If you're new to backpacking, or if you’re hopelessly in love with someone who wants you to love backpacking, then this podcast is for you. We’ll talk about the essentials, how to lighten your load, and how to make the most of your time on the trail.
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028: It’s All Uphill From Here
Today on The First 40 Miles, The Top 5 Tips that will help you make it through the tough uphill climbs. On the SUMMIT Gear Review, we’ll show you a vast improvement to the humble hiking stick. For the Backpack Hack of the Week, noodles noodle everywhere. And we’ll wrap up the show with a little trail wisdom from Mr. Emerson.
Show Notes: Episode 028
Opening
Girls Camp prep
Survival Skills the youth leaders will be teaching:
* Know when to use these knots: Square Knot, 2 Half hitches, Bowline
* 2 methods of purifying water
* How to signal for help (and contact local authorities)
* How to identify and prevent camp pollution at water sources
* 3 types of emergency shelters
* Sever Weather: Lightning, tornado, avalanche, flood
* Bedroll or emergency ground bed made of natural materials
What will the real survival skills at Girls Camp be? Surviving with under 4 hours of sleep a night…
Top 5 Tips for Backpacking Uphill
Keep your pace, but shorten your stride
* Don’t be tempted to stop on the uphill
* Keep steady pace
* REMEMBER: Stopped is zero miles per hour.
Exertion breath
* Breathing is an important part of pain management—or uphill management.
* A forceful breath out
Try the Rest step
* Stand up completely with the leg that you stepped forward with, and let your knee lock briefly
* That gives your quadriceps and glutes a chance to rest on each step
* Even that split second rest, really helps as you climb the trail
Try Trekking Poles
* Heather recently tried trekking poles
* Study on trekking poles: Muscular and metabolic costs of uphill backpacking: are hiking poles beneficial?
* The study says “By redistributing some of the backpack effort, pole use alleviated some stress from the lower extremities and allowed a partial reversal of typical load-bearing strategies.”
* http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11128857
M&Ms= Mantra & Music
* Mantras: Man versus mountain, one step at a time, I am strong, Whatever doesn’t kill you…
* Music: High energy, since your steps will be shorter, you can keep tempo with a faster song
SUMMIT Gear Review™: LEKI Micro Vario Carbon Trekking Poles
Structure
* Carbon Shaft
* Foam Grips which are edgeless, and comfortable, so no matter how many miles you go, they’ll feel great
* Wrist strap (security strap) made of wicking material and dries quickly
* Baskets on bottom are standard trekking baskets (you can remove them and the poles can compress down even more compact.
* Purpose of baskets (snowshoe concept)
Utility
* Super compact, so you won’t be poking people if you put them away in your pack
* The push-button release mechanism that slides part of the pole into itself, and the rest pulls apart and folds
* Very easy to adjust, using their “Speed Lock”. Flip latch out, adjust to desired length, and flip latch back. Holds securely
Mass
* Sold as a pair
* 14.6 oz for the pair
* 110-130cm
* (Micro Vario Carbo Lady goes down to 105 cm)
* Fold down to just 15.5″
Maintenance
* Wipe clean before collapsing so grit doesn’t get inside
Investment
* $200
Trial
* Trekking poles made me think more strategically
* Felt like jet packs on the trail
* Incredibly invaluable on uphill
* Not as noticeable on downhill
* Put my weight on wrist straps (aka security straps)
* Gave me crazy amounts of speed
* Any time you are doing a significant amount of elevation gain,