High Sierra Topix

I always wear a watch as my job as a truck driver is always based on the clock. Whether it be a delivery or a pick up it is always on a appointment basis. To be without a watch would just feel wrong. I had a Suunto Vector but I was not impressed by it so I took it back. Now a good ol Swiss Army Watch does the job just fine off and on the trail.

All this talk about watches on the trail brings back memories of a spring hike up Kibbie Ridge in the mid 70s. We had been hiking on snow all day and made camp above Many Island Lake. Our dinner was some kind of dehydrated slop that needed to simmer. The first thing we did was burn the directions so there was nothing to refer to when we began to debate the length of time our gruel had to simmer. One of us argued for ten minutes, another said twenty. Tempers flared, snide remarks were exchanged, our meal was all but forgotten in a battle of egos. My friend Kirk calmed us all down by saying, "None of us has a watch so it doesn't matter how long the stuff has to simmer." Thank you Kirk.

I was a professional educator in more ways than one. I believe that more information is virtually always better that less information. The passage of time is real. We can't escape it. We can pretend that the passage of time doesn't matter, but it does. We're going to die whether we like it or not, therefor I have very little fear of something over which I have absolutely no control. Eventually I am going to die, weather I carry a watch or not. Explain to me why less information on a BP trip is better that more information.

freestone wrote:I bring a watch because I want to know how much longer I have to stay in my sleeping bag after I wake up at 0230 hours to wait for the dawn. Of course, I don't have to be backpacking to do this, that's is just the way I sleep (or not!!)

Amen to that! A light dose of Ambien helps. I also like a watch for timing my breaks to make sure I drink enough water. I used a Timex expediton for awhile, but the alitmeter would always need adjusting, so I gave up on it. The one on my Garmin is somewhat better, but that is going to start staying home to save weight unless I am going to be off-trail alot. I always bring map and compass anyway. Is there a watch out there that has a reliable altimeter?

richlong8 wrote:Is there a watch out there that has a reliable altimeter?

there is this thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6840&hilit=altimeter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the thread- it is helpful.