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Backpacker Magazine – October 2011
SURVIVE: If I Only Knew Then...
Three decades of trial and error from our favorite battle-scarred adventurer.
If I Only Knew Then (Feature Narrative) | Recognize Grizzly Behavior | Save Yourself in Whitewater | First Aid Emergencies | Unsafe Snow Conditions | Unexpected Accidents | Make Good Judgment Calls
Humility. I wish I had more of it, as that’s what I’ve needed most on more than one occasion.
Case in point: There was a time when I thought I knew the mountains in my Wyoming backyard so well I couldn’t possibly get lost. To test this theory, Sue and I set out in a blizzard one afternoon. I knew where I was going the whole time. Never once looked at the map or compass. Around midday we stopped, got out the compass, and something was awry. The needle was pointing the wrong direction. I told Sue I was sure the compass was broken. She looked at me quizzically.
[3] Called bending the map, this is a classic mistake made by lost hikers. Be realistic about what you see, not what you want to see. Elevation can be a dead giveaway when you’re bending the map; use an altimeter to check your altitude against where you think you are. Trust your instruments.
[4] You can use this leapfrogging technique in a whiteout, as well, even with no trees. Send your partner ahead on the correct bearing. When he’s almost out of sight, have him stop, then walk to his location and repeat.
[5] Stay tuned to where you are on a map by constantly checking your location using “handrails” like rivers and ridges. Can’t place yourself? Triangulate your precise position by identifying two distant landmarks (like peaks) and taking a bearing to them. Transfer the bearing to your map. You’re standing where the lines intersect.
[6] These are not widely available in the wild. If you find one and need help, don’t scare her away by approaching too quickly.
[7] But emergency snow trenches are not. Just scoop out a trough in the snow, line the bottom with tree branches or your pack or bag, climb in, and cover the top. You can do the same with a tree well. Both will protect you from wind, if that’s your main concern. But beware: Snow sloughing off branches could bury you.
We continued on our course until late afternoon. I did an impressive job of making the landscape fit what I thought should be there. [3] I occasionally identified obvious landmarks, even though we should have arrived at our destination hours earlier. It began to snow so hard that the forest became dark. Expecting our jaunt to be a dayhike, I’d failed to bring a headlamp. Before being doused by snowflakes, my lighter revealed that the compass was still pointing in the wrong direction. We spent the entire night taking bearings from one tree to the next to get back out. [4] We crossed country that looked utterly unfamiliar, terrain where I had spent years. My shame was so great, Sue never said a word. [4] You can use this leapfrogging technique in a whiteout, as well, even with no trees. Send your partner ahead on the correct bearing. When he’s almost out of sight, have him stop, then walk to his location and repeat.
[5] Stay tuned to where you are on a map by constantly checking your location using “handrails” like rivers and ridges. Can’t place yourself? Triangulate your precise position by identifying two distant landmarks (like peaks) and taking a bearing to them. Transfer the bearing to your map. You’re standing where the lines intersect.
[6] These are not widely available in the wild. If you find one and need help, don’t scare her away by approaching too quickly.
[7] But emergency snow trenches are not. Just scoop out a trough in the snow, line the bottom with tree branches or your pack or bag, climb in, and cover the top. You can do the same with a tree well. Both will protect you from wind, if that’s your main concern. But beware: Snow sloughing off branches could bury you.
In serious backcountry travel, an orienteering compass is your most important piece of gear. Learn how to use it, and always believe it. [5] After I fully accepted this, wilderness veteran Ken Cramer and I skied the length of the Wind River Mountains along the Continental Divide, and even in snowstorms we were never more than 50 feet off course.
We used a tent on that Winds trip, unlike my first traverse of the grand range, when I took a tarp. At that time, backpackers were all bragging about the beauty of the tarp. The first night, I draped it over a boulder and spent an hour lining the edges with rocks, and I was still eaten alive by mosquitoes. By morning, my entire body was covered with itchy, red bumps.
The second night, I used my trekking poles to hold up the tarp. It started pouring at dusk and didn’t stop until dawn. By midnight, there was a slurry of sleet running beneath my sleeping bag. I only kept from dying of hypothermia by viciously scratching my mosquito bites.
