Every Bit The Journey

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and this is mine.

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group of people in red jacket standing on brown rock formation

What happens when your plans end up Foxtrot Uniform?

By

On December 2, 2022

In Skills

You’ve planned a weekend camping and hiking trip with friends. Overall, there is a 12-14 mile hike over two days with at least a gain of 2000 feet in elevation. Your group’s has mixed hiking experience, but you’ve done this trail at least a dozen times over the years. You travel hours to get to the trailhead. The first night’s campsite is a little bit of a tough hike but it’s only four miles in. One of the new hikers starts to struggle on this first leg, however, you make it to the first wilderness camp safely.

Maybe they are just getting used to their pack. Maybe they are just getting used to the strenuousness of the trail. Maybe they will be good to go in the morning after a hot meal and a good night’s sleep. Maybe. What if they are not? The next morning, you are looking at a steep uphill climb to regain the main trail. Now it’s clear one of your hikers just can not go on. For whatever reason, they can’t go any further. Now what?

What is your backup plan if someone falls, or is injured in the middle of your next adventure? What’s the exit plan in the event of an emergency? Is there one? I don’t think most people plan for the exits as they should. After all, who wants to plan for a disaster? We go outdoors for a good time, not to get hurt, end up in the hospital, or worse. It often seems accidents happen in remote locations where it’s hard to get help or get the injured out.

In recent news, a nineteen-year-old experienced hiker died doing a solo hike in a state park when something went completely bad. Another person fell to their death from a popular hiking trail in Zion National Park. Search the internet and you’ll find tons of hiker misadventures. While hiking accidents happen all the time, it’s the worst which makes the news.

I think there is a general misperception where people generally feel safer in state or national parks. Myself included, tend to consider organized parks as safe places with help always nearby. I can just call the rangers and they will come to get me. Right? Most likely, no. The idea “parks are safer” is a dangerous assumption. Most parks have minimal staffing levels at best. Large parks can have very isolated areas which are difficult to get in and out of. Even with popular destinations, help can be hours or days away.

Trip contingency planning simply means planning for problems, understanding what are your exit options, and how to get aid if something goes wrong. Planning for contingency events helps everyone enjoy a safe trip. Add these contingency topics to the planning for your next outing: training (both yours and the group’s), the forecasted weather, the essential items, a trip plan (for use by others), and an emergency plan (for use by you). Let’s take a quick look at these topics.

Training

First-Aid is one type of training I will always highly recommend. You should understand, most first-aid courses assume secondary aid, such as Emergency Medical Services (EMS), is less than 30 minutes away. If you are hiking in a remote section of the backcountry, secondary aid may be hours or days away. Take a simple, basic first-aid and CPR (CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) course to start with. As you find an interest you can take more advanced courses like a Wilderness First-Aid class. The American Red Cross has some good courses. You can even do some of the courses online to get started.

Rock outcrop
Rock outcrop

Weather

Based on most of the news articles I’ve read, many hikers lost or injured die of exposure to the elements. Regardless if injured or simply lost, they did not have adequate protection from the weather to survive until found. It’s important to both plan for the typical seasonal weather condition and to closely watch the area’s local forecasts for weather changes in the days leading up to the outing. I often find borderline weather conditions can shift significantly in a day or two, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. It’s good to be prepared for the bad.

View of Table Rock from Bald
View of Table Rock from Bald

Essential Items

These are the items every hiker should always carry in some form or fashion. These items could include things like matches, compasses, food, water, and even extra clothing. Based on the planned activity, you may need to modify what you carry. Follow my link for a deeper discussion on the essential items.

10 Essential Items
10 Essential Items

Hiking or Trip Plan

Like a boating float plan, you leave this plan behind with a responsible person in the event the hikers don’t return on time. The information in this plan will aid searchers and rescuers in locating and extracting those in need. A good hiking plan should include the following information:

  • The name, description, and information about the lead hiker/person in charge.
  • Any vehicle information, usually left at a trailhead, like the make/model of cars, color, tag numbers, etc.
  • Equipment the hikers have with them. Do they have first-aid kits, a way to make a fire or signal, cell phone numbers, etc?
  • Hiking trip details: departure date, return date, destination, proposed route, stops along the way, etc.
  • Name, and description of hikers in the group. This should include any important medical information.

