Smoking and Hiking

“lol MP. I know plenty of hikers that smoke.”

“8L <---- Crazy Mike smoking a cigar.”

“Okay, that was supposed to look like a cigar sticking out of a mouth, but it didn't. Damn.”

“I also enjoy a nice smoke after a good days hike. Although I usually walk away from people who are not smoking. So they do not have to smell it. But a nice cup of coffee in the morning with a smoke overlooking miles and miles of wilderness is enjoyable. And after the evening meal, nursing the only beer/pepsi I brought in, is great. I never smoke indoors. I would not want to endanger someone else.
I have never left any cigs/cigars in any wilderness. I carry a plastic baggie to store the remains in. I will even pick up those I find from others. So not to give us smokers a bad name. Plus discarded cig butts are trashy looking. And are not LNT.
Yes it is bad for me. Just like breathing smoke from a camp fire is. And when I quit, I will probably be like a lot of ex-smokers and hate the smell as well.”

“I quit smokin on april 25 of this year.

Last wknd was my first trip hiking without smoking. It was really rough around camp. However my lungs feel incredible. I am running like a gazelle and riding my bike like a machine.

I now am hooked on sunflower seeds.”

“Way to go, Birch!”

“Birch, dude, I'm still hooked on the sunflower seeds! Any advice on how to quit or am I on my own???”

“Enough talkin' 'bout cigars. Let's get back to the real subject: cigarettes.”

“Man, at least smoke something that gets ya off...”

“2 1/2 years quit from smoking marlboros and dunhills when I could get em.

Can't say there isn't a day that goes by that i don't want one. My problem is that I can't be a social smoker...I'm either off cold turkey or on hardcore.

But I have noticed a lot better wind when climbing since I quit.”

“Artex.. I'm with you. Yuck! Cigarettes are disgusting and unattractive! Especially in the outdoors. I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke! When I'm outdoors I want to smell fresh air and be able to breathe!”

“Memorial Weekend is 20 years since I quit. I smoked for 10 years before that.

My first hike was up the Palm Springs tram to San Jacinto Peak tram station, around 8K?. We hiked a little ways, and I had a cigarette. When I started back up towards the tram station, I blacked out. It took me awhile to figure out that smoking and hiking didn't work for me. Everytime I smoked, I got faint.

Tried quitting several times, and found myself cheating. I'd have one in the car on the way to pick up my son, and he'd get a nosebleed later that night. After several episodes, I realized the smoke caused his nosebleeds. This was bad, because he's a hemophiliac. So that was a good enough reason for me to quit.

I put on 10 lbs right away (everything tasted so good), but started working out hard. Between running and hiking I lost the weight and the desire to smoke.”

“Good try Artex!!!!!

8)”

“I used to smoke, but I quit because smoking makes you slow and kills you sooner. I enjoy breathing in the nice fresh air. No need for a smoke!”

“oh yeah garfum, you better bring yer own smokes this time, i'm countin ounces here! oh, & i got a 1,000 liter nalgene specifically for the bourbon.

when i play at gigs, i always light up an inscence before each set, last gig, this ole snaggletooth biotch came up complainin bout the inscence smoke botherin her asthma, so of corse i put it out. then it dawned on me that this lady goes to a smokie bar & what did she expect. well i looked over there & she was smokin a ciggarette! i was all.....DOOOOH! naturally, i sparked up my inscence again. she dint even notice.

i like the way my clothes smell like campfire smoke when i get home from campin.”

“I usually smoke two or three GOOD cigars per week.

Is that gonna kill me ??”

“MDSHiker no!

I smoke 2 to 5 a week and I could share with ya.

What kind do ya like?

8)”

“I like most of the popular brands if they are mild/medium strength. Natural wrappers are my favorite. I buy from JR's. I'm getting ready to light up a Legion right now!!

Wahoo!

Excuse me while I retire to the garage and my reading desk.”

“i love to sit around camp & smoke a lil crack.....is that bad for me?”

“Crack?Yuck!!!!I hope thats not butt crack?

Well get a list MDS and maby if I can get it I might send ya some or we can trade.

8)”

“MDSHiker...probably not but the AMA still says cigar smoking is just as bad for you as cigarette smoking. Of course, all their studies are based on people who smoke 3-5 cigars per DAY. They are won't study the effect on the occaisional cigar smoker because they're afraid they'll find that there is little increased risk of cancer. Of course, most cigar smokers smoke fewer than 1 a day. I'm lucky if I get one a week.

stratdewd - 1,000 liter Nalgene? For bourbon? How the heck do you get that thing into the backcountry? Parachute drop?”

“Nope”

“We I am going out for a 6-7 day backpack trip. It might be a good time to quit smoking.... Hmmm, there sure would be no turning back while I am out there.....”

“Cigarettes Kill,,,Cigars Stink...Chew eats your toung. Tobacco just isn't a great thing.

