Mammut T Advanced Men’s GTX Boots
Perhaps I didn’t look as pitiful as I felt, but when I stumbled, wet and limping, into Base Camp Outfitters in Killington Vermont, pity seemed to be the farthest thing from the proprietor’s mind. Scorn was closer.
I decided once I reached Killington on my Long Trail through hike to replace my Salmon Synapse Mid boots. What had once been a promising love affair with these comfy and lightweight boots had turned into a bitter feud leaving my feet blistered and infected, as if they’d spent a wild weekend in Singapore. The proprietor took one look at my Salmon boots and for a moment I think considered whether or not I was even worthy of his assistance. I feebly defended myself, citing that they were Backpacker Magazine’s 2012 Editor’s Choice! I was the only customer there, so he had no one else to tend to, and he weighed ignoring me and the resulting boredom vs helping me, which he clearly didn’t think I deserved. Fortunately helping me won out, although I’m guessing just barely.
He led me to Mammut T Advanced Men’s GTX boots. He proceeded to tell me how they were the best boot in the store for hiking the Long Trail, citing their durability, waterproofness and their relative light weight. I don’t really believe claims of waterproof shoes, especially on the wet Long Trail. I tried on the Mammuts. They did feel good, even on my abused feet. Grudgingly the shopkeeper allowed me to try other brands. But whether from his brow beating or the comfortable fit of the boots I went with the Mammuts. I have not regretted it for a single step.
The Mammut boots (in my size 11.5) weigh 1 pound 10 ounces each, which, although heavier than the Salmon Synapse boots were still relatively light. And they felt good on my feet when I slipped them on in the store – and still do. My feet, while feeling more protected in a slightly heavier boot and with more water protection, didn’t sweat while hiking like they tend to do and did a lot in the Salmon Synapse boots. In fact, for the rest of the hike my feet did not get wet once…quite a change from my feet being wet all the time up until then. And this remains true, even after hiking and snowshoeing in wet snow. I’ve no doubt my feet could get wet in them in the right conditions, but I’ve yet to find out what those conditions are short of immersing them over the boot tops. I was a bit apprehensive about just launching off down the trail in a brand new pair of boots in feet already stressed without a break-in period. But my fears proved groundless out on the, um, ground. In fact, my first day in them was up and over the summit of Mt. Killington. No sweat.
Manufacturer’s Description:
Based on the successful T Aenergy GTX® hiking boot, this model features a high proportion of velours leather and a slightly softer design. The very comfortable fit remains the same and is supported by high-quality Hybrid Shell, liquid rubber protection, EVA wedge with integrated Mammut® Rolling Concept® and the patented Base Fit® lacing system. It also features individually cushioning memo foam, the vibram® Scale sole with its scale-like design, rubber protection at the tips and the functional GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear membrane.
My one complaint — which I’ve seen echoed in at least one other review — is that the balls of my feet hurt a bit in them after hiking for several hours. I intend to try an insert to see if that helps, but so far it hasn’t bothered me enough to do it.
I intend to keep hiking in my Mammut boots until they wear out. And when they do, I will buy another pair. I may even go back to Base Camp Outfitters in Killington to do it, to give the cranky son of a bitch who sold me my first pair his due.
Read some awesome lacing techniques from Philip Werner on his Section Hiker blog.
Thought for Friday
From Anthony De Mello’s book, “The Way to Love:”
“It will help too if you return to Nature: Send the crowds away and go up into the mountain and silently commune with trees and flowers and animals and birds, with sea and sky and clouds and stars. Then you will know your heart has brought you into the vast desert of solitude. There is no one there by your side, absolutely no one. At first it will seem unbearable, but that is only because you are unaccustomed to aloneness. But if you manage to stay there for a while the desert will suddenly blossom into Love. Your heart will burst into song. And it will be springtime forever.”
Overcoming the Challenges of Hiking Alone
There are many benefits to solo hiking but the solitude it provides is both a blessing and a challenge. Being alone in the woods is rewarding, being lonely there requires emotional stamina. I found these techniques to be helpful to me before and during my solo 272 mile through hike of The Long Trail in Vermont. Some of these tips apply to group hikes, of course, but are even more important when striking out on your own.
