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Thread: Outdoor N00bs

  1. #1

    Outdoor N00bs

    Ok, let’s tell some stories here...

    I hiked up to Lake Blanche last night to camp with my son and the scouts. It’s a 7 mile round trip with a 2,600 ascent. It’s a brutal, steep and rocky climb in places. Probably not so bad if you are not carrying a big backpack with food and sleeping gear.

    Now as we are coming down on Saturday morning, everybody and their dog is coming up. I see people who are carrying one bottle of water and are very obviously not physically fit and wouldn’t even walk to the local Walmart. Other people aren’t carrying anything! WTF!

    The first little section of the trail is paved along the river and a lady asked me, “is it paved all the way?”

    Now sitting in the parking lot waiting and profiling people as they walk up to the trailhead. I’m curios if I sat here and took a tally of how many people made it to the lake, if it would even be 50%?

    God bless them for trying...


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  3. #2
    I bought some new cold weather mountaineering gear and wanted to test it out before my life depended on it. It's the middle of January, snowing hard, and it's 10:00 at night. So I decide to snowshoe up to Donut Falls to test things out. I reach the falls about midnight and start down.

    Out of the blackness walks this stranger who said he noticed my headlamp and he was lost. The guy was freezing to death, had no headlamp, no snowshoes, no gaters, levis, not nearly enough clothing, no emergency gear. The guy said he left about 3 to hike up to Donut Falls and got lost in the darkness and snowstorm. He never did make it to the falls as he missed the last turn and kept hiking up the road.

    Anyhoo... to make a long story short... this guy without doubt would have died if I hadn't of got the urge to take a midnight stroll to Donut Falls.

  4. #3
    Horror stories like these make me think that schools need to add a few "common sense " courses and worry less about teaching things that have no great use (e.g., history, since we never learn from its mistakes)

  5. #4
    Needless to say the local search and rescue teams stay plenty busy during the summer months around Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains.


  6. #5
    SLC, Grand County and Emery County SAR, among others, all have active Facebook pages if you care to follow them. Most of the posts are boring hiker lost in the Lake Blanche parking lot type stuff, but there are also a few gems.

  7. #6
    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    I wish there were more outdoor "classes" that the public could attend and get free, good, information from.

    Not just online but actually having something formal where it's once a week (or whatever time frame) and everyone both experienced and beginner learn more about the outdoors.

    Learn new skills such as reading a map, what to bring for your adventure, what should you do when you got lost, knowing the signs of dehydration, heat stroke, and drowning (it's not obvious!), wilderness first aid, what tent should I bring from my trip, what specific gear do I need to bring and why, cooking in the outdoors, and many many more topics. Even add in a Q and A at the end.

    These hour-long classes could also teach about Utah specific things such as the topography of Utah, knowing about the protected water-sheds, all of the different national and state parks there are, hiking at elevation and altitude sickness, flash flood awareness, learning about Leave No Trace, proper trail etiquette, etc.

    The reason I suggest the aforementioned is because I started a hiking club at work a few month ago and I offer a class, which we go over all of the previously named classes in modules, in addition to doing our monthly hike.

    It's fun and interesting to hear the feedback such as "oh...I've been here for 20 years and didn't know about the protected watersheds" or "I didn't know you could not bring dogs to national parks". Etc.

    These things wouldn't keep the clueless out, but it would make those who care a more knowledgeable outdoors person and when people see these places, they develop an appreciation or love for it, and therefore will want to protect it in the end.

    Anyway, But the key thing to remember here is having this class with absolutely no strings attached. IE - get a half-off discount to this company, or take this free class and get your next paid canyoneering course for 1/2 off! 100% absolutely free and re-occurring each month.


    What if we did that - like reserve a conference room at a city library in SLC or something and talk about the outdoors and try to get some momentum going where we help others get more skills and offer our opinions and such? Would there be any interest in that? Just thinking out loud here...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by jman View Post
    I wish there were more outdoor "classes" that the public could attend and get free, good, information from.

    Not just online but actually having something formal where it's once a week (or whatever time frame) and everyone both experienced and beginner learn more about the outdoors.

    Learn new skills such as reading a map, what to bring for your adventure, what should you do when you got lost, knowing the signs of dehydration, heat stroke, and drowning (it's not obvious!), wilderness first aid, what tent should I bring from my trip, what specific gear do I need to bring and why, cooking in the outdoors, and many many more topics. Even add in a Q and A at the end.

    These hour-long classes could also teach about Utah specific things such as the topography of Utah, knowing about the protected water-sheds, all of the different national and state parks there are, hiking at elevation and altitude sickness, flash flood awareness, learning about Leave No Trace, proper trail etiquette, etc.

    The reason I suggest the aforementioned is because I started a hiking club at work a few month ago and I offer a class, which we go over all of the previously named classes in modules, in addition to doing our monthly hike.

    It's fun and interesting to hear the feedback such as "oh...I've been here for 20 years and didn't know about the protected watersheds" or "I didn't know you could not bring dogs to national parks". Etc.

    These things wouldn't keep the clueless out, but it would make those who care a more knowledgeable outdoors person and when people see these places, they develop an appreciation or love for it, and therefore will want to protect it in the end.

    Anyway, But the key thing to remember here is having this class with absolutely no strings attached. IE - get a half-off discount to this company, or take this free class and get your next paid canyoneering course for 1/2 off! 100% absolutely free and re-occurring each month.


    What if we did that - like reserve a conference room at a city library in SLC or something and talk about the outdoors and try to get some momentum going where we help others get more skills and offer our opinions and such? Would there be any interest in that? Just thinking out loud here...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sounds interesting. Bogley could sponsor this and train up the n00bs or those who just want more skills.


