Tips learned the hard way

[balzaccom]

We got to thinking on our last trip...and that's always a reason for concern. But here are a few tips we'll share. Not that we, personally, have ever done these things, but....

1. It is always easier to lift up your pack when you are not standing on the hip belt.
2. It's easier to cook on your gas stove when you remember to bring the fuel.
3. In a pinch, last year's campfire permit can make up for the fact that you forgot to bring TP.
4. Bug repellent in your pack is worth two bug repellents left in your car at the trailhead.
5. Waterproof boots are only waterproof if you keep the tops above the water.
6. The cairns you are following may have been left by a lost hiker who was never found again.

 

[Bob]

boots are better than sandals in the desert.........

 

[balzaccom]

Nice!

And salt and sugar look very much alike, but taste quite different in your morning coffee...

 

[b.stark]

It's easier to use your stove to cook when you bring something to light it with.

 

[balzaccom]

The best maps are the ones for your current trip, not the ones you used for your last trip.

 

[LarryBoy]

Titanium shepherds hooks are useless in most soil types.

 

[scatman]

A finger is never a good substitute for a toothbrush. I learned this one very recently.

 

[RyanP]

Just because the snow is firm and you don't need snowshoes on that way up (when it's cold), doesn't mean those conditions will be the same later in the day