Three Steps for Packing Your Backpack

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Unbeknownst to casual or first-time hikers, the weight and quality of your backpack – not to mention what it contains – can be one of the most important predictors as to whether or not you’ll have a good time hiking. Why is this? Because backpacks that are too heavy or drag on the shoulders will wear you down, making you expend more energy than you need to and ultimately making it an uncomfortable experience. Here are three steps for packing your backpack in a way that won’t slow you down.

#1. First, make sure you have a decent backpack.

For the hiker, the backpack is the best “expense” to take an opportunity to really splurge on something of high quality. Backpacks with steel frames that rest on your back, distributing the weight of their contents can be highly helpful, and it might feel like you’ve got some extra support from somewhere as you carry it. A simply school backpack that only drags on your shoulders, pulling them tight and hurting them, simply won’t do here. If you’re going to overspend at any point here, spend more money on quality on a backpack.

#2. Plan in advance.

Planning in advance to fill your backpack with the essentials will help you make sure you cover your bases. Do a mental walkthrough of your planned hike and ask yourself what you feel like you’ll need. A cell phone or not? How much water? Some emergency food, or a meal? Depending on the length and quality of your hike, these answers will be different for everyone.

Planning in advance will also help you to pack more tightly, as you’ll be able to fit items better if you plan them out rather than simply “stuffing them in.” Stuffing them in will lead to an uneven weight distribution and will drag you down while you’re out on the hiking trail.

#3. Review and remove.

The key is to pack as light as you can, while not sacrificing any of the materials you know you’ll need. Water is kind of heavy, so that might be a necessary evil for you (unless you carry your own water filters). Do you want navigating electronics, or can you do without the technology? Review what you’ve got, try out your backpack and see how heavy it is. Try not to imagine how heavy it is now, but how heavy it will be after an hour of hiking. What can you afford to lose? These are important questions to consider – the key is to do most of the preparation and thinking before you take your hike so that later you don’t have to.

Photo Credits: richardmasoner

Five Distinct Fishing Techniques

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

If you’ve ever taken your child out swimming and haven’t been sure about what kind of techniques to teach, don’t worry: you’re not alone. Many of us who would like to consider ourselves fun-loving and adventurous are willing to go out on a fishing trip, but how often do we really know what to do to actually catch the fish? In this article, we’ll take a look at five distinct fishing techniques that you can employ to actually look like a professional.

Doodling

Doodling is essentially a fishing technique that relies on using the worm as your chief type of bait. This will probably work better on the smaller fish that congregate toward this type of food, so keep that in mind. Doodling will entail using your worm by shaking your rod after dipping it in the water, then waiting a good half a minute for fish to approach your hook. After that, you can give your rod another shake and try to draw it around a bit.

Night Fishing

Night fishing usually emphasizes hunting the bass that tend to be interested in what you have during this time of the day. If you’re going to be night fishing, you have to make sure that you have all of the proper equipment and know all of the local ordinances involved.

Casting

When you’re fishing, casting is one of the most fundamental techniques you use in order to get your hook into deeper waters, plunging your hook into an undisturbed area of the lake or stream you’re fishing in. Overhand, underhand, and sidearm casts are different ways you can try to cast with greater efficiency – just make sure to stick with one technique to really get it down pat.

“Playing the Fish”

Playing the fish is a term that refers to what you do with a fish once it appears you’ve actually lured it into a bite. This will typically entail a quick jerk to “set the hook” into the fish’s flesh, followed by setting the “drag” on your rod to prevent the line breaking.

Flipping/Pitching

The “pitch” is a type of cast that causes very little disturbance to the water – instead of flicking your rod in order to send the hook out deeper into the lake or stream, you simply let the button loose and drop the line manually into the water, giving you a more stealthy way to pursue your fish.

These are just five things to keep in mind when you’re out fishing – remember that any one technique will take a bit of practice before you get it down to an art, particularly if you’re a beginning. The more you learn and the more experience you gain, however, the better you’ll understand which technique to employ and why.

Photo Credits: nugun