There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
I don't have time to rewrite it, but basically I wrote:
- Research & know Leave No Trace - Research & know 10 Essentials - Know where you are going & call the governing body to clarify rules/etiquette if you are unsure - Don't go out & buy a bunch of stuff in a hurry. - Do try and backpack with other people to try their stoves, water filtration etc to see what YOUR favorite is before spending $ - You don't NEED a stove, they just allow you to have tastier food. - You don't NEED a water purifier if you have access to potable water. (E.g. I did a two night backpack in Theodore Roosevelt National Park & dispersed camped near the car campground, with a hill between us. Before my 17 mile hike I stocked up on water, and once again after my hike before bed.) - Start small & find a place that has backpack sites 1/4 mi to 1/2 mile in so you can easily bail in the middle of the night if things go south. - Take a class for extra confidence or if you have no friends that backpack. - Get out there. You learn so much from the experience. Just start small and go in areas where the consequences to screwing up are inconsequential. If you're really unsure, you can even "backpack" at a car camping campground: park & pay for your site, go on a hike with your loaded pack, return to site & set up camp. No cheating with food, water, camp chairs etc. Very safe way to check that you're ready :-)
I went 2-3 times on weekend outings with rented gear and a buddy that knew the ropes, felt confident enough and solo hiked the Appalachian Trail after that (with a ton of planning). I think having those experiences with someone that had done it before was key though, especially for my confidence (and maybe more importantly to make sure I really enjoyed it before becoming too invested monetarily or time wise!)