common misconceptions that bother you?

[DOC-CANADA]

Sorry - just don't agree with this one being up here. People buying good equipment and getting psyched about being in the outdoors. That is a good thing in my books. Even if they look silly in their matching high tech nylon. Hell, its not like they have a firesteel with a handle that matches their knife or anything

I'm sitting on the fence about this. On one hand as kgd says, people getting excited about being in the outdoors is a good thing. The more fans, the more support in preserving wild places.

On the other, they are usually the people that respond to you like they would if you were Ted Bundy when they see a knife. And the tired old saw, "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints."...... While I agree with it for the most part, intelligent harvesting (wild foods, cordage plants, bow stave or two, shoots for arrows, etc.) doesn't hurt the environment, in fact, in some cases, helps it by thinning out certain shrubs, etc. guaranteeing more optimal growth. Use, don't abuse.

One time, I was gathering some Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) leaves for a basket and this woman comes out of nowhere and starts to berate me for destroying wild critter habitat. She didn't even know what the plant was, nor what animals used it food, shelter, etc. but that didn't slow her down.

Doc

 

[macgregor22]

aaaaaah yes the Mountain Equipment Yuppie co-Op crowd! we have hundreds of thousands of those bear baits in Canada....they sure love preaching about how eco they are (while using gaz stoves and buying new jackets every year).

Ahahaha, love it.
I'm gona be calling them bear bait from now on.

I really hate when they scoff at you on the trail.

 

[kgd]

True enough Doc. I remember getting chewed out by a park ranger at Gatineau park for being 'off the trail'. He was just yelling at me (in a funny little french accent) about how going off the trail destroys the local plant life and prevents all the parks massive restoration efforts.

I pointed down on the surface we were standing on - which was pure rock and the pure rock led right to the trail that was 20 m away. That didn't seem to matter to him - he just wanted my big butt back on that designated trail....

If you think trail bunnies are bad --- check out scuba diving sometime.....Those gals have coordinated everything....

 

[macgregor22]

I always go off trail.
Don't see what the big deal is, my boots are not covered in agent orange are they?

 

[James 61]

I always go off trail.
Don't see what the big deal is, my boots are not covered in agent orange are they?

I don't know why but that cracked me up. Probally becasue I don't spend that much time on established trails. Unless I'm hiking with the family for recreational purposes.

Personnaly I have nothing against people who go off trail... That is until I have to go looking for them and haul their carcass out of the woods, but that is something else entirely.

Speaking of pet peaves and trails. There is one trail that I absolutly hate. It is a trail that has been informally established up in the Columbia River Gorge. The trail winds along several cliffs and is extremely narrow with poor footing etc... There is a conservation group that is working to improve the trail and get it "established". In the interum it needs to be closed as it has claimed several lives and numerous injuries have occured. I don't know the exact count but if you ask me it should have been closed after the first fatality and heavy fines and/or citations issued to anyone caught on it until the situation was corrected. We almost had a rescuer fall (with disastrous consequences had he actually fallen) during one recouvery.

 

[dougo83]

Hey doug, can you be a little more specific regarding solar navigation as being inaccurate? Thanks.

Doc

IIRC the sun does not necessarily move in a straight E --> W progression like some believe it to. I may be a little off, but I seem to remember hearing that. I more or less meant that it is used innaccurately by many. The path of our solar bodies only gives us a general idea of bearing, but some would have you believe that it is 100% accurate. I see that watchful covered it as well.

 

[DWK2]

I really hate it when urban dwellers speak about the wilderness and say: "It's the animals' home. We don't belong there."

I get very angry when people go out unprepared, even though I have told them exactly what to bring.

I once had a rafting partner take Alaska clothing advice from a 20 year-old sales girl at a Los Angeles REI over my advice. I've rafted/canoed 2-3,000 miles of wilderness rivers in the north country and she'd never been past San Francisco. [The guy was cold for two weeks.] Of course, I will concede that she was undoubtedly MUCH cuter!

People who ask you for wilderness advice, you carefully explain it to them, they never question the advice, but then do something entirely different (that almost always causes them problems). Then they complain that you didn't prevent them from doing what they did.

DancesWithKnives

 

[Bushman5]

^ i will add to that....you give experienced advice to people, then they go to the local outdoors shop and ask the sales staff about your advice. Inevitably the sales person scoffs and says you dont need that or this, and you dont need a knife, and you dont need a etc etc etc etc. then they come back to you and question your advice "well the sales staff here said that.....)

 

[DWK2]

Good point. They have the misconception that the store salespeople are all experienced in the wilderness. Some may be, but you can't rely exclusively on that presumption.

DancesWithKnives

 

[dougo83]

^ i will add to that....you give experienced advice to people, then they go to the local outdoors shop and ask the sales staff about your advice. Inevitably the sales person scoffs and says you dont need that or this, and you dont need a knife, and you dont need a etc etc etc etc.