Emergency Plan

This is the plan the hikers take with them for use in the event of an emergency. Sometimes your emergency plan is just a mental note of the nearest road crossing. But what happens when the one with the “mental notes” gets separated from the group, or is unconscious? This plan should include written emergency contact numbers for logistical support like shuttles or pick-ups at a trail crossing, local rescue phone numbers, the nearest hospitals along the way, and maybe even a route map. Do a short “safety briefing” at the beginning of the outing or the trailhead, just to review the route, and highlight any important safety information with the group.

So be sure to ramp up your next adventure planning with these contingency items. You’ll be better able to turn a possible disaster into a simple change of plans.

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What does Foxtrot Uniform mean? You may have guessed by now. Let’s just say it’s sort of related to FUBAR and SNAFU. This is when all your planning gets turned upside down and now you have to create a plan “C” on the fly ’cause your plan “B” isn’t going to work out anymore. Remember, in nature, there are no safeties.

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Radar's not sure

Radar is Amazing on his first real camping trip

By

On October 18, 2022

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Palmetto Trail, Travel

My first efforts to take Radar on a real overnight campout and then hiking went incredibly well. Radar and I have hiked together a fair amount. And we’ve glamped before. But we haven’t actually tent camped and hiked in one outing before. Hopefully this overnight adventure was a test run for more fun outings to come.

We arrive at Mill Creek county park about 5:30 pm. Mill Creek county park is a popular equine camping staging area located in Sumter County, at the southern end of the High Hills of Santee Passage of the the Palmetto Trail. There are a few horse trailers already set up for camping there. We select and set up our camp site near the trailhead leading north to the High Hills of Santee trail. Radar is nervous. He doesn’t know why we’re here this late in the day. Tent camping is all new to him and he’s not sure what’s happening. I put his vest on him to see if it will help calm him down any. I’m picking tarp camping to start out with him which is a little bit of a challenge in and of itself. I guess I figure we may as well start hard and work toward easy. Park rules say he needs to be on leash in the park, although not all dogs here are. There is at least a pug and another heeler here too. The pug runs up next to my car as I arrived, dragging it’s leash, seemingly convinced it was more important to greet us as new arrivals to camp, regardless of it’s own personal safety and the potential hazards of being crushed by a moving vehicle. Anyway we’ll see how the leash thing goes. I had picked up a 50′ roll of paracord from Lowe’s on the way with the idea I could make a long lead for Radar in camp. I also brought his bedding from home to make him feel a little more at home along with his regular food and water bowls. I have a couple collapsible bowls I usually bring when we go out for hikes but will save them for the trail tomorrow. Right now he’s sitting on my lap in the chair (his choice), watching everyone and everything else around the camp.

Radar's not sure
Radar’s not sure

There is a mule in an impromptu electric fence corral next to a couple of horse trailers on the right of us. They have the pug and heeler. Across from us is another pair of horse trailers with a shepherd and lab. Everyone seems to know everyone. They started a camp fire at the pair of trailers across from us and the people from all four trailers are sitting around the fire chatting. The sun is getting ready to set so I’m going to feed Radar and eat now myself.

Radar's first night tarp camping
Radar’s first night tarp camping

Up in the morning. I was awake early but am waiting until the sun starts coming up. It was a little bit cooler than I expected last night with this early morning temperatures at about 45 degrees. Note to future-self: Things to bring on fall campouts, gloves and a warm hat. I am glad I brought my heavier sleeping bag, a 20 degree sleeping bag, which was perfect. Radar did incredibly well for his first night of tarp camping. He only got up a few couple of times in the night, left the tarp, and walked around. I think he was check out noises from the adjacent woods. No barking, just checking. I got up a couple times myself to pee and he followed me close. Because we were under a tarp, I had to keep him on the long lead most of the night but for the last hour or so waiting for sunrise. This last hour we both just lay here waiting for sunrise. The ground is pretty hard and my Z-fold pad isn’t making much of a difference. I’m beginning to think I may need a different pad.

