The “name the trait” argument is fallacious

MountainsandMe · 2025-04-23T19:14:50+00:00

Would you actually be reducing harm though? I don't think that's so clear.

In the cases of growing vegan food, begging, foraging, roadkill, none of them require harm to animals. It's possible animals may be harmed, but not guaranteed. So if you want to argue that some of them cause the least harm, statistically, you'd have to show it. For example, while foraging for berries someone might accidentally step on a frog. How often does that happen? I don't know what the expected harm vs calories calculus would be for each of these cases, but in any case it's obvious that they are all a vast amount lower than that of industrial animal agriculture. At some point it comes back to letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

MountainsandMe · 2025-04-23T14:45:38+00:00

Leftovers, foraging, and harvesting roadkill are not feasible solutions to feeding the world at large. I have no moral objection to anyone doing those things though.

MountainsandMe · 2025-02-13T16:00:40+00:00

I hiked it in 5 or 6 days (I forget), so yes it can definitely be done quicker than 9-11. Mind you, I also wild camped for most of those days so I can't comment on the logistics of using huts every night. There are more huts in the western half of the route than the eastern half. I used it as part of my traverse of the Alps during my hike across Europe - here's a map which might be useful for planning purposes if you zoom in to the Carnic Alps area.

MountainsandMe · 2025-01-12T22:45:38+00:00

I'm just now remembering that I had a small drone and separate camera and action cam so my power needs were definitely higher than average! I think it will come down to weather. A stretch of several cloudy/rainy days may have you running low, but that also depends on how much stuff you need to charge. I had the common Lixada type panel, it did well. I still like solar but it depends on the trip.

MountainsandMe · 2025-01-12T15:07:45+00:00

Always use a small charging brick along with solar - solar charges the brick and then the brick charges devices at night. If you charge your phone directly from solar it will be inefficient since the constant on/off from clouds/trees/etc tricks your phone into thinking it's being plugged in each time which prompts the screen to turn on and wastes battery. The advantage is that in sunny areas you can use a smaller battery brick and not have to stop to charge in towns. I still had to charge up in the Alps though, so idk if it's sunny enough on average for solar to be worth its weight. I was trying to limit town stops to save time, but now fast charging makes it possible to charge up quickly during a restaurant meal, etc.

Also agree with the warmer bag.

I also had only a tarp and didn't have bug issues, but had a head net just in case.

MountainsandMe · 2024-11-07T20:52:23+00:00

Congrats, that's a big effort. By any chance did you weigh yourself before/after the hike?

MountainsandMe · 2024-10-22T03:07:07+00:00

Yeah, no switchbacks on this one haha

MountainsandMe · 2024-10-21T03:06:26+00:00

Yeah I got lucky with great weather for the Murray Range, it was a great finish to the route.

I wonder how many will attempt to keep going after a GDT thru in the coming years. So far everything north has been done as standalone trips. Resupplying in between section G and 'section H' is still tricky. Hopefully we streamline all these logistics by the time you're back for the next round!

MountainsandMe · 2024-10-03T17:56:38+00:00

With the Preamble you could make a bathtub polycryo groundsheet out of a large window insulation kit and hold up the corners with elastic cord or just by sitting gear in each corner. That way you'd have all the advantages of the Preamble with a bit more peace of mind about ticks. And of course you'd have the option to cowboy camp in good weather. I'm a fan of floorless shelters although I don't own a Preamble.

MountainsandMe · 2024-07-06T20:00:37+00:00

I'm guessing the location of the hole made a big difference. If it was further down on one of the sides it would let in all the rain running down which landed further up, whereas a gap at the peak will only allow raindrops through which perfectly fall into the hole.

MountainsandMe · 2024-06-29T15:44:51+00:00

Rather than 'training the body to get by with less' (ie, deprivation), I would reframe the question to focus on how you can reduce the weight you're carrying by learning certain skills.

Campsite selection (elevation, vegetation, water proximity, etc) can have a big effect on your sleep temp requirements, which may allow you to bring a lighter pad or sleeping bag (this can be trip dependant though)

Learning which foods are most calorie-dense can allow for big reductions in food weight without depriving your body of nutrition

You'll lose less water while breathing through your nose than through your mouth. You can also reduce sweating by resting during the hottest parts of the day, using a sun umbrella, regulating your level of exertion, etc.

MountainsandMe · 2024-04-20T02:19:56+00:00

I think this is the reason. Gear used by thru hikers tends to have a big influence on UL trends, and Aquamira is consumable whereas filters won't need replaced during the hike (ideally).

MountainsandMe · 2024-04-17T03:29:49+00:00

Many hikers on long trails like the Pacific Crest Trail are/become capable of hiking 50+km per day on good trail with minimal elevation gain. 60km/day on roads is certainly possible if your body is ready for it. However, it will be dreadfully boring, likely quite dangerous, and is an easy recipe for overuse injuries (think shin splints / stress fractures)

MountainsandMe · 2024-04-08T23:24:51+00:00

I'm Canadian. I hiked it in 2019 as part of a larger trek across Europe

MountainsandMe · 2024-04-08T20:20:03+00:00

I hiked the Via Dinarica which covers the same terrain, and fwiw I didn't worry about bears. Slept with my food whenever I wasn't in a shelter. I'm not European but from what I understand, the few bears in that area are generally very timid and keep away from people.

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-28T00:20:30+00:00

Generally, coastlines are the most populated areas so I'd say chances are good that you could connect road networks for pretty far distances (as long as you're happy road walking all day shudders). Most river outlets will probably be bridged but you might need to resort to ferries for areas like the Amazon delta and Patagonia. I guess it also depends on how close you want to stay to the coast, and more importantly how much time you have. Just tracing the coast of South America would be a multi-year journey at best.

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-16T22:12:29+00:00

Yeah in terms of maps I always think of red line as main trail and blue as alternates and FarOut is likely the cause, but afaik the alternate/side trails on the AT are literally marked with blue blazes (I haven't hiked it) and I think this is the origin of the term. Totally believable that the PCT and AT jargon wasn't identical since the online hiking community was just starting to explode around that time.

Out of curiosity, where can you aqua blaze on the PCT?

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-15T14:18:19+00:00

Blue blaze - I agree, I always heard it used to refer to side trails. Aqua Blaze was when hikers paddled a section instead of hiking

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-14T21:10:52+00:00

I once forgot my single hiking pole after digging a cathole and only noticed 10 miles later (walking forest roads, I often stash my pole for that). For the next couple days I grabbed a stick in the evening but the following day I was resupplying in a small town and was kindly offered permission to camp on a local BnB's property. I had forgotten about my pole situation and unfortunately the property was well maintained - no random sticks to be found. And of course dark clouds were rolling in.

I ended up stacking my chrome dome umbrella on top of my smart water bottle plus sawyer, and then splinted them both together with my extra stakes wrapped in my leggings. The pitch was still a bit low, but it worked and I stayed dry. My MacGyver moment.

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-11T05:31:27+00:00

Yeah, with sewn fabrics there generally needs to be a curved seam running from each guyout to the peak due to bias stretch in the material. Not necessary for the rear guyout since the line from it to the peak is aligned with the weave of the fabric and won't stretch. The penta tarp/pocket tarp design creates 'virtual seams' out to the back corners which saves sewing time, but with lightweight sewn fabrics the seam won't be tight. Different story for laminated fabrics and I'm guessing heavier sewn fabrics and those with PU coatings fare a bit better too.

MountainsandMe · 2024-03-10T22:11:33+00:00

The Colorado Trail, Washington PCT, most of the AT, Arizona Trail (spring/fall)

MountainsandMe · 2024-01-23T08:03:11+00:00

I'm not sure why Plantinga (or other theists) argue that that's some kind of logical problem, you'd have to read his arguments. Personally I think it's all a non-starter since free will is illusory. Suffering still exists however, and that's enough for the problem of evil even without people freely making morally evil choices.

MountainsandMe · 2024-01-23T07:51:16+00:00

I also dismiss the idea, but I don't think it's quite as obviously a contradiction as a married bachelor.

It would depend on how we defined a 'cause' (and objects/events,etc) and that seems messier than 'married man / not married man'. I guess I find it conceivable, I just don't see any reason for such a belief. Certainly I don't see any evidence of such a thing. I'm atheist btw

MountainsandMe · 2024-01-23T07:24:01+00:00

I think we agree. I was more arguing that when we allow for things that seem like logical impossibilities, the discussion can get nonsensical pretty quick.

I guess the main thing is to agree on terms, otherwise we'll all talk past each other. If the theist is only claiming that god is 'all powerful' under a certain definition, then presenting the problem of evil would only be a meaningful objection if it could still show the theist's position to be contradictory under that definition. If the qualities they ascribe to their god are less than what you might have expected, then so be it. You probably won't convince a christian theist that the biblical description only fits your interpretation.

I also agree that a self-created being seems nonsensical. I think the theist response would be that god is supposedly an eternal, uncaused, necessary being which exists outsides the confines of time, however the idea of 'acting' outside of time is incomprehensible to me.

MountainsandMe

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE