Backpacking Questions You Might Be Too Embarrassed To Ask #5

hey y'all dixie here today it is time  for another silly questions video about once a year or so i'll put a question out  on social media asking people hey do you have   any questions about backpacking that maybe you've  been a little timid to ask before or maybe it's a   question that i wouldn't typically cover in a  full-on video but i can do a medley type video   where i answer all sorts of questions on different  topics now this is more aimed at beginners but   some of you long time hikers still might have  a thing or two to learn so if you want to check   out the video description i have time stamps there  for the different questions and there will also be   a list of links to all of the previous silly  questions video let's get started the first   question is what about shorts versus yoga pants  for women this one is a little tough because   it's definitely going to be a personal preference  thing as is with most clothing and honestly most   backpacking gear in general but what i can do is  say what i prefer and why in specific instances   most of the time if i'm going to be hiking in the  late spring summertime and early fall i like to   hike in shorts the reason i prefer shorts in the  warmer months is because they help keep me cooler   the downside to shorts is they don't protect your  legs as well as leggings will against things like   rocks or thorns and also bugs like ticks now we'll  tell you that mosquitoes will jab right through   those leggings and suck your blood anyway  also i've had less chafing in leggings than   in shorts i don't know something about the  material of my shorts if it's way too humid   or way too dry then i'll get some irritation where  the hem part of the shorts kind of rubs my thighs   but after some time that ends up working itself  out which is why i've stuck with the shorts now   if it's cold i'm going to be wearing leggings i'm  a very cold natured person so basically any time   early spring and before or mid fall and after  i'm probably going to be in leggings the biggest   downside to leggings other than they can be too  warm sometimes in my opinion is if you get a pair   that starts getting kind of stretched out or  sometimes even with a new pair if they don't   grab enough then you'll have this thing where  they kind of shimmy down while you're walking   and it starts feeling like a saggy diaper  back there and you gotta try to pull them   up so you want to make sure you get a good  pair that are gonna stay up so you're not   plagued with having to pull them up all  the time or let your butt crack hang out   the next question is how old is too old to through  hike the appalachian trail i don't know if y'all   have heard of him but there is a man by the name  of nimblewell nomad who set the record for the   oldest person to thru-hike the at last year and  he was 83 years old when he completed his hike   several years back there was a lady by the name of  dragonfly who was 74 years old when she completed   her through hike of the at and then as many of us  are aware grandma gatewood was the first woman to   solo through hike the appalachian trail at the  age of 67 which at that time made her the oldest   person to complete a thru-hike of the at so all  of that to say it it really just depends on the   individual i can't speak for your physical shape  or your health but i do think as people age in   the backpacking community it should be more of a  priority to train before beginning a thru-hike as   it makes sense that that would increase your  success rate and specifically to practice   with carrying weight on your back but if you  decide last minute that you want to go out and   through hike the at this year and you don't have  weeks or months to prepare and physically train   then there's nothing wrong with getting out there  and giving it a try the wonderful thing about   a through hack is when you take your first  couple steps on the trail there's not this   magical door that closes behind you and says you  can't turn around and come back home you know   you have to make it to the end so get out there  and give it a go and and take it slow listen to   your body and if you need to leave the trail and  come back and do more the next hike in season then   that's okay but i have seen all kinds of shapes  and sizes and different backgrounds of people who   got out there and were successful with their thru  hikes of the at for example there was a lady that   i threw hiked with and she was 71 years old when  she completed the trail her name was bluebird and   there were days when i would be in a treacherous  part of trail and i knew that bluebird was   several days ahead of me and i'm like if bluebird  did this then i can do this but there were people   much younger than bluebird who were not successful  at completing their thru hike of the appalachian   trail so i say get out there and go for it if  you're interested there is a group that's a   spin-off of the homemade wanderlust backpacking  forum group on facebook and it's hikers that are   55 plus so i'm gonna put a link to that group in  the video description if you want to join there   and talk with some people who are in the age range  of 55 plus about their specific concerns and tips   for backpacking and next up is if you break down  your food into freezer ziploc bags do you just   toss those when you get to the next town or do you  rinse and reuse there are some people who actually   pour boiling water into freezers ziploc bags  and rehydrate in there and eat their meals out   of that so if you do that i would just toss them  but if all you had in there was some freeze-dried   food or dehydrated food then i wouldn't have a  problem with just saving those until i got to town   rinsing them out there letting them dry and  reusing them again and i definitely have   done that because i didn't want to purchase new  ziploc bags every time i went to