Radar still seems a little nervous this morning so when I got up for a quick walk to the bath house, I took him with me. I wanted to use the larger stall so Radar could come in with me, but someone was already in there so we went back to our campsite. Who get’s up at the crack of dawn to use a bathhouse anyway? When we get back to the camp site, I open up the car to start getting breakfast ready and Radar jumps right in and takes his place on the front seat. I don’t know if he thinks I might leave him or not but he isn’t taking any chances. He comes out of the car for his morning meal while I have a nice trail breakfast of hot oatmeal and a café mocha. It feels good to be in backpacker/hiker mode again. I’m dressed for the trail. It’s been a while (too long) since I’ve been able to get out and do any real hiking.

Radar is ready to hike
Radar is ready to hike

After clean up and repacking my hiking day pack, I put on Radars hiking vest. I want something with a little color on him as we are hiking in the Manchester State Forest, which is public land, during hunting season, and I don’t have any blaze orange with us. I think once Radar realizes we are going hiking he really relaxes a lot. We are on trail, north bound, at 8:50 am. Radar is off leash, much to his hiking joy, once we get out of the park but I do have a leash just incase we meet horses or other hikers. Proper trail etiquette and all. Not everyone seems to like dogs.

High Hills of Santee Passage heading out
High Hills of Santee Passage heading out

The High Hills of Santee Passage I think I’ve hiked at least a dozen times. It’s a great section to hike and I usually start out new backpackers on this trail. There are a lot of access roads and the trail is well marked most of the time. Since it’s been a while for me, I’m loosely planning to hike maybe 3, 4, or 5 miles out, depending on how I feel and the day goes. Then turning around and hiking back. The trick is leaving enough fuel in the tank for the return trek. I figure if I can start hiking by 9am, we can maybe hike like +-3 hours, we could eat lunch and then hike back. Being on trail by 8:50 is a perfect start.

High Hills of Santee Passage sandy trail
High Hills of Santee Passage sandy trail

The issue with the early section of this trail (besides the quicksand patch) is it’s sandy. Sandy like walking on dry sand at the beach sandy. It really sucks the energy out of you. Starting out in the morning fresh is okay (’cause you’re fresh) but finishing at the end of a hike is tough, it’s like hiking an extra mile or two when you’re tired.

The day goes well, the weather is cool, clear and perfect hiking weather. We hike well and make good time. We covered about five and a half miles and make Christmas Mill Road by about 11:30. As we reach the crossroads, there are a whole group of trucks with hunters coming in and starting to unload. Rather than stop there for lunch, we just start our return leg and hike about an hour more before we stop for a good lunch break.

High Hills of Santee Passage young pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage young pine forest

Radar seems to understand when I tell him “we’re heading back to camp, back to the car.” His ears are up and he leads the whole way back to camp. He follows the trail flawlessly, even when the trail crosses a road or splits, he picks out the correct path on the other side. As we were hiking out of camp north bound, he would generally stay close to me alternating between ahead, behind, or off trail checking out smells and noises, usually not much more than about 75 feet away. Heading back south bound to camp, he occasionally is going off trail to check a noise or smell, but mostly he is leading with purpose, maintaining about a 50-75 feet lead ahead of me on the trail, stopping ever so often and looking back to make sure I am still with him, stopping in the shade, waiting for me to catch up, and then he starts trotting off down trail again.

