Photo by eliduke
Dr. Welch is a professor of pediatrics at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y. He is also a licensed professional guide, a certifying instructor (and field course instructor) for the Wilderness Education Association and a member of the Wilderness Medical Society. Welch has drunk from many water sources with no filter other than his teeth.
While at the University of Cincinnati, Welch conducted a 1995 survey where 48 of 50 U.S. state health departments responded to a questionnaire about giardiasis in their jurisdictions, the agencies studied 80 outbreaks of giardiasis in 1991; 19 outbreaks were linked to contaminated water, and just two were associated with campers or backpackers.
Two departments considered water-associated giardiasis to be a problem for backpackers in their jurisdiction, though the study found neither had any data to reinforce the claim.
“This was a classic food/hand epidemic in all respects,” Welch says. Read more »
Enjoy the Outdoors!
Saturday September 24 2011, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, along with 31 other trail clubs will be launching Family Hiking Day. In part, supported by REI, Family Hiking Day is a great opportunity to get families to enjoy the outdoors together. The event will be held on National Public Lands Day and coordinating with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative.
So I urge you to grab your family and head outside. Whether it be a short stroll with the grandparents or an all day hike with the super fit family spend some time together in the best place of all… in the woods!
The ATC has a few links to help your family plan a hike:
If you are looking to plan a hike in Western, MA I can help pick a hike for your family, just contact me.
If you do participate I would love to have you share your family hike story here at huskyhiker.com… contact me!
Beavers!
Why I Hike? For adventure, to see places that the masses haven’t seen, to be alone in a quite place. Hiking for me is a time to unwind, take my time and enjoy life! When I am out in the woods I am in no hurry to be anywhere or get anything done (unless it is raining and I am trying to get the shelter up). It is just nice to slow down and enjoy small victories. Fresh air and wildlife are just a bonus! And that first “real” meal after being in the woods for a couple days is oh so glorious…
Tom Mangan over at Two-Heel Drive has offered a challenge to his fellow hiking bloggers. On the surface, the assignment is simple — take 15 minutes to write a short piece on “why we hike.”
Here are some others:
Fat Man of the Mountains – Why we hike (Hint: It has something to do with beer and cheeseburgers)
TrailSavvy – Why We Hike
Greene Adventures – Why We Hike
Live Free and Hike – Why We Hike
Appalachia & Beyond – Why We Hike (ESP)
Join in share your #whywehike story, share your story with me and I’ll post it here…
My Book! Out Now!
random.org picked Matthew Sawyer as the winner, congrats!
Last summer things were a bit slow here at HuskyHiker.com, but I was busy. I was working on a guidebook for Falcon Guides (Globe Pequot Press) featuring 20 easy day hikes in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Most weekends were spent on the trail exploring some great places and talking with other hikers learning a lot about the area. Weeknights were spent in the library editing GPS routes into maps and writing about the weekend’s adventures. I visited a bunch of neat places and shared the best of the best in the book. Although a lot of work now that I get to see it in print it proves worth it. I can’t wait to get back out on some of these hikes again this year… Who know maybe I will see you on the trail!
Read more »
You Sweat You Die
Wearing Cotton – Cotton is great for bombing around town or the trip to the mall. It is soft and comfortable but once cotton is wet, it stays wet and loses any insulating properties. If the summer nothing is worse than your sweat drenched clammy cotton shirt sticking to you. Pick wicking clothing; you can even find wicking sport shirts and underwear at Walmart.
Wearing too Many Layers – Piling on a bunch of layers before heading out is great, just don’t over do it. What is the point if a mile into the hike you are going to over heat and have to shed a layer? I keep a record of what I wear and the temperature so I can look back and compare for current conditions.
Bundle Up When You Stop – When you stop hiking, you lose body heat fast, epically if it is windy. Bundle up when you stop for food or to take a break to avoid the chills. Once the chills set in it is hard to get rid of them…
Sweating – Les Stroud says it best “if you sweat, you die”. Sweat is your body’s way of removing excess heat through evaporation. After sweating when the temp drops the chills set in and can quickly lead to hyperthermia.
by silent stereo
Making the transition from car camping to wilderness camping and backpacking leaves the question about bathrooms… Believe it or not you are going to have to go in the woods, you are going to have to dig a hole and bury it and maybe even pack it out… Let’s dive umm.. head first into this semi-taboo subject.
Most privies are gross. We all hate using them but when they are available please use them… They place them in areas of high traffic to keep the area clean, if they are used it works!
Urinating in the woods is pretty self explanatory. You just need to pick a spot at least 200 feet from any trail, camp, or body of water such as lakes and streams. Women have it a bit harder than the guys here. Avoiding pee in the boots can be a challenge Read more »
photo by gregor_y
Your first aid kit should be more than a few ibuprofen and a couple band aids. How much you choose to take is really up to group size and the length of the trip. Do you need the same kit on a 2 mile hike with the family as you would on a seven day trip in Alaska, I doubt it? Should you still bring the kit with you on the family hike? Most definitely…
Items that can be used elsewhere are best for you kit. So think out side the box. For instance, you already have 20 feet of duct tape on your hiking poles do you need more? The hand sanitizer you have on your hip belt can be a great first aid item.
You could have the best most well stocked first aid kit in the world and it will not do you a bit of good without proper training. Everyone should take a wilderness first aid course NOLS and SOLO both offer wilderness first aid courses. If you can’t take a course at least buy a good book on wilderness first aid and READ it!
Here is my suggested list of first aid kit items, keep in mind this is not a survival kit… Read more »
Trashed Campsite
Leave No Trace, also known as LNT is something we should all follow to the best of our ability in the backcountry. Keeping the land that we love as pristine as possible for other to enjoy for many years to come.
The beginnings of can be traced back the 1970’s and 1980’s when the US Forest Service and the National Park Service started to teach their visitors how to have less impact on the land. The Sierra Club, Boy Scouts of America, and the National Outdoor Leadership School had all played a big role in what LNT is today.
Leave No Trace can be summed up in seven principles,
1. Plan Ahead and Prepare: Plan your trip thoroughly, when presented with unexpected situations most resort to solutions that can degrade the outdoors or put themselves at risk. Common scenarios are improperly located campsites, excessive trash, and improper campfires.
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: Damage to land when surface vegetation is trampled takes a long time and lots of work to repair. Trampled land leads to unusable campsites and soil erosion. Keeping pets leashed is helpful to this principle. Plants grow by the inch but die by the foot! In high use areas LNT suggests people hike and camp together to avoid further damage. In areas of little use or off trail travel LNT suggests spreading out when hiking and camping to avoid new trial, and campsite creation. Read more »
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Simple hiking etiquette can go a long way in making trail experience more enjoyable. Most state parks have rules and regulations posted but trail etiquette is a bit more.
Share the trail – Common rule is bikers yield to horses and hikers. Hikers yield to horses and horses yield to none. This is the common rule. I like to yield to bikers as well. I feel it is safer this way. Greet others as you pass. Uphill hikers should yield to downhill hikers.
Leave only footprints and take only pictures AKA leave no trace – Taking rocks, carving trees, damaging plants, etc. Not cool man, don’t ruin it for the next people! Even biodegradables like orange and banana peals should be packed out.
Stay on marked trails – This keeps you safe and protects flora and fauna. Even when navigating a tricky area like a big puddle, stay on the trail, get them boots wet. Staying on the trail helps prevent further trail erosion.
Keep the noise to a minimum – Noise travels in the wilderness, others might be trying to enjoy the quiet.
Clean up after pets – Bag the poop and carry it out.
Keep a leash on your pet – Use it when others are around. Not everyone loves your muddy dog as much as you!
Report any problems to park authorities – trail damage, vandalism, suspicious people, etc. The rangers will thank you.
Francis Tapon the summit of Mount Aneto Photo by Francis Tapon
Guest post by: Francis Tapon
Want to be a guest poster on HuskyHiker.com? E-mail me
Ultralight backpackers love to have endless and tedious discussions about how to shave off an ounce here and a gram there. They’ll blow an extra $50 just to get the pants that weigh a few feathers less than another pair of pants. These idiots are so obsessed with their pack-weight that they forget the whole point of backpacking: enjoying the wilderness.
I can describe ultralight backpackers accurately, because, sadly, I am one.
Indeed, I’m cursed with this ridiculous compulsion to chop every useless gram off my gear list. Read more »
hiking, how to, outdoors | Husky Hiker - Jim Bradley | 
9/5/2011 11:12 AM | 
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