Thinking for Hiking ?

 

Packing and Unpacking

1. Putting on your pack: Grab the pack by its haul loop and one shoulder strap, and lift it to one bent knee. Turn your back into the pack while inserting one arm into its shoulder strap. The pack is now hanging from that shoulder. Continue to swing the pack around and insert the the other arm, elbow first, into its shoulder strap.
2. Your waist belt should rest above and on your hip bones.
3. Fitting your pack: don't over tighten shoulder straps. Tighten just enough to keep your pack close to your body and stable.
4. For most packs, place heaviest items close to your back near the middle of the pack. The sleeping bag goes in first, followed by the food bag (perhaps the heaviest item).
5. Have a place for each item and always return the item to that place.
6. If possible, store stove gas and water outside the pack so everything doesn't get wet if the containers leak. Better yet, use a wood stove.
7. Items that you expect will get wet go outside if possible: rain gear, pack cover etc.
8. Often needed items go in a top pocket.
9. Attach a thermometer for a zipper pull.
10. Attach an "office" to a shoulder strap or your waist belt or carry a fanny pack. Items to carry in it may include: camera, compass, whistle, maps, pen and paper.
11. Extend your packs life: after the trip shake it out, clean inside with mild soap and water, dry out of the sun. Store it in a cool, dry place.
12. Dry your sleeping bag flat, not hung.
13. Carry your sleeping bag inside a silnylon stow sack. These are very lightweight and waterproof.
14. Always shake the water off your wet tent or tarp before packing it.
15. Always stuff bags, tents, tarps etc. into their sacks, don't fold them. Folding in the same place repeatedly creates weak spots in the fabric.
16. When stuffing a tent into its stuff sack, the door of the tent should go in last. That way the air that always collects inside will be easier to get rid of as you push it toward the door.
17. Between trips, do not store a sleeping bag in its stuff sack. Buy a large burlap bag for sleeping bag storage.
18. Some people like to keep their backpack packed and ready to go. This is okay for most everything except your sleeping bag. I have a large plastic storage box where I keep everything ready to pack (except the sleeping bag).
19. Home Depot sells mesh bags in 1 gallon and 5 gallon sizes. They are intended for straining paint but hikers can cut them up and sew them into ditty bags. I made a little one for stakes that weighs just 0.1 oz.
20. Transfer portions of liquids like insect repellents, sun screen, etc. into smaller containers. I like to use small eye drop bottles.
21. To carry tiny amounts of jells or pastes like toothpaste, vasaline, etc. use a large diameter straw. Cut 3/4" off both ends. Jam the center section into the jell or paste until it is within an inch of filling. Close the ends by folding the last 1/2" back on itself, then fold this again lengthwise, and insert into the 3/4" pieces that you previously cut.

Clothing

1.    No cotton please, it dries very slowly and holds moisture next to your skin.

2.    Go to the bathing suit dept. for hiking shorts. Columbia makes water shorts with a built in liner (no underwear needed), which are very water repellent and dry very quickly.

3.    If you have problems with thigh chafing, you may want to choose Lykra shorts which are tight around the thigh thus preventing the problem.

4.    In winter, the tried and true layering system applies here. I like a thin smartwool base, a middle insulating layer, and an outer water repellent, breathable shell.

5.    Your clothing should always be in a waterproof bag such as a 10 X 21 Silnylon stow sack.

6.    Wash your clothing as often as possible, clean clothes feel better and wear better. They are also warmer as the accumulated oils in dirty clothing reduce their loft and conduct heat away from the body.

7.    While hiking keep a bandana wrapped around one of your front straps where it is immediately available.

8.    Summer Hat: wear a broad rimmed hat with a strap like the Tilly, or Ultimate Hat. Gives us glasses wearers better protection from blowing rain and sun protection all the way around for everyone.

9.    For a clothes line twist a double rope before tying between trees. The twists will hold your clothes like clothes pins.

10.  Here is a choice for you to make. One argument goes; wear dark clothing because it dries faster, another says wear light clothing because it is less attractive to bugs. For me, the argument for light colors has won this argument. If hiking in tick country, definitely go with light colored clothing because it is easier to spot these critters. Dry it quickly by laying on dark colored rocks in the sun.