town and also to   reduce the amount of plastic that i'm using just  make sure that if you do rinse and reuse that   the bags are completely dry before you put any  more food in there because you don't want it to   get damp and then mold and get funky while it's  in that ziploc bag on a through hike if you go   into town for a resupply but you don't want to  get a hotel for the night what do you do about   washing up do you just find a public restroom and  do the best you can in a sink or is there another   option well there actually are some other options  first depending on where you're at there may be   community centers that allow you to shower for  a donation or a certain fee and i've even found   churches that reach out to the hikers and allow  things like that and then sometimes there are   hostels that even if you're not getting a room for  the night they'll allow you to pay five dollars or   so for a shower and if you want to do laundry that  might also be an option and then there are trail   angels so you can always reach out depending on  what trail you're through hiking there may be a   trail angel group specifically on facebook for  that trail sometimes towns will have a list of   trail angels so you could always hit up one of the  trail angels and say hey is there a way that you   would allow me to come and take a shower a lot of  times if there is a list of trail angels they'll   have things that they'll offer next to their name  like rides lodging etc but worst case yes you can   definitely find a public restroom and do the best  you can to clean up until you hit the next town   but make sure if you do that that you don't leave  the bathroom a mess you get any mud or grit up   that you deposit into the sink on the same note  of hygiene the next question is how often do you   wash up on trail this person says that they  typically do the armpits and the tail once a   day but as far as everything else goes do you just  wait until you get to the next town stop and this   is going to be a personal thing everyone will be  different i know that there are people that don't   worry about washing anything at all until they  get to town but for myself i prefer to do the same   thing the armpits the nether regions and i like to  rinse my feet if i can once a day whether that's   finding a cool source to soak them in or even at  camp if i've got some extra water that i can wash   my feet off with but baby wipes are a godsend in  my opinion for doing a sponge bath on trail and so   when i find myself going number two in the woods  that's usually the time that i'll go on and give   everything down there a good cleaning basically  i try to attend daily to the areas that could   be problematic if they get too funky do people  pack bathing suits with them while backpacking   or through hiking or do they just go swimming  in their hiking clothes their undergarments or   and nothing i think all of these have happened at  some point i'm sure that there is somebody who has   gone backpacking and taken a bathing suit with  them but i would say for the most part from what   i've seen on my through hikes most hikers do not  carry any kind of bathing suit they'll just get   out in the water in their hiker clothes especially  if those need a good washing too i personally   prefer to go in my hiking shorts and my sports  bra in a sports bra you're not seeing more than   you would in a bathing suit anyway but there are  certainly people who will just go in nothing and   especially if you get to a hot springs area it  seems a lot of those can be clothing optional   but even in towns when i've stayed at a hotel  that has a pool or a hot tub a lot of them do   say bathing suits only but they know the hiker  community is coming through and that we probably   don't have bathing suits that i've never had  anybody complain if i'm sitting in a hot tub in my   hiking shorts and a sports bra but i guess i kind  of just lied because at the end of the florida   trail i did for a short period of time carry a  bathing suit because when i got to the beach down   there for that last stretch i knew i was going  to be at the beach and i just i wanted to have   a bathing suit to wear at the southern terminus if  i wanted to so when we hit the beach i did pick up   a bathing suit and carry it for the last little  bit of trail but aside from that i probably will   never carry a bathing suit again where do you go  pee or otherwise in the desert or other open areas   so this one can be a little tricky i learned when  i was in the desert and in other areas above tree   line to try my best to find something to squat  behind whether that was a rock or a bush but   more times than not it seemed to work better if  i went to a very open area where i could see for   a long ways i wasn't in a dip or anything like  that that way if i did see somebody coming way   far in the distance then yeah they might see me  squatted down and they might have a clue of what   i'm doing but they wouldn't be able to see any  details if you know i couldn't really make out   any details on them i have also squatted behind my  pack and my umbrella trying to do the best i can   to cover up or if you're with other hikers then  you can always ask them to hike ahead and not turn   around i remember specifically my group doing that  in the sierra when you could see for what seemed   like forever just snow all around i saw on this  particular question that somebody else suggested   a rain poncho i can imagine in the desert how  that could be really hot and make you sticky   and miserable but maybe above tree line or in  other areas that could be a feasible option   also i'd be afraid that i'd go to the bathroom  on it and finally if you're just going pee and   you're a female then using something like a female  urinary device like the she-we might work well for   you because then you don't have to expose the  whole moon next there was a question concerning   going to the