, the longer they're on you, the better the chance they'll transmit Lyme or RMSF to you. Oddly they like to get right between my shoulder blades where I can't reach them.

Mosquitoes carry more diseases than just about any other animal, and who likes mosquito bites. Tropical areas carry more risk of the really nasty mosquito born diseases, in these areas a mosquito net might be a good call. Otherwise bug sprays with DEET works wonders, other "all natural" bug sprays are available but from field work experience in extremely buggy areas, I think they're a crock. Never had any luck with them. If you're not too fond of spraying possibly poisonous chemicals on you, DEET works just as well on clothing.

Biting flies are fun. Their bites hurt and they have this annoying tendency to swarm all over you. I've done quite a bit of work in salt marshes and I have yet to find any solid defense against them. DEET works about as well as a solid gold airplane and no matter how much you cover up, they always find a place to bite you, even if that means chewing through your shirt first. The only advice I can give you is stay calm, go with it, they can sense it when you get agitated and that will only attract more.

If you're in an area with scorpions, I recommend shaking out your shoes before putting them on.


I think I'm done for the day, I've got a couple more I'll try to do tomorrow, then I post stuff up as I think of it.
 
A good pair of wicking boxer briefs cured the chafing problem for me. I highly recommend them.
 
Ex Officio and Duluth Trading have wicking underwear that will defeat chafing and dampness. I have CoolMax t-shirts that are great in warm weather but even more valuable in the cold. They keep sweat from building up under warm shirts and jackets.

I carry alcohol pads in summer for wiping down the itch from mosquito bites. They kill the infection so the itch won't return later, either. I also use them on scratches from thorns.
 
My tip: a good pair of polarized sunglasses are incredibly useful if you're anywhere that has a tendency to be sunny. A good pair of sunglasses will make things seem not just darker, but clearer, in a way that's comparable to a prescription lens. And in places that're really sunny, like the desert or the tropics, they'll hugely reduce eye fatigue.
You guys probably already know this, of course.

GWashington1732 said:
Don't shop at the shoe store if they tell you they'll break in. They'll break in alright, in fact, they'll likely break out, all of my sneakers have holes where my toes have ripped through the sides. This is made worse by the fact that if your shoes are too tight, the soles are likely too small, this will result in you rolling your ankle a lot, and ankle injuries take forever to heal completely.
Click to expand...
It sounds like whatever shoes you had that experience with just plain didn't fit. There's a difference between not fitting, and needing breaking in. Obviously, though, if you can find a shoe that doesn't need to be broken in, then that's awesome.

Also wear the proper shoe for the occasion. Don't wear sandals on a hike, just don't do it, it's a terrible idea. Sneakers are okay for even terrain but if you're on uneven trails or mountains you should be in boots, they give you more ankle support, they're also good for bug control, I'll get to that later.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with this. Some people don't need ankle support, or arch support, or lots of cushioning; others need one, two, or all three. It's all a matter of preference.
And sandals (ones with heel straps; I wouldn't want to do anything active in flip flops, though I'm sure there're people that do) can work fine for hiking, in places that don't have severe bug problems. People have completed the AT in them.
 
Last edited:
Dan57 said:
It sounds like whatever shoes you had that experience with just plain didn't fit. There's a difference between not fitting, and needing breaking in. Obviously, though, if you can find a shoe that doesn't need to be broken in, then that's awesome.
Click to expand...

There really is no difference not fitting and not broken in, if you get blisters from your shoes, they're either the wrong size, or crappy shoes. That's not to say they won't get more comfortable as you wear them, but they should never be uncomfortable, even after a long days walk.
 
GWashington1732 said:
There really is no difference not fitting and not broken in, if you get blisters from your shoes, they're either the wrong size, or crappy shoes. That's not to say they won't get more comfortable as you wear them, but they should never be uncomfortable, even after a long days walk.
Click to expand...

I bought a pair of Merrels that fit and felt great in the store. Took em on a hike the next day and got 3 nice big blisters.

2 months of 10-12 hour, 5-7 mile days at work later (not to mention several hikes), I've still only had 3 blisters from them.

They were the right size and a very nice brand, they just needed breaking in.
 