  9. Likes jman liked this post
  10. #8
    Moderator jman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by accadacca View Post
    Sounds interesting. Bogley could sponsor this and train up the n00bs or those who just want more skills.
    Definitely be a labor of love...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    ●Canyoneering 'Canyon Conditions' @ www.candition.com
    ●Hiking Treks (my younger brother's website): hiking guides @ www.thetrekplanner.com
    "He who walks on the edge...will eventually fall."
    "There are two ways to die in the desert - dehydration and drowning." -overhearing a Park Ranger at Capitol Reef N.P.
    "...the first law of gear-dynamics: gear is like a gas - it will expand to fit the available space." -Wortman, Outside magazine.
    "SEND IT, BRO!!"

  11. #9
    My first trip to Blanche, I might have looked like a n00b hauling a six pack of beer up there. But it was Squatters Hop Rising Double IPA (9%). It rained that evening, and really cut down on the crowds. I saw nobody around the lake that night, and only a handful coming up the following morning.

    My first real n00b moment was my first backpacking trip. A friend and I set out to hike part of the Uinta Highline, and I had some pretty cheap and crappy gear. My backpack was extremely uncomfortable with even a moderate amount of weight on it, and my buddy ended up carrying some of my gear. I still ended up covering 26 miles in three days and two nights. Not something I would want to repeat ever.
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  13. #10
    I think Lake Blanche must be a magnet for those folks. I hiked it a few years ago with a 3 year old on my back and it was a little brutal. I remember coming down and seeing the same group of people you saw, flip flops, old milk jugs of water, etc. I bet way less than 50% make it to the lake.

    I'm not sure any type of free training is going to help most of these folks. You just can't train common sense. These are the same people who put a baby elk in their van because it looked cold.

  14. Likes rockgremlin liked this post
  15. #11
    Nowadays a lot of the noobs are trying to take that perfect instagram photo.


  16. Likes rockgremlin liked this post
  17. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by jman View Post
    I wish there were more outdoor "classes" that the public could attend and get free, good, information from.

    Not just online but actually having something formal where it's once a week (or whatever time frame) and everyone both experienced and beginner learn more about the outdoors.

    Learn new skills such as reading a map, what to bring for your adventure, what should you do when you got lost, knowing the signs of dehydration, heat stroke, and drowning (it's not obvious!), wilderness first aid, what tent should I bring from my trip, what specific gear do I need to bring and why, cooking in the outdoors, and many many more topics. Even add in a Q and A at the end.

    These hour-long classes could also teach about Utah specific things such as the topography of Utah, knowing about the protected water-sheds, all of the different national and state parks there are, hiking at elevation and altitude sickness, flash flood awareness, learning about Leave No Trace, proper trail etiquette, etc.

    The reason I suggest the aforementioned is because I started a hiking club at work a few month ago and I offer a class, which we go over all of the previously named classes in modules, in addition to doing our monthly hike.

    It's fun and interesting to hear the feedback such as "oh...I've been here for 20 years and didn't know about the protected watersheds" or "I didn't know you could not bring dogs to national parks". Etc.

    These things wouldn't keep the clueless out, but it would make those who care a more knowledgeable outdoors person and when people see these places, they develop an appreciation or love for it, and therefore will want to protect it in the end.

    Anyway, But the key thing to remember here is having this class with absolutely no strings attached. IE - get a half-off discount to this company, or take this free class and get your next paid canyoneering course for 1/2 off! 100% absolutely free and re-occurring each month.


    What if we did that - like reserve a conference room at a city library in SLC or something and talk about the outdoors and try to get some momentum going where we help others get more skills and offer our opinions and such? Would there be any interest in that? Just thinking out loud here...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    When I was at SUU the Outdoor Recreation Department did something like this. It was like every Tuesday or Thursday they had a "Fireside Chat" and we usually all sat in a circle, played a game, and talked about packing or preparing for trips to certain locales. They usually pulled things out of the department and showed us what certain gear looked like, how to use it, when to pack it, and how to pack it.

    The department also ran trips to go caving, hiking, canyoneering, skiing, mountain biking, etc. that were all paid for. You just had to bring a lunch.

    If you have kids getting ready to go to college, go to SUU. Great outdoor program, cheap tuition, cheap housing (off-campus). The only downside to the school is the shitty 4-year long "project" they make every student complete before they graduate.
    Just 'cause it zips, don't mean it fits

  18. #13
    ^^^Plus Cedar City is a great little town. Not too small, not too large, and within striking distance of a lot of really great outdoor recreation destinations (Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Snow Canyon, Brian Head, etc, etc, etc.)

    Plus the Shakespeare Festival is really good, and St. Geezy, Mesquite and Las Vegas are all just a short drive away.

    I'd love to move back. My family all fell in love with the place.
    It's only "science" if it supports the narrative.

  19. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Goat View Post
    If you have kids getting ready to go to college, go to SUU. Great outdoor program, cheap tuition, cheap housing (off-campus). The only downside to the school is the shitty 4-year long "project" they make every student complete before they graduate.
    My oldest daughter graduated from SUU in December, I can't say enough good things about that school. Great education at a reasonable price. She earned a 5 year degree in 3.5 years and I bet the entire 3.5 years, including food and housing cost me less then $20k out of pocket. Part of that was she earned several scholarships each year and graduated HS with a bunch of college credits. But scholarships were plentiful and relatively easy to obtain, at least compared to all the other schools we looked at. That she was always an 'A' student in HS was also a huge help.


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