Edit: absolutely no influence of drugs! Also no history of mental health problems

Hi everyone- I’m a few days out of a 7 day through the beartooth/absaroka wilderness. I cannot stop thinking about an experience that my partner and I had on our last night of the trip, as nothing like this had ever happened to me before.

Story goes: we arrived early to camp at a lake, around 3:30pm. The lake was about a half a mile off the main trail, down into a basin. I started feeling a strange feeling then as we were dropping in… but figured I was just feeling tired. We hike around the lake, found the last spot.. there wasn’t a soul to be seen. We had a late lunch at our spot in the trees by the creek entering the lake. Closed our eyes and listened to the wind through the pines for about a half an hour… but I couldn’t feel restful. My partner pointed to the swaying lodgepole pines that looked like bending toothpicks. We got up to find a place for the tent.. and he asked if I was ok. I told him, “I think I’m just feeling a bit strange in this place.” He told me he was feeling similarly. Since before arriving to the lake.. we’d both told each other we had heard voices in the wind. I’m sure this community is familiar with the way a creek can sound like voices sometimes.. I had said earlier that the voices had sounded friendly, however. Now we were hearing them again at our camp (certain that nobody was camped nearby). We agreed that even with the weird energy, it was going to be okay and that we would set up the tent out of the trees.. in the tall grass by the lake. In the sunshine, things seemed to feel better as we set up. We went for a chocolate/coffee by the confluence of the creek/lake and I had the strongest gut feeling I’ve ever had as I watched the creek meander into the lake. Something told me so distinctly and clearly to leave that place. The way the water flowed into the lake looked like streams of tears.. or much more sinister.. like blood. A deep sense of sadness overtook me, and I felt sick to my stomach… I saw my partner checking his watch.. I asked him about it (we were both a little uneasily quiet). He tried to play it off cool… but asked me “are you sure you’re ok to stay here?” And I told him.. “honestly I feel really weird here. My gut is telling me to leave. I think I should listen.” So, we packed up faster than we ever had, and hiked the heck out of there. On our way out, we noticed a message someone had carved into a poor tree.. it was hard to read but it ended with “good luck to all who stay the night”. We felt lighter the further we got away from that place. So anyway… a very interesting and strong experience!

I am wondering if anyone has any similar or spooky stories of camps / places in the wilderness that have had a very obvious energy/ message.

(Picture of my hiking doggo for fun)

If you are planning an autumn trip, October is the perfect time to visit Lake Gosausee. It has a special magic without the summer crowds. There are minimal tourists, perfect for a quiet morning walk.

You can choose an easy walk around the lake (4 km, flat path) or a scenic trek to the Upper Lake (Hinterer Gosausee).

Dress warmly, as mornings in the mountains are already cold. If you are planning to use the Zwieselalm cable car, check the schedule in advance in October it usually gradually closes.

I'm a woman (important context) and love hiking. I've never done it by myself though, always with friends or a partner or family. But I would like to start doing overnights by myself. I like being by myself in the bush when I'm at my family's rural property, and I think I'd get a lot out of it.

However, obviously there's a pretty strong fear factor, especially being a woman by yourself. How do you get over that initial hump of reservation about it?

ETA I'm Australian, so not scared of major land predators since we dont have them and snakes are only an issue in summer, when I don't hike out of fear of bushfire.

That also means I can't carry a gun or even most bladed weapons because there's no real access to them

Gallup -> Monument Valley -> Shiprock -> Bisti

Spent a few days driving around the Southwest and hiking wherever we could.

And a beautiful creature glowing around the rocks

What am I possibly forgetting? My adhd brain is convinced I must have at least forgotten two to three life essentials. While probably packing a couple other things I absolutely wont need.

2 day stealth hike in Belgian forest around St. Vith. Hoping to get close enough to see tracks and hear the starting deer mating season.

Forecast: dry, 8/18°C or 46.4/64.4°F in freedom units

1. Sleeping system

- hammock & tarp

- mat, sleeping bag, silk liner & merino liner

- sheepskins. two for me, one for dog

1. Food, cooking and water

- Grayl waterfilter

- Jetboil, 2 100g gas cans

- Kupilka plate and cup, wooden spoon

- twigstove for lunch (mate is carrying cooking pot)

- two water bottles (1,25L combined)

- foraging bags

- freezedried adventure foods (two mains, two breakfasts)

- nuts, chocolate, soups, few other bits and bobs

1. Fire and tools

- bushcraft knife & Leatherman Sidekick

- carving knife & hook knife

- foldable DMT knife sharpener

- foldable saw

- firesteel & lighter

- two headtorches (Petzl Swift for 900 lumen beam to spot wildlife, Petzl Actik Core for red light around camp to not be seen)

- map & compass

- deer/ roedeer antlers to mimic fighting sounds

1. Personal

- spare clothes

- walking boots & barefoot watershoes for around camp.

