The Correct Clothing For Backpacking

 Backpacking is an awesome experience, and I enjoy it a lot, I suspect you have guessed that already if you read my blog. :) I am absolutely in love with nature, and I love going out there and seeing it, experiencing it first hand.

 However there is nothing that can spoil a great backpacking trip like bad clothing. If you are not wearing the right clothes, you might suffer from bruises and blisters, not to mention that you might catch a cold. The key to proper clothing on a backpacking trip is planning, and knowing your destination. You need to be aware of what the climate is like in the place you go to, and what the vegetation is like. If the forest you are going to has plenty of grass and bushes, you should not wear shorts, however you can easily wear them in pine forests, which don't have bushes. The problem with shorts is that your legs might get bruised, so wear them only if you are very familiar with your destination.

Source: Wikipedia

 You are going to need something for your head. This is where knowing your destination comes in. If you are going backpacking in a hot area, a baseball cap will do, but if you are hiking in a colder area, use a bonnet. The reason why you need something for your head is that it protects you against the strong sunlight, and it also prevents ticks from attaching themselves to your head. Ticks are one of the most dangerous creatures you are going to encounter while backpacking. Ticks transmit diseases because they feed on blood. Some studies show that more than fifty percent of ticks are infected with some kind of disease. The most dangerous disease you can get infected with by ticks is the Lyme disease, you should do everything you can to avoid these creatures.

 The most crucial part of your clothing for a backpacking trip is going to be your boots. You need to cover a lot of ground during a trip, having comfortable and healthy boots is an absolute must. The best boots are lightweight and waterproof at the same time. They must have a thick bottom, otherwise the sharp rocks might pierce through them and damage your feet. They must be waterproof otherwise one short rain might ruin your whole backpacking trip. Imagine getting caught by a rain and having to hike in boots soaked with water for the whole duration of the trip. Not only does it sound like a nightmare scenario, but it would be unhealthy as well. Germs live in warm and wet places, they would flourish inside a wet boot.

 A heavy boot would put considerable demands on your knees. Imagine carrying around two blocks of concrete on your feet for a whole day. That is what it feels like to wear heavy hiking boots. This not only makes the backpacking trip a hassle, but it also damages your knee joints and ligaments. I like to wear running socks inside my boots. They are the most durable and comfortable socks I know, and they provide the most protection for your feet during a long trip. Running socks are also excellent at keeping your feet dry as they have mesh parts that allow your feet to breathe.

 You should get a waterproof jacket or wind jacket as well. This is also for remaining dry even during your backpacking trips. It ensures that you are going to be able to carry on dry after it starts raining.

How to Reduce the Weight of a Tent

There are many backpacking tents that would be perfect if not for their huge weight. You want your backpacking tent to be as light as possible, because you are the one who has to carry it around all the time, so you will need to carry the tent with you wherever you might go.

Unfortunately many features that make a backpacking tent really good add to the weight of the tent. We want our tent to have double vestibules, double doors, and as many guyouts as possible. Multiple doors mean that we can get into and out of the tent easily. Multiple vestibules mean that you will have more space to store your gear, or maybe sit down to take off your muddy clothes, not to mention that you can do all kinds of stuff in a vestibule, cooking is just one of them. Having more guyouts contributes a lot to the stability of the tent. The more guyouts the tent has, the more durable the tent will be, and the more durable it will be in heavy wind.

Unfortunately these features all add to the weight of the tent. But don't worry, there is a way to reduce the weight of your backpacking tent. The manufacturers are looking to keep their costs low, so they might not use the lightest materials, but the cheapest materials. This presents a great opportunity for backpackers to reduce the weight of their tents.

First thing's first, the heaviest pieces of the tents are the stakes. The stakes can be made of stainless steel, or ferrum. The trick is to substitute stainless steel or other metal stakes with aluminium stakes. Aluminiums is a really great material for poles, because it is durable, and it is hard enough to pierce into the ground. Some manufacturers produce stakes made of plastic. However you should stay away from these. They are not solid enough, and can easily break, not to mention that you can't stake them into the ground if there are rocks or stones in the ground.

Another item that adds a lot of weight to the tent is the tarp. The best way for this is to buy a tent that has a great design, so that you don't need an additional tarp. A tarp is needed if either the rainfly doesn't provide enough cover against the rain, or the ground floor is not thick enough to not be damaged by the ground or if the tarp is not water resistant, so the liquid might pour into the tent.

The best way to keep the weight of the tent low is to buy a light tent in the first place. I know that it is infuriating to read this, but the best way to deal with a problem is to not have the problem in the first place. Many tent manufacturers provide great, lightweight tents. For example Kelty has built a reputation of manufacturing lightweight, but durable and great tents.

The way to minimize the weight of your tent is to buy a lightweight tent, and then replace all the pieces with other, lighter pieces. This might mean that you have to invest a few dollars extra, but you will save a lot of energy by not having to carry all that weight around.

