Walking across England from the North Sea to the Irish Sea along Hadrian's Wall

[hooky]

The only merino wool I have is socks. 2 pair for a week is all I pack, FWIW.

 

[melensdad]

As a hunter, fisherman, gun tinkerer, etc and I know that because of my purchase of "tax stamps" for hunting and my purchases of guns/gun parts/fishing equipment/hunting equipment, etc that I am supporting the maintenance of wilderness habitat because there is an 11% excise tax on hunting/fishing/gun related items that is a dedicated tax going to support the lands. "Tax stamps" like duck hunting stamps, big game stamps, upland bird stamps, which are required taxes if you hunt, are also dedicated taxes for habitat preservation, game management, wilderness maintenance, etc.

But the above sign got me to wondering, if we, as hikers/backpackers actually contribute to maintain the lands we use? Sure, in some areas we pay a pittance for a backcountry pass on some of the properties, but other than that is there any real tax that we pay? Are we freeloaders who use the land and don't financially contribute to it with tax dollars?

Oh sure, we may be members of various hiking groups who go clean land. Or maybe we are members of a group that creates a trail. But do we financially contribute to the purchase and annual maintenance costs of the wild?

Are there outdoor use taxes on our tents? Boots? Backpacks? Stoves? etc or are we freeloading off of other outdoor groups and using lands without real contribution? I'm clearly uncertain if we are contributing financially. Not just with regular sales tax dollars, but is there some special excise tax that we pay to help support the lands we use? I simply don't know. Anyone have a clue?

 

[mdmayo]

I don't own any merino wool t-shirts, but do exclusively wear merino wool socks. They have been worth their weight in gold, though they may as well be spun from the stuff given the price per pair. I've tried several brands but the SmartWool seem to (generally) hold up better than most, except possibly the Darn Tough brand, (though the merino-CoolMax/UltraMax blends seem to make me sweat like Shaquille O'Neal) and come in several different useful weights. The LLB/Cabela's/GM/Other-"outfitter" brands have all sucked; unfortunate because the price-point(s) made them seem attractive as alternatives.

I have a North Face merino sweater I bough maybe 13-14 years ago as a closeout and it was pricey even at 50% off. It is pretty form fitting and I have worn it as my base layer a lot under many conditions, of vastly different activity levels. It's great anytime; while up above the tree line, while cold weather hiking, while sitting on the ice while fishing, in the rainy blustery late fall salmon fishing, or early winter Menomonie fishing on an icy pier worn under a shell. I can honestly say that it still looks (and smells) almost as if it were new, and I've never actually washed it, though I do rinse it out about once every year or so, or if I get fish slime/guts all over it.

Honestly, now that I've typed it out, I think I need more merino wool in my life. I think you ought to roll the dice and try a couple-three shirts, 'cause I'd like to see your review of them before I go and spend any more of my kid's college fund on gear!

 

[melensdad]

UPDATES ~

MERINO WOOL BASE LAYER: No I have NOT ordered any of those expensive Merino Wool base layer clothes. I'm still holding out hoping that someone else will be the financial test-dummy for those. Or, maybe I'll ask the lovely Mrs_Bob to give me a couple of them as a Christmas gift.


STOVES: Someone over at the backpacking forum where I am a member suggested an ESBIT solid fuel stove. I had initially rejected that stove because they are not particularly popular here, hard to get fuel, etc. But pointed out that in Europe they are very popular so fuel there is easy to get. Found an Esbit folding stove for $9.99 with 6 fuel tablets. Same store (Dicks) did not sell the fuel separately!!! It actually looks like the ideal packing stove for anyone who will be doing minimal cooking, and this trip will have minimal cooking so it may end up being the most practical stove of the bunch?

Basically a cheap stamping of aluminum(?). 3 pieces, stamped and folded and held together with a couple of pins. The bottom piece holds the 1/2 ounce solid fuel cube. The 2 side plates fold upward and act as both a windscreen and a pot rest to hold a small pot for boiling water. Supposedly it boils 2 cups of water in about 8 minutes.

One nice thing is that in the folded position, the stove holds 4 of the packaged Esbit solid fuel cubes.

 

[wildhair]

Wow, what a trip. The exercise and good planning sounds like a good idea. Just think a beer and good food every day, now that's a backpacking vacation.

I sometimes use an umbrella instead of a rain suit. You get the ultimate breathability, so no sweat suit. Golite makes the best one I have seen.

 

[melensdad]

I hear a lot of good stuff about the GoLite brand but don't own anything from them.

The main reason that I won't carry an umbrella is because I use trekking poles. So if we get a rain, I'll have my hands occupied with the grips of the trekking poles and will have to rely on my rain gear (Koppen) plus my well worn and trusted wide brim Gore-Tex Outdoor Research hat.

 

[wildhair]

I can hook the brella over my pack and stuff the handle under my sternum strap. Sounds weird but it works. Hiked the whole AT with my umbrella, sometimes walking with it all day long. Comes in handy if you need to keep other things dry, I mean besides your head.