11.  Be sure to tighten the tiny connecting screws on your glasses before leaving home. You can also apply Locktite Threadlocker to prevent the screws from working loose.

Staying Warm or Cool

1. Eat foods with lots of fat content, like a handful of nuts, just before going to bed to keep you warm during the night.
2. Some say put on rain gear in bed if your are really cold. It will act as a vapor barrier. Others argue that it will also keep in moisture and your clothing will chill you in the morning as the moisture evaporates. If you do use a vapor barrier, it should be worn between a base and outer layer..
3. Stop hiking before you are completely exhausted, especially when it is cold and wet.
4. In your sleeping bag, put on a balaclava hat and/or pull the sleeping bag hood up and around your head.
5. You will tend to hunker down into your bag when it is cold. Just don't bury your head in the bag as breathing into the bag will cause it to become wet and loose insulating qualities.
6. If your back is hot and sweaty from your pack, but your front is cold from the wind, wear your jacket in reverse with the back unzipped. Put the jacket on before your pack and the pack will hold it in place.
7. After a day of hiking in cold wet weather, set up camp and change into your dry clothing. Hang the wet clothing up to dry. In the morning put the dry clothing in your pack and change back into yesterday's clothes, even if they are still wet.
8. Rather than take off clothing to keep cool in your sleeping bag, unzip the bag and use it like a quilt. If still warm slide it off part of your body.
9. Air out your sleeping bag daily, especially if on a long hike. Your lunch break is a good time to do this. Drape it over rocks rather than vegetation for best results. Even wrapping it around you as you walk will help if you can't take the time to air it during a break.
10. Carry strike anywhere matches or a metal match, and some tinder, all in a waterproof container, for starting a fire in an emergency. I carry a few feet of jute, that can be cut into smaller lengths, then torn apart, for this purpose.
11. The first week of winter spray your feet three times with an aluminum chlorohydrate antiperspirant. After that, once a week. This will stop 50 to 75 percent of foot wetness which leads to foot coldness.
12. In winter, rub your hands with Hand Sense. This cream was developed by the military to block bad things from penetrating the skin. It will keep your hands dry and consequently warm inside your mittens. Hand Sense: North American Safety Products. 800-589-6536
13. Clothing should be your main protection from the sun. Suntan lotion can interfere with the body's ability to cool itself by blocking perspiration and its subsequent evaporation.
14. In hot weather, walk in the morning and evening and take a long break in the middle of the day. Eat dinner during this break and lunch food in the evening.
15. Soak your head, hat, shirt, or your towel placed under your hat, in lakes and streams to keep cool.
16. In hot weather don't skimp on the salt.

Your Campsite

1. A tent for a single person should not weigh more than 3 lbs. Consider also, a tarp or hammock. You will find excellent information on tarp camping
2. Setting up in wind: Stake down the side of the tent facing the wind first. The entrance to the tent should face away from the wind.
3. Wind not a problem: Face the front of the tent toward the ENE in summer, E in fall and spring, and ESE in winter (where the sun will rise).
4. Setting up in rain: Get out the fly first. Spread it out on the ground. Set up the tent beneath the fly.
5. Most modern tents don't need a ground cloth. If you use one it should be 2" smaller than your tent all the way around. This will prevent rain from channeling under your tent via overhanging ground cloth. You can also place the ground cloth inside your tent.
6. Make the ground cloth for your tent out of an emergency space blanket.You wil have a very light ground cloth and it is available to serve its other purpose. Place it inside your tent.
7. For tarp camping, I have made a Tyvek ground cloth measuring 84" long with varying width's; 32" at the head, 38" at the chest and 24" at the feet. Some hikers add a fold at the bottom to make a pouch for their feet. The pouch protects the bottom of the sleeping bag from splashing raindrops that may enter at the rear of the tarp.
8. Tyvek is that white house wrap you see at construction sites. It is light,  waterproof/breathable, and can be sewn. After cutting a new piece, run it through a cycle in the washing machine. It will come out feeling soft and pliable.
9. Try to find a level camping site. If not possible go for a slight incline with your head uphill., placing his head downhill so that blood does not collect in the feet and lower legs. Better try each and see which suits you.
10. Lay down on the spot you have selected for your tent. While you are there find roots, rocks, pine cones etc. that need to be moved or adjusted for. Do not remove the soft forest litter.
11. Place your ground cloth in position. Lie down on it and mark where your hips and shoulders contact the cloth. Now get off, lift the cloth and dig small depressions for your hips and shoulders. Fill these in when you depart.
12. Use a sleeping bag liner to keep your bag cleaner longer. Don't like liners, then sleep with your clothing on to keep dirt off your bag.
13. Put clothing in your sleeping bag stow sack and use it for your pillow.
14. Don't forget to fluff up your sleeping bag after laying it in your tent.
15. Don't use a compression stuff sack for your sleeping bag and never sit on the bag while it is in its sack. You don't want it to lose any of its loft.
16. If it is cool outside your glasses will fog up when you leave your tent. To prevent this, lay them on your chest for a few minutes before getting up and out.
17. Cut a small square of Tyvek to use as a mat just outside your tent door and to sit on during rest breaks. In winter replace this with a square of closed cell foam.
18. Fire follows you because it follows the vaccuum you create. If you build a short wall of rocks on one side of the fire ring it will go there instead of to you.

