r/CampingandHiking

Looking for campsites with good hiking trails nearby in Tennessee, probably over Thanksgiving break with a small group and potentially 2 dogs. Hoping for somewhere western or middle TN but willing to go more east if needed!

i’m always surprised by how little things can affect an entire day on the trail. a better pair of socks, adjusting your pack properly, bringing something you actually enjoy eating, or having a comfortable layer for when you stop

none of these sound particularly important when packing, but they can make a long hike feel completely different.

what’s one small thing you never forget to bring now?

Hi all,

Me and a few friends are going to be wild camping and hiking around Merrick at the beginning of September. A few of us are new to wild camping, and had a question or two around safe water drinking whilst we are there. We would rather not carry multiple litres of water with us, so we want to source our water whilst there.

I will be purchasing a water filter, and some Chlorine Dioxide tablets as my primary filtering methods. My main question is, is the Loch water safe to drink once filtered with these? We will be near Loch Enoch, Loch Arron and Loch Neldricken and Loch Valley for the majority of our weekend. It's not a long hike, but we are spreading it over 2 days so that we can enjoy the sites, explore a little bit and just enjoy ourselves.

Any other tips and advice for this specific area are also greatly appreciated :D

I wear a Patagonia Nano puff that's I really like (probably my most worn jacket). I do a lot of fires, and the jacket has been getting a lot of small burn holes.

I have been patching up the holes I have with gear tape, and that's been working pretty great, but I have also been wanting to upgrade my stuff. I have been wanting to get a Rab jacket, but wonder if I should look into something else? I understand on some level a backpacking puffer isn't going to be particularly flame resistant, but hoping there is an option for something that can avoid burning through from embers.

I’ve gone through several rain jackets that claim to be waterproof, but after a few hours of hiking I end up wet anyway. Maybe some of it is sweat, but I’ve also had jackets start wetting out during steady rain. I’m comparing the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L, Outdoor Research Foray II, Marmot PreCip, Black Diamond StormLine, and a cheaper Frogg Toggs setup. My budget is around $100–$350, and I care about real waterproofing, pit zips, pack durability, and being able to reapply the DWR when needed. For long hikes, do the Foray’s huge side zips make a noticeable difference, or is the Torrentshell the safer all-around choice? Also, when a jacket feels wet inside, how do you tell condensation from an actual leak?

Hey all. Heading to Jumbo Pass in a week. Not staying in cabin. Bringing a tent. Question around food security. As there are no bear bins do people typically hang food from a tree? And if so, are the trees a ways away given the altitude? Any info would be helpful as I plan.

Going on my first trip and it’s gonna be a long(er) one - 5 days and 4 nights, with a night of frontcountry camping before we head out into the bush. I want to leave a small bag in the car for a little reward when we get back.

We will be hiking in the PNW, emphasis on the N and W. Weather should be fair but of course that can change, so I might bring some comfy clean clothes to change into for the 5.5 hour drive back. I’m already bringing my current favourite snacks and food I know I love on the trail, but I’ll definitely want a diff snack when I return… just not sure what I can leave in a warm car that long that would be a welcome change from my favourites lol.

Already on my list: hairbrush, blue Gatorade, change of clothes (?), an edible gummy (I’m getting dropped off at home & i can’t pack a nap so I’m doing the next best thing), washcloth

Any other suggestions? Things you’ve wanted when you got back to the car, but didn’t think to pack?

Planning a three day trip and the food side is making me secondguess everything. Not the weight this time, more the quality. Freeze dried works fine and I understand the convenience argument, but a lot of it is pretty poor nutritionally once you get past the calorie count. High sodium, weak on actual protein density, not much fat that does anything useful when you're grinding out miles.

I've been building my own food for longer days. Nut butter packets, real jerky from a butcher, dried fruit I prep myself, some things I bake and dehydrate at home. The baked stuff has worked well because I control exactly what goes in.

What I can't figure out is the main meal situation. I don't mind cooking at camp, but I don't want a project after 12 miles. The homemade dehydrated meals I've tried have been okay, but getting rehydration right in the field without a reliable simmer is harder than it looks on YouTube

Curious what other people have settled on, especially if you've moved away from commercial options. Doesn't need to be fancy, just something that actually holds up over multiple days

I’m trying to restock my camp meals and noticed that Mountain House is now hard to find, and lots of my favorite Peak Refuel meals are sold out everywhere. Meanwhile Alpine Aire and Happy Yak meals are plentiful. Any reliable online Canadian retailers with good selection? I’ve looked at MEC, VPO, Geartrade, Canadian Tire, Bass Pro Shops.

My trusty mini, which I've kept charged and used a lot has seen its last trip to the mountains. I've tried to revive it but the battery reaches 1000 degrees and its not coming on even after reset and everything else. Garmin will give me a refurbished one for $150 but is it worth spending the $$ on an upgrade or a $50 battery replacement?

Did a three day loop in the High Uintas last weekend, starting at the Highline Trailhead and ending up near Naturalist Basin. Total mileage came out to about 11 miles on day one, then a shorter 4 mile day just poking around lakes, then 9 miles back out on day three.

Day one was rough because the trail gains a lot of elevation right away and I was carrying way too much food for three days, classic beginner mistake I still make after years of doing this. Got to the lake I picked on the map around 6pm, tired, ready to just drop my pack and set up in peace.

There were already three llamas tied up near the flat spot I wanted.

Turns out an older couple runs llama supported treks in that area and their group had stopped at the exact same lake for the night. I did not even know llama trekking was a thing people did in Utah, I thought that was more of a Colorado or Wyoming activity. The llamas were honestly better behaved than most dogs I have camped near, just quietly grazing while their owners cooked dinner.

We ended up sharing the fire ring area, keeping a good distance apart, and they told me llamas can carry a surprising amount of gear which is why their camping setup looked like a small hotel compared to my one person tent and a stove I forgot to pack fuel for, so I ended up eating cold soaked rice for two nights.

Gear notes if anyone is planning this route: bring a real water filter, not just tablets, because a lot of the smaller tarns were pretty stagnant looking by late summer. Bear hang was still necessary even though it is not heavily forested near the basin.

Has anyone else run into a pack animal group like this on trail? Curious if this is common in certain regions or if I just got lucky with timing.