A week ago I finished my hike across the "Crimean Divide," hiking the entire length of the Crimean Mountains -- not a whole lot, just under 200 miles. I said I would tell you about it, so here it is
Also, a few questions came up during and after the experience.This was a mileage oriented hike; I wanted to hike that distance in as little time as possible with a 10 kg pack max at the beginning. I got my base weight down to about 3.5 kg (7 lbs) and slept under a space blanket tarp on a Gossamer Gear policro sheet with a bug net that I made myself
I slept on the GG pads; a thick piece for the torso and a thin one for the legs. I actually regretted not bringing a hammock, because I felt I would have slept much better and relieved some of the soreness in my legs (hamstrings), which would have allowed me to hike longer, thus compensating for the weight of the hammock. Many trails are poorly marked, criss-crossed with other forest roads, and are even inaccurately marked on maps, so it takes some knowledge and experience to hike in Crimea, especially alone. Their are also a lot of military sites around the fringes, and during the first afternoon alone I had to deal with three dogs or groups of dogs running out from under fences to bark at me. This ruined the first day for me, but I am no longer afraid of dogs. I held out my trekking poles in front of me and walked slowly backwards, while facing them intently and calmly saying something out loud. I realized no dog or other animal is going to attack you if the risk of injury for them is high (unless it's a specially trained dog). Turning your back to them increases the risk of a bite to the ankle or leg.
The first three days had lots of fog and even some rain. I learned to navigate confidently in both and not be afraid of getting lost. So what -- I have a 5-day supply of food and the fog will eventually clear, so even if I get a bit lost, nothing bad can happen. I actually lost the trail many times and had to scout out routes and backtrack a lot during the first few days, and I am not bad at orienteering. Actually, my compass (with thermometer and whistle) hangs around my neck. I had also sewed a special silnylon map and camera sack that hangs under my right arm off the pack; this because in Crimea I find I have to consult the map constantly, and I like to take pictures.
I also experienced the pleasure and safety of hiking in the rain under an umbrella (Chrome Dome) for the first time. At first I was worried I would get wet and cold anyway, but most of me remained dry, and by the time the rain abated and other backpackers crawled out of their tents (10-11 am), I had already been on the trail for 4-5 hours! I saw no other "umbrellists" in the mountains.
The highest mountains in Crimea rise to only 1545 meters (near 5000') and the climate is probably something like the coastal mountains to the north of the Bay area, or maybe directly south. I climbed most of the higher peaks along the way, trying to stick as closely as possible to the watershed divide. This was during the Easter and May holidays, so the mountains had lots of backpackers, 99.9% of which in Ukraine are "traditional backpackers" with heavy baseweights. There were many large groups (8-20 people) carrying heavy tents, pots and axes for the fire, etc. Most Ukrainian backpackers also walk around with a butt pad strapped to their backsides for sitting down. It's a funny sight when you look at them from behind
Convenient, but I find using the sleeping pad for this purpose is just as good. However, if your hike involves hours of sitting each day, then that is a good solution. One of these groups treated me to some tea and a sandwhich at the base of a mountain I was about to climb. I told them what I was doing, and they were shocked, but respectful. The idea of "fast + light" is really new in Ukraine. There are always a few people who intuitively get the idea, but almost none of this gear is available in local stores, which just sell the traditional stuff, because Ukrainians are still new to the big name brands and buy traditional gear. There was actually a period in the 70s and 80s when Soviet mountaineers were pioneering some ultralight equipment, mainly out of necessity because of a lack of available goods. Now that the borders are open, people think that goods from the West are somehow better, and few are into sewing their own gear. In most cases what is being bought are cheaper imitation brands from Poland, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. They imitate only the best-known types of gear, so there is almost no innovation going on there.
My diet looked like this:
For breakfast, 250 grams of a whole grain cereal which I had pounded together with dried bananas and added powdered milk. I looked forward to it every day!
For snacking during the day, 500 g of gorp (nuts, dried fruit, M&Ms). Also good stuff.
For dinner, 250 g of buckwheat, olive oil, and cheese. Good stuff, but much better when hot. I had decided not to cook this time and soaked the stuff in cold water, letting it slowly swell and soften during the afternoon. I felt the time wasted choking down cold buckwheat could have been saved by just bringing along the UL alcohol stove...
I also found myself thinking about energy bars which you can eat while packing up (I believe you did this on your yo-yo hike), thus saving a lot of snack time. But those are expensive, and natural bars are hard to get (I believe you were sponsored by a company that makes some).I had been training by running about 3 times a week for an hour or more through the forest, and I bought a heartrate monitor just before the trip. I think I have discovered that by keeping the heartrate down and going a bit slower than you could, you win in the long run by requiring less extra recuperation time. I actually break this rule each hike by storming certain sections (especially when hungry, at the end of the day, etc.), but I am doing this less and less. It always gets you back the next day or the next after that.
What I wasn't prepared for was foot and knee pain. I used Montrail Hardrocks, but cut out the bottom layer of the tongues beforehand to help them dry faster in rain. I think this created a more abrasive surface on the top, and I got a slightly inflamed tendon across the top of my right foot. I tied them really loose to compensate. I think I will have to cut out the tongues altogether now. I got a hot spot on one toe, but covered it with duct tape based on something I read in Jardine's book, and it worked like magic. I also got inflamed ligaments on the side of my right knee, but continued walking -- more slowly and carefully, but faster when my knee loosened back up towards the afternoon. I think it will take a few weeks to recover, and I am going to train my knees better with cycling, which has helped in the past. If this same thing were to happen this summer in Colorado, I really don't know what I would do. It takes forever to recover. I think I will have to travel a bit slower and more carefully than during my "training" hikes, just to make sure it doesn't happen.
Footwear. I found myself wishing I had a second pair, even just flip-flops, to relieve stress on flat portions and for a change of pace. I walked barefoot for half an hour once for this purpose.
Now for some questions:
Did you ever carry or need a second pair of shoes, or did you just pick up the next pair of INOV-8's at your resupply points and ditch the previous?
I am going to try out some INOV-8's at REI before my summer trek and hope they work for me. They are lighter and have very good reviews.
Did you get any kind of consistent fatigue and/or pain in the legs and feet from walking 33 miles a day? Or was it just a breeze every day? What can you recommend to strengthen the feet and knees?
One thing I do is rest every hour or two and raise those feet to counteract pooling in the legs and feet. It helps, but it's evidently not enough. Hammocks do help a lot. I also have found that for a speed-oriented hike, sleep time simply must be effective. Lack of rest always catches up to you.
I can't really tell how much my feet grew in size. Towards the end I think I could see that they were puffier than usual, but I couldn't tell whether my shoes were too small or not. I had bought the Hardrocks a half-size large. I think I would add another half-size to that if I did it again. I am anxious to try the INOV-8s.
Somewhere you mention that you ate mealpack bars on your yo-yo journey, but elsewhere you mention the more expensive Probars. Which are better, in your opinion? I think having a bar or two a day is a good idea. In general, I'm very interested in your dietary choices while on trail, especially whole grain sources, etc. What can you recommend to someone who will only have a day between airport arrival and starting a thru-hike? I've looked at Mealpack bars and Bob's Red Mill so far and could order some stuff online.
On the whole, the week-long solo hike was a very positive experience, and I felt I became a "mature UL backpacker" with my exposure to rain and fog and physiological issues. A couple days I was feeling really good and enjoying the experience a lot, while others were a mixed bag. I'll see if I can post some pictures in this thread, too.