 

Kitchen Tips

Planning

1. Make a table with days of your trip across the top and meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) down the side. Fill in the table to show:How many meals of each type are eeded
   The plan for each meal
2. Plan on about 1.5 to 2 lbs./day for food. All of my trips so far have been 7-8 days or less. If I were on a thru-hike I think that my estimate of food weight per day would go up as I considered nutrition over the longer time.
3. Pack olive or canola oil, granola, and nuts for fat, particularly during cold weather. Proteins and carbohydrates are necessary, but alone, will not produce the calories you will need.
4. Since you have saved weight elsewhere in your pack, treat yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
5. Organize your food bags by meal (all lunches in the green bag, dinners in the blue). Carry out (don't burn) all of your plastic bags.
6. All ingredients for a dish go together in one bag and all parts of a meal go together in a larger bag (main dish, dessert, beverage).
7. Carry a separate bag for items that are used for more than one meal (cooking oil, seasonings)
8. Plan on some no-cook meals for those times when you are exhausted or the weather is horrible.
9. Many hikers use zip-loc bags for food storage. I don't. There have been too many times when I've discovered, too late, that I haven't sealed the bag properly. Instead I use simple plastic bags. If I am only going to open the bag once, I tie the top of the bag with a simple overhand knot (not too tight) or, if the bag is long enough I'll tie a slip knot. Untie the knot or cut it off when ready to use the contents of the bag. If I will be re-opening the bag and it is not long enough for a slip knot, I use a short length of Triptease cord (about 8 inches), and secure the bag with a Miller's knot. Okay, I'll admit that I do use zip-locs for things like pudding where I will be mixing and eating from the bag.
10. Label all bags with contents and instructions. Use permanent marker on the outside of the bag or small strips of paper placed in the bag.
11. Get in the habit of saving plastic bags of different sizes that you think will be good for use on future hikes.
12. Instead of bagging, I wrap some of my meals with waxed paper, then when finished with it, I use it as tinder for fire starting.
13. Carry extra instant potato flakes. When you have added too much water to the food you are re-hydrating, drop in some potato flakes as a thickener.

Cooking Gear & Techniques

1. In addition to your 1 or 2 liter water container, carry a wide mouth 2-4 L. Nalgene or Platypus container for water storage in camp.
2. Explore light weight stoves: The Esbit uses solid fuel tabs. The Sierra Zip stove (titanium version) weighs about 10.5 oz. and burns twigs and the Bushbuddy wood stove weighs about 5 oz. There are now a host of internet sites describing home made alcohol stoves.
3. Another cooking alternative is the old fashioned campfire. Build a tripod with three, four foot sticks. Attach a line down from the tripod to the bailing wire on your cook pot where you will tie a taut line hitch. Cook on a very small fire and use the taut line hitch to adjust the height of the pot to about one inch from the flame.
4. Never cook inside a tent because; carbon monoxide, stoves often flare up and tent ceilings are low, stoves tip over, steam creates condensation. All of which is another reason that a tarp is such a great way to go.
5. Consider an extra tarp if there is a group of you camping. It is a nice place to cook and get out of the rain.
6. Short Hikes (1-3) days. An option is to eat only fresh and pre-cooked food, leaving the stove at home.

