It was the third weekend of May. Before the trip, two things worried me: 1. the black fly season was about to start. 2. The weather forecast called for thunderstorms for both Saturday and Sunday.

Thunderstorms showed up earlier on my way driving up to the Catskills. When I reached the parking lot for the north-end trailhead of the Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow Trail, it was dark as ink. Without the help from either moonlight or starlight, I could still recognize that there was only one other car parked in the lot. My nerve was irritated and I started to worry about one more thing: 3. there should have been two other cars. Who was or who were the missing one(s)?


那是五月的第三個禮拜。行前，心裡一直在咕噥著兩件事：一是，討厭的黑蠅季節恐怕要開始了。二是，氣象報告居然說週六和週日都有不停歇的雷陣雨。

雷陣雨倒是在星期五，驅車前往紐約州的Catskills山區就開始了。到了Giant Ledge-Panther-Fox Hollow步道的北端停車場時，天色漆黑如墨。即便沒有月光，亦無星光，還是辨認出該處除了我的車以外，只停泊了另一輛車。呃，我的緊張指數表開始標高，開始咕噥著第三件事：三是，應該總共有三台車啊，不是大家都說好，要到這裡來集合過夜的嗎？

Since my very first few backpacks, I hadn’t had one trip that beat me that hard until this extremely fun bushwhacking endeavor. Yes, the fun tasted a bit bitter but the trip was fun with no sarcasm added.

This trip was a private trip for friends, and I was the unofficial leader. Therefore I was not as prepared as I always am for every AMC trip and that was the first mistake. The second mistake was that I was too optimistic about the group pace. We were all strong hikers; however, the bushes in the Catskills were stronger than us. They were so thick which made me wish I had a chainsaw; they were so dense which made it easy to get disoriented and hard to stay on the planned route.

And what is the third mistake? Two mistakes were more than enough to make our trip much more difficult than it should have been. The second day, we hiked more than 12 hours and a few of them were in the dark. I bore scars collected mostly from hemlocks and balsam firs for more than two weeks, and my ripped raincoat became my reason not to attempt it again just to prove that my plan would have worked out as sketched if we fixed the above two mistakes.

Alright, the following is my original plan:



除了開始backpacking的那一段時光以外，已經有好一陣子不再有被backpacking打敗的感覺了—直到這一次，超折磨人的茂林找路任務（bushwhacking）。折磨歸折磨，仍然是苦中帶甜，而說這次旅途真好玩，可沒有半點諷刺的意味喔！

雖說這次的旅途是由我規劃，但由於不是為登山團體所開的隊，純屬朋友間的私人出遊，所以並沒有兢兢業業、一絲不苟，準備充分，此為第一個錯誤。第二個錯誤是，我對於隊伍的行進速度太過樂觀，雖然說參加者都是健足，可，Catskills的灌木森林也不是好相與的：有太多地方，樹木濃密到恨不得手上持有兩把開山刀；另外，濃密的灌木叢，讓人容易不辨東西，極易喪失方向感。

那，那，第三個錯誤呢？喔，兩個錯誤已經令人夠受的。第二天，隊伍行進的時間超過十二個鐘點，還有幾個小時是在天黑的情況下完成的。從樹林裡收集到的細密傷口，兩個多禮拜後才漸漸淡去。而我的昂貴雨衣，也被可恨的樹枝勾破了，成為我不願意再嘗試此旅途（就為了證明修正兩個錯誤後的計畫，其實是可行的）的有力理由。

好，閒話不多說，以下就是我的原始構想：

I gave a presentation on Leave No Trace on the Beginner Backpack Workshop held by Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter, April 22, 2006.

What I presented was based on the principles conducted by The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and which fall in these seven categories (For steps to follow, in order to apply the principles, please download and read this file: Leave No Trace Principles of Outdoor Ethics.)

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Minimize Camp Fire Impact
4. Respect Wildlife
5. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
6. Dispose of Waste Properly
7. Leave What You Find

戶外倫理：走過不留痕跡（Leave No Trace）。這篇文章是根據我在四月二十二日，由Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter 舉辦的Backpacking 入門講座的講稿寫成的。

這篇報告主要是根據，走過不留痕跡戶外倫理協會，所訂定的七大原則敷衍而成：（詳細的實做步驟，可以參考這個檔案：Leave No Trace Principles of Outdoor Ethics。中文版本可以參考Raven的文章：http://adventurespirits.blogspot.com/2005/10/leave-no-trace.html

I am not very sure how I got myself into leading kids’ trips since I had never thought I would be good with kids. Trained leaders lead kids’ trips for 8 to 12-year-olds, and the official name my club, Appalachian Mountain Club, gave to the program is Chapter Youth Program.

I believe that to educate people well, we need to start when they are young and I was so moved and happy when I saw how a bunch of kids learned, digested and applied Leave No Trace principles along a creek right next to a hut I had stayed for a cool summer night in the Whites last year. For some reason, the scene reminded me of my childhood and I had always been proud since then that I could never litter or spit. I should be grateful to my mom and my school teachers.


