Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

BACKPACKER.COM 103

WRONG!

YOU’RE DOING IT

Experience begets skill—and

blind spots, ruts, and ineffi cient

routines. Just because you’ve

taken to doing something one way

doesn’t mean it’s the right way.

From crossing a river to leading

a group, there’s a better way.

BY PETER MOORE

MY SON TY LER WENT ON HIS FIR ST HIK E

at age 3, up Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania. I had to

bribe him with chocolate at every step. He grew up,

became a mechanical engineer and outing club jock,

and now spouts all sorts of explanatory and correc-

tive information, based on “science.” One day recently,

while I was lacing my boots before a Father’s Day hike

up Mt. Galbraith, in Golden, Colorado, he spoke words

that froze me mid-knot: “Dad, you’re doing it wrong.”

Then he knelt over his own trail shoes and made a

beautiful bow that laid f lat and resisted unraveling.

He was right. After 40 years of thinking I knew how to

tie my boots, I learned a better way.

It made me wonder what else I’d been doing wrong.

That’s why I consulted a dozen-plus experts for tips

and tricks on the right way to do nearly everything in

the backcountry.

Knowing what I do now, I too can indulge in one of

life’s elemental pleasures: Telling others that they’re

doing it wrong.

You rely only on your phone for

navigation. Always bring a map

and compass, too. They never

run out of juice.

You cut a switchback. The trail

crew put the path there for a

reason. Accept it, respect it.

You don’t check the forecast.

Really? Go to weather.gov. Two

minutes of research can save you

a weekend of gear-choice regret.

You don’t seek up-to-date trail

info. Ask a ranger, someone who

has been there recently, or check

an up-to-date online forum.

QUICK

FIX

ROBERT BABBONI