Everybody's Talkin': How to Effectively Use Comments on FarOut

Related Post: FarOut’s “Before You Go” Checklist

Using FarOut Comments for Water

FarOut comments are especially useful to figure out which water sources are flowing and which are dried up for the season. When the water is on a side trail a mile long and you’ve just drank your last drop, it’s crucial to know whether or not water will actually be at the end of the side trail. There is no worse feeling than exerting more energy down a trail that’s supposed to lead to water when it does not have any. Then you’re thirsty and out of luck. With FarOut, when you click on a water source, the comments usually discuss the flow of the water. They will range everywhere from “good flow” to “dried up,” and without even having to visit the water source, you know if it’s best to push on to the next water source or take the side trail.

This also helps to figure out how much water it’s worth carrying in a section. It’s not worth carrying the extra water weight if there’s a stream you’re crossing every mile. Save your feet and use your environment thoughtfully. However, if water sources are eight miles or more in between — you might want to carry at least two liters on a hot day.

Comments can also be helpful to see where water caches are in particularly dry or impotable sections. In the desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail, sometimes knowing there will be a restocked water cache in the middle of your hike can make or break the mileage you plan to do that day. On the Appalachian Trail, there was a stretch of 40 miles where water was impotable due to an E. coli outbreak in the streams. Comments would outline where water caches were for that stretch, and if they were stocked or not. If I hadn’t known about the outbreak from the comments, I might have had some really unpleasant experiences on trail that day.

It can be fun to plan your day around swimming places as well in the heat. Comments can give helpful tips on which water sources are fun and safe to swim in — and even tell you which ones have a surprise rope swing! On my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, knowing I was going towards somewhere I could swim and relax by a big stream or lake would inspire me to keep on going. I found swimming to be one of my favorite activities on my hike. I could finally feel weightless after walking with weight on my back all day.

In Maine, canoes were often left by the side of lakes for free use. I spent a few nights enjoying my ramen dinner out on a canoe with my partner, surrounded by pine trees on a remote pond. FarOut comments helped us to know which lakes had canoes so we knew where to aim for in the morning to have dinner out on the water. Sometimes we used the comments to figure out where good sunrise or sunset camping spots were, and we’d know to carry more water to last us through the night if there was a cool spot just up ahead.

Thru-hiking is a difficult and draining activity, but it does not have to be so all the time. It’s important to take care of your mental health by allowing yourself to have fun too. FarOut comments can maximize your chances of knowing where the good times can be had.

Using FarOut Comments for Food

On the Appalachian Trail, FarOut comments were helpful to figure out what restaurants in town offered thru-hiker discounts or free meals. In Hanover, there was a pizza shop that gave hikers free pizza and multiple trail angels that usually let hikers stay at their houses for free. I wouldn’t have known about this if it weren’t for a comment talking about the pizza shop and multiple comments saying how they met friendly trail angels that took them in for the night. When you’re on trail, a meal, a shower and a place to stay (all for free!) is close to heaven.

Comments would also say popular places that trail magic would happen and which days they were happening. Hostels would leave comments sharing the days and location they would be out on trail, sometimes handing out sodas or even having a full on cookout with burgers and hot dogs (or even lobster sometimes!) On some days, this really inspired me to push the extra few miles just to make it to a burger. I am unashamed of the hundreds of miles I’ve spent fantasizing about burgers. It doesn’t matter where your motivation comes from — just that it gets you to where you’re going. And if FarOut comments can help you find a reason to put one foot in front of the other, I’d say it’s a worthwhile feature to keep tabs on.

Using FarOut Comments for Shelter

The next best thing to food is having a solid place to sleep. When you click on different waypoints, such as road crossings, viewpoints, streams, etc. — sometimes there are comments that let you know if there is a place available to camp. These comments can outline hints, like “stealth spot located .5 away from the road crossing,” or “space for 3 tents right at the stream.”

Photo provided by Abby Evans

Stealth spots are usually a flat(ish) dirt patch that’s suitable for a few tents. These can be extremely useful when figuring out whether or not it’s worth it to push on a little farther before you call it a day. When a shelter or campsite is completely full you have to keep hiking until you find a place you can set up for the night. Knowing that there’s a stealth spot just up ahead can save you from trying to cram your tent in a slanted, over-crowded campsite — or save you from blindly hiking into the night without knowing if there’s anywhere to set up your tent up ahead.

Comments can also disclose whether or not a shelter has leaks or any other unsavory activity going on. There was a shelter I stayed at in Pennsylvania where snakes lived in the walls, a wasp nest was buzzing in a corner and a porcupine gnawed on the shelter floor while you slept. I looked at the comments the next day, and realized they warned of all these problems. If I had checked them earlier, I might have decided to stay somewhere else!

If not most importantly, comments can help to determine whether or not a privy is functioning or if there’s a bathroom or porta potty at a road crossing. If I have to choose between digging a cat hole or doing a risky sprint for three miles to a bathroom, I’m going to sprint for three miles. When you click on a waypoint for a shelter, it usually shows whether or not there’s a privy at the shelter. However, sometimes the privy is overflowing or not in use. The comments are usually more up to date on this and can help you avoid the disaster of sprinting to a privy that’s no longer in use.

Using FarOut Comments for Safety

One of the most useful functions comments can be used for is safety. In the backcountry, trail conditions will change all the time, and in order to navigate safely, it’s important to know what you’re headed into. For example, river crossings tend to fluctuate rapidly. In the Sierras of the Pacific Crest Trail, a river can be safe to cross in the morning but completely impassable in the afternoon when the snow melts and channels into the river. FarOut comments can help you to determine if there’s a sturdy snow bridge to cross over or if there’s a safer spot to cross further upstream. Sometimes a comment will even disclose how far up the stream a river crossing is, so you can determine if you have the energy to get to it and cross that day, or if it’s just better to wait until the morning.

In the Hundred Mile Wilderness on the Appalachian Trail, comments helped me to figure out if rivers were passable or if there was an easier road walk to safely guide you around the stream. There’s no point in risking drowning in a river when there’s a shorter and easier road walk to guide you around the flooded section.

Certain hostels along the trail can be less welcoming or even unsafe for women, people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Comments are pivotal in figuring out which hostels seem unsafe to stay at. It’s an awesome way for individuals from underrepresented groups on trail to keep each other safe. It’s unfortunate that we live in a world where we have to think like this, but I would rather be safe in the woods than uncomfortable in a hostel.

See For Yourself

Comments are usually helpful — more information can help you make a more informed decision on trail; however, sometimes they’re just fear mongering. Everyone who hikes a trail is different. People have different bodies and mental states, so they’re capable of different things. Personally, I go through several different states throughout the day depending upon how hungry I am. On a full stomach, I might think an incline is nothing, whereas if I was hungry, it would seem like the end of the world. All comments should be taken with a grain of salt and the knowledge that conditions can change, and if you’re unsure, it’s always best to go and see for yourself. There could be a comment from a day ago about a river being a chest-deep torrent, and the next day it could be a safe ankle-deep crossing. Nature is prone to change. Flexibility is one of the greatest strengths a hiker can have.

Don’t let fear mongering in the comments keep you from attempting a big incline at the end of the day if you think you’ve got the energy for it. Stay informed with comments but most of all — trust yourself and you’ll go far.