Surviving the Great Outdoors

So you've got an idea that getting outside more might be fun—not outside your office or your apartment but outside your city. There are so many activities to choose from, so many places to go, and so many different pieces of gear and equipment to buy and/or rent for those activities that it can all seem a little complicated and confusing.

So where do you start? This chapter. It'll give you some basic knowledge about what activities might be right for you, in what season each is best, gear items that would work well for your pursuits, how to get into nature, guidelines of where you can and can't go, and a few ideas for adventures to put on your wish list, as well as some straightforward principles for surviving in nature—and not ruining it for everyone else. You don't go from neophyte to the summit of Everest in a couple of weeks, but a little knowledge and some basic gear are all it takes to get you off the couch and into the wild.

Why should I go outside?

There are plenty of studies showing that time outdoors is good for your physical health and mental well-being, that being in places that inspire awe makes you a more generous and happy person, and that camping for a week and avoiding non-natural light is enough to reset the body's clock to natural sleep patterns. But one of the best reasons is that the outdoors can be like a gym, only better: if you find something you like to do that makes you work hard (like hiking, skiing, surfing, biking, or climbing), you begin to have fun first and gain fitness as a side effect. You can lose weight, build muscle and cardiovascular fitness, and have a good time (maybe getting a little dirty in the process, which is a different kind of fun). Not that riding a stationary bicycle while watching CNN on a gym television for an hour isn't a good use of your time, but most people would say mountain biking for an hour (or hiking, or trail running, or cross-country skiing) is a more rewarding experience.

I live in the city. How can I spend more time outside?

"The Outdoors" isn't only big things like national parks and sprawling wilderness areas, or weeklong backpacking trips and ski vacations. If you live in a major city, you can find plenty of what are now called "microadventures" within a few minutes of downtown—after-work mountain bike rides, short hikes and trail runs, and kayak routes. If you want to find people to get outside with, check out your local bike shop, climbing gym, outdoors club, and outdoor gear shop for event postings, bulletin boards for people looking for climbing or hiking partners, or announcements of group bike rides.

If you're efficient about your planning and time management, you can take advantage of the sixty-four hours between the end of the workweek (5 p.m. Friday) and the beginning of the next workweek (9 a.m. Monday). Plan your weekend adventure throughout the week, pack and shop for food on Thursday, and have the car loaded and ready to go the minute you get home from work on Friday.

Do I need to be fit?

A good base level of fitness helps, but Olympic-athlete-level stamina isn't required to start your outdoor adventures. A sense of humility is probably more important at the beginning of anything. If you haven't tried to do a pull-up since you were a teenager, rock climbing will probably be a little challenging when you first try it. No matter how many hills you bicycle up on a regular basis, the steep climbs on a mountain bike ride will probably test your lungs and heart on your first ride. If you don't do a lot of squats or lunges, skiing will probably tire your quads out at the beginning of the season. The outdoors will challenge your body in ways that you can't replicate in a gym—carrying a thirty-five-pound backpack, sitting on a bicycle seat for miles and miles, hiking up steep trails of dirt and rocks. It all takes a little getting used to, and it might make you feel as if you're out of shape at first. You're really just out of shape for that specific sport, but if you stick with it, your stamina will improve. Climbers develop finger and grip strength with practice; hikers develop strong stabilization muscles from moving on uneven terrain; backpackers' hips and shoulders learn to deal with the weight of a backpack waist belt and shoulder straps; and cyclists build up tough skin in the right places from clutching handlebars and sitting on seats for hours.

Gear: How much do I need?

Here's the thing about gear: you can always have better gear. But top-of-the-line equipment doesn't mean you'll have a top-of-the-line experience. Even the most expensive, best-designed, most technologically advanced backpack on the market will be heavy when you fill it with your stuff. Your legs and feet will still be tired at the end of a long hike no matter how much money you spend on boots. That said, proper gear is nice to have, but you don't need all of it to get started. If you want to try mountain biking before you drop $1,500 on a mountain bike, you can try one out at most bike shops for $100/day or less. If you want to go hiking, all you need is a sturdy pair of shoes, a waterproof jacket, and something to carry your snacks and water—if you like it, you can buy hiking boots and a backpack later. Most popular recreational areas near rivers and lakes have nearby outfitters that rent canoes and kayaks. You can rent camping gear at many outdoor stores, and you can rent skis and snowboards at or near any ski resort. So don't worry about how much a particular activity is going to cost up front—you don't need to own all the gear before you try the sport.

What should I carry in my vehicle in case of emergency?