High Hills of Santee Passage pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage pine forest
High Hills of Santee Passage open field
High Hills of Santee Passage open field

We stop for lunch around noon. Food and water for both of us. I have a couple collapsible water bowls but it’s hard to judge when hiking and how much water he needs. I make sure he has his fill of water during our lunch stop. The final leg to camp is more sandy and the day is warming up. We’re back on trail by 12:30 heading in to the home stretch now. Nearing the last quarter mile from camp we run into a string of horses with riders, we pull off trail to let them pass, Radar sits and waits. This is a big test because he loves horses. Really, really loves horses. Nipping tails kind of love. He stays, the riders pass intact. We hike on. I’m very happy. We make it back to camp around 2:10 pm. As we enter back in to camp we make for a picnic table in the shade and break out the last of our water. The hike is a win. A great hike and overall a great little campout. Radar crushed the hiking part of the trip and I think he’ll get the hang of this tent camping thing without any issues in the future. Now to figure out the next trip.

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I’m an international time traveler, and other recent discoveries.

By

On December 22, 2018

In Life, life events, Travel

Today I just realized I am an international time traveler, as I prepare to travel back in time and home.

Just over a week ago I traveled into the future to visit my daughter. She lives in Okinawa with her husband and my daughter’s daughter which would make her my granddaughter. My daughter’s baby, not my daughter.

Anyway as I’m preparing for my return journey, and I’m trying to explain my itinerary to my girlfriend and it dawned on me, I will be traveling back in time to get home. Kind of like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but she didn’t time travel. I think her travel was more interdimensional. Anyway the conversation went some thing like this.

Me (on 12/22): Current itinerary sent to your email, the short version being I am scheduled to land back in Charleston 907am on 12/23.

Her: I thought you were getting back Monday morning. Did you change something?

Me (slightly confused because, you know, future): No I didn’t change anything, airlines might have. However I also don’t remember signing up for a 12-hour lay-over either.

Her: 24th silly, Christmas Eve day Monday. They must have changed something.

Me (still the confused one): I land Sunday 12/23. I think. I thought I was leaving 12/21 too? (Hmm)

Her: Okay. You do recall it was Monday when we talked? Are you leaving Saturday now? and you really go back on time to arrive here Sun morning at 9! Interesting.

Me: I don’t know other than I’m starting home to you tomorrow.

(As it starts to dawn on) Me: I’m in the future here! Today is Saturday evening. My Sunday starts tomorrow and will run something like 35 hours.

Future excited Me: I can the tell you the future because I’m so far in to tomorrow. Ask me something! It will be like groundhog day for me. I leave here Sunday morning and land in New York Saturday. So I actually will be going back in time to yesterday tomorrow. Great isn’t it? Oh! This will make me an international time traveler!

Her (the smart one): It’s just a long plane flight.

I’m still adding the title to my resume.

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An Elk-tastic Adventure

By

On December 14, 2018

In Life, Travel

Our first day was a long one. It started simply enough with an “oh-early-thirty” morning scramble to the airport to catch the first flight in our trip for my brother and I. By the time we landed in Phoenix Arizona, we had jumped over two time zones. We grabbing our bags, loaded the rental car, and headed North to Payson. When we finally sat down for “lunch” in Payson, it had been over eleven hours since our first meal of the day.

We would spend the next week or so, searching for the elusive elk. While we can have a great, long discussion on the pro’s & con’s of forest and game management some time, the basic truth is, the precipitate of this travel was my brother’s fondness for hunting game and his lottery draw of an Arizona elk tag for this year. So with an offer to go along, hike and explore a new part of the country, we’re off to Arizona.

Once we had arrived in Payson and got settled in to a motel, we spent the first day and half doing rapid recon and exploring the various areas South of the Arizona Mogollon Rim, where we would be spending some quality time over the next week. My brother had even found a contact who was willing to drive up from Phoenix and spend a half day driving us around, highlighting preferred spots, and offering area tips.

The Mogollon Rim is an amazing land feature slicing across the lower half of the state, creating a massive rim with the upper plateau to the north and the lower elevation sprawling South. This area under the rim is where we spent the week hiking, bushwhacking, and looking for Elk. Using the Motel 6 in Payson as our “base camp”, we explored and tried new areas, which we thought might be promising, each day. We would get up at about 0430, layer up our clothing, grab our gear, grab coffee and a quick bite on the way, heading out for the hills.