+ALOT. I work at a pseudo-sporting goods store and generally know my stuff. I have had people come ask me about gear then turn around and ask our resident dillweed if what I said is accurate and he, now knowing his a-hole from a hole in the ground, proceeds to tell them I was wrong and suggests inferior gear to them.

Case in point, I had a customer asking about buying a tent. I suggested that they purchase one made by Brand A. Keep in mind that I have used said tent for about 6 years with little or no trouble. They thank me and I continue walking around my dept. Dillweed comes by while I am on the next aisle and greets them. He then proceeds to tell them how Brand B is far superior to the one of my choice despite having never camped in his life. He then continued to take them around the store helping them pick out inferior merchandise. Grr...

 

[Getahl]

Tell me about it!

I hated working at places like REI and EMS and trying to explain to them that Gore Tex is the most overhyped product on the market. They didn't want to hear that.

And when I was working in Tempe, AZ people still wanted Gore Tex boots. Hello!.....idiot...we get less than 9 inches of rain a year!

Haha, I made the mistake of buying some Gore Tex boots last winter. If I lived in an area of the country that actually had *gasp* seasons, this might have been a wise choice. But, no, I live near Los Angeles. We get rain, but not enough to warrant GT footwear. Gotta love hindsight.

One of my pet peeves is definitely the 'why do you carry a knife?' line. I usually answer, "Because they're useful". But then, I usually have a SAK or a Stockman on me. Fortunately, no one's ever been threatened by their presence.

The only other thing that really irks me is douche bag, MySpace photo seeker hikers. About 2 or 3 months ago, I was taking my dog up Rocky Peak (Simi Valley, CA...which just so happens to be on fire right now. Hooray Santa Anas!) when I passed this one kid in Doc Martens, tight jeans, and a band t-shirt. No water, no kit, no nothing. Not exactly hiking attire for the middle of Summer. I stop at a bench to water and rest my dog and the kid passes behind me, texting.

After I started back up, I met him maybe 2 or 3 minutes later, holding his camera at arm's length (with an admittedly great shot of the sunset), trying to look deep and mysterious. News flash, no one thinks you look deep and mysterious after hiking 15 minutes just to get a picture of you in front on a bunch of rocks :jerkit:. He flashes me a stupid grin, mumbled some kind of nicety, and started back down the trail.

I used to see these kind of pictures all the time when I was into MySpace and FaceBook a few years ago. I came to hate dweebs who do things like this. Sorry for the rant, but man, that was cathartic.

 

[bushman14]

How about the opposite of the neon crowd? You know, the types who are comouflage everything. Hats, boots, pants,cell phone holder, underwear, etc. They snicker at me wearing a flannel and jeans, with my beat up old pack. I suppose if I was for real, I would know camo is required.

 

[HikingMano]

recent ones i noticed:

-Knife X is a good survival knife because it is the best/only/first weapon with which to defend yourself against animals or other people in the wilderness.

-using your one "survival" knife as a spear tip

 

[jca21]

man, reading this thread start to end was a good laugh.

i guess the only one which i see is knives are weapons and should always be considered weapons.

knives have always been tools for me and having received one when i was young and taught to use it responsibly i see no reason why everyone shouldnt be carrying a knife.

the folks at MEC are ok, albeit sometimes they do spew alot of hippy crap at you Their selections on gear is good and the Saks they carry are priced alot better then house of knives. Also now that Jay is carrying SOG i doubt i'd ever set foot into house of knives again unless it'd be to pick up some kitchen knives.

i feel sorry for those people on the trail who carry nothin but a water bottle in hand and possibly a camera to take some pics with. especially when signs suggest that you should be carrying certain items, they still ignore the warnings and trudge on believing that their cellphone will come to the rescue and a chopper will magically lift them to safety.

i thank the men and women who serve on the north shore search and rescue all the time as they are constantly pulling idiots out of the woods.

a photo i took while hiking out in lynn canyon. lynn canyon not being the most challenging of hikes however, it can still be unforgiving.

 

[Bushman5]

AHAHAHAHA i know that sign! i've been on a few searches for people on that trail, some were near death from exposure! A simple lighter, candle and heatsheet would have saved them form that fate. But NOOOOOOO allthey had were Evian bottle and i-Pod.......ARRRGGHHH!


.

 

[jca21]

lol u'd be amazed the number of people i see "trail joggin" with their fancy spandex pants and light weight wind breaker. all with just one water bottle in hand with their ipods tuning out nature.

isnt the point to listen to nature while ur out there?

 

[Gautier]

A solar still will provide plenty of water for survival in a desert environment.