Water

1. One on the worst and easiest things to do is to become dehydrated. If your urine color is dark, you are not drinking enough water.
2. Camel up in the A.M. Drink at least a liter of water before you leave camp. The idea is to carry water in your belly and not so much on your back. Continue to “camel up” at each water re-supply location.
3. Carry Aquamira or iodine in case your water filter fails. Add vitamin C (100 mg/L) to the treated water to neutralize the iodine taste. Aquamira is a solution of chlorine dioxide. It kills bacteris, viruses, and protozoa, then in about 15 minutes, breaks down into harmless oxygen, water, and tasteless salt .
4. Take Tang, powdered apple juice or any powdered drink to occasionally flavor your water and add electrolytes which you lose while walking. Most of the time, however, drink just water.

Clean Up

1. Clean up consists of adding water to the cook pot, scraping it clean with the spoon, drinking it dry, then wiping with leaves, needles etc. The next time I use it, the boiling water will sterilize it.
2. Leave the scouring pad at home. It will be wet and dirty much of the time and the disease causing microorganisms will love it. I do use one for removing carbon from the outside of my pot.
3. Tooth paste: Use a single drop of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Pure-Castile soap. Toothpaste is like bear candy and they can smell it a long way from your camp.
4. Carry rubbing alcohol in a small squirt bottle for drying out your feet before applying moleskin or duct tape.
5. Hang your food at night to keep bears, chipmunks, mice etc. away. If you food bag is not waterproof, place the bag in a plastic bag in case it rains during the night.

Walking

1. Take a five to ten minute break every hour, eating and drinking during each break. When resting, lay down and elevate your feet above your heart. Take off your shoes and change your socks.
2. When leaving a campsite or a rest stop, walk a few yards away from the site, then stop and look back for items that you may have left behind.
3. Use alligator clips to hang wet socks from your pack as you hike. They will dry out so you can change into dry socks a couple of times during your hiking day. Attach these clips to a shower curtain clip and attach it to your pack. Now those alligator clips are always handy.
4. Walk at a leisurely pace that you know you can keep up all day. Relax and stay in tune with nature as you walk. Remember you are doing this for the journey, not the destination.
5. On ascents, lace your boots loosely around the ankles to allow plenty of movement. On downhills, avoid toe jams by seating heels in the backs of the boots and tying laces tightly around the ankles but loosely at the toes.
6. Gaiters keep debris and rain out of your boots, but the commercial kind retail moisture. Try making your own by cutting a slit along the center and bottom of nylon socks from just behind the toe to just in front of the heal. Punch small holes along the sides of the socks and attach a line that runs across the sole of your boot at the instep. The socks will stretch enough to slide this line off your boot when removing the gaiters. Put the socks on and pull them up your leg a bit. Put your boots on, slide the socks down over them and attach the line at your instep.The front of the sock will fit over your boot's toe or you can cut off the front section.
7. Try Trekking Poles: they reduce the wear and tear on your knees and enable your upper body to participate in the hike.
8. To save internal water breath through your nose instead of your mouth. Walk at a pace that allows you to not sweat profusely.
9. If you are 100% certain of your next water supply, carry just enough water to get you there.
10. Water weighs 2 lbs./quart and is much more important to your survival than food. So plan your water supply carefully.
11. Filter all water on the trail unless it is coming directly out of a natural spring.
12. A one liter nalgene container weighs up to 6 oz. before you add water. A one liter Platypus bladder weighs about 3/4 oz. which is why I carry my water in them. One liter soda bottles are also lightweight.
13. Use a drinking tube clipped to a shoulder strap to drink from while hiking. You will be more inclined to drink enough during the day.
14. Carry a mixture of baking powder and baby powder and apply it to appropriate places a couple of times a day. Some people experience chafing, in their arm pits as they swing their arms all day, and in the crotch.
15. To prevent leaving behind gear always leave a pocket open until all items taken from it are returned.
16. Bugs: I don't like to use Deet (it dissolves plastic so what is it doing to my body). Try other things first; wearing light colored clothing, taking a head net, putting on long pants and shirt, selecting campsites that are high, dry, and breezy. On the other hand Deet does have a good safety record and millions of people die every year from mosquito carried diseases.
17. Spray your clothing with Permethrin (available at REI and other stores). This stuff repels and kills ticks and mosquitoes. Follow the directions on the container for application and use.