Some of these “hills” under the rim started at around 4000 to 5000 feet and work their way steeply upwards to the Mogollon Rim escarpment rising at about 8,000 ft. We spent about 10-12 hours exploring, hiking in, hiking up and down and around. Each night we’d come back to the motel, unload gear, more often than not, dry gear (the bathroom had an awesome ceiling heater which made quick work of drying everything from packs to boots), make lunches for the next day, and repack. We would go out for dinner in the evening, talking and exploring the extent of the local dinning opportunities.

The weather for the first couple of hunt days, not unexpectedly, changed overnight from sunny and comfortable to overcast cold with rain and/or snow (depending if you were trying to keep warm, dry, or both). The rain and wetness turns the normally dusty dry red Arizona “soil” into a magic thick clay goo which you could make bricks from. There were unavoidable patches of bare ground you had to cross and then the mud demons would stick to the soles of your boots, building in thickness until it was hard to walk, then need serious work to scrape most of it off. The weather cleared nicely for a few days, then we were blessed with opening-day type weather on the last day. 

While no elk were harmed in the telling of this tale, we were fortunate enough to see lots of elk, elk sign, and plenty of signs of other wildlife including mountain lions and javelina’s (or peccary). I think it was the end of the second or third hunt day when I saw my first elk close up. We were coming in to Payson at the end of a long day, traffic was backing up a little right next to this local golfing neighborhood. Then I saw what was slowing the cars down. There was a small herd of elk off the shoulder of the road. I pulled over and got out to take a closer look. I was able to get within 50 feet of them before they moved off a little. In town and so close to the road and neighborhood, it seemed they knew they were fairly safe and not too worried about spectators watching them. It’s one thing to see them a couple thousand yards away, it’s another to be close enough to almost touch them. 

The fourth day we arrived early to a different hunt area and jumped a herd of elk bedded down in a small box canyon. I was on point, walking quietly down a path along the rim of the small box canyon in the predawn glow. I noticed some very symmetrical V-shaped “branches” which seemed to be looking at me. I paused, frozen still, while trying figure out what I was looking at in the grey morning light. Finally the bull elk turned his head. To my surprise, the one turned to many as at least a dozen cow elk stood from where they had been bedded down in the brush around him. I hunkered down and quickly changed places with my brother. By the time he go to where I had been the one bull elk had grown to three, and the herd was on the move, dispersing and opening the distance between us as they blended and faded in to the brush as they moved away. 

My brother and I live in separate states, so being able to spend some of this quality “guy” time together traveling and exploring together really made for a special fantastic trip. Overall we probably hiked around 20 miles of various parts of the Arizona back country, some on trails (including small incidental pieces of the Arizona Trail running under the Mogollon Rim), most off trail. We were able to experience viewing some great wildlife, toured the Shoofly Village Ruins, explored the Tonto Fish Hatchery,and poked around the dammed lakes and rivers around Tortilla Flats and Phoenix. We even did a little antiquing in Payson. Even if he wasn’t able to fill his hunt tag, I know he enjoyed too, being out in the wilderness exploring.

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Travel Footnote:

If you ever end up in Phoenix-Mesa, and are looking to book a cheap place (ya gotta luv travel booking through the internet) for your last night in Arizona, while you wait for your early morning flight out, there is a special little sweetheart of a motel called Knights Inn-Mesa, I really, really, could not offer a recommendation. At all. Ever. They try, kind of, but no, don’t do it!

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Ready or not, here we go!

By

On November 28, 2018

In Life, Skills, Travel

My backpack is packed inside a suitcase, waiting by the front door. In the morning we leave for an adventure. The last time I did this I ended up hiking on a broken leg for four days.

My brother and I are heading west in the morning to explore the wilds of Arizona for several days. In all fairness, last time I thought I had just sprained my ankle. Note to self; don’t fall down a mountain this time.

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Events in our lives

By

On November 11, 2018

In Life, life events

So many things happen to so many people every day. Some good, some bad, some incredible good. It’s really nice when something really good happens to someone you know.