bathroom this person says they know  how to do the bathroom thing when backpacking   but they rarely go as far from the trail as  they're supposed to because they're worried about   getting lost when coming back so the question is  are there any tips for making sure you don't get   lost trying to look for the trail again when you  get done going to the bathroom first it's a good   idea if you know you're ever going to backtrack  and even in general when you're walking down the   trail just in case you need to backtrack to turn  around and look behind you every so often because   it can be very disorienting if you're looking  this way looking this way and suddenly you turn   around even though you came from that direction  it just looks completely different when you're   looking in the opposite direction so identifying  any trees rocks features from where you came from   should help you be able to find your way back also  you should carry your cell phone with you that way   if you get lost and you happen to have a little  bit of service you can call for help but if you're   using something like the far out app or all trails  that has the gps capability even when you're in   airplane mode then that can help navigate you back  to the trail some people like to take their whole   pack with them when they go to the restroom  because that way if they get lost they have   everything but when i hike in a group i typically  leave my pack by the trail that way we all have   an awareness of where the other is so if one of my  hiking partners was to pass me then they would see   hey dixie's packs right there so now she's behind  me she went to the bathroom also it's definitely a   great idea if you have a personal locator beacon  or something like an inreach to carry that with   you if you were to get in trouble whether that's  being bitten by a snake or getting turned around   but it's always a good idea to keep those right  with you and finally somebody suggested getting   something like flagging that's bright colored that  you can just tear strips off and tie them onto   a limb or bushes and then untie them as you come  back and collect them again and they even make   little clips that serve the same purpose and  are reflective which would also be helpful in   the dark the next question asks about hiking as  a diabetic who needs to have insulin on hand and   eating a cpap with electrical power on hand now  i actually answered the question about cpaps in a   previous silly questions video and as i mentioned  that will be linked in the video description but   as far as hiking with diabetes and needing insulin  this has been discussed in the homemade wanderlust   backpacking form group on facebook and it seems  the consensus amongst members who are diabetic is   using something like the freo pouch you activate  its cooling magical powers by soaking it in water   and then it keeps your medications cool even if  you need something other than insulin kept cool   and it can be reactivated time and time  again by just recharging it in water if   you're diabetic and you have other suggestions  please put those in the comments below because   there are definitely a lot of folks who would love  to go backpacking but this is kind of one of those   things that makes them hesitate and for dealing  with sharps on trail i covered that in another   silly questions video and that will be linked  below also when you hack with your pup do you   filter their water or just let them drink out of  puddles or does it depend when i go with fancy may   i prefer for her to drink filtered water because  dogs can get giardia just like people can now if   we approach a water source that's flowing and she  takes a little lap here and there i'm not going   to fuss at her for it but most of the time she  stays well watered if i'm thirsty and i take a sip   then i figure she's probably thirsty too so i keep  a little kentucky fried chicken sides container in   my hip belt pocket it's easily accessible and it  doesn't allow her to over chug because it's not a   good idea for a dog to get out on trail and just  chug a bunch of water so when she approaches a   water source i try to prevent her from being  in that state of mind because it can cause   stomach issues and if they get something like  their stomach twisted up it can cause death so   i just try to make sure that she gets a little bit  of water frequently instead of a lot now one thing   that i do stress over when it comes to water  sources is stagnant water if we find a pond or   even a lake i've just heard horror stories of  people allowing their dogs to swim in these bodies   of water and then they end up with some sort of  poisoning from the algae in the water and they   go downhill quickly i never want to be in that  situation so just make sure the water is flowing   my wife can't backpack and i feel guilty going  on longer through hacks she supports my passions   what can i do to support her while i'm away this  is a really sweet and thoughtful question first of   all i think that it's always good if somebody's  showing you kindness to reciprocate so in the   future if she has plans to maybe go on a girl's  trip or do whatever her thing is and definitely   encouraging that and and particularly if she can  go do something like that and stay busy while   you're away then that would be great but some  other things you can do for the duration of your   through hike is send her postcards from different  town stops and resupplies it doesn't take but just   a minute to write a sweet message you can get some  stamps to carry with you from the post office and   a lot of these different businesses will send  your outgoing mail and then she feels like you   know she can kind of follow you along the way one  of my friends dibs pressed flowers that he would   find on the ground in a book and then he mailed a  love letter with pressed flowers to his girlfriend   at different points along the trail and