If you're headed into the backcountry, you don't need as many items in the emergency kit in your vehicle, since you're likely carrying many of them in your fully packed backpack already: sleeping bag, food, water, headlamp, multitool, and some duct tape. In addition to those items, though, you should have tow straps, a set of jumper cables, and in winter some kitty litter (for traction if you get stuck in the snow or ice) and a small shovel. When buying a shovel, consider purchasing the type of avalanche shovel that backcountry skiers use—although a little more expensive, it collapses or breaks down to stow away without taking up as much space as a regular shovel, and for car-related emergencies it works just as well (if not better). For travel on bumpy or sandy roads, a small piece of wood can be great to shove under a wheel if it's spinning above a hole—or to place under your jack if you get a flat tire in sandy or muddy soil.

Do I need a Jeep/four-wheel-drive truck to get into the mountains?

If your primary objective is hiking, climbing, or mountain biking, not necessarily —as a quick survey of all the Honda Civics and other passenger cars in Colorado trailhead parking lots will tell you. A regular-clearance, two-wheel-drive car can get you to where you want to go most of the time, especially if you're willing to push what you think are its limits. Plenty of off-road experts will tell you that the line you pick on a rough road is way more important than having a lifted vehicle or four-wheel drive (although those things obviously help). Drive slowly, examine angles before committing to a line, roll over rocks with your tires (as opposed to your oil pan), and if you're really in doubt about a section, park your car wherever you can and walk the rest of the way to the trailhead if it's only a mile or two extra—the goal of your excursion is to exercise anyway, right?

How do I keep my vehicle from getting stuck in sand?

If you're on a sandy road, deflate your tires to 20 PSI before driving on it—the lower pressure will widen your tire and give you better flotation. This of course leaves you with the issue of putting air back in the tires when you're done with the sandy portion of the drive. Off-road enthusiasts carry an air compressor in their car to deal with this, but if you don't want to buy/carry one, a standard bicycle tire pump will work (just be warned that it will take much longer and burn a lot more calories than the compressor). If you're driving a road and spot a sandy patch, don't slow down through the sand; keep your foot on the gas until you're out of the sandy spot—you don't have to floor it or drive dangerously, but keep power going to the drive wheels. If you get stuck, don't spin the wheels trying to get out—your wheels will just dig holes for your heavy vehicle to sink into. Get out a shovel and scoop out the sand from in front of your tires, and then rally your friends to push the car to help you get out. If you're still stuck, you'll probably need a pull from a friend in another vehicle.

Do I need to carry a big knife for camping, hiking, and cooking outdoors?

Probably not. Think about what you would need a knife for before you buy the knife: as macho as you'd like to think outdoor pursuits are, your knife is likely to be used for small repairs and for cutting cheese or food wrappers. Big knives are bulky, and if they're heavy they're likely to get packed away where you can't access them. A small knife that fits in your pocket will prove to be more useful in the long run.

How do I get my vehicle out of mud?

The best way to get unstuck from mud is to avoid it in the first place. If you're driving on a muddy road, be cautious of ruts left by taller vehicles—your Subaru Outback might not make it through the same path as someone with a lifted Jeep. When driving through mud, keep your speed up and keep the power going to the drive wheels as much as possible (i.e., keep the gas pedal depressed). If you do get stuck in mud, you may be able to get unstuck by turning the steering wheel back and forth while pressing the gas pedal—but don't spin your tires, as this will only dig you deeper. If that doesn't work, your passengers will have to push you out, and if that fails, it's time to get out your tow straps (see here) and hook your car up to another car that's not stuck in the mud.

What's the difference between all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive?

Despite their similarities—both all-wheel drive (AWD) and four-wheel drive (4WD) propel your vehicle using both the front and rear axles (or front and rear wheels, if that makes more sense)—they're not the same. As opposed to your standard two-wheel-drive car, in which all the propulsion goes to the front wheels and the rear wheels just roll along obediently behind, an AWD or 4WD vehicle will be more responsive on icy or snowy roads or on extremely bumpy roads because all four wheels can grip the driving surface. If you live in a mountain town, choose AWD or 4WD: you'll get stuck less often. A vehicle with 4WD is generally a two-wheel-drive vehicle with the option to switch into 4WD when necessary. An AWD vehicle essentially has 4WD all the time, with no ability to switch out of it. Although they sound the same, 4WD is generally better than AWD if you're doing a lot of off-roading, and AWD is generally better than 4WD for on-road mountain driving, since it's always on. So if you're driving an AWD vehicle to go skiing and you hit a patch of ice or snow, you don't have to turn on the 4WD (but you would if you were driving a 4WD vehicle).

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