The third night, the wind was so strong that the tarp flapped itself to death: It tore in two and was quickly shredded. Thank God! I bummed a bunk from a pigtailed college girl who’d been smart enough to bring a tent. [6]
Take-away: Tarps work perfectly when you don’t need any shelter. Get a sub-five-pound, two-person, double-wall tent and rejoice. (Also worth noting: Two bivy sacks are the same weight as a tent, and waterproof/breathable tents don’t work in warm rain.) And while I’m on the subject of shelters: Unless you’re building a basecamp, snow caves are nonsense. [7]
READERS COMMENTS
Loved this article and the writer's voice.
I for one really appreciated the article and the author's ability to see some humor in life-threatening situations. Thanks for sharing.
Some of you are sounding off on the author for his lack of experience when in fact he has a great deal of experience gained over many years of outdoor pursuits. I think these people miss the point of the article that Jenkins is trying to educate us by describing his mistakes over the years. Who among us has not made a poor choice on one of our trips? This is one of the ways we learn. Another is by reading about other's mistakes. Thanks Mark for your valuable advice.
After all your miss adventures in is no wonder you have to get up and ready in the dark at six am. I for one have never left my bag for a backpacking trip that early and by being prepared and organized have managed to hike many thousands of miles without any of your misshaps traveling as much as thirty miles in a day and all without having to night hike. Just goes to show you brains are better than brawn in the wilderness and its important to pick your hiking partners wisely.
Interesting approach to the outdoors - no head lamp on a day hike, curse a tarp when it fails you because you set it up wrong for the conditions, letting others go off alone on the mountain, etc. We teach our scouts to be prepared for anything, especially the unexpected. We take scout essentials (more than the 10 quoted in the Scout Handbook and we know how to use them in all conditions) in the event that we get separated, lost, or encounter unexpected weather or incidents. Gear is what you make of it - they all have pros/cons - it is up to you to pick the best for the situation and apply it to the conditions at hand. Gear also fails at times - that is why we learn to use what we have to get by or make from natural materials. Lots of examples, but a length of waxed thread and carpet needle repaired a broken hip suspension in the CO mountains (lesson learned - 125 lbs for 2 wks hunting was too much for Jansport hip suspension w/ plastic stays, but waxed thread, extra sleeping bag straps and a little ingenuity invaluable), Lite My Fire spoon one end, fork other - broke, carved a stick, cut slot w/ leatherman saw, inserted the broken pieces, drilled holes with awl and pegged, then secured w/ waxed thread (lesson learned - find a way to use what you brought, natural materials and get by - now i carry a titanium spoon). Know your gear, be prepared for the unexpected and when something challenging happens, see it as a challenge and have fun finding a solution.
This article, for all of it's entertainment filled intent, is a sad commentary on BACKPACKER magazine and their continued perpetuation of sensationalizing outdoor recreation in categories of the "extreme and fringe". What they and their contributors are doing outdoors (WALKING!!!) is nothing specialized or unique, difficult, challenging, or life threatening (well not inherently, guys like this author sure make it sound like it is). In an attempt to make sales and draw advertisers to their magazine and online content they keep feeding readers garbage like this article. NO you do not always NEED a double wall tent, one they (BPM) has reviewed of course, and yes a TARP can be used when you absolutely need it in "extreme" conditions/locales assuming you have the rudimentary skills necessary to use a tarp. I'm sure many here are not familiar with Andrew Skurka, arguably the greatest American adventurer of recent times, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year recipient, who most recently walked/skied/packrafted a self-supported 4,700 mile through the remote Alaska Yukon wilderness using entirely ultralight gear, carrying a baseweight that's half the weight of guys like this author and the Backpacker Staff use for their "expeditions". Which shelter did he use? A single wall ultralight pyramid shelter (Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid). Skurka is a wholly more credible source and reference for backcountry travel than Mark Jenkins. The author was eaten alive by mosquitos because he wasn't versed on using a tarp and lacked the SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE and chose not to APPLY them, he failed to pack for conditions that required a bug net or protection of some sort, this is IGNORANCE and foolishness on his part. What does he do? He arrives at the conclusion that tarps are not a good solution when the problem really lies in the user.... THE IDIOT AUTHOR. TARPS are a perfectly safe and viable option for backcountry use, doesn't matter if it is alpine conditions, winter treks, summer thru-hikes, and rain soaked evenings. By the way, he's also speaking falsely and elaborating when he says his tarp tore in two pieces. I'm calling him out on this. All I learned from this disastrous piece is that I would rather go backpacking with the pig tailed college girl who had her shit together.