i think  little things like this can mean so much because   it's showing that even though you're out there  living your dream you're still thinking of her   you can do little things like order her delivery  one night if she's talking about like man i don't   feel like cooking tonight you know will say don't  and i've got a surprise for you in a minute you   know and you order her some delivery food or  send her flowers occasionally if she likes   that kind of thing and another idea that i feel  like is kind of a home run for a dude to do for   a chick is to send her a coordinate bracelet  of where y'all first met or a place that is   special to y'all there are different companies  that do this online they will specifically pick   the coordinates that you prefer and with some  of them you can even put a little message on   the back part of the little piece that has the  coordinates but i don't know if anybody else has   ideas about this please leave them in the comments  as a plus size woman i'm scared of getting into   two intensive trips too fast because everyone i  want to go with is in much better shape than i am   but i'm also scared of going by myself for safety  how would i go about finding hikes trips that are   good for the most beginners of us how do i  keep myself safe on those more frequented   trails that i have found that are easier do you  deal with anxiety over safety when alone or no   others that do how do they slash you deal with  it so first things first i just want to say that   to be a backpacker you don't have to do multi-day  trips you don't even have to do more than a mile   if you want to so to officially be a backpacker  you put everything that you need in your pack walk   a mile stay the night and come back and i mean i  guess it could even be a half a mile or a quarter   mile but i'm just saying it doesn't have to be a  big long distance now i have a couple videos that   talk about easing into backpacking some of them  even go from the perspective of slowly acquiring   your gear as you do but they also deal with  the the fear and the anxiety of being alone   but they'll take you step by step from sitting  at home on the couch to a full-on multi-day   backpacking trip so i will link those in the video  description below so you can get more details from   that as far as finding people to go with though  i kind of want to focus on that for this video   i actually had a patron from patreon ask me  almost this exact set of questions not long ago   and i suggested to her to check out her local  backpacking group and she's like i did but they do   way more miles than i'm capable of doing at this  time and i feel that because i slowly ease into   making bigger miles when i start a thru-hike  i'm not somebody who can bust out the gate going   12 miles per day i just can't do it so i suggested  to her to reach out to the local group and   most places have a local backpacking group  even if it's not 10 minutes down the road   it might be an hour away at the biggest city  near you but have them make a post or organize   hikers that can only do whatever you can do if  that's five miles or less if that's three miles   per day then see if there's interest in doing  one of those more slow paced trips for people who   aren't able to do those higher mile trips and i  think that there probably are people who would be   interested in something like that even if it's not  a physical limitation i think there are people who   would find interest in that because they enjoy the  camping side of it more and the socializing side   but a local backpacking group that you could find  through google facebook etc would have knowledge   of the easiest trails in the area to do these  trips and probably more information about safety   on those specific trails the next question says  this is so dumb and embarrassing but it seems   that in some areas of the at or pct there would be  a lot of people digging cat holes in the same area   how do you avoid digging into a used area  i think i would just die oh yes the art of   finding buried treasure i have definitely dug  up a used area before what i would say is when   you get the urge to go use a bathroom look around  and the first place you think is a good spot to go   i promise you you are not the only person who  has thought that that was a great spot to go   so maybe try to find like the third or fourth  great spot to go and that'll help your odds of   not finding buried treasure also a lot of hikers  have the decency of putting something like an x   with sticks over the top of where they  went to the bathroom or if somebody has   stirred their duty in the hole to help it break  down they'll leave that stick sticking in the   ground when they bury it so it's like you know  i cleaned this land but other than that you just   kind of have to take your chances on this one are  there any hikers here that are hard of hearing   and wears hearing aids i'm hard of hearing and i  wear aids in both dixie during any of your thru   hikes did you come across any hard of hearing  deaf folks on trail i love hiking and enjoy it   tremendously however i only day hike i would  love to do an overnight backpacking trip but i   do wonder about safety when i would go to sleep at  night since hearing aids are not made to be left   in the ears overnight in the future i love to hike  the at but i wonder if being hard of hearing would   hold me back due to the safety aspects any related  feedback would be helpful thanks and happy trails   so because i don't have any personal experience  with this i asked the masses on facebook and   there were a lot of comments in response to my  post it seems that there have definitely been   people who get out and through hike that are hard  of hearing or deaf there was a fella that through   hiked the florida trail that used to wear a cap  that said deaf hiker so that people would know   right out of the gate and i thought that was a  great idea also