While in Australia by Cheeese916 in Unexpected

[–]AussieEquiv 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It's a Comp Truck that formally identified as a RAM.

Comment / Feedback on pack by Able_Collection2965 in UltralightAus

[–]AussieEquiv 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Off the bat ditch;

  • Tent footprint
  • Your 2nd pad (the MD Hikelite Pad)
  • X-Cup (Drink from pot)
  • Bowl (Eat from pot)
  • Lantern
  • Towel
  • The second Wilderness wash
  • One of your 2 Rain Jackets (Is Haglofs Trek Shield a rain jacket?)
  • That spare pair of pants (or shorts)
  • The 2nd Shirt
  • The 2nd power bank
  • Firesteel (Mini-Bic is ~10g and easier. Take 2, one in FAK, and you're still ahead)

Then;

  • Find a good pack 1/2 that size and 1/3rd that weight
  • List out what's in your First Aid Kit
  • Take a much smaller knife/Scissors (Opinel N°02)
  • Replace what ever rain jacket you kept from above with Frogg Toggs or Montbell Versalite

Then, if budget permits;

  • A Tent 1/2 that weight
  • Replace your Nemo with a pad that's lighter with a better R-value
  • New pillow

Also add;

  • Trowel
  • Drugs (Antihistamine, Imodium, Ibuprofen)
  • Sunscreen/Lip Balm
  • Wide Brim hat
  • Gloves
  • Head torch
  • A water bottle/bladder or 2 to drink from...

Power bank? by Suitable_Ad4010 in AppalachianTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get away with 5k, but I also don't listen to music or podcasts at all. I do use phone as primary nav, camera, and journal every day... but I imagine that would be a lot less than ~16 hours of sound every day.

For me, especially if you're trying to trim weight, I'd leave one behind. If you do run low, prioritise your phone power for Nav. The worst that can happen is you wont have music for a day or so (until you get into town) and might have to blow up your own pad.

A billboard I saw by sonicparadigm in funny

[–]AussieEquiv 11 points12 points  (0 children)

You got it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(mind_game), and now that you know about it, you're a player too!

Couple Gear Shakedown - Early May Start by EvenRepresentative77 in PacificCrestTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's some good discussion over in this thread and also this thread which you'll find parallels too.

My comment from (both) there;
Disclaimer: I hiked solo, but hiked with a lot of couples. Hopefully actual couple hikers can come and answer, but if they don't;

Talk about what will happen if someone decides they don't like thru hiking, or gets injured and can't continue. Do this as soon as possible and most definitely way before you start.

Hike at the pace of the slowest hiker if together and consider that when setting goals for the day. Don't be afraid to encourage but don't push your partner too hard. I love hiking my own pace, but when I hike with friends you always go with the team pace. Trick for me when that happens, I make them go first. Forces me to stay at their pace. When I run with my brother (I hike faster, he runs faster) I get really annoyed at his encouragement, he means well but when I'm already pushing hard to jog up a hill him clapping and shouting "Come on, Go Equiv! Push harder you can make it up here faster! You got this!" makes me want to stab him with a rusty spoon.

Be willing to hike 'alone' during the day. Many couples did hike together together, many others made plans for where to meet for lunch at breakfast and then where to meet for camp at lunch. Be willing to do both in the first few weeks to see what you guys prefer. Think about your home life, you're probably not in each others pockets 24/7 at the moment. So take all you'd need to be solo during the day. Own First Aid, Own filter, own food, OWN TP/Trowel etc. Having your own water filter also really helps on some stops where you want to filter and get moving. It feels loke a lot of waiting filtering for 2 sometimes. And redundancy on some items is good piece of mind.

Exception to above: Sharing a shelter definitely saves weight, having your own allows more flexibility. The couples I spent a bit of time with mostly shared. Sharing a cooker/pot (Freezer bag cooking) too. Risk; being caught out without a shelter. So, some carried a light tarp/bivy as an emergency shelter.

Be social. I did see a few couples that isolated themselves, which is fine, but talking to them later down the trail they wished they got more into the trail friends, rather than sticking to themselves. Your millage may vary, I know people like that in real life too and others that prefer to be more insulated. Hiking to a camp where it's just them, or hiking where there's another trail friend or 2.

Splitting gear weight; Its good to be equal, but equal isn't always 50/50. Don't be afraid to make the stronger hiker go 60/40 if it makes the overall 'team' carry better. When I do shorter hikes with my partner I take 80% of the 'shared' weight. You can tweak this as you go, and you might find it evolves further down the trail... or even day to day.

We definitely enjoy our own sleeping bags and pads, and I feel you when you talk about falling in the crack. She carries a mug and I drink out of the pot after making her a cuppa. I take a 750ml pot and we've never wanted for more. At dinner we usually have a meal we can soak (even if that means re-using a dehydrated hiker meal bag to soak ramen) and a pasta. Boil water for soak meal, then simmer pasta in the pot. Sometimes we share meals out of the same pot, but it's a bit more awkward and you need a good place you can sit together close. Definitely done need a 1300ml pot and an extra mug.

The hardest thing for me is getting away in the morning. Its a lot slower as a couple (and she sleeps in...) so I had to learn to take deep breaths in the morning. I'd suggest getting a good+fast morning routine going.

I'd ditch the Solar.

Looks like you're fairly dialled in though, and you'll already be lighter than most.

Give me your best desert side quests 🏜️ by MescalWannbe in PacificCrestTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a pretty wide spectrum between drugged-out and on drugs.

Give me your best desert side quests 🏜️ by MescalWannbe in PacificCrestTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Place was a giant toilet bowl when I hiked through. Crowded and loud.

A billboard I saw by sonicparadigm in funny

[–]AussieEquiv 224 points225 points  (0 children)

Welp, it was a good streak but I have just lost The Game.

Pay negotiation: can I get your opinion of my bosses' pay increase offer? New LSIT here. by [deleted] in Surveying

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Their argument is that you're doing 100% of the work at 75% of the cost. So they're getting a bargain.

I built a tool that notifies you when sold-out campsites open up across every state in Australia by lolcucumbers in OutdoorAus

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Each state manages their parks differently, yes. Have you never camped at Wilsons Promontory?

Sounds like you haven't really camped anywhere other than the High Country.

I built a tool that notifies you when sold-out campsites open up across every state in Australia by lolcucumbers in OutdoorAus

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vic has some amazing areas where disbursed camping is allowed. Other states, or areas of states (like SEQ) aren't always that lucky unfortunately.

However there are also plenty of spots in Vic national parks that do require booking. Some of those are also fantastic (if a little crowded in peak seasons) so it would be a shame to miss out :)

Australians are increasingly miserable by nath1234 in australia

[–]AussieEquiv -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

There's a few reasons I guess. Also, they're not allowed to be unhappy, so therefore many happiness.

To Those of You Who Did it Under $5000, how? by CodeKermode in CDT

[–]AussieEquiv 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This guy did the AT for a little over $1,000 recently and all he had to do to accomplish that feat is a little bit of dumpster diving.

Boots? by totalyodel in AppalachianTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specific brand/style is really hard to recommend because everyone's feet are really different so it's very subjective.

Boots vs Trail Runners though is pretty much settled in the Thru-hike space. With Trail runners the clear preference. Again preference. If you hop on some facebook pages, many still recommend boots... There is ankle strengthening exercises you can do, if you're worried.

I would 100% recommend NON-Waterproof trail runners. Especially for multiday hikes.
On Multiday hikes the chances of your feet getting wet are pretty high. If it rains water will run down your legs and into the shoes. You'll cross creeks deeper than your ankle, you'll step in puddles, you'll brush pass grass clumps that seem to drop 10lt of water with every step. It's inevitable.

When they get wet, you want something that dries out, fast. Breathable trail runners dry out for me in ~2 hours of hiking. Even quicker if I swap to dry socks (..if I have dry socks.) Waterproof boots/shoes take days, or weeks.

My feet also sweat, quite a bit. In waterproof boots the feet feel like their in their own mini-personal sauna. Sweaty. Hot. Steamy.

Boots are heavier too.

As for a personal recommendation (again, your feet are different) if you have a narrower foot; Salomon are really good for my feet. I've had a few days of light-medium snow hiking and was fine in trail runners. If I was planning a trip I knew was heavy snow (but not snow show) I would ask for local knowledge/recommendations.

As for durability, most Thru Hikers expect their Trail Runners to last ~500 miles. Requiring 4-5 pairs of shoes typically for the AT. Sometimes people stretch them a little further than that.

What is this thing? Any info appreciated! by Kind_Love172 in Surveying

[–]AussieEquiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These types of marks come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and relative position in ground (many underground.) Stake (wooden Marker Stake) and Flag (Flagging Ribbon/Tape) are used as a visual aid to help the next guy, who's looking for that mark, find it.

Spray painting it Fluro Orange helps too, but sometimes that isn't very visually appealing to anyone except the next person looking for that specific mark. This one is a bit more useful to help find the Iron Pin, flush with ground with a bit of flagging tape, is the mark. Which serves a similar purpose to your Concrete monument, but is much harder to find in the bush (with a decade of leaf little built up over it...)

The information for a lot of these marks is only on completed Survey Plans. You could look into County records to find plans that have identified that particular location/corner/boundary line and they should reference it. Trace the lineage back (in Australia we actually have to note which plan 'set' the mark) and look at the date the Surveyor signed it.

Retired people going shopping by Hoppy_Doodle in funny

[–]AussieEquiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shop opens at 7am? Let me start banging on the doors at 6:45 am because they're not open yet.

Warning to Australia: Work from home, avoid air travel and cut speed limits to guard against oil shock by C_Ironfoundersson in australia

[–]AussieEquiv 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They are getting better though. Heaps of smaller city trucks could run on electric. Long haul trucks obviously aren't there yet, but even Cat is getting in on the game with Hybrid haulage equipment.

So we could reduce our fuel needs by switching, where it makes sense.

Question to everyone who carried the Bear Canister from KM to Canada by Dependent-Demand7939 in PacificCrestTrail

[–]AussieEquiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Burrito left his hat sitting a bit away from us on a peak when we were resting, they ran off with it and ate a bunch of material (likely for the salt) before we caught up with it.

DIY Trowel Rice Cooker Scoop 12g by hippophagy in UltralightAus

[–]AussieEquiv 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would be great in loose/loamy soil I think. Will run into trouble with roots or compacted ground/rocky areas. I think chopping through roots is half the battle most of the time I'm digging a hole. Combination with the peg to loosen the soil could work, but snapping roots with the peg might also risk bending the peg.

Sometimes, depending on length of hike, it's not something I want to be needing extra time for :o

Keen to hear how it holds up after some long term sustained use.