While mostly interesting and with some good advice, the author seems to think he knows it all after years of outdoor pursuits. Nobody knows it all, and his lack of knowledge about, say, tarps is laughable. A tarp is my preferred shelter, but it's not for every situation, and it's part of a system (usually including a bivy sack). And leaving at 4 or 6am... sometimes that may be necessary, but it could just as easily be noon or 6pm... it depends on how you've planned your trip.
Thanks for sharing. People learn more from the mistakes of others. Cant see why the writer of this article is getting such abuse. Hes an expert in getting it wrong and is passsing on knowledge of what not to do. This is a important lesson to learn.
Thanks for sharing. People learn more from the mistakes of others. Cant see why the writer of this article is getting such abuse. Hes an expert in getting it wrong and is passsing on knowledge of what not to do. This is a important lesson to learn.
Unfortunately the author is most likely better suited to talk about the Troubled Asset Relief Program than Tarp shelters....that's unfortunate for backpacker readers who probably won't try them and enjoy the openness with the outdoors, lighter weight, better flexibility and lower cost. Sell on Backpacker Magazine, sell on!
Wow! This might be the most ignorant article Backpacker has ever written, and that says a lot considering the amble competition within the many pages. The term "expert" is a laughable analogy to describe someone so ill prepared, unexperienced and "expertly" ignorant. The statements about using the tarp alone warrants someone who should have no public forum to say a peep about the outdoor market. My advice - take up knitting and stay at home. Pitiful.
It takes skill to use a tarp effectively. You don't have it, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you don't have backcountry skills and don't care to acquire them, then you should definitely stick with a tent, or perhaps go car camping.
Dear Rick,
Perhaps you'd like to retract your profanity? There is certainly no room for people like you in a laid back outdoor arena. Like you, I backpack to get away from people and enjoy the outdoors. However I try to get away from people like you and prefer to be around people like Mark Jenkins. Based on your editorial comments above I believe that your decision making skills are lacking in more ways than one and would never follow you into the backcountry. So shove it!
Often people get fixated on a direction even if it doesn't make sense or there compass is pointing in a different direction than the direction they are travelling. This should be a warning sign but people ignore it and say the compass must be broken and carry on. map bending takes over and you convince yourself and others that it is the right way and hours later the penny drops, you messed up badly. The key is to identify the warning signs that something is wrong and not to ignore them. Go back to the basics of map and compass use, regardless of your skill level. Don't follow someone else just because they seem to know what they are doing, you have to get it sorted for yourself. if you follow them and they get lost, are you still going to blame them?
I had a similar problem with a hernia in my groin. The problem was I was the lead instructor stuck in the backcountry with a group of 11 students and two other instructors for 10 days. We were virtually on our own when my groin popped and at first it was uncomfortable but I simply pushed it back in to relieve the pain, but as the days went on the lump got larger. I couldn't keep holding my fingers against it so I made up a device using a belt, strapping tape and a bandage to create a squash ball sized sling that would hold the hernia in place by itself. If the sling was in the right place it worked well but on the second last day of the trip the support wasn't working right and it really affected my ability to operate, I was in a lot of pain. Overnight I redesigned the sling, which got me out of the bush the next day. Once out I went and saw a doctor and he wiped me into surgery pretty quick and said that if the hernia had come out any further I would have died in the bush. Looking back I was lucky but I also had a good understanding of First Aid and the ability to improvise that got me through.
"If you can't get your ass up at 6:00A.M., you can't be a backpacker." One of the reasons we go into the back country is to get away from bossy, opinionated, egomaniacal shitheads such as yourself. After reading your story, informative and entertaining as it was, it is clear your constant blundering is more a result of your ego than anything else. So you're nobody to be waking people up early and ordering them around. Since you like giving advice so much, let's see if you can take some: Stick it up your ass!
as a physician, one can preach healthy habits until our national debt is resolved. as you have outlined, having common sense goes a long way. also, having a knowledgeable hiking mentor and knowing your limits has helped me keep all my parts intact. thanks for sharing your worldly advice!
With all of those things happening to you that were life-and-limb-threatening, I'm surprised that you are not a "ghost" writer. Thank God, you were able to share some of these experiences with the rest of us. Enjoy life, as you have, and please travel safely. You've developed a lot of wisdom with your experience. Thank you for sharing.
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