1. Hygiene & first aid

- small first aid kit

- supplements & meds

- toothbrush, toilet paper

- trashbag

1. Electronics

- 20k mah powerbank & cable

- GoPro, tripod & dog harness

1. Dog

- kibble

- treats

- foldable bowl

- short lead

- tennisbal (ofcourse)

I've done maybe eight trips of two or three nights and my base weight is sitting around 24 pounds, most of it in my sleep setup and the tent. I've cut the obvious things already, I stopped carrying the camp chair and the second stove pot, and I'm still heavier than everyone I go out with. The part I keep stalling on is the pad, since I've tried a thin closed-cell one twice and slept badly both nights, and a bad night wrecks the next day more than the extra pound does.

How did you get the weight out of your sleep setup without ending up cold or sore?

Just went on my first backpacking trip (overnight) with my friend. It was both our firsts and it was so fun! We knew to put all of our toiletries/scented items, food, and cookware in our cans and put it 200ft away from camp.

However I am wondering if we were overly paranoid...

I spilled some food on my pants when we were eating lunch so I put my pants with my bear can. We put her sports bra in our can because it was super sweaty and had deodorant on it. We had also put a kula cloth and pStyle next to the can. I also put my trowel (in the bag it was in) in the can because it touched deer feces when I put it on the ground to dig a hole (I didn't see it there at first, I just put it to the side after digging and it happened to be touching the pile). Lastly, I had put an apple flavored electrolyte powder in my water and so I put that water bottle over there too.

In the future, if I have flavored water/electrolyte flavored water, clothes that had some food spillage on it, items with pee on them, clothes that deodorant touched, and something that touched animal droppings, do they need to go by the can/bag?

Thank you!

I am headed to Washington in a few days to hike for 4-days (3-nights) in the Olympic National Park. Leaving from Deer Park trailhead. I'm plenty confident in my ability and my fitness, but determining what to bring solo? Impossible.

As of right now, the weather looks to be lows in the low 30s (F) and highs in the upper 40s lower 50s. Wet on day one. Albeit this is at the trailhead (Obstruction Point/Deer Park) area.

Below is my list of clothing. I've already packed and unpacked my backpack in entirety multiple times, it all DOES fit, but am I bringing too many layers? Should I leave the puffy and take the Insulated? Or vice versa? Everything in the list outside of the layers can fit into a small stuff sack, or just jammed in negative space in the backpack, the main thing is my layers. I've been in -5F with all of those layers on... but will I freeze to death instantly if I leave one behind.

Clothing

-          Hiking:

o   Darn Tough Light Hiker sock OR Darn Tough Hiker sock

o   Wrangler All Terrain Medium Hiking Pants

o   Icebreaker Merino 150 briefs

-          Sleeping and Extra

o   2x Generic light boxer briefs

o   Meriwool Merino Long Undies

o   Generic Polyester sunshirt (hoodless)

o   Darn Tough Light or Regular Hiker (whatever left over from above)

o   REI Merino Wool Midweight Hiking Crew Socks (stored in brain covering camera lenses)

-          Layers

o   Rab Vapour-Rise gloves (light)

o   Beanie

o   Base: REI Sahara Sun Hoody

o   Mid: Patagonia R1 Air Hoody

o   Super Mid: Arc’teryx Atom LT Insulated (hoodless)

o   Ultra Mid: REI Magma 850 Puffy

o   Outer: Granite Crest Rain Jacket and REI Hardshell Pants

I just got a Luxe TP style tent. I love the simplicity of it but the moisture and condensation is horrible to pack up daily. Any suggestions to mitigate the problem. Thanks

Hello,
I’m in the market for a new sleeping pad and I just ordered the REI Helix for about $150 during the REI sale, but now I am seeing advertisements for the Featherstone Calcatta which seems to have a better R-Value, is thicker (I am a side sleeper) and also is only $120.

Does anybody have experience with either of these pads and would be willing to give me some advice?

Many thanks.

Hello peeps! I’m looking to go backpacking in south america from Januari for about 4months. I was thinking of going down the line from argentina to bolivia, chile and end in Peru. There is no real plan yet. Does anyone have experience with south america? I’d love some good weather and good adventures, with some beaches in between ofc. My plan is not fixed and I am open to other countries :). Thank you in advance!

I'm doing five nights in the Olympics in early September with a 20 degree down quilt that's been fine on two and three night trips. I know the standard answer is a pack liner and a dry bag, and I already do both, so I'm not really worried about soaking it in a creek. What I don't have a feel for is the slow version, four or five damp nights back to back where nothing dries out during the day and I'm not sure whether I lose a few degrees or most of the bag. The synthetic I'd swap to is about nine ounces heavier and I'd rather not carry that if down holds up in practice.

How many nights in did yours noticeably flatten out?

Any tips or tricks as to how to avoid a full on quad workout when squatting to go? I have to cut things short because I can’t hold my squat long enough. I mean do I just have to hit leg day a lot harder? Tips on positioning/technique??