Practice Hiking Alone
If you’ve never hiked alone, or camped in the woods by yourself, don’t wait until you’re on your first overnight hike to try it for the first time. Take solo practice day hikes first. You’ll learn quickly about what it’s like to be completely alone for a time in nature. It’s the only way to discover what might or might not freak you out so you can be prepared for it.
Work Up to Overnighting Alone
If camping overnight by yourself intimidates you, try it for the first time in a campground by yourself. This will help you practice with the knowledge that others are nearby (and undoubtedly they will be making too much noise, so camping in the wilderness will quickly become more enticing). This will help give you the confidence to venture into wilderness backpack camping by yourself.
Plan for the Low Points
When hiking alone, it’s harder to distract yourself from low points. No matter how much you love hiking, low points will occur, whether you’re wet, tired, hungry or just lonely.
Strategies for overcoming low points can range from eating a special snack, listening to music on your mp3 player to praying or even talking to yourself. From my practice solo day hikes, I knew that my spirits tend to sink around 3 to 4 p.m. I saved a special snack for that time and that’s when I’d pop in my earplugs to listen to some upbeat or kick-ass music on playlists I created for that specific occasion. Low points are natural. Discover what triggers them and think about how you can move past them before you set out.
Visualize the Goal
If you’re by yourself at some point you’ll realize that no one is making you do this but you. Make sure you have a clear-cut goal in mind and keep visualizing it throughout your hike. AT through-hiker Zach Davis, in his book, Appalachian Trials, writes that creating lists of goals and benefits can help you power past low emotional moments that may lead you to want to quit. He has templates for these tools on his website.
Stay Focused with a Plan
For me it helped to have a detailed plan for where I wanted to be each day. I mapped that out before my Long Trail through hike. That plan helped me keep tangible daily goals, although I had to seriously revise and re-plan within days of starting out. That’s okay – the act of re-planning against the benchmarks I had set for myself helped keep me grounded and focused.
Talk to Yourself
If you talk to yourself in the wilderness and no one is there to hear, does it make you crazy? Of course not. I carried on conversations in my head after hours of being alone – with God, with my deceased father. I used those conversations to help me get more in touch with the spiritual aspect of being alone in nature. Thinking conversationally helped me focus my thoughts and mitigated any momentary loneliness. Just remember to stop doing it aloud when others are present if you don’t want to be locked up when you reach the trail head or you don’t want people to avoid you in the shelters along the way.
Recall Happy Memories with Friends and Family
Think of all the positive things in your life or that have happened to you. Call up happy memories with family and friends. I did this on my through hike and even though I was in complete solitude, I felt strongly connected to absent friends and family. And they kept me excellent company throughout my trek.
Hike Alone and Still Find Community
Christopher Long, assistant professor at Ouachita Baptist University, says the duration of solitude is less a determining factor for realizing its benefits than the mere act of choosing to seek solitude. You don’t need to be all-alone all the time to get something from a solo hike. And achieving something like total privacy would be impossible on some of the more popular and scenic trails near population centers. Don’t be frustrated if during your planned solo hike you encounter and interact with others at times. You may even want to plan hiking solo during the day but camping with a group at night if you want to get the benefits of being alone without camping totally by yourself.
Shelters – like those found on the Appalachian Trail or the Long Trail — are a source of community on the trail and you can’t help meeting others there. Spending time in solitude during the day may even make you more receptive to making new friends from a diverse walk of life in camp or in a shelter and give you the best of both worlds – the benefits of solitude while meeting new friends who share your passion for the outdoors.
Safety
Don’t keep your hike a secret. Let someone else know where you’re going and establish a plan to check in periodically. Make sure the person you check in with has the appropriate numbers for law enforcement should you fail to check in on time. Many trails have registers at their trail heads and shelters so be sure to sign in when you pass them. Each register provides a way for search parties (God forbid!) to better pinpoint your location should you become overdue.
You should also of course carry standard First Aid supplies and items that will help you make your whereabouts known, like a mirror to reflect sunlight and a whistle. Understand what steps to take if you get lost (which sometimes means taking no steps at all, staying put and not getting more lost may make sense). Check the weather and be sure you have appropriate weather gear for all possible weather contingencies.