 

[melensdad]

Just curious, what type of stove did you carry and did you have any issues with it. Recently saw a survey of AT thru-hikers and only the folks carrying alcohol stoves reported making the trip problem free, iso-butane canister carriers were second most likely to report reliable stoves and white gas carriers the least likely. Most reported they could repair, or clean, their stoves to return to reliable use.

 

[wildhair]

I mean, i'am old school, so i still carry a coleman ApexII Gasoline stove. The pros are, you can boil a quart of water in a couple of mins. (we boil a lot for coffee, hot choc. exc), and fuel is easy to find. The cons, it's heavy and you got to be careful with the fuel. The alcohol stoves are the most popular out there now, because everybody is lite weight now and you make one out of a beer can, but forget a rolling boil, just a little steam at best. The butane stoves are great and I have used them. The canisters used to be hard to find but now days everybody carries them. If you want boil, Butane, if warm is ok, then alcohol.

 

[melensdad]

. . . If you want boil, Butane, if warm is ok, then alcohol.

Yup, I had an old iso-butane and that is one of the reasons I bought another one (the Snow Peak GigaPower). Fast to boil, simple to use, minimal issues but the downside is the canisters.

 

[wildhair]

I always think of getting one that uses a standard canister,one that a coleman canister will fit becuse WalMart and most small hardware sell them, especially on an extended trip and you have to find a replacement.

 

[melensdad]

I always think of getting one that uses a standard canister,one that a coleman canister will fit becuse WalMart and most small hardware sell them, especially on an extended trip and you have to find a replacement.

I look at that as both a WEIGHT and a VOLUME issue.

Those canisters are very heavy, and they are also large so they would take up a huge amount of pack space.

 

[wildhair]

Nothing is perfect, but on a long distance hike, you have to be able to find replacements. Can't send um in the mail. But
Coleman Peak1 Micro Butane Stove - Walmart.com

 

[melensdad]

Nothing is perfect, but on a long distance hike, you have to be able to find replacements. Can't send um in the mail. But
Coleman Peak1 Micro Butane Stove - Walmart.com

I was unaware of that stove. But looking at it, it appears to use the same cartridges as my SNOW PEAK GigaPower, the OPTIMUS, the PRIMUS, the MSR and many other brands of stoves. Those are iso-butane stoves, using a mixture of propane and butane in the canister.

I thought you were talking about the 1# steel canisters used by most of the Coleman stuff. My mistake.

 

[wildhair]

Thought you did. No, ahhh some stoves will only use a certain canister, like JetBoil, I think, but I think most use a standard canister like the MSR pocket rocket.

 

[melensdad]

Just got a birthday gift from my lovely bride of 28 years. I got the gift about 2 weeks early because she gave it to me when we were visiting our daughter over the weekend at college. But she won't let me use my gift until my birthday. So I have a new gift that I can look at, but can't use.

A new pair of Zamberlan 230 SH Plus GTX light hiking boots. Pic below is a 'stock' photo in red color, she gave me the same boots but in black. VERY LIGHT WEIGHT for a boot. They use a thinner vibram sole to shave some weight, also use some high tech materials and skip the more traditional leather, it saves weight and allows for heel and ankle support. Many lightweight hiking boots actually cut down the ankle height, which eliminates ankle support, in an effort to cut weight, but these keep a more traditional height while eliminating the weight and providing the support.

Looking forward to giving them a workout over the next several months. Not ready to retire my pair of KEEN hikers, but it might break her heart if I don't relegate my trusty KEENs to the back of the closet. Narrower in the toe than my Keen's and my Merrell's so it will be interesting to see if I end up exchanging them for a larger size.

Amazingly lightweight but still very supportive, interesting combination. Anyone use this boot, or even this brand? I've never owned the brand before. These boots won the 2013 Backpacker Gear of the Year award for light hiking boots.

 

[melensdad]

Absolutely nothing new to report.

Got in my five miles this morning. Did not try out the new Zamberlains yet, still using in the trusty Keens.

Like I said, nothing new to report.

 

[melensdad]

Really nothing to report. Well, perhaps a little bit of chafing in the nether regions. I wore some cotton boxers on a brisk 5 miler and that was a mistake. Be paying for that for a few days while my oh so delicates heal. The fitted synthetic undies with gussets are a real blessing to hikers. I will be asking for more of those as Christmas presents, if any of you reading this are inclined to buy me gifts, I strongly prefer NEW/UNUSED, size large.

Weather is turning cooler. Mornings in the 40's. But as the old Swedish proverb claims: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

I should probably take the warning I learned from the cotton boxers incident very seriously now that real layering is required for the morning road hikes. Rain will likely be more frequent and cool weather will be the norm. According to the annual weather forecasts for the region of England where we will be hiking, the average daily high temps in June run from about 45-F to 62-F so fall weather in Indiana is probably excellent practice weather for summer weather in the north of England. This short weather window should actually help me select some proper shirts and shells for layering for the real hike.

 

[wildhair]

Nothin worse that a Ball Gall.

 

[Sylvain]

But as the old Swedish proverb claims: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

How true.