If eyes are indeed the window to the soul, my friend’s spirit was a red, burning mess. His mistake: hiking at altitude on an overcast day without sunglasses. The radiant solar glare from the snow cooked his peepers into red-hot cinnamon balls. Luckily, his was only a mild case of snowblindness and after a day or two of looking like he watched repeated viewings of Old Yeller, his eyes were back to normal. Lesson learned.
Anyone who ventures into the high country eventually learns that there’s a lot of subtle ways to feel awful and get frustrated on the mountain. In honor of all the little things one learns in the field, Elevation Outdoors presents 7 Spiffy tips to make your time in the hills a little more enjoyable. And yes, we’ve learned most of these lessons the hard way as well.
1. Headaches: It Might Not Be the Altitude
I hope Advil finally gives me some kind of pro sponsorship because I’ve gone through many gallons of their liquid gels. The two main culprits in many headaches are altitude and dehydration. These two conditions should be the first suspects on your list of headache inducing ailments. However, don’t overlook some of the other causes that might be ringing your bell. The aforementioned lack of sunglasses (or ill-fitting, cheap-o specs) is easy to overlook on cloudy days.
Sunburn in general can give you a dull, annoying headache and promote fatigue. Let’s face it, it’s easy to get lazy on the mountain but if you can remember to apply sunblock every 90 minutes or so, you’ll be in good shape. Keep a little tube in your pocket so you won’t have to root around in your backpack.
A less obvious cause of headaches are having sunglasses, baseball hats or backpacks that are too tight. Having something squeezing your head and neck for hours on end can create fatigue headaches. Loosen up a bit and relieve the squish!
2. There’s Something Afoot
Hiking knowledge 101 says to address hot spots on your feet before they explode into blisters. Once again, this is a classic error hikers make in the name of efficiency: instead of taking 10 minutes to clean up and cover up hot spots, they hike on and deal with the pain. Stop and patch up any foot issues before they get worse.
Because everybody has unique feet, there’s no one system that works best for all. A few universal rules tend to help the majority of hikers. Wearing the thinnest, non-cotton sock you can (that still keeps your feet warm) helps prevent moisture that can accelerate blisters. A little foot powder pre-hike can make a big difference in reducing friction, especially in thicker hiking boots. And don’t forget hiking poles; they can take some of the strain off your feet.
3. Hot n’ Cold
We all know how metal thermoses keep warm drinks and soups scaldingly hot for hours, but did you also know they do a pretty darn good job keeping cold drinks cold as well? Added value, my friends.
4. I Call Him Mini-Map
A very dorky side of myself is slightly enamored with the diverse world of office supplies. One of the more exciting pieces of equipment is the venerable laminating machine. I’ve grown rather fond of printing smaller topo maps (around 7” x 5”) that easily fit in my pocket. For technical sections, such as the class 4/5 traverse between the Maroon Bells, these little maps are ideal. I like to print zoomed-in areas or add in photos from detailed trip reports, such as those found on 14ers.com. Print trailhead directions and hike descriptions on the other side!
5. Lithium AA Batteries + Solar Chargers
I’m a believer when it comes to the clear superiority of high-end, lithium AA and AAA batteries in many of the gadgets I bring outdoors. Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries are perfect for hand-held cameras, headlamps and GPS units. They are cold resistant and do well in high drain devices – the only downside is unlike conventional batteries that fade out before they die, lithiums tend to abruptly drain when they are ready to go.
Of course many of your gadgets, such as smartphones, mp3 players, etc. have built in, rechargeable lithium batteries that you can’t easily swap out. Fear not, for the revolution of portable solar chargers is at hand! Many of these devices, such as the Brunton Restore, can be bought for under $100 and can easily charge less demanding devices and batteries (many via USB cables). For laptops or high-end cameras, there are more powerful solar chargers. There’s even dedicated backpacks with recharging solar panels on the outside if you really want to keep the juice flowing.
6. This is Your Brain on Morning
“I’ll do it in the morning” has become code for “I’ll definitely forget that in the morning.” Over the years, I have decided to make my mornings as brainless as possible, especially on those painful alpine starts where you’re hitting the trail pre-dawn. Not only do I have my pack ready to go, I’ve grown fond of sleeping in my hiking layers and leaving any morning tasks set up the night before. If I can whittle down my efforts in the morning to three easy jobs such as boil water, put on shoes, zip the tent… I’m in good shape. If I try to make sandwiches, pack my bag and other high functioning activities, I tend to end up packing up my slimy peanut-butter knife and leaving the sandwiches safely in my tent. It usually takes an hour or two to boot up the old brain after those 3 AM starts, so the less responsibility it has, the better.
7. Cross Dressing for Success
There’s nothing wrong with poaching a good gear idea from another sport. Arm warmers from the cycling world have become part of my regular hiking kit. They are light, easy to put on and off and perfect for high peaks where gusts of wind can chill you (and white arm warmers are good for deflecting sun). Lighter, less tight bike or running jerseys with side and back pockets are nice for hiking days when you’ll be carrying a smaller pack like a Camelbak and want to have easy access to sunblock, snacks or… arm warmers!
Mastering the little things can add up over the course of a day and even veteran hikers should keep an eye out for new ways to improve their systems. If you’re going to go through the trouble of chugging up a mountain, every little bit helps.
