What is a 14er and why does it matter

A 14er is a term used to describe mountains that are at 14,000 feet or higher. Mountain climbing enthusiasts seek out these natural wonders to hike, climb, and simply enjoy. At 14,000 feet you have the normal challenges that you have on any other hike along with the added potential to get Altitude sickness.

Altitude Sickness

While living life at sea level, a good percentage of thrill seekers will find that going above 14,000 feet is not all that fun. What happens is that the hiker cannot get enough oxygen from the air at that altitude. The air is thinner at 14,000 feet above sea level. The symptoms of altitude sickness are,

• Fast breathing
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Sleeplessness
• Loss of appetite

Altitude sickness is caused by the elevations changing quicker than the body can acclimate to it. If you hike or climb slower and rest in between elevations your body will have a smooth adjustment. If, however you do get altitude sickness symptoms, they should vanish once your body gets accustomed to the new elevation.

Preparing for the Journey

The excitement of the 14er doesn’t begin at the climb, it begins with training. A few things you will want and in my opinion, need to do is to prepare for the hike. I suggest if you live at sea level, get to a higher elevation for a day or more. Getting your body acclimated to a higher altitude will make breathing easier along with minimizing the chances of dealing with headaches, stomach issues, and fatigue.

In my opinion exercising should also help. The 14er’s will take between 5 hours to a full day. That is taxing on even seasoned hikers. Getting a training regimen and sticking to it will help to assure you a successful hike.

Do your research and find out the time it takes for your chosen 14er. Now you can prepare for that long walk. Start in your immediate area and build up your ability to walk for that time period while also being geared up as you would make the real walk. This will not only build your resistance but will also wear in your boots and other gear you will take with you.

Why a 14er

Most 14ers offer convenient access for almost any level of enthusiasts. Families like them because children who can climb can join in on the fun. A day on a 14er can include hiking, photography, and even skiing! People just enjoy the clean air and environment on hills that can be hiked in a day.

For solo hikers, the 14er offers an adventure without as much danger that other mountains have. Some of these peaks offer more of a challenge than others, offering you an option to fit your skill. Hiking these mountains will allow you to push yourself and grow your skills.

The challenge of the hike is what the 14er is about. Pushing yourself to fight altitude sickness and fatigue on the journey to the top. Then the long walk back to tell your friends about it. The success of the challenge will just feed the need to conquer other 14er’s and possibly all of them.

Follow the Switchbacks

Most of the trails on 14er’s are well marked. Switchbacks are your best option and safest even though they may be longer than taking a direct route to the top. Staying on these marked routes gives you a safer path, keeps you from getting lost, and keeps the ecosystem from damage. The last thing you want to do is trample all over, damaging plant and animal life.

Having these well-marked trails is a big draw to hikers that want an adventure without ending up on the late-night news. Have respect for nature and the people that maintain these trails by keeping them clean and undamaged.

What Else

Ok, so you may not have thought about it, but what do you do if you need to go? Well you won’t find porta-potties along the trail. You will become closer to nature than some are used to. Especially if it’s your first 14er. Modesty is challenging on some of the 14er’s because of the popularity. Walk a safe distance off the trail and wait until the coast is clear. Make sure you bring a roll of toilet tissue anleak-proofroof container to take back your used toilet paper or other personal products. Keep the mountain as you found it and do not litter!

Keep Hydrated and Nourished

Staying hydrated will not only keep the energy up but will also aid against altitude sickness. Bring plenty of water probably more that you think you will need. I would also try and bring a drink that has electrolytes to help your body recover.

High energy foods that are light should be brought along, as well. Some foods to bring are jerky, nuts, energy bars, and dried fruits. Foods high in fats and energy will feed your body under stress while keeping you fairly light. Other foods may wear you out and slow you down. Do some research on the proper foods to take if you are unsure.

Weather

The weather can change quickly and vary depending on the elevation. Pack extra clothing so you can layer up or down to maintain your temperature. Keep from getting cold and keep from sweating. Also bring rain gear to keep dry. It’s sometimes hard to predict the weather and getting caught in rain without the proper gear can lead to hypothermia.

The heat can also wreak havoc on your body. Keep breathable clothing and use a hat to protect your head. Sun glasses and sunblock are also needed not only in the summer but in the winter.

All of these elements and challenges is what makes these 14er’s so popular. People just want to push themselves and see if they can make the peak. So, if you want to test yourself find a 14er that matches your skill. I may find you there enjoying the sights from the top looking down on the people below!

