028: It’s All Uphill From Here – GWC Mag

Podcast: Download (Duration: 29:00 — 29.4MB)

Today on The First 40 Miles, The Top 5 Tips that will help you make it through the tough uphill climbs. On the SUMMIT Gear Review, we’ll show you a vast improvement to the humble hiking stick. For the Backpack Hack of the Week, noodles noodle everywhere. And we’ll wrap up the show with a little trail wisdom from Mr. Emerson.

Opening

Girls Camp prep

Survival Skills the youth leaders will be teaching:

• Know when to use these knots: Square Knot, 2 Half hitches, Bowline
• 2 methods of purifying water
• How to signal for help (and contact local authorities)
• How to identify and prevent camp pollution at water sources
• 3 types of emergency shelters
• Sever Weather: Lightning, tornado, avalanche, flood
• Bedroll or emergency ground bed made of natural materials

What will the real survival skills at Girls Camp be? Surviving with under 4 hours of sleep a night…

Top 5 Tips for Backpacking Uphill

Keep your pace, but shorten your stride

• Don’t be tempted to stop on the uphill
• Keep steady pace
• REMEMBER: Stopped is zero miles per hour.

Exertion breath

• Breathing is an important part of pain management—or uphill management.
• A forceful breath out

Try the Rest step

• Stand up completely with the leg that you stepped forward with, and let your knee lock briefly
• That gives your quadriceps and glutes a chance to rest on each step
• Even that split second rest, really helps as you climb the trail

Try Trekking Poles

• Heather recently tried trekking poles
• Study on trekking poles: Muscular and metabolic costs of uphill backpacking: are hiking poles beneficial?
• The study says “By redistributing some of the backpack effort, pole use alleviated some stress from the lower extremities and allowed a partial reversal of typical load-bearing strategies.”
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11128857

M&Ms= Mantra & Music

• Mantras: Man versus mountain, one step at a time, I am strong, Whatever doesn’t kill you…
• Music: High energy, since your steps will be shorter, you can keep tempo with a faster song

Structure

• Carbon Shaft
• Foam Grips which are edgeless, and comfortable, so no matter how many miles you go, they’ll feel great
• Wrist strap (security strap) made of wicking material and dries quickly
• Baskets on bottom are standard trekking baskets (you can remove them and the poles can compress down even more compact.
• Purpose of baskets (snowshoe concept)

Utility

• Super compact, so you won’t be poking people if you put them away in your pack
• The push-button release mechanism that slides part of the pole into itself, and the rest pulls apart and folds
• Very easy to adjust, using their “Speed Lock”. Flip latch out, adjust to desired length, and flip latch back. Holds securely

Mass

• Sold as a pair
• 14.6 oz for the pair
• 110-130cm
• (Micro Vario Carbo Lady goes down to 105 cm)
• Fold down to just 15.5″

Maintenance

• Wipe clean before collapsing so grit doesn’t get inside

Investment

Trial

• Trekking poles made me think more strategically
• Felt like jet packs on the trail
• Incredibly invaluable on uphill
• Not as noticeable on downhill
• Put my weight on wrist straps (aka security straps)
• Gave me crazy amounts of speed
• Any time you are doing a significant amount of elevation gain, bring your trekking poles

Backpack Hack of the Week™: Rice Thread Noodles

• Rice or Bean Thread Noodles (no hot water needed)
• Inexpensive
• Can be found at most good sized grocery stores in the Asian aisle
• Just need water to rehydrate and soften
• Infinite recipe ideas!

Challenge: Try these at home, and see if you can come up with a recipe that you can bring on your next trip!

Trail Wisdom

“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson