while out on the trail your hiking boots will be your best friend and your worst enemy. if there is one thing that i recommend you spend money on its your boots. you really want a pair that are going to fit and last while out there. also before you buy boots i would do a little research. go to some blogs and journals from other hikers and see what they're wearing. when i was buying my boots i looked at come of the blogs on trailjournals.com and picked about four pairs that i liked and wanted to research them further. i went to the makers websites and some read some reviews and then went and tried them on at stores.
i managed to find a great pair of boots that are light weight and durable. i would recommend going with a pair of Merrell boots, they're comfortable and fairly reasonable in price. boots are an important thing so really need to do your homework and find the right ones for you.
my cousin made this mistake and borrowed a pair of boots instead of buying her own. she was definitely regretting by the second day out. she had a massive blister on one foot and a smaller one on the other. she wont be making that mistake again.
boots are an essential when out backpacking or even just hiking. your feet are important and if something happens then you might get stuck in the woods for a bit longer than planned. so take the time research your boots and find ones that fit. wait for the sales so you don't have to spend your entire savings on them.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
tip #2: list of priorities
going along with being able to pack your pack, you have to be able to know what you consider to be the most important things while out on the trail. everyone is different and it dictates what makes the final cut in your pack and what you'll be willing to spend the money on. for me there's 3 major must-haves while I'm out there: sleeping comfortably, food prep quick and having clean water for drinking and cooking.
sleeping comfortably is a big thing for me out there. think of it this way, you've been walking all day with weight on your back up and down mountains and when you finally make it to camp you have to sleep on rocks, hard packed dirt or a wood plank if you're lucky enough to get in a shelter. so personally I would rather carry a bit more weight and spend a bit more money to get a good warm sleeping bag and self-inflating pad to go underneath. personally I like the Big Agnes bags and the Thermarest pads. the sleeping bags are majorly warm and fairly reasonably priced. also they have female specific bags that generate more heat in certain areas that women need it most. a drawback to these bags though is that most of them have a slot on the bottom of the bag to put a sleeping pad into, which sounds great but they also don't have insulation on the bottom either. so with out getting a pad you're going to be pretty cold lying on the ground especially if it's like 20 degrees outside. the Thermarest pads have been around for a while and are great for backpacking. they are usually self-inflating pads and they come in all different sizes. they making sleeping on hard floors much more bearable.
being able to prepare my food quickly is also kind of an essential for me. its not necessarily what I'm eating but more how quickly I can get it ready to eat. while out there most backpackers use freeze-dried foods that needs to be rehydrated. there's nothing worse than being starving and having to wait for 8 minutes to get your water to boil, which could take longer depending on how cold it is outside or what kind of stove you have. I have seen a lot of different stoves in use out on the trail and the one that struck me as a good match for me was a Jetboil. it can boil 2 cups of water, which is the normal amount going into freeze-dried food packets, in just about 2 minutes. it's a little expensive, running at around $100 or more, but in my eyes it's totally worth it.
having clean water I think is a must for anyone going out on the trail so it's no surprise that it would be on my list too. there's lots of ways you can purify your water on the trail. I use a charcoal pump filter that basically pumps the water up one tube, through a filter and into my water bottles. I must say that the fresh filtered water actually tastes a lot better than the bottled water I get at home. some other ways to filter your water is to use a UV light that will kill any bacteria and germs floating around in it and there's some other types of filters that do the same thing as my filter but they use a different type of filter or they're an automatic pump. the UV lights seem to be the most popular I think mostly because they are so light and small to carry. I've seen a lot of people using them and I'm sure they work but I'm more of a visual person and being able to see the water traveling through the filter is kind of reassuring to me. my filter may be a bit heavier but I'm willing to carry the few extra ounces to keep my piece of mind.
so as you go out and explore the woods you kind of figure out what's really important for well being and piece of mind. everyone has different priorities and you can decide for yourself what your willing to spend some extra money on or what's important enough to carry a little extra weight. so once you decide that it makes purchasing and packing a bit more manageable.
sleeping comfortably is a big thing for me out there. think of it this way, you've been walking all day with weight on your back up and down mountains and when you finally make it to camp you have to sleep on rocks, hard packed dirt or a wood plank if you're lucky enough to get in a shelter. so personally I would rather carry a bit more weight and spend a bit more money to get a good warm sleeping bag and self-inflating pad to go underneath. personally I like the Big Agnes bags and the Thermarest pads. the sleeping bags are majorly warm and fairly reasonably priced. also they have female specific bags that generate more heat in certain areas that women need it most. a drawback to these bags though is that most of them have a slot on the bottom of the bag to put a sleeping pad into, which sounds great but they also don't have insulation on the bottom either. so with out getting a pad you're going to be pretty cold lying on the ground especially if it's like 20 degrees outside. the Thermarest pads have been around for a while and are great for backpacking. they are usually self-inflating pads and they come in all different sizes. they making sleeping on hard floors much more bearable.
being able to prepare my food quickly is also kind of an essential for me. its not necessarily what I'm eating but more how quickly I can get it ready to eat. while out there most backpackers use freeze-dried foods that needs to be rehydrated. there's nothing worse than being starving and having to wait for 8 minutes to get your water to boil, which could take longer depending on how cold it is outside or what kind of stove you have. I have seen a lot of different stoves in use out on the trail and the one that struck me as a good match for me was a Jetboil. it can boil 2 cups of water, which is the normal amount going into freeze-dried food packets, in just about 2 minutes. it's a little expensive, running at around $100 or more, but in my eyes it's totally worth it.
having clean water I think is a must for anyone going out on the trail so it's no surprise that it would be on my list too. there's lots of ways you can purify your water on the trail. I use a charcoal pump filter that basically pumps the water up one tube, through a filter and into my water bottles. I must say that the fresh filtered water actually tastes a lot better than the bottled water I get at home. some other ways to filter your water is to use a UV light that will kill any bacteria and germs floating around in it and there's some other types of filters that do the same thing as my filter but they use a different type of filter or they're an automatic pump. the UV lights seem to be the most popular I think mostly because they are so light and small to carry. I've seen a lot of people using them and I'm sure they work but I'm more of a visual person and being able to see the water traveling through the filter is kind of reassuring to me. my filter may be a bit heavier but I'm willing to carry the few extra ounces to keep my piece of mind.
so as you go out and explore the woods you kind of figure out what's really important for well being and piece of mind. everyone has different priorities and you can decide for yourself what your willing to spend some extra money on or what's important enough to carry a little extra weight. so once you decide that it makes purchasing and packing a bit more manageable.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
tip #1: packing your pack
so this was probably the first little lesson I learned while out on the trail. obviously I had never been backpacking before so I really didn't know what would be the best way to pack my pack. I had to consider things like how much food I would need, how many clothes will last me the whole trip, and all while keeping a running tally of how much weight I'll be carrying on my back. so to help me with all this I had my mother. don't get me wrong I love her to death but there are just somethings I should just do myself. I ended up with about 2 weeks worth of snacks, way too many clothes and, as my uncle would say, everything but the kitchen sink. you name it I had it. I only went out for 3 days and wound up carrying 45 pounds in my backpack. to put that in perspective, my uncle who is about 4 inches taller and 75 pounds heavier, was only carrying around 33 pounds. to say the least my shoulders and back were killing me by the end of the trip.
when I got home that weekend I did some serious downsizing. I took out the majority of the food I brought and really thought about what I actually ate while out there. the clothes I brought down a bit too, realizing I ended up wearing the same stuff and only changing the essentials, and all girls should know exactly what essentials I'm speaking of. I found I reused a lot of stuff and a lot of the stuff I didn't use got taken out. I kept things like rain gear and my first aid kit and got rid of the giant roll of duct tape my mother promised was light and a good thing to take. which duct tape is always good but definitely not light.
in the end, by my next trip I had downsized my pack to about 30 pounds. what I do now is when I'm finished packing and back home I take everything out and transfer it straight to a bin. this way I can keep track of it all and I know I'm not adding weight or forgetting anything I need. so my tip here is take a couple days to seriously think about all the things you need before going out. never let someone else pack your pack either. this may take a few trips out and finding out what a good weight is for you to carry. one of the best tips I got was if you take something out three times and never use it then you probably don't need it.
when I got home that weekend I did some serious downsizing. I took out the majority of the food I brought and really thought about what I actually ate while out there. the clothes I brought down a bit too, realizing I ended up wearing the same stuff and only changing the essentials, and all girls should know exactly what essentials I'm speaking of. I found I reused a lot of stuff and a lot of the stuff I didn't use got taken out. I kept things like rain gear and my first aid kit and got rid of the giant roll of duct tape my mother promised was light and a good thing to take. which duct tape is always good but definitely not light.
in the end, by my next trip I had downsized my pack to about 30 pounds. what I do now is when I'm finished packing and back home I take everything out and transfer it straight to a bin. this way I can keep track of it all and I know I'm not adding weight or forgetting anything I need. so my tip here is take a couple days to seriously think about all the things you need before going out. never let someone else pack your pack either. this may take a few trips out and finding out what a good weight is for you to carry. one of the best tips I got was if you take something out three times and never use it then you probably don't need it.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Idea behind the action
well, I'd like to start by saying that I am no expert at backpacking. I've been camping since I was a kid and I just started backpacking this past spring. although I haven't been doing it forever, I have learned a few things. I didn't want to start this under false pretenses and make it seem as though I am telling you how to do it. I just wanted to give those interested, some tips and tricks I've learned that might make life easier while living in the woods.
I started this adventure literally knowing nothing about backpacking. my uncle asked me to join him backpacking the AT and I agreed. I did some research online and read a few different blogs from people who have done it before. they had some great ideas and it did help me get more of an idea of what I was getting myself into. I would definitely recommend reading real peoples blogs and internet journals before going out. there's a great website www.trailjournals.com that has great stuff and is written mostly by people currently on the trail.
I've always loved the idea of being in the woods and to get an opportunity to really challenge myself out there was great. I realize more of my strength every time I go out and it has boosted my confidence enormously. it feels good knowing I could step out in the woods on any given day and be able to survive on the little I could carry. if your a woodsy kind of person this might just be the challenge that really brings the woods alive for you.
I started this adventure literally knowing nothing about backpacking. my uncle asked me to join him backpacking the AT and I agreed. I did some research online and read a few different blogs from people who have done it before. they had some great ideas and it did help me get more of an idea of what I was getting myself into. I would definitely recommend reading real peoples blogs and internet journals before going out. there's a great website www.trailjournals.com that has great stuff and is written mostly by people currently on the trail.
I've always loved the idea of being in the woods and to get an opportunity to really challenge myself out there was great. I realize more of my strength every time I go out and it has boosted my confidence enormously. it feels good knowing I could step out in the woods on any given day and be able to survive on the little I could carry. if your a woodsy kind of person this might just be the challenge that really brings the woods alive for you.
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