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What to Do If You Get Lost Hiking

Even the most experienced hiker can find themselves [HOW TO FIND A LOST HIKER] in a bad situation. One of the worst situations hikers can get into is losing their bearings. I was lost once in the woods while hunting and can tell you from experience how scary it is.

The main thing you want to do as a hiker or outdoors person is to make sure you don’t get lost during a hike. Some of the steps you can take during a hike are to either follow a trail or make one. Most hikers run into trouble when they go off the beaten trail. Trails make it easier to hike and keep you on the right path. When you go off the trail everything starts looking the same and if you haven’t left markers or have a gps you may be getting into trouble.

So, if you have to get off the trail for some reason, make some markers. One tip all outdoors lovers should do is carry a roll of flagging tape. Flagging tape is just a plastic ribbon with a highly visible color. As you walk through the woods just tie a piece of flagging tape every 25’-100’ depending on what you can see. This will make it easier for you to find your path back or help someone find you if needed.

An old-time way to leave a marker is to bend over branches and you walk your path. It takes an experienced person to make a trail like this or follow one. Make the branches obvious and practice this skill before you need to use it.

If you find yourself lost you will have a host of feelings that can make your situation worst. Fear sets in and the brain can shut down. Most of the time people will start moving quicker and get tunnel vision moving them into a wrong direction. Every step in the wrong direction does 2 things and neither is good.

• You get harder to find every step you take while lost
• You make it harder for yourself to find the way out and every step is in the wrong direction

Thinking about these 2 points the lost hiker needs to make the most important decision. Do you continue, or do you stay in one spot and wait for rescue? I assure you that this will feel like the most important decision of your life at the time. In fact, it may be the most important decision you ever make.

Choosing to stay in one spot

Choosing to sit and wait is almost always the best option. Hopefully you notified friends and family of your plans and time schedule. If you don’t show up at a certain time they will come looking for you. It might just take someone within ears distance to shout your name to get you on track. That would be the best scenario. If you had kept moving you may be hours or even days from rescue. It could end up a media spectacle at that point. So, sitting and waiting if you are absolutely lost is the best option.

Searching for a way out

If you are in a situation where you have not told anyone your plan or timeline sitting and waiting may not be an option. In this situation, it may take some time for coworkers or family to alert authorities of your disappearance.

A good hiker will research the area and landmarks. If you are new to hiking it’s time to step up your game. Get a topographical map of the area you are going to and burn it into your memory. The map will show you hills, mountains, cliffs, creeks, ponds, rivers, and much more. Once you learn to read them properly you will even love your adventure more. Don’t wait to get lost before you try and figure out how to read the map.

Google maps can also be a great tool. There you might be able to see other landmarks like tree clearings and even types of outcrops. Anything you can see will help you understand the environment. Knowing the area before you get out there will help you make smarter and more educated decisions.

Follow the water

If you find a creek or river follow it out. Most creeks will feed into larger bodies of water. Following one downstream will usually bring you to civilization. Again, if you have studied your route you may even know how far towns are from the body of water.

Follow your compass

Always bring a compass and take a bearing while going into the woods. If you go into the wood in a southern direction just follow the compass in the northern direction. This won’t get you out in the same spot but will get you back to the road eventually.

Using a compass is not that hard but if you never used one it may be useless. Practice this skill or take a boy scout with you! It’s one of the most important skills a boy scout is taught and that is for good reason. Many people are boggled by the idea but it just takes a little practice.

GPS

Having a GPS and knowing how to use it makes staying on the trail and getting home easy. I have a GPS and can plot my way in as I go. I find that depending on it can diminish your awareness of nature so don’t depend on it, but rather use it as a tool. Keep a spare set of batteries because you will need it.

Walk the line

Most people walk in circles. Everyone has one leg a bit shorter than the other. This tends to make us turn slowly in length distances. To combat this, try and look as far into the distance and pick a reference point. This could be a mountain, tree, or manmade object. Following the sun or stars won’t work because the earth rotates making them look like they are moving. Experts that know the path of objects in the sky can calculate the right movement but those people would not be lost, to begin with.

Listen to the environment

Listening carefully as you walk can save you. Actively listening can give you clues as to the way out. The sound of a school bus, dog barking, church bell, or any other sounds will lead you to people. Less experienced hikers may just rely on their eyes and this is a mistake. Even the smell of burning wood may lead you to a person’s house in the winter.

