5 Backpacking “Tricks” to Use

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Backpacking and hiking can be difficult – not only on your body and your feet, but also on your mind when you’re sick and tired of moving. Thankfully, being in the outdoors doesn’t have to always be so uncomfortable – or so tricky. Here are five backpacking “tricks” you can use to enhance and improve your experience.

1. Bring rain gear.

Rain gear is simple and lightweight – all you need is something water-resistant just in case it rains. For many people, this might be packing a poncho, but anything that is water-resistant and lightweight should work well. You don’t want to get caught in the rain and have all of your stuff soak through – remember to cover your backpack or fanny pack as well. Keep a close eye on the weather forecasts to help you prepare for rain, but always be ready in case the weather unexpectedly goes from sunny to rainy quickly.

2. Bring Gold Bond Medicated Powder.

This can do wonders for the feet and will help you lift your spirits after a tough time out on the trail. If you’ve been hiking or backpacking a while, you’ll know the need to treat your feet well – they’ll be doing much of the work on your journey. The better you treat them, the better you’ll feel overall.

3. Don’t over-pack when you put food in your bag.

Many people want to cover themselves for emergencies, but they also add weight when they do this. A rule of thumb is to keep your backpack under 40 pounds. If you’ve been a backpacker for quite a while and notice how you always bring home extra food, it might be wiser to take other emergency supplies like first aid or water instead.

4. Go on trial backpacking trips to make adjustments.

You may think it’s great to bring a miniature coffee grinder with you on a backpacking trip, but you also might find that the device simply doesn’t work as well when you’re using it in the wild. These are the sort of things that only experience can teach you, so build that experience by going on short hikes and seeing how you fare. Cut out what you don’t need and emphasize what works out there. Keep track of what you’ll need to improve before you head out the next time.

5. Bring a compass.

You may think your sense of direction is keen, but if you get a good compass and know how to use it, you’ll want to make sure that you’re actually being accurate. A compass will tell you where you can head; bring a map along with you as well so that you know which directions will take you where.

Photo Credits: pfly