Etiquette

1. Never sweep away debris at your tent site with your feet. Get down on all fours and pick up the pine cones etc.
2. Digging trenches around your tent is out.
3. Practice "leave no trace". If there is an established fire pit, use it. If there isn't one and you build a fire, be sure to remove all trace of it before you leave.
4. Don't wash with soap, biodegradable or not, while standing in a stream or lake. Fill a pan with water and wash well away from the body of water.
5. What to do with solid wastes? The recommendations keep changing. You definitely should bury it and the most recent recommendation that I have read is that toilet paper should be carried out. You can burn it in your next campfire. I use paper towel instead of toilet paper. Cut each towel in six equal parts. You can better estimate how many you will need and I think they are less messy.
6. Make an ultra-light backpackers trowel for burying solid waste. Mine weighs .9 oz and doubles as a tent stake. Cut a 7" X 3/4" piece of aluminum channel stock. With a file, place knotches about an inch from one end and sharpen the other end to a dull rounded point.
7. You may burn waste paper but plastic must be carried out.

Taking Care of Your Feet

 

1. Carry a small hard rubber ball and roll your bare tired feet over it at rest breaks.
2. If you feet are dry and cracks begin appearing (as happens sometimes when wearing sandals for long periods), use a skin moisturizer several times a day. Some people use Bagbalm (bagbalm.com) or Utterly Smooth (uttercream.com) which, as you may have guessed, are products normally used on cow utters.
3. Carry duct tape and apply it to a hot spot as soon as you feel it while hiking. The tape made of cloth works best. Athletic tape works also.
4. Try different socks. For me, switching to Smartwool socks when wearing hiking boots made all the difference.
5. Be creative when lacing your boots. With my last pair of boots, I found that if I didn't' lace the bottom two islets my toes had a little more needed room.
6. If your going to have to hike for a while, the surest way to get relief may be to take a knife to your boots or trail shoes. Cut out the part that is causing the pain.
7. When taking a rest break, take off your shoes and socks and let your feet air out. Also, rub your feet with alcohol and elevate them to reduce swelling.
8. Colin Fletcher rubs his feet daily with alcohol to toughen them before going on a long hike. At the least this would dry them and discourage bacterial and fungal growth, which softens skin.
9. The test results are in and rubbing the feet with deodorant has been shown to prevent blisters, apparently by shutting down the sweat glands in your feet. Do it daily for three or four days before the hike. Rub everywhere except the tops of your feet, which are more sensitive.
10. Also at that rest break, if your socks are wet, change into a dry pair and hang the socks that you have removed from your feet on your pack to dry as you walk.
11. If you usually get a blister in a certain place, apply duct tape, athletic tape, or Compeed to that spot before you start your hike.
12. Wrap duct tape around your trekking poles so it is always readily available. Wrap it just below the handles.
13. Sometimes Vaseline applied ahead of time, will prevent blisters.
14. Make sure your boots fit. Try on boots in the afternoon as your feet swell as the day wears on.You should have 1/4-1/2 inch of room at the end of your toes. If in doubt opt for a larger size.
15. Buying a larger size means a wider boot, not a longer boot. New Balance Trail Running Shoes come in all the widths up to EE.
16. Compeed Skin Protector is a special cushion for preventing and/or healing blisters. There are other brands such as Band-Aid Blister Block. Look for a product featuring Compeed moisture seal technology. It is very easy to apply, and, because it breaths, it does not have to be removed for the several days that the blister is healing.
17. If you have a painful blister, clean it and lance it near the bottom with a sterilized needle. Apply a little tincture of Benzoin which will help later dressings to adhere to your skin. Then either apply a compeed strip or if using moleskin, cut a hole in the piece of moleskin that is just larger than the blister. Place the moleskin on the blister to create a pressure free pocket for the blister. Next apply a small circle of Spenco 2nd Skin directly on the blister. Cover it with a second piece of moleskin and secure it in place with strips of medical tape or duct tape. I remove all this at night and recreate it in the morning. With Compeed this is not necessary.
18. When making moleskin or duct-tape patches, round the corners to discourage peeling.