another aspect that i considered   might be tough is if you're hiking slower  on trail and you can't hear somebody come up   behind you that wants to pass you for them  they're like why is this person not getting   over and especially if they're trying to talk and  you can't hear them so in that instance if you're   deaf or hard of hearing enough that you wouldn't  hear that person you might want to put a little   sign on your pack that says hard of hearing  deaf you know tap me on the back to go around   but there's also a fella that i heard about named  mr perfect who is currently on his third through   hike of the appalachian trail and he has been deaf  apparently since he was two years old now this is   all second-hand information but i asked if he had  any social media so that maybe people who want to   learn more about this could follow him and i  was told he does not but if any of y'all know   of people who have been hard of hearing or deaf  that are posting on social media or have shared   their experiences at all and you can link that in  the comments i think that that would definitely   be helpful for people also somebody gave the tip  of an app called transcribe so if you're having   a difficult time communicating with somebody  say a hitchhiking situation and the person is   wearing a mask and normally you'd be able to  read lips to some extent but now you can't   then using that transcribe app can be helpful but  as far as taking your hearing aids out at night   yes that would concern me safety wise i like to  be able to hear my surroundings at night but if   you're on a trail like the appalachian trail that  is well populated and you let people know that are   camping nearby you that you're hard of hearing  you're going to be removing your hearing aids i   could see where that could cause some hesitation  to let people know that but i mean you're going   to be talking to other hikers nearby and you're  going to be getting to know people out there so   at some point when you feel comfortable divulging  that information with them then it can also be   a good thing because letting them know if there's  a situation like a bear in camp and everyone's   hollering and packing up to go somewhere else  you know come shake my tent or alert me somehow   and let me know but some people actually wear  earplugs at night so that they cannot hear their   surroundings because they don't want to hear  their neighbor snoring or a grasshopper that   sounds like a grizzly bear creeping through the  leaves so i don't think that taking your hearing   aids out at night would be a deal breaker for  the trail experience several people commented on   my posts and said that they prefer to leave their  hearing aids in at night and they'll take a break   from them in the morning hours just because they  don't want to do without them at night another   thing to think about if you have hearing aids out  on trail is if they're not waterproof how you're   going to protect them if it rains some people say  with light rain they can wear a wide brimmed hat   and that helps protect them enough but i assume  if it's an all all-out downpour then the best   thing you can do is put them in a waterproof case  or a ziplock bag another concern apparently is   backup batteries it would seem like a good idea to  have a backup set of batteries with you on trail   and then additional batteries you can use a bounce  box to bounce them ahead for yourself or you can   replace them at different resupply points there  were several comments about how taking a dog   with you on trail if you're hard of hearing or  deaf could be helpful and i'd definitely agree   because if there's something to be alerted  about in the night a dog will most likely   let you know especially if it's a service  dog and that's their job or if somebody's   trying to pass you on trail a normal dog will  probably be wagging their tail or growling or   whatever because they see another person and  a service dog that that's one of their duties   will also let you know dogs that are not service  dogs are allowed in most areas on the appalachian   trail with the exception being smoky mountain  national park and baxter state park in maine i   would assume that service dogs are allowed along  the entire appalachian trail but that's something   that you would definitely want to check on but  just know that taking a dog on a backpacking trip   let alone a through hike is something that should  definitely be well researched and not last minute   and not all dogs do well with backpacking and  especially through hiking if you want to read the   rest of the comments that were left on that post  that i made on facebook i will also link to that   in the video description all right y'all that  is all i have for you today i want to say thank   you so much to everybody who was brave enough to  submit a question i know it can be intimidating   especially when you feel like i should probably  already know this answer but here's my question   if you're watching and you have a question that  you kind of feel like this about don't be afraid   to drop it in the comments because i can either  reply to it and help you or somebody else in the   community can or i might even use it in another  silly questions video down the line thank you all   so much for watching don't forget to subscribe  before you go and we will see you all next time

Channel: Homemade Wanderlust

Views: 142,425

Keywords: travel, hiking, backpacking, hike, gear, adventure, fun, story, Appalachian, Trail, PCT, CDT, thru-hike, Auburn, Alabama, epic, climbing, canyon, national, nature, mountains, update, park, lake, trail, tents, camping, summer, University, Aubie, River, stream, Mountains, National, Scenic, Dixie, Camino, Florida Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Foothills Trail, Tetons, Grandma Gatewood

Id: bJw4ZvTADf8

Length: 28min 34sec (1714 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 30 2022