I recently remember sitting outside a coffee shop playing cards with my wife. This guy lit up a cigar, and I wondered who was smoking the dog sh1t. Stuff smelled like crap and cleared out the patio. The guy looked like an idiot.”

“Hear hear, thinair.

I quit smoking not because of what it was doing to my health. I quit because I didn't want to give my money to the rotten tobacco lobby.

I'd sooner join the NRA.”

“Backpacking got me to quit smoking! I remember how hard it was on that first trip after I had smoked for 3 years. Man did I hike slow.

Just this last week after sleeping on top of Half Dome, I was hiking back when I saw this guy who looked totaly worn out sitting by the side of the trail smoking. I asked him where he was headed, same place as I was, but he was taking 4 days to do it. Hopefully he will see the light, or lack there of, and quit. Hiking is just more fun without all that lung butter.

Have fun! And don't forget Darwin's Theory...”

“I was spending $60 per month smoking before I quit. Think of all the gear I could have bought in that 3 year period. That adds up to $2160.00 up in smoking.”

“Rosey makes a good point!”

“I used to do that!

Then I quit!

8)”

“I heard that!
tsk, tsk, tsk...


I LOL at the smokers that sometimes come out of the woodwork on these TT hikes.
"Aw man! If I'd known there'd be other smokers... uh, could you gimme one? Pweeeeeze?"

That's why I pack extra.

Good point about the smoke from a fire versus secondhand cig smoke...”

“HeHeHe! Where's Buddur?”

“phaed, when buying smokes, yer givin more to "the man" than to the tobacco lobby.

oh geesh, u do i open these worm cans?”

“I really respect everyone's opinions about smoking. As a matter of fact, I feel a little guilty about lighting a cigar around the campfire - afraid I might bother someone. I usually wait until people clear out and I can smoke in peace.

I can't stand cig smoke !!

Crazy Mike, I wouldn't mind trading cigars with ya, but after that news story I read about you, I'd be afraid to touch them.”

“Well, i have been off the smokes for two months and 3 days. Not sure how I feel, Butt.... I smell better! gRRRRRRRRR”

“Firewood doesn't contain nicotine.

I like campfire smoke. Unmolested tobacco smoke doesn't bother me much either but the adulterated smokes you get at the store actually make me physically ill if I get enough of it in me.

I'm not going to chase off smokers or expect them to do anything special when around me. I'll take care of it myself by moving when it gets to me. It goes both ways.”

“MDS you give me a list of the kind you like and I will see what I can do.I buy cigars that range from $5 to $25 each.

You just let me know and I will get you the hook up!

8)”

“Here's a partial list of the known health risk chemicals found in campfire smoke. A '+' denotes known carcinogen:

+1,2-benzanthracene
Acrolein
Anthracene
+Benzene
+Benzo(a)anthracene
+Benzo(a)pyrene
Benzo(b)fluoranthene
Benzo(k)fluoranthene
+Benzo(b/j/k)oranthene
+Chrysene
Fluoranthene
Formaldehyde
+Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene
Phenanthrene
+Pyrene

In addition, there is methane, ozone, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, each contributing to impairment of pulmonary function over a lifetime of intermittent exposure.


I love the smell of a slab of fatty, salty, nitrite-preserved slab of bacon over a fire....”

“Mmmmmmmm.....me too Gordon!

Pass the eggs.”

“To me everyone needs those chemcals in there life every time they go backpacking!

+ they are good for ya!

8)”

“Well guess I should jump in and say I do smoke......and enjoy it much.
But to add to the Campfire smoke.
I love a campfire but gee that smell is much harder to get off your cloths than say cigarette smoke...LOL”

“I am have a nice Cojimar-Sambuca Cigar right now and loveing it very much!

8)”

“I envy you Mike!

I honor my wife's request that I not smoke in the house, so I have to smoke outside. In the summer it's nice, but with this cold snap, it's a little too chilly to smoke outside.”

“Thank you if you every get to go backpacking with me I will hook you up some great cigars!

8)”

“Cool, we can trade.”

“No problem!

8)

any time you want you just let me know!”

“Ma Goose lets me smoke my stogies in the house. She likes the aroma of a good cigar. What a gal!”

“I like the smell of cigars--they remind me of my grandfather--a really nice man he was.”

“Don't fall asleep smoking, while in a sleeping bag in a tent ...you might end up being the main dish in a Bar B Q.”

“It never ceases to amaze me how many hikers smoke. Part of the allure of the trail is the nice clean fresh air.

The campfire at night, chating with ex-strangers/new-friends is very appealing, but I do hate the smoke smell in my clothes....”

“My wife let me try once. She decided that the tobacco smell in the house after I was done was just too much, and I agreed.

I sometimes smoke my pipe downstairs in my den, but not too often.”