Know when to quit too – if conditions in weather or terrain go beyond what you or your equipment can safely handle, stop. Go home and plan for another day.
Know the Territory
Studying a topo map and reputable trail guide of the trail you will hike is good advice for any hike but is even more important when hiking alone. When you are on the trail, you won’t have a buddy to double-check your decisions. It’s best to know the lay of the land before you set foot on the trail to minimize doubt about conditions. But no matter how well you prepare you will have to make decisions in the field on your own. If you are alone, you won’t have a sounding board to check your thinking, so minimize as much guess-work as possible beforehand by learning the territory.
At one point on The Long Trail, having encountered a confusing junction, I began to second-guess myself. I thought the choice I had made was correct, or was I just talking myself into believing it? But I knew my map and the terrain and guidebook well before I set foot on the trail, which helped me make better objective decisions when faced with directional challenges once there.
Hike Your Own Hike
Ultimately it comes down to experiencing the type of freedom you want to achieve with your hike. As with any outdoor adventure, a solo hike can offer unique benefits and challenges. Preparing for it can help you make it rewarding and memorable.
These are some of the tools and techniques I used for my through-hike.
What have I missed?
Western Mountains vs. Eastern Mountains
Westerners are extremely proud of their mountains. And understandably so – views of and from the Cascades and Olympics are stunning beyond words, as is true of the Rockies.
But if westerners love to look at and climb these mountains, sneering at the mountains of the east seems, for some, to be their second favorite sport. As if looking down on the Appalachians for their lesser elevations makes western mountains higher, and therefore, better.
A few weeks ago I hiked up to a the ridgeline of a 7,000 footer in the Cascades. Our starting elevation at the trailhead was around 3,000 feet and the round trip was about 11 miles. A very respectable hike. And while the ridgeline elevation was higher than anything you’d encounter back east, The 4,000 feet elevation gain and loss on a day hike is something you can experience in the Appalachians. And anyone even section hiking parts of the AT can experience twice that in a single day of repeated ups and downs only to rise the next morning and do it all over again. In other words, just because Eastern mountains are lower doesn’t necessarily mean the hiking challenges there can’t be tough. As Triple-Crown thru-hiker and author Karen Berger related in a post on Section Hiker:
“A friend of mine who joked that in her Colorado home she’d “have to dig a well to get to 5,000 feet” got her butt royally whupped in (relatively) gentle Virginia”
Although I am new to hiking here in Washington state, I’ve yet to encounter at trail as consistently as gnarly, hardscrabble and slick as The Long Trail in Vermont. Which isn’t to say such a trail doesn’t exist here – I’m just saying it does exist in the East – and I’d like to see some of those who I have heard sneering at the eastern mountains have a go at the Northern section of The Long Trail for a few days.
Let me add that when I’m talking about difficulty I’m referring to hiking as opposed to alpine mountaineering. To me that’s a different, specialized activity that commands respect for the required skills and practitioners. Saying so shouldn’t denigrate the skills required for non-technical climbs or hiking and my purpose here isn’t to say one sport or mountain range is better or harder than another. Each has its own challenges, rewards, pleasures and beauties. And each can be appreciated on its own merits without recourse to mountain chauvinism.
The Benefits of Solo Hiking
Solo hiking offers a great opportunity for solitude. Experts point out that being alone can provide certain psychological benefits. “Some of the most frequently mentioned benefits of being alone include creativity, spiritual intimacy, insight into life problems, and freedom to choose what to do and what to think about,” says Christopher Long, assistant professor at Ouachita Baptist University. “Generally, benefits of solitude can include anything that can be enhanced by minimizing concern about how we are being perceived by others or by increasing our ability to focus our attention on what we would like to focus on or to lose ourselves in whatever is going on in our environment or our minds.
Here are some of the advantages if solo trekking. In another post later this week I’ll look at some of the challenges.
You set the Agenda
Forget trail-side debates of how far to go and which side trails to explore. Want to deviate from plan and hike up to the fire tower on the summit? No one is stopping you. Solo hiking lets you explore according to your own whims, within the bounds of safety, of course. Rarely in life can we experience this type of total freedom.