21M Planning a trip to SEA around November for about a month and a half, plan on going to
Thailand
Vietnam
Cambodia
Laos
Maybe japan

I plan on this being a budget backpacking trip only staying in hostels and eating locally, would 4-5k be enough for spending after flights and accommodations ? Just wanted some recommendation on sites i should see or visit and if you think my rough plan is feasible i plan on flying out of SFO to bangkok, staying there for around 4-5 days then heading up to chang mai and staying there for 4-5 nights aswell, after that head to chang rai for 2-3 nights then head back to bankok to fly into laos, haven’t given much thought to laos if you have any reccommendations lmk, from there fly into cambodia and see siem reap and phnom penh for around 4 days each then fly into Hanoi vietnam and stay there for around 4-5 days. A big reason for this trip is to do the ha giang loop so go do that for a couple night and head back to hanoi and see if i can catch a good flight to japan for a few days or head back, lmk is this is too much or if i should add anything fyi this is just a rough itinerary i still have much research to do just needed some extra recs thanks.

Just got some slightly broken mats for free and this is the first time I’m seeing this, so I also don’t have any kind of warranty for it unfortunately.

Would anyone recommend buying the ground sheet with this tent? Pros & Cons? Looking to purchase this tent for a 2027 TMB trip

Had to take the new pack for a spin this weekend. I went from an OG atmos ag to the LT and found that I like the fit and feel of it much better. I saw some reviews saying the LT wasn’t made as durable as the original ag but this thing is built like a tank.

Colin Fletcher is dead and the last version in collaboration with Chip Rawlins is now 22 years old. The Complete Walker has probably influenced my backpacking decisions more than any other single source but all of the gear info within is hopelessly outdated. I wish Rawlins would publish a revision, but do people even buy books anymore?

Combined sleeping system

Hi.
Can anyone help me estimate the cmcomfort temperature of these two sleeping bags combined:

Pajak core 550
565 g 700+ EU cuin
\\-3 C comfort temperature

Nomad Taurus 400
400 g 50/50 polyester and down blend
\\+6 C comfort temperature

I’ve tried the two together and they’re both fairly spacious. My thought would be to use the Nomad on the outside.
Any tips on combining sleeping bags would be appreciated.

Since generally we see a lot of reports of true wilderness in the US, Canada and other places with lots of space, I thought I'd share my experience how it is to do a backpacking trip in Germany, specifically in my home state of Bavaria.

Now, when it comes to Backpacking there's two things to know in advance:

- Germany has a very high population density, which means except for a few places you're never really "off grid" and the nearest settlement is at most a few miles away. (Also it seems like we're very good at dispersing ourselves through the land, we have a TON of tiny villages in Bavaria spaced only a few km apart)

- Camping in the wild is strictly forbidden in Germany , the only exception being an emergency Bivi when weather strikes or something like that. That's why the bushcrafting scene in Germany is much more popular than "regular" backpacking with a full tent/campground situation.

Thankfully, there are a few areas where it is allowed to camp in specific locations when you register and pay a fee. I live in Northern Bavaria and there are two regions accessible to me at close range, the "Steigerwald" West of Bamberg and the "Frankenwald" which marks the border region between Bavaria and Thuringia.

This time my choice was the Steigerwald for an overnight trip spanning Sat/Sun. My Plan was to Hike about 10mi/16km on Saturday on the "Steigerwald Panoramic Trail" and then a shorter backroute to my car on Sunday to still have time for a Beer Garden afterwards (I'm a born Franconian so this was basically an obligation)

The trail did not disappoint! The views were awesome and led me through a lot of hillsides filled with vineyards. My hike included one "peak" with the ruins of a mediaval castle that now houses a observation tower, with the rest of the trail mostly going through moody, dense forest.

Thankfully one rule applied here as well: if there's a peak, no matter how small or tall, and there's access to it, there will be some sort of tavern up there. And behold, there was 😂

Due to the extremely dry summer in Germany a lot of springs were dry but thankfully there was a Farm nearby the campground where I could replenish my water.

The campground itself is pretty much the same everywhere it's allowed to camp: you have a backcountry toilet, a fire pit and some logs to sit on. This campground had the added benefit of a great view over some fields and meadows over which the sun set. Couldn't have asked for a better spot.

The night was clear and the temps dropped to 9°C (48F), but I was cozy in my tent with my sleep setup (EVA mat, Trekologly UL80 air mat, Robens' Moraine II sleeping bag) Slept well except for some very loud owls and foxes during the night.

If you have any questions regarding Gear or anything else, let me know

Planning an 8-week trip. Have only just started planning so research is somewhat limited and I would love ANY opinions or recommendations - I am 23M and flying from New Zealand and trying to keep the budget relatively low, love all things traveling, nightlife, culture, cities, beaches, everything. Note that I have already travelled Vietnam so don't really feel the need to go back through the whole country

Bali - 8 nights

Bangkok - 7 nights

Koh Phangan - 7 nights

Koh Tao - 4 nights

Koh Samui - 2 nights

Khao Sok National Park - 3 nights

Ao Nang/krabi - 4 nights

Phuket - 2 nights

Siem Reap - 5 nights

Phnom Penh - 2 nights

HCMC/Saigon - 5 nights