Trying shoes on in the store, you're walking on a thick carpet. Taking them out on the street or the trail, you're on hard and uneven ground.

So break them in by wearing them around the house in the evening for a few days. Your feet will be slightly swollen and maybe even sweaty, easier to effect the shoe without the shoe affecting you.
 
I don't see any reason to start an argument about it, I'll never buy a shoe if someone tells me it just needs to be broken in, bought way too many pairs of shoes that didn't fit for that. I don't go to a shoe store and ask for a 5E because I want a 4E that's two or three sizes too long, I go to a shoe store and ask for a 5E because I wear a 5E.

I'll end it out with a quick how to size your shoe bit; if it still needs to be broken in, I'll leave it at that.

When trying on shoes, go at the end of the day with the type of sock you're likely to be wearing for the type of shoe you're buying (thick socks for boots, dress socks for dress shoes). Toe to heel, your toes should be in the toe of the shoe with 1/2inch (~1.25cm) between your longest toe and the tip of the shoe, it shouldn't slide when you walk. Width is where I have the problem, the sides of the shoe should not push on your toes; your foot should go in snugly but it should not feel tight. You should still be able to move your toes a little bit. There can also be issues where your feet are too tall for the shoe, they make shoes for that as well.

I've worn shoes that didn't fit for years because I couldn't find anything that even came close and I didn't know how to fit them properly, I still have trouble, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of other people are walking around in poorly fit shoes.
 
I have a friend that works at a shoe store. One problem he encounters is customers requesting shoes that are too long. Once they get the correct width they usually drop 1/2 to a full size. Also, feet seem to grow as we age, or rather my feet seem to have grown as I have aged.
If you have a brief flash that something might not be a good idea rethink it a couple of times. I like to think my guardian angle is talking to me.
 
I agree with most of the stuff but need to weigh in on sandals. Not everyone needs a full boot to be happy. Sandals have worked for me in the past and Rome built its empire on marching in sandals. The ventilation you get with sandals keeps your feet dry and that is huge for keeping your feet happy.

About clothes the important thing is to layer right for the conditions you are in and the activity you are doing. You want a suitable base layer, insulation layer and shell layer. The base layer or next to skin layer should be wool or synthetic. Opt for a fast drying synthetic if you will be sweating a lot. Wool is more comfortable and takes longer to develop "the funk". If you go for wool should be the modern no itch kind sold for use next to the skin.

Insulation and shells are either 1 or 2 layers these days. Insulation layers should fleece(polar fleece etc), wool or synthetic down(primaloft etc) if there is a chance they will get wet. Down insulation layers offer the best weight to warmth ratio but are pretty useless when wet.

Soft shells combine both insulation and a shell into one. Hard shells are just a outermost shell. Soft shells breath better than hard shells but can't stand up to the wind and rain as well. Soft shells are a bit stretchy and better form fitting.

I've never heard of chiggers but keeping ticks and sandflies out is a known issue. Mosquitoes are less of a problem since they don't carry the worst diseases up here. My strategy involves closing off entry points to the pests and checking myself and my hiking partner religiously. I tape, tuck or use elastic materials to close off the ends of my pants and jacket sleeves. I very buggy conditions I use a hood and bug net over my face. Having clothes in colors that make ticks stand out is a good thing.

In the personal hygiene department I have had good luck with preventative Vaseline application to prevent chafing of the thighs and balls. I also always carry second skin (compeed) type bandages to apply to blisters. They really do work exceedingly well. Change your socks and underpants every day. Brush your teeth every day. Wash your balls, feet and hands every day.

If you are not putting on dry shoes every morning you are doing something wrong and things will only get worse.
 
The keeping dry aspect is so very important. Thanks for bringing it up.

When I had a few more pounds on me my inner thighs chafed like hell. Powder really, REALLY helped and kept some of the stank in my drawers down.

Also, if your thighs chafe, look into boxer briefs. The extra fabric can be a lifesaver. Synthetic stuff works, but be aware that some (mainly older products) seem to stink to high heaven in no time. Keep an eye open for antimicrobial treatments on the label. Even tough they may look prohibitively expensive, it is worth it in my opinion. Same with socks. I don't flinch when spending up to $20 a pair if they keep me dry and blister free.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top