amorfati1
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2014_Caminho Portuguese (Lisboa to Santiago_4 weeks in May)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/travel/tips-for-healthy-and-sustainable-hiking.html?mabReward=CTM&moduleDetail=recommendations-1&action=click&contentCollection=Asia Pacific®ion=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&configSection=article&isLoggedIn=true&src=recg&pgtype=article
might be of interest -
buen camino!
bom caminho
bon chemin
Tips for Healthy and Sustainable Hiking
By TERENCE McGINLEYMAY 13, 2015
Photo
Rehabilitating a trail in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.CreditAppalachain Mountain Club
might be of interest -
buen camino!
bom caminho
bon chemin
Tips for Healthy and Sustainable Hiking
By TERENCE McGINLEYMAY 13, 2015
Photo
Rehabilitating a trail in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.CreditAppalachain Mountain Club
- To many outdoor enthusiasts the mountains and forests are waking with life again and trails beckon. With the days of summer in plain sight, recalling the cold and snow of winter would be a cruel exercise. But hitting the trail often means entering a place where the effects of winter can be seen well into spring.
Alex DeLucia manages the Trails Volunteer and Leave No Trace programs for the Appalachian Mountain Club, where he has worked since 2001. The A.M.C. was founded in 1876and maintains 1,800 miles of trails in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Mr. DeLucia spoke to The New York Times from the A.M.C. Highlands center at Crawford Notch, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, about the challenges of mudseason, the thawing period when lasting snowpack and moist soil leave trails vulnerable and present unexpected obstacles to the hiker.
He cautions against the urge to walk around muddy or icy patches of trail, a process called “trail widening.” Mr. DeLucia manages projects aimed to prevent this from happening, and to rehabilitate trail that has already been widened.
“Our efforts are always to consolidate the hiker travel into a single path that is really sustainable. A hardened hiking surface, like rock structures or a wooden boardwalk,” he said.
Mr. DeLucia also shared some tips for healthy hiking in the warmer weather ahead.
Following are edited excerpts from a conversation with Mr. DeLucia.
Will a tough winter mean a longer mudseason in some places?
It typically lasts until Memorial Day. It’s been a long and trying winter. Just a little bit of a warm up we have been having is enough to excite everybody and get us out. Sometimes it feels like spring is never going to come, and then it comes awfully quick.
Is there unique preparation required for spring hiking on mountain trails?
It is so critical to get an idea of the local conditions at the time to be prepared with some kind of traction or microspikes. A trail may be clear at a lower elevation — because of deciduous trees not having leaves, yet the sun is able to get through and bake off that snow. But as you climb in elevation and you get into more conifer forest, much shadier forests, or anytime you get north-facing slopes they are going to hold onto a lot more snow than anywhere else.
Another consideration is that areas that get year-round recreation get seriously compacted snow. We call that the monorail.
The surrounding forest may be completely clear of snow later in the spring but there is still that solid strip of compacted ice. Hikers that are not prepared to stay on the trail are contributing to widening and other problems.
What is really happening when hikers widen trails?
In mudseason these high organic soils hold moisture for a long time and they take a while to dry out. You are taking these big sloppy footsteps in the mud and breaking up and loosening that soil, and it is more prone to washing away with the snowmelt and rain events. We see a lot of soil lost in the long term, especially in high use areas. We get trails that are six, eight, 10 feet wide all of the sudden. We don’t want these big eyesores, big mud pits. Most folks go out to these areas to get the sense that they are there without anyone else around. The recreational impact steals away from that solitude.
If you are not interested in trekking through the mud and frozen pack ice, then it is best to delay that trip or find a place that is not as muddy.
How much drinking water should a hiker bring?
The recommended minimum is typically two quarts of water per person for a day trip. You may need more for hotter days as you lose water through perspiration.
Any tips for staying cool?
Wear functional clothing with vents and synthetic fibers. Wearing wet bandannas around your head and neck can help.
What is the most demanding project you’ve experienced?
The construction on the Grafton Loop Trail in western Maine. From planning to construction the new 12.9-mile trail took over five years.
Western states have bigger mountains. What do Eastern states have?
Walking through the woods and seeing remnants of stone walls and wondering how the land was once used is a fairly common experience. I also like the variety of trails, from easy woods walks to steep, challenging terrain. TERENCE McGINLEY
