Originally Posted By: rebwa

The only situation on a day hike where I'd go for the ultra light approach would be if I was with a decent sized group and pretty close in to the trail head.

Another thing that I do is look carefully at weather reports always before going out.


Pretty much describes my hiking in Shenandoah NP -- at least a couple of peops, sometimes several, never more than a few miles from Skyline Drive or civilization outside the park. Still, am always ready for rain. Our strategy was to get on the trail early and be done before afternoon thunderstorms -- which are a very common occurrence here during summer.

The thick underbrush makes going off those trails entirely unappealing.

Solo hiking never appealed to me and now it would be so wrong because of a bum knee and propensity for twisted ankles. I'd be reduced to crawling if those injuries recurred. Makes me shudder to think about it in Shenandoah, let alone a remote trail elsewhere.

I just watched The Edge the other night with Anthony Hopkins and Alex Baldwin. Want to carry a big 'ol PSK after watching that!