My niece is married today. Normally separated ones with long distances, it’s great to get together with families and friends. The setting was a little different (aviation museum) but absolutely perfect. On this day where we recognize the veterans in our country, my heart swells and my eyes water a little as I look around at the great joy of wedding celebrations with the military backdrop. It’s a little strange for me, knowing what these historical aircraft meant in a world at war and yet the happiness and joy with the purpose of our gathering. My love goes out to my family and friends tonight, may my niece and her new husband enjoy many, many, happy years together.

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Hiking South Carolina – Lee State Park

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On November 7, 2018

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Life, SC State Parks, Travel

Lee State Park is a great place to take a walk and unwind a bit. It’s a good mid-sized state park of 2839 acres along the Lynches River near Bishopville in the eastern midlands of the state. The park has several short (under a mile) easy hiking trails near the camp grounds at the visitor center, including a nice elevated boardwalk through the wetlands. There are also several miles of horse-only trails. The Loop Road trail however is a good five miles and takes you past several of the parks artesian wells as it circles the park. This park is one of South Carolina’s first sixteen State Parks originally created during the 1930’s great depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Many of the original buildings remain. During my visit the weather was cool (no bugs!) and the fall foliage was turning which made for a really nice walk with Radar.  We walked the Loop Road and Boardwalk trails. This making his second hiking trail, Radar seems to enjoy hikes and really does a good job staying close even when horses and other dogs show up on the trail. We enjoyed a light trail lunch and drank from the artesian wells as we casually walked the trails and enjoyed the peaceful day. We followed up the hike with a short hammock nap. With no tempting wi-fi, Lee is a great place to disconnect and unwind.

Favorite Time of year: I must go with the fall season. Watch the weather for Lynches River levels.

Things to Know: They keep it pretty simple at Lee, no wi-fi, nice facilities but limited extra resources makes Lee a quite place to relax.

Camping: Site and RV camping is available at Lee, you can use the toll-free for reservations, or information (Reservations Required). Group primitive camping is also available but you will need to call.

Pet friendly: Pets are allowed in most outdoor areas provided they are under physical restraint or kept on a leash not longer than six feet

Getting There: Lee is in the Eastern midlands of South Carolina, West of Florence and East of Camden, just off highway 20. It’s about a 2-3 hour drive from the Charleston area.

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Outdoor Tips – ‘Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.’

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On October 31, 2018

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Outdoor Tips, Skills, Travel

The first really long hike I remember doing was a summer time trek in Florida’s Ocala National Forest. Planning by the group leaders was ongoing for months and had been meticulous. Detailed menus, easy mapped sections each day, we even had designated campsites for each night with potable water sources so we didn’t to carry need heavy water filters to treat water from the wild. It’s amazing how simple things multiply. For whatever reason we started out at the wrong trail head. This added way too many unexpected miles to our first day hiking in the Florida sun, from which we never really recovered. We all ran out of water miles short of the first campsite. One of my most distinct memories of this early backpacking trip was passing the numerous ponds, teaming with wildlife, and no way to treat water to drink.

Today water treatment technology makes it so easy to be prepared and to gather safe drinking water from the field. There is really no reason not to have something for water treatment tucked away in your pack.

The smart folks at the Centers for Disease Control and prevention tell us the things in back country water which will hurt us (this means pooping on ourselves, throwing up, and/or the joys of stomach or intestinal cramps) are called pathogens, and they fall in to three primary types: Protozoa (little bugs), Bacteria (littler bugs), and Viruses (littlest bugs). I know technical, right? The bottom line is you can’t see these guys. Despite folklore, you can’t just look at a water source and say “oh this looks good, no need to filter this water!” Any water from a wild source should be suspect. The real question is how much risk am I willing to take, or worded differently, how close am I to the end of the trail where I can get to a bathroom?     

Outdoor Skills – Water Treatment Methods

Why use a water treatment when outdoors? The short answer is there is simply no easy way to tell if a water source contains disease-causing microorganisms. There are people who will claim they have been drinking untreated back country water for years. At best, this can be a high risk practice. When pulling surface water from any lake, stream, or river, anywhere water is exposed, it is susceptible to contamination with microbes and viruses. The best practice is to treat water from any source. Always treat all water.