Go Mano a Mano with Nature
It’s you and mother nature. This means you need to go above and beyond the normal things you would do to maximize safety on a hike – but there is no better test of your outdoor skills than to trek on your own.
Experience the benefits of solitude
A solo hike provides the opportunity to scratch the urge for introspection and reflection with time to decompress. The benefits of solitude may be found in settings other than the wilderness, but, says Long, “some kinds of natural and wilderness settings may prompt us to think about how we connect to things bigger than ourselves.”
Greater chance of seeing wildlife
Hiking by yourself likely means you’ll be hiking more quietly, so your chances of seeing wildlife increases (for safety, in some parts of the country you should make noise, however, to not startle wildlife and inadvertently provoke a confrontation). Being alone gives you a greater opportunity to experience the sounds of the forest without the intrusion of human voice. The silence can open a greater channel for connection between you and nature, including wildlife. As Chris Townsend writes in the Backpacker’s Handbook, “Only when I go alone do I achieve the feeling of blending in with the natural world and being apart of it.”
What are some of the benefits you get from solo trekking?
And, later this week, I’ll discuss some of the challenges of being in the woods alone.
Salomon Synapse Mid Boots: My Worst 2012 Gear Choice
I bought Salomon Synapse Mid boots to wear on my Long Trail Thru-Hike.
The boots may have been made for walking, but they definitely weren’t made for hiking. At least not for me.
If there was one equipment choice I fretted about the most it was footwear. I tried multiple pairs of boots (and one pair of trailrunners) seeking that sweet spot between durability and weight.
In the end, I chose poorly.
I decided early on to get a boot that wasn’t “waterproof” (believing that there is no such animal) but instead getting one that would dry quickly. I also wanted a light boot so I could just sail down the trail.
Within a month of my departure date, I was swayed by Backpacker Magazine’s Editors Choice for boot of the year: the Salomon Synapse Mid.
After climbing 5,100 feet from the rock-strewn bottom of the Rio Melado valley to the snowy heights of Chile’s central Andes, one tester hailed the Synapse Mids as “the perfect blend of cushion and security in an incredibly light package.”
Comfy and light? I’m in! And if Salomon’s boots could handle the Andes, surely they could handle the Green Mountains? Or so I thought.
The boots were indeed light and comfy. And wholly inappropriate for the Long Trail. I don’t know how they would fair on less challenging trails, but they were not up to the abuse, water and sweat that I put them through. I did know when I made the choice that they would not provide the ankle support that other heavier boots would. I didn’t feel I needed it. My ankles were not my problem.
My issues with the Synapse Mids were that they never dried out and ended up slipping on my feet all day. Which led to the blister that almost ate my foot.
I’m willing to accept the blame for making a poor choice of equipment that had no business being on the Long Trail. But the boots had one major design flaw, one that I spotted when first considering them and chose to ignore, being seduced by the light side of the equipment choice.
The design flaw is the laces.
The boots use a self-contained locking “one pull lacing” that sounds cool at home but ultimately failed in the field. The lace is one piece of thin cord that runs through closed eyelets and is secured with a plastic locking device. What happens if this breaks? How do you replace it?
These questions became tangible when, after less than 200 miles, the laces on both boots started to fray and threatened to break. The eyelets are too narrow for standard boot laces and even dress shoe laces weren’t thin enough. You can see this in the video below. I ended up giving the Salomons the boot and going with a pair from Marmot. My feet were very happy, although they’ve not yet totally forgiven me.
Lessons Learned:
- Lighter is not always better
- Be wary of last-minute equipment choices
- Don’t purchase anything you can’t repair in the field
- If the most important thing in real estate is “location, location, location,” the most important thing for footwear is “terrain, terrain, terrain.”
- Listen to your gut — I had a feeling the laces would be an issue, and they were.
What else could I have done differently here?
Long Trail Through-Hike in Pictures: a Review
I have put together a video review of my photos (along with a little of my story) of my Long Trail through-hike. I’ve included pictures I’ve not published before now, as well as some of the ones I posted during the hike. A higher-resolution version is in the player embedded on this post. For a lower-resolution version or one more suited for a mobile device, view the Long Trail video here.
Hiking with Guns
As we start thinking about gun policy in the shadow of the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut, I wanted to raise the topic of carrying guns on the trail.
One of the most asked questions I received when preparing for my Long Trail hike was whether or not I would carry a gun.
I did not, never considered it or even thought about it until after I was asked about it several times. I do own firearms and know how to use them. But during my hike they remained at home, put away and locked up. Some people thought I was crazy for not taking a gun with me. I thought it would be crazy to carry one.
Most suggested I should carry a gun for safety reasons. Their line of thinking assumed that I could shoot my way out of danger. But the biggest threat to my safety on the trail as a lone hiker is a slip or fall. I suppose if I had a gun I could vent my anger by shooting the offending rock or root that tripped me up. Or I could use it to put myself out of my misery before I reached the point of having to gnaw off the injured limb.
Giardia and Lyme disease are also real and present dangers, but not ones you can shoot your way clear of. I don’t like ticks but shooting them seems like overkill.
Hypothermia is a threat – but I don’t think it would help to point the gun at the mercury daring the thermometer to drop below the minimum temperature rating on my sleeping bag.
Of course, people who thought I should be packing heat during my hike thought firearms would provide a measure of security against wildlife larger than ticks. But I’m hiking to admire the critters, not kill them. And safety concerning wildlife that could harm me comes from exercising the right trekking skills that involve the correct food use and storage practices, not pulling a trigger. The key to safety with wildlife is about firing your neurons, not bullets.
Then there are other practical considerations – the weight of the weapon and ammunition, keeping it dry and having room in your pack to carry it. And, not to mention the fact that carrying a firearm might not be legal in some jurisdictions a hiker would trek through (though recent changes in the law have made that easier in National parks).
But it seems that when people think of carrying guns on the trail what they are really worried about is danger from other people.
Everyone in the hiking community seems to agree that violent crime – although not unheard of – is extremely rare on the trail and that you are much safer on the AT, for example, than in any urban area (While anecdotal evidence and my own experience strongly suggests this is true, I have not been able to find any actual statistics that support this claim).
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy puts it like this:
The Appalachian Trail is safer than many cities in America, and you are likely safer on the A.T. than in an automobile on your way to the trailhead. Although the A.T. is generally known for being a very friendly place and one where acts of kindness are common, it is not immune from crime. Situational awareness is one of your best defenses against crime. Be aware of what you are doing, where you are, and to whom you are talking. Remember to trust your gut—it’s usually right, even when your brain can’t explain why.
And regarding guns, they say this:
ATC discourages the carrying of firearms. Although carrying is now legal on National Park Service lands in states where they are allowed on state parklands, provided you have all the proper state and county permits, they could be turned against you or result in an accidental shooting, and they are extra weight most A.T. hikers find unnecessary.
Read the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s common sense and gun-free Hiking Safety Tips.
So, no, I don’t carry a gun on the trail, I don’t want to, don’t plan to and can’t imagine a situation in which I would. This is a serious topic and I’ve written about it with some attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor, not because I take it lightly but I think the reasons for carrying a gun while hiking are plain silly. I don’t want to carry a gun, and in all honesty don’t think anyone should. But that’s just me.
And I wonder – does the “Hike your own hike” ethos demand that I accept without qualm a hiker who chooses to be armed on the trail? Or would I – as I suspect many would – keep my distance?
Here’s a differing viewpoint about why you should have guns on the trail.
What do you think?
The Bandage that Saved My Long Trail Thru-Hike
The miracle bandage – the Tegaderm
My Achilles Heel. The blister was open, infected and my foot was swollen.
Sometimes applying a band-aid to a problem isn’t enough. You have to apply the right band-aid. My recent Long Trail hike was nearly derailed by a large infected blister on my heel. I tried several options to keep it covered and protected, from duct tape to moleskin to various brands of bandages meant for blisters. These bandages were too independent and quickly divorced themselves from my wound to take joy rides around the inside of my sock leaving my blister exposed while I walked on what felt like chewed up bubble gum.