Like I said, I have been lost before and I had to tell myself to keep calm and use my wits. Many people will resort to a cave man mentality and just freak out. This is the worst thing to do. Keep calm, use the skills you have, and think before you move. Only move when you are certain it’s the right thing to do.

I hope this is not a situation you will get into but almost every outdoors person will eventually come into this situation. To keep the risk down, stay on the path and know your environment!

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David Pelow’s Favorite Hike

Our most exciting adventure to date has been hiking the narrows in Zion National Park in Utah.

It is an amazing river hike through a slot canyon at times only 18′ wide and 1500 feet straight up. It can be 100 degrees in the town of Springdale Ut where Zion is located but 50 degrees in the canyon where little sunshine reaches.

About 4 miles in starts a journey through an area called Wall Street.

This is truly a magical hike. This should be on everyone’s list of hikes.

There are many other outstanding hikes in Zion if waters not your thing check out Angels Landing.

 

Dave Pelow
Happy hiking!

 

 

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Becky and Jessa’s Favorite Hike

If you know Becky McCabe, you know she loves video games, studying, and her cat. As you can tell, being indoors is preferred by Becky.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree Becky packed up from New Jersey to head down to Tennessee for her master’s and doctorate.
In Tennessee Becky studied harder than ever, putting all her focus into school. That is until she met Jessa.

And luckily for Jessa, it was easy to persuade Becky into “taking a hike”.
The two decided to go to Sugar Loaf Mountain in Heber Springs Arkansas.

“Jessa says it was her favorite hike because I went camping for the first time with her. There was some mild rock climbing involved that definitely got the adrenaline up, but it was definitely worth it for the incredible view.”

Camping? Not really something Becky ever thought she’d do. Once a year her family goes to Pennsylvania to spend some time in their cabin, but pitch a tent? Start a fire? Certainly not things that were in her studies.

 

Somehow, everything worked out. The hike had beautiful views and the camping turned out to be fun. Who would have guessed? (Probably Jessa!)

“We camped at John F. Kennedy Campground, which was beautiful right on the river. We managed to survive camping through a severe thunderstorm with some of the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. Other than that, the weather was absolutely perfect. All in all, 15 s’mores later, my first camping trip was definitely a success!”

 

And with that Becky had survived! Plans for future hikes and camping trips are always in the girls’ minds.

 

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How to Deal with Hiking Knee Pain

Most active people eventually have to deal with aches and pains. A common pain almost all hikers have is knee pain. All the wear and tear of climbing, bending, weather, and age can contribute to pain. Well, the good news is that you have many options to overcome your knee pains!

Knee pain is caused by swelling of the joints. This can be from the damage you have incurred, age has a lot to do with it or even the early onset of arthritis. Regardless of the cause, we have 2 basic options. First, we can try and mask the pain. This will give you quick relief and should be the first option. The second option is a more long-term option that includes therapy, vitamins, homeopathic medications, and even acupuncture.

For now, I want to focus on controlling pain while on the trail. Most hikers understand that pain is a natural part of the sport. Knee pain usually starts later in life after years of wear and tear. Here are some options you can take to quickly give yourself relief. Some of the options I recommend are over the counter painkillers like Ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, and Capsaicin Creams.

Willow Tree Tea

If you find yourself on the trail without some of these pain medications, then we can use some natural options you can find in mother nature. Did you know that aspirin was created from the bark of willow trees? The bark has acetylsalicylic acid and controls pain. A tea can be made from the bark and is actually probably safer than taking aspirin which is a much more concentrated version.

If you do not know how to identify a willow tree then don’t use this option. It is easy to identify a willow tree but there are 4 basic types and they all work. If you have positively identified the tree it’s time to start to cut. Cut about a 2”x3” section all the way through the inner layer of bark. You will know if you have it right if you see the pink inner layer of bark come off with the outer layer of bark. Harvest all the pink layer of the tree and don’t worry this wound will heal and won’t cause any long-term damage to the tree.

I find that the best way to get all the medicine out of the bark isn’t to boil the bark. Boil a cup of water first and pour it into a drinking cup. Now put your bark in it and cover the cup for 20 minutes. This will work the acetylsalicylic acid out of the bark without damaging the medicine. You can actually cook the medicine out of the bark making it useless.