When heading out for a trip where I know I will be pulling water from a natural source, I always try to have at least two methods of water treatment. A backup method helps you be prepared when your primary method fails for whatever reasons. There is little worse than running out of water and not being able to safely refill your water bottles. We’ll take a look at some of the basic treatment methods and some of pros and cons of each.

The oldest and simplest water treatment method is to boil your water. Fill a container with clear water (strain as needed) and place over a stove or fire to bring the water to a rolling boil. Let cool and you’re done. This is a great backup method when you have a stove with you. Some of the down sides to this method are it takes fuel and time. You may need to carry extra fuel if you are going to plan to boil all the water for your trip. You also need to take time to let the water cool. The boiling or very hot water can deform some plastic water containers and scald skin.

Filtration is a great and very popular primary water treatment method. There are a number of filtration systems including straws, pumps, squeeze, and gravity systems available. Basically filtration removes biological contamination through a physical filter. So the most important thing to know here is how small are the particles the filter will take out. In this case, smaller is better. You want to start with nothing larger than 1 micron to filter out the the little bugs, like Cryptosporidium & Giardia. But you really need to move to a filter of no more than 0.3 or 0.2 microns and go smaller if you can, ideally 0.1 micron, to remove most of the other bad littler & littlest guys like Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli and enterovirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, rotavirus. Gravity bags are great for easy and a high volume of finished water. Pumps are good for smaller groups and shallow water. Squeeze filters are great individual filter systems. The gravity systems are difficult to use with shallow water sources and can be expensive. A lot of pumping can be fatiguing. Squeeze filter are susceptible to damage from freezing due to the micro-tube filter media.

Chemicals are a good alternate plan for water disinfection and can be used with filtration to provide better results as chemical treatments are generally effective against most biological contaminants. Mostly chemical treatments are limited to some form of iodine, chlorine, or chlorine dioxide.  Chemical treatments do require an amount of “soak” time to work effectively, typically at least 20-30 minutes. So you can’t treat and drink right away, you must allow time for the chemical to do it’s job. You must follow the manufactures dosing instructions. Some people may have or develop sensitivities to the chemicals and they can leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

A couple quick tips.

Always try to pull water from the visually cleanest part of the water source. When filtering, use a pre-filter to reduce the crud getting to and clogging the main, finer filter. Keep your clean water containers separate from dirty water containers. Powdered drink mixes with citric acid can help neutralize or mast the aftertaste of chemical water treatments – after the required wait time.   

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Table Rock Revisited

By

On October 24, 2018

In Hiking & Camping in South Carolina, Life, SC State Parks, Skills, Travel

Of course, it always starts out easy enough, this hike, with the wooden board walk and paved walk ways, winding around the gentle water falls cascading down the mountain. It’s really not far to the trail junction where all the trails head in different directions. Pick your poison as they say. We turn left, and head west, along the Pinnacle Mountain trail for the start of a two day trek through one of my favorite, but probably one of the most challenging, state parks in South Carolina, Table Rock.

I am lucky to take another group of new backpackers out in to this wilderness again. Our overnight trek will loop around the outer perimeter of the park in a +-12.5 mile loop. Honestly, the distance is the easy part. We will gain and loose thousands of feet over the next mere twenty four hours. With the weight of my pack, it feels good to be back on the trail again. It’s been a couple years since I was here last (with my son and daughter, it was late fall I think) and the trail is familiar, yet some how different. We slowly climb as the trail winds towards Pinnacle Mountain. Our goal is the campsites just out of the west end of the park on the Foothills Trail. It’s only 5 miles away. The trail generally keeps climbing, but we’re moving slow. We pass under a small water fall. Some of the spur trails are closed and there seems to be a lot more  green underbrush growth than I remember.  We hike on to the the west to Bald Knob Outcrop and take a needed break. The view here is amazing in the late afternoon. Inspirational probably really doesn’t describe it well. I would love to sit there and watch the sky roll slowly from baby blue to a darkening deep purple as the night advances, but it’s getting late, and we have miles to go before we rest. Really, miles still. We reach the Foothills trail spur from the Pinnacle Mountain Trail and begin our 800 foot decent in to the valley where we’ll spend the night. Every step down hill will be a step up hill tomorrow as we come back this way. We reach our camp with just enough light to set up camp, make dinner, and relax a little before the darkening deep purple rolls to the blackness of night. The ground is hard and uneven but we’ve hiked our five miles in just under six hours and I sleep well anyway.