Then I spoke with a pharmacist in Waitsfield, Vermont. He recommended the 3M Tegaderm pictured here. I used this bandage, which not only completely covered the wound but kept it dry and stayed on all day despite the rigorous hiking required by the Long Trail. I did add moleskin on top of the bandage to help keep pressure off the open blister, which also helped ease or prevent further pain and rubbing.
I will make this bandage a stock item in my First Aid kit for future hikes.
Tips for Preparing for a Long Distance Hike
Some people decide to go on a long distance hike and they simply sling a loaded pack on their back and set out. I’ve also read accounts from long-distance hikers who say the training and getting in shape happens as you go. If you’re one of those people, well, God bless you. For mere mortals like me, preparation was essential.
Here are some of the things I did to prepare for my thru-hike of the Long Trail.
Hiked: To prepare for hiking, I went, well, hiking. My Long Trail hike would be a solo hike so a year out I started taking weekend trips by myself. The biggest advantage to these trips was that it gave me the opportunity to find out what it was like to be in the woods alone and the confidence to know that I could handle it. No, being out for a weekend isn’t the same as being out for an extended period, but it gave me enough of a taste to help me prepare mentally as well as a practical opportunity to field test different pieces of gear.
Experimented with equipment: Speaking of gear, I researched and tested various gear, including footwear, backpacks, tents and clothing during my weekend jaunts. I took advantage of REI weekend camping courses to try some of the gear they provided for free (and I rented some from them for a few of my solo trips). You can go crazy with all the different gear choices available and I did. I was agonizing over these decisions up until the day I left. But I was able to make informed choices.
Walked: I took every opportunity to walk as often and as far as I could in my regular life as possible, in addition to my weekend hikes. Prior to the hike I lived in Washington, D.C., which is a good city to walk in. I was walking up to 20-30 miles per week as the hike got closer. If it was possible to walk somewhere, I hoofed it. Even if it was raining. Especially if it was raining.
Saw a doctor: I’m in overall excellent health, but I’m of an age where I experience a few chronic conditions. I made sure to see the appropriate doctors and make sure those conditions could be managed on the trail.
Read a book: Lots of them. I read as many books by hikers about their long distance hikes as I could. I was most interested in what I could learn from them that would help me be successful. Because I was already hiking I knew what some of my personal challenges would be so I looked for clues from them about how they overcame similar problems.
Researched the trail: I learned as much about the Long Trail, weather in Vermont and the history of the trail as I could before my boots touched the ground.
Planned: Out of my research I planned my hike, including my schedule, meals and resupply point. The schedule of course became a guideline that I followed (or not) once I was on the trail, one that I adjusted as I went. But it helped me maintain progress, manage my daily goals and also keep up with my resupply plan. Similarly, by planning my meals I made the most of the food I carried in terms of weight and caloric intake. This may seem too structured for some – but you are always free to abandon your plan. I found having a baseline to be helpful — plus it helped me better understand the trail and conditions I would face.
Got in better shape: I hit the ground in as good as shape as possible. Being in better shape helped me prevent injury, didn’t slow me down in the initial part of the hike and overall gave me greater confidence. Of course my body got more hardened to hiking as I went, but I gave myself the best physical base to start with as possible. I’m not saying you have to be in the shape of Tarzan before you hit the trail, but I would not go from being sedentary to walking 12-15 miles a day with a heavy pack on your back. You’re asking for injury.
Broadcast my intentions: My hike became a public endeavor. I announced it to all my family and friends, started a blog and kept anyone interested informed. Making a public commitment to my hike helped keep me focused both in preparation and in execution.
Involved others: Even though I was taking a solo hike, I had a “support” team. My mother served as quartermaster, preparing and sending my food mail drops. She was also coach, giving me solid encouragement when I called to check in and by bucking me up during low points. She was effective in this role because 1) she is a Mom and 2) because I involved her in my planning phase – so she was “trail smart” and was able to understand what I was doing and facing. Other friends and family also pitched in.
These are some of the ways I prepared for successfully walking 272 miles over challenging terrain in the mountains alone.
How would you prepare?
freelancetrekker 