從來不覺得我懂得應付小朋友，所以到現在還沒搞清楚，我怎麼會自願為年紀八到十二歲的青少年，擔任健行活動領隊的。這個特別為青少年設計的戶外生活企畫，我隸屬的登山團體，Appalachian Mountain Club（AMC）稱之為Chapter Youth Program。

我相信教育從小做起，效益最昭著。尤其去年在White Mountains健行的時候，某個沁涼的夏日午後，在所居留的山屋的小溪旁，看著一群小朋友，興致勃勃的學習、消化以及應用「走過不留痕跡（Leave NoTrace）」的原則，心中有說不出的興奮以及感動。而該情該景喚醒我童年的記憶，是這麼驕傲著因為媽媽以及學校老師的教導，才成為不亂丟垃圾，不隨地吐痰的好孩子啊。

Fri-Sun, 6/16/2006 – 6/18/2006. Tuscarora Trail backpack. 3C24. Will hike on Sec6 & Sec7 of the Tuscarora Trail, southbound, from PA-641 via Cowans Gap State Park to PA-16. Remote area, lots of decent vistas. This trip is perfect for people who would like to look for solitude. Backpacking experience required. Group size limited.

For almost eight years, I’ve been living in the States, but not until this spring did I develop symptoms of

This article is based on what I presented in the Beginner Backpack Workshop held by Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter, April 22, 2006.

Cause of Blisters

The cause of blisters is friction. With enough rubbing, the tough epidermis which has been resisting abrasion separates and fluid fills in the space. A blister therefore forms.

A general guideline to prevent blisters from happening is to keep our feet cool and dry, because both heat and moisture increase friction. Heat makes the feet swollen and moisture softens the skin.


這篇文章是根據我在四月二十二日，由Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter 舉辦的Backpacking 入門講座的講稿寫成的。

水泡成因

摩擦是水泡的成因。持續的摩擦讓頑強抵抗的表皮與下層皮膚脫離，液體因此湧入該空間，而產生水泡。

一般來說，預防水泡，必須保持雙腳乾燥以及涼爽。因為燥熱以及濕悶都是增加摩擦的原因。燥熱讓雙腳更加臃腫，而濕悶讓皮膚表層軟化。

This article is based on what I presented in the Beginner Backpack Workshop held by Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter, April 22, 2006.

What are socks for?

For your feet – socks provide cushion and warmth, and help wick moisture out.
For your boots – socks block sweat and dead cells from getting into the boots which destruct the internal structure of the boots.

這篇文章是根據我在四月二十二日，由Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter 舉辦的Backpacking 入門講座的講稿寫成的。

穿襪子做啥？

保護雙腳 – 襪子具有保暖性、提供緩衝，並且協助腳上濕氣蒸散。
保護登山鞋 – 避免汗水以及死細胞組織侵入登山鞋，造成破壞。

The following documents are provided and composed by Kathy Kelly-Borowski including handouts for the topic of “Nutrition, Cooking, and Water

This article is based on what I presented in the Beginner Backpack Workshop held by Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter, April 22, 2006.

Boots are important. A good pair of boots helps you carry on through various terrains and conditions. Incompatible boots tire your feet and legs more easily, and they are more likely to cause blisters which turn your trip miserable.

I like to say that finding a good pair of boots is like finding your life partner. It might sound overly dramatic, but if you’ve ever traveled with someone you hate, you would know that I am not exaggerating.

Boots are something you shouldn’t buy on-line or through mail order. You need to try them on and fit them perfectly. It’s too risky to buy them without a test drive. A size chart is for reference ONLY. Vendor A’s size 8 might not be the same as Vendor B’s size 8. Especially nowadays, manufactures outsource their production, so even Vendor A’s size 8 sometimes might not match Vendor A’s size 8 made in another country.


這篇文章是根據我在四月二十二日，由Appalachian Mountain Club, Delaware Valley Chapter 舉辦的Backpacking 入門講座的講稿寫成的。

登山鞋相當重要。好的登山鞋幫助你走過不同形勢的山道，度過多變的天氣變化。穿著一雙不合適的登山鞋，不但雙腳雙足容易疲累，且也大大助長水泡生成的機會。

我常常說，找一雙好的登山鞋好比找人生伴侶。聽起來似乎很戲劇化，不過，如果你有和合不來的同伴，一同旅行的經驗，那難受的經驗，還真是差相彷彿。

極端不建議在網路上購買或是郵購登山鞋。你需要試穿，直到滿意為止。沒試穿就買鞋，太冒險了。更何況，鞋子的尺寸列表，真的只是參考用的，不能太認真相信。甲廠商的八號鞋，和乙廠商的八號鞋不一定一樣大。更何況現在眾家廠商，將鞋子的製作過程推向世界各地，以降低成本，搞不好甲廠商的八號鞋之間也不一定就一樣大。