Now either strain out the bark or just sip it carefully. You don’t want to end up choking on your willow bark tea! Sip it slowly and you should soon feel some relief. You can drink these 3 times a day but don’t go over that. Acetylsalicylic acid just like aspirin can cause stomach bleeding if overused.

Wild Lettuce

Wild lettuce (opium lettuce) is a great pain reliever. This has no relation to opium but has the name because of how well it treats pain. I will warn you that this is really hard to swallow. Wild lettuce tastes like latex and is really bitter. In the 19th-century people were hired to collect the leaching liquid for healers to use on patients.

This plant is easy to identify especially when you run your nail across the stem and it starts leaching a milky substance. It is tall and has small dandelion type flowers all along the plant. You can find this all along roads and trails. It likes disturbed areas and construction areas. It is a cousin of the common lettuce. The difference here is that the wild lettuce contains lactucopicrin and lactucin which are both pain relievers. This plant has been studied and proven to relieve menstrual cramps, headaches, muscle pain, and knee pain. This is a great plant to help us relieve the knee pain that we are talking about.

So, we have 2 ways to use this plant. One is by drinking the liquid either by chewing on a stem or putting about 2 oz. of the stem in hot water to steep for 20 minutes. I find this really hard to drink because of all the bitterness. The preferred way to use it is to smoke it. If you can chop it up and leave it to dry then smoke it in a pipe. You could make a pipe if you are already hiking or construct one.

The pain should lessen shortly and if needed you can use this process up to 3 times a day.

Burdock Root Tea

Burdock is known to just about any hiker. It’s that plant that has the balls that stick to you when you walk through the woods. It’s also the plant that Velcro was modeled after. This plant is a really important medicinal plant. I won’t get into all the best but will talk about its pain relieving properties.

Burdock root tea has been used by the Chinese and American Indians since man has made teas. It may not be as quick a response as the above-mentioned options but it should be an option. Burdock root tea should be taken daily to help with swelling and knee pain. The tea is made by boiling water and adding about 2oz of sliced burdock root in a cup of boiled water. Let it steep for 20 minutes to extract but not kill the medication.

You can also chop or mash the root and steep in just a bit of water for 20 minutes like the tea. Put the mashed burdock root into a cloth and while still warm apply it to the affected area with swelling or pain. This will bring down the swelling and help control some of the pain.

These 3 plants are easy to find almost anywhere and are a must to learn. If you find yourself in a situation where you need help with pain, you will be able to treat yourself or a loved one just by heating some water and getting some help from mother nature!

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Ken Rainka’s Favorite Hike

 

This hike was probably in 1986, or around then, most likely in July. I would usually take my hiking trips around that time. Normally, I would take two weeks off because I would always drive. For reference, I would have to leave from NJ.
I was alone on this trip in Glacier National Park in Montana so my hiking was confined to day hikes only for safety reasons.
I don’t use much gear on my day hikes, like this one. All I probably had was a canteen, medical kit, snake bite kit, and bells on my laces. I always have worn Timberland hiking boots.
I have always liked the more strenuous trails and decided to take the trail to Iceberg Lake.
The trail was a half mile climb up and then an easier 2.4 miles into Iceberg Lake.

The views along the way were spectacular.

 

I headed back to the trail junction and decided I would take the other fork to Ptarmigan Tunnel hoping I would have enough daylight to make it to the tunnel and back to the parking lot.

 

The trail to Ptarmigan Lake at the base of the wall up to the tunnel was a harder climb of about 1.5 miles. The views all around including those of Ptarmigan Falls were beautiful.

 

When I reached Ptarmigan Lake it was late in the afternoon and there were only two hikers who had come down and were on there way out. They told me the view from the tunnel was worth the climb but I might not get back before dark.

 

I did carry a trail flashlight but decided it was too risky and started back down the trail towards the parking lot.

 

I kept looking back up towards the tunnel and decided this whole trip was what this hike was all about. I had never really taken a trip alone like this. I turned around and made my way back to Ptarmigan Lake and then headed on up towards the tunnel.

 

The tunnel itself is almost 2500 vertical feet from the lake and with the switchbacks is about a 2.5 mile hike up. I took the hike up to the tunnel (which goes through the top of the wall) and was rewarded with some of the best views Glacier had to offer.

 

I stayed only about a half hour before heading back down. I had to use my light to get back to my truck. The moral of the story is never give up at the end of any hike. The rewards are too great to miss.

 – Ken Rainka

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