It turns out there was a wildfire a last year which burned over 10,000 acres around Table Rock and Pinnacle Mountain. This explains the charred and burned trees, and the subsequent rebirth of the green undergrowth I’ve seen. Kind of like natures way of re-freshening things. Unfortunately there are also signs of beetle damage killing back some of the trees. And there is plenty of recent storm damage with yet uncleared down trees crossing the trails. There so much unrecognized work in maintaining trails, most people take clear trails for granted.

I’m up early before the sun, I pack and eat while the rest of the crew is starting to stir. Morning camp chores need to be done, water gathered, and sleepy hikers motivated. Finally we are hiking, in a light morning drizzle of course. It wouldn’t be camping if it didn’t rain. We hike back up that 800 feet now to regain our trail and on to the top of Pinnacle Mountain at 3415′. We are painfully slow this morning. The slow grinding up hill takes it’s toll on time. I fuss but it’s really all good, I think. The east bound Ridge Trail is good to travel and regain some time. I love being on the ridges. It’s just getting to them which is the challenge. We’re making good time. We’ve planned to meet our main group of day-hikers on Table Rock for lunch, so we’re hiking under a schedule, which can add a pesky “time” element to things. We make Panther Gap, thank goodness. Here we drop our packs and just take food and drink with us for lunch. Two miles to go. The Table Rock summit is guarded by the approach to Governor’s Rock. You need to climb now to get to Governor’s Rock, then you’re allowed to climb some more to get to the Table Rock summit of 3124′. It’s really kind of amazing when you round one turn in the trail to face a 50′ rock climb, only to crest it, and look up at another. Governor’s Rock is a bald outcropping which offers an amazing view of where we came from. Sitting on the warm rock face, Pinnacle Mountain to the west and the ridge between look so green and pleasant. We finally reached the summit, passing our day hiking group on their way down. The overlook views from atop Table Rock allow you to see virtually the entire South Carolina Piedmont region, almost all the way back to Columbia, on a good day, when the clouds don’t roll in. We had a few moments of great views before the clouds wrapped around us. Alas, lunch is over and we must go, we have a couple miles to go back and pick up our packs, then another couple miles to get down and off trail before dark. we’re descending 2000′ in those sweet short four miles.

While this Table Rock Trail is rated “Very Strenuous” (I may just have a few other special words to describe some of it), I do find it rewarding to take this hike and bring others along to share the joy of these special mountains. Hopefully this will warm the embers of outdoor exploration in some of these these new hikers, the way it has in the past with the young hikers before them. I’ve hiked these mountains many times now, at the end of the day you know you’ve done something, okay maybe not, but even tired, with aching knees and sore feet, there are times I would rather be on the ridge, walking under the shade of the forest canopy, than anywhere else.

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Pikes peak through The Garden of the Gods

There is snow on Pike’s Peak

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On September 3, 2018

In Life, Travel, Uncategorized

According to the Denver Post, Pikes Peak picked up some snow this weekend and commented as a fitting indication of the start of the changing seasons.

Last year I hiked to the peak of this amazing mountain with my family and absolutely loved it (now I’ve been able to catch my breath – at the time I think I probably just liked it). I loved hiking this mountain and would hike it again and again if I could.

The new piece from the Denver Post was one of those blips which shows up in your news feed. It reminded me how thank full I was then and am now. So many thing can change in a persons life over a year, I think it’s important to recognize the good things which happen and the good people which happen to you.

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