Name: George Griffin
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 7" (1.7 m)
Weight: 223 lb (101 kg)
Email: griffin42 (at) tiscali (dot) co (dot) uk
City: London U.K
Date: 24 July 2005

Backpacking Background

I have been backpacking since 1986, mainly in the Peak District, Lake District, Wales and Southern England. I am also the London liaison member for the Backpackers Club. In recent years I have backpacked with two friends. Most of my trips are from September through to May, I normally get four 4+ day trips in that time, plus the occasional weekend.

Terrain and elevation on these trips can be anything from coastal paths to mountains, sea level to 3,000 ft (900 m). Temperatures range from -5 C to 23 C (23 F to 75 F).

Product Information

Author: Rick Allnutt MD
Published: 2005
Website: Wayah Press
Price: $11.95 + $2.95 postage & handling
Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 5/16 in (14 x 22 x 1 cm)
Weight: 6.17 oz (175 g)
Type of book: Perfect bound paperback

Product Description

The book arrived with a covering letter from the author (Rick), a business card and a bookmark. The book looked exactly as shown on the website. The website is quite easy to navigate as it only consists of three pages; the main Wayah Press plus a page for the book and one for the audio version of the book. The book page has three pdf files on it; one each for the front and back cover and one for the first chapter of the book, there is also a link to information about the author, Rick Allnutt MD.

One notice of caution to International readers; the website states that they cannot ship to P.O. boxes or addresses outside the U.S.A.

The book is a 134 page prefect bound book with a colour cover which has a photograph of the author upon it. The cover is laminated.

This is not a "How to" book, nor is it a "this is the equipment you should be using" book. It's one man's observations on his experiences and seeing how other hikers have failed or succeeded on the Appalachian Trail; and putting these experiences to better use and understanding.

In one of these experiences; the author had a blister on his right foot and by leaving it unattended and carrying on walking, he found that he was placing more weight on his left leg which lead to a problem with his left knee. From this he learnt that the best way to walk was to make sure the both knees took equal strain.

The book is broken down into six chapters:

The who, what, where, and whys
Blisters and chafing
Knees - it's about prevention and preparation
Losing the will to hike
The one best idea
The end of the beginning

The main chapters cover the three biggest things that can end a hike; blisters & chafing, knee problems and losing the will to hike.

In these three chapters, the author explains how these problems can arise and how to prevent them. Being a doctor, Rick has a much better knowledge of how a blister is formed or how the knee works. Within the chapters are sub-headings like: Shear forces! " Good doctor, what do you mean by shear forces?" and "Knees 101 - An anatomy class", these describe in detail how a blister forms and the stresses and strains the knees undergo when hiking.

From my early days backpacking, I was told that the best way up or down a hill was to zig-zag. This normally involves walking 15/20 yd (13/18 m) then turning and continuing up/down for another 15/20 yd (13/18 m) and so on until you are at the top/bottom. This works fairly well but does put strain on one or the other knee for an extended period, depending on whether you are zigging or zagging.

Rick has developed a technique which he calls "Dancing down hills" and this alternates between right and left knee, for the uphill he makes sure that every step is an alternating step. This chapter also gives details of medication to take for knee problems; one for inflammation and the other as a promoter of repair to cartilage.

The next chapter "Losing the will to hike", Rick details the stresses he has encountered while hiking and how he deals with them. The stresses can be anything from a wet day hiking to things that go bump in the night, loneliness to the excitement of the hike wearing off.

One way Rick explains how to deal with these problems is to read/talk and learn how others have tackled these issues and then practice them.

I've had problems with two of the stresses above; I cannot get my head around walking in the rain. I find it a really pointless exercise and given half the chance I would stay put in a tent, that's not to say that I don't walk in the rain I just walk but feel miserable while it's raining.

The other problem arose recently during my five day backpack on the South West coastal path; and that was that the thrill was gone. I've done quite a bit of coastal walking and it was a case of "oh well; here we go again, sea to the right, land to the left and another headland in front". On the last day we changed our plans and detoured inland and although we could still see the coast and sea that inland day was quite refreshing. If we hadn't changed plans we would have ended up going home earlier.

These two problems show that I can "lose the will to hike" sometimes; hopefully using Rick's methods can help to overcome these.

Rick also advocates that while out on the trail that "learning is fun", learning about nature, learning about oneself and this in itself can help to relieve stress.

Chapter Five is entitled "The one best idea" and in this Rick describes it as "a description to a solution" which basically boils down to using the lightest equipment that will do the job, and not packing everything but the kitchen sink.

He talks about the big four and the heaviest; pack, shelter, sleeping bag, and cooking equipment. By reducing the weight of each of these four items (but without compromising his safety) he can get his pack down to what he calls the "Forget It" weight. The "Forget It" weight is a weight that Rick feels comfortable with, one where he doesn't notice the pack on is back. This weight may vary from person to person.

Rick does believe that you can have too light a pack, if there is something he needs to use even just once a week or something he needs to survive it needs to be taken.

Rick's Weight	My Weight
Hammock 2.0 lb (900 g)	Tent 4.4 lb (2000 g)
Quilt 1.5 lb (450 g)	Sleeping bag 3.0 lb (1400 g)
Cooking 0.5 lb (227 g)	Cooking 1.5 lb (450 g)
Pack 0.5 lb (227 g)	Pack 1.6 lb (790 g)
Total 4.5 lb (2041 g)	Total 10.5 lb (4760 g)

The above table gives a good indication of how the big four can make a huge difference on pack weight, even with just these four items I'm 6 lb (2.7 kg) heavier. Although my weights are a lot lighter than a few years ago; my old pack was 4 lb (1.8 kg), tent 6.6 lb (3 kg).

Rick's philosophy is that if you use heavy equipment other items need to increase in weight; carrying a heavy pack may mean wearing heavier boots.

By keeping the bulk of his equipment light, Rick can then carry his "toys"; camera, Native American flute, journal, paperback book and cell phone. My only "toys" are normally cell phone, camera and MP3 player.

The final chapter brings all the ideas together. How by keeping the equipment light, the knees and feet don't have to take as much stress and strain and this helps to avoid blisters and knee problems.

Rick ends the book with six points that he thinks are worth remembering every day. I'd like to quote two which I find really apply to me.

Knee problems happen to hikers of all ages. Prevention of knee problems is possible with the healthy knee prescription.

Getting rest is critical, as is letting go of a number of fears. Carrying around a fear in my pack can be very heavy.

A little more about me

The longest time I've been out hiking at any one time, is six days and this covered about 70 miles (113 km). I normally can only walk/be on my feet for about 6 hours. My average mileage is around 11 miles. My pack weight is normally around 24 lb (11kg). One of my hiking goals is to walk Wainswright's "A coast to coast walk" which runs from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood bay in North Yorkshire. The route is about 190 miles (306 km), maybe with the ideas in this book; I can look towards attempting this walk and completing it.

Test Plan

I will continue to read the book, and see how much of the information I can apply to hiking.

Can I get my pack weight down a few more lb (kg)?
Can I get my mindset to enjoying walking in the rain?
Try to make the most of my hiking time and "learn to have fun" on the trail.

Finally thanks to Wayah Press/Rick Allnutt and BackpackGearTest.org for testing this book.

Read more reviews of Wayah Press gear
Read more gear reviews by George Griffin

Initial Report

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