This one has me wondering about a few things. Exactly how do you mean "provide water". Through transpiration, or through purification of dirty/stagnant/bacteria laden water? The solar still is a lot like the use of celestial bodies for navigation. The theory behind it is sound, and tested. How it's taught or proported to work, however, is usually lacking. Solar stills are dependent on a number of factors.
The first of these is method; Like I said, either transpiration or distilling liquid water, which makes a big difference in yield. The second is size; Obviously a 1' square still isn't going to produce as much as a 6' square still, no matter which method. The third is location/how much direct sunlight it's exposed to. These are just the primary three that spring to mind. Then you also have to consider set up.
Most of the online information you see is pretty basic construction. "Dig hole, line hole with vegetation, place container in center, cover hole with clear plastic sheeting and place a pebble over container."

There are a few examples that DO point out that it's best used with a drinking tube or siphon of some sort so as not to disturb the still. I haven't seen one yet that advises you to also have an inlet tube(if purifying water, rather than trying to procure it from plant life). Very few that I've seen tell you that lining the hole with a dark material, preferably plastic will help, or that digging the hole in a "dry" creek/stream/river bed will increase the yield. Even placing it near plant root systems is an improvement over "just dig a hole anywhere and throw some leaves in it".

Now, I'll concede that the solar still is pretty situation dependent.(It's also not a great long term plan, and shouldn't be your primary means of hydration) We get about 350 sunny days a year here, for example. It's also not going to be the well of life either, but in my experience (and yours may very well differ) they DO work, and if you ration sweat, and limit your activity to cooler parts of the day, etc.(things you should be doing already in a desert environment or survival situation) they'll allow you to survive MUCH longer than without.
You may not be 100% hydrated, you may not be very comfortable, but neither of those are really "survival" criteria in my opinion.

The generalizations I gave about short comings are just what I've seen espoused by "survival experts" and online diagrams of solar stills. My opinion though is based on trial and error and heuristic learning in a desert/arid climate. Just thought I'd toss it out there before everybody wrote off solar stills as completely useless.(They're only moderately useless, and usually it's because of one of the above factors )


Gautier

 

[baldtaco-II]

Actually it is the caffine that has the potential to get you in trouble. My EMT buddy could explain this better. Caffine is a vaso(sp?) constictor that decresses the circulation in the extremities. In the very cold conditions this can contribute to frostbite due to poor circulation and the inability of warm blood to get to fingers and toes. I don't know what effect it would have in hot temps but it would be logical that heat exshustion would be more likely as the ability to circulate blood to more areas of the body and to shed heat through perspiration would be compromised.

I hear you, but I thought the object of this task was for me to list commonly held beliefs that were bollox, or things I find naff in the beliefs systems of others. I spoke of the diuretic property, on that I was quite precise, and I stand by it. What you are talking about is something very different.

As I believe this thread is designed to be a sound off list rather than a debate it's not really possible for me to elaborate much here. Had it been a debate designed to illuminate correct over incorrect we could all be a good deal more terse. I don't think it is as it allows me to throw spit at people who wear flip-flops in the woods or turn up otherwise jesus shod .etc. Accordingly, as the thread allows both heat and light, and is way subjective, I'm just going to stick with the sound off approach.

I will briefly comment on the caffeine thing though: Without qualification and precise context it would be premature to make blanket generalizations. Caffeine works on the body very quickly and in a healthy adult example the effects wear off after only a few hours. It is also worthy of noting that aside from the moral boosting properties to coffee drinkers the effects of caffeine on the central nervous system are a reduction of fatigue and elevated mental alertness. Factors such as awareness, vigilance, and the ability to process task information effectively could easily trounce the downsides in some contexts. e.g. Put on a pair of gloves and make some better decisions. Further, although coffee is an obvious candidate as a caffeine delivery system there are numerous others. Cola, Tea, Hershey bars .etc have a good amount in them too. And just one tablet of the common headache remedy Excedrin has about .66% the amount of caffeine as a 2 fl oz serving of espresso, and about half that of a cup of brewed coffee. If you're going to take this route you're going to need a mighty long list for a very narrow band of scenarios.

Anyway, back to sounding off.

 

[RescueRiley]

I hate the rambo comments I get when carrying a large knife... the fact is.. I'm not trying to be like rambo....I am him!!!!! LOL

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Q: "What do you need a gun for, are you going to war?"
A: "It's to shoot and eat herbivores that ask me why I have a knife."

Q:"Why do you need such a huge knife (mistaking my kukri for a mere knife)/hatchet?"
A:" It's easier than trying to cut firewood or split a pelvis with a pocket knife." (these are invariably NOT hunters and come to the conclusion I'm talking about splitting their pelvis )

Q:"Aren't you afraid of the wild animals?"
A:"If I was afraid of wild animals, I wouldn't be here."

Or combination questions:
Q1:"Why are you carrying an elephant gun (at the time a .45-70), are you trying to compensate for something?"
A1:"Yes, I'm compensating for the lack of power in a smaller gun, and I'm not hunting elephant, I'm going to the mountains with my buddies to hunt deer."
Q2:"The mountains? Aren't you afraid of bears?"
A2:"Why? I've got an elephant gun."