Most people are familiar with the many physical challenges of hiking. We all know about cold weather, hot weather, bruises, blisters, uphills, downhills, aches and pains. But undoubtedly, there is one challenge that trumps all of the physical afflictions, and that's the mental challenge.

The mental aspect of hiking is a head game of monumental proportions. It's offense, defense, strategy, skill, and brute force. It's as tough as a hard hitting football game, as slow paced as an extra innings 0-0 baseball game, as beautiful and balanced as a gymnastic competition. It's an emotional roller coaster of highs, lows, and swift turns of self-doubt. It makes you weaker. It makes you stronger. It makes you wonder why you want to do it. Yet, it's the head game, the mental challenge, that attracts most people to the trail.

On a recent backpacking trip in April, I had the chance to spend 5 days inside my own head, and it was quite a challenge....

As I am sipping on some coffee, I thought I would ask what you all use to navigate out on your hiking adventures.  I use a combination of hand-help maps, compass, and GPS.  The GPS is mostly for my enjoyment as I love technology.  I grew up in the Army though and so I always have a hand-held map and the trusty lensatic compass.  I have a couple of GPS units...one that I have had for several years, a Garmin Rhino 130 which has been a very good GPS unit...but the one I am using exclusively now is the Delorme PN-40.  It's a great little unit and the thing I like the most about it is the combination of the maps and imagery I can load and use.  It's simply amazing how much stuff I can cram into this GPS and I love having the USGS Topo Maps loaded so that I can check my hand held against it.

I love the outdoors but have not been able to really share the outdoors with my family because of spending most of my adult life in the Army.  I recently retired and so now am enjoying living in Virginia and having access to such a beautiful part of our country.  I am originally from Montana but being here in Virginia at least gives me wonderful mountain views.

I carry a short cord to hang my platypus in camp to have running water or to suspend it under my shoulder while I fill it with a pump. Well I came up with another use for that cord now.  I can use it as a sling and suspend my iPhone from the hammock's ridge line...

This was a 3-day, 17-mile trip which turned into a 2-day, 17-mile trip. You can read the full trip report at the Canyon Man Blog, but here is the summary.

This was my wife's first backpacking trip.  She and I went into this trip not knowing what to expect of the Smoky Mountains. Neither of us had ever been to the Smokies, nor any other mountains east of Arkansas and Missouri. I was assuming it would be somewhat like the Ozarks and Ouachitas, only bigger.