Frequent Mistakes People Make When They Waterproof a Tent

 Most backpackers have to get a waterproof tent at one time or another. They are camping time after time, the weather is nice, everything is going fine, until one time it starts raining and even though the backpacker runs into the tent, he or she gets soaked with water, and the whole trip is ruined. Then the backpacker goes out and buys a backpacking tent. Then he or she uses it happily and successfully for years, before it all goes wrong because the waterproof coating, the seam sealer, wears off and the waterproof fly starts to wear out. Then the backpacker needs to face a serious decision. Either buy a new tent, or try to make my existing tent waterproof again.

In this article I am going to focus on the second possibility. What do you need exactly to make a tent waterproof, and what are the tips that you have to know to have maximum results.

First of all, if your rainfly has holes in them, you can saw the holes together. However if you saw a lot of holes together the fly might become too little, and might not cover the whole tent. This would make the tent not water resistant, as one layer is not enough to stand in the way of rainwater in my opinion. If you need a new rainfly, you can buy one from most tents from the manufacturer, but if you can't, you can put a tarp on the tent to make it waterproof again.

If the wall or the floor of the tent lets water in you should apply a waterproof spray to the tent. You have to spray the liquid onto the tent and wait a bit in order for it to achieve its maximum effect. You only need to wait for 45 minutes up to a maximum of an hour, and then you should grab a piece of cloth and distribute the liquid all over the wall of the tent. You can apply the waterproofing spray on the outer wall as well, it will help if the only problem that the outer wall has is that the waterproof coating wore off the tent.

A seam sealer is also a vital device in waterproofing a tent. It serves as a material that you can apply to the area where the rainfly and the floor meet, where they are sewn together. Some seams are factory sealed, which means that the manufacturer of the tent put a small piece of material between the wall of the tent and the floor, and applied double stitching to it. This little piece won't make the seam completely waterproof, unfortunately a little water might pour into the tent through the seams. If you apply a seam sealer, you won't have such problems though.

How can you find out if your attempts to waterproof the tent were successful? For example you set up the tent, hose it down, and then look inside to find out if any water got in or not. But the easiest way to find out if the tent is waterproof is to try it out in the wild. If the hosing test worked, then you should be alright when the real rain comes.

Points on Hiking Etiquette

 I suspect that you love hiking if you are reading this. You love going out there, walking, observing the beauty of nature, and just taking it all in. All the energy that you get from being out there fills up your body, and you feel alive again. However there are some people who still manage to make hiking a less than pleasant experience. I would like to address some behaviors that I have come across, and I had to deal with throughout my hikes that absolutely drove me crazy.

Be silent

This is probably what drives me crazy the most. People that go around thinking that they if they just walk around on the trails, shouting all kinds of things, they will not affect the comfort of other people. This is a lie. Other people are on the trail, and they want to enjoy being out there as well. Please do not make more noise than it is necessary. I don't want you to be absolutely silent, not talking to each other, but I have problems with people listening to loud music on the trail. Why did you even go out into the wild if you want to listen to David Guetta instead of birds and the sounds of nature. It is not even a problem if you want to listen to music, but please use headphones.

Don't throw away your trash

Seriously, do I have to still write about this issue in 2014? I understand that there are no trashcans on most trails, but it is not a big ask of you to put away your trash into your backpack. You can then throw your trash out when you get home, or you arrive at a gas station or at a trash bin upon returning to the city.

Leaving your trash on the trail can ruin the experience of other hikers because it looks bad, and it reminds them that other people are on the trail and they are not alone. The garbage can also destroy the wildlife of the areas. Small critters or birds might get trapped in the garbage, or the wild animals might start eating the garbage. This can have two results. Either the animal will die because it can't consume the trash and it destroys the interiors of the animal, or the animal can get hooked on garbage, and it might refuse to consume its previous foods. This can lead to the breakdown of the local food chain.

Keep your dog on a leash

A strain dog can be annoying to all of us. If you have a dog free, without a leash it will run around the forest, and scare the hell out of other hikers. Even if it means no harm a dog running at you at full speed and jumping on you can scare the hell out of you. I don't even care that much if you don't have your dog on a leash, but you have to train it then. You have to make sure that the dog is respectful to other hikers, stays by your side all the time, so that everyone can enjoy the experience that nature provides.

Conclusion

Nature and wildlife are resources that belong to all of us. But we can enjoy it to its full extent only if we let each other do so. Be respectful, make sure that you are not annoying other people, and everyone will be a lot better off. If you want to read more about hiking etiquette, you can do so here.

My Aims for Cycling in the Summer

Spring is here, the weather is nicer than ever, and people are going outside to pass the time with activities. I have recently decided to bring my bicycle to the bicycle repair shop and invest a bit in my bike. The reason why I decided to do so is because I want to go to work on my bicycle every morning. This will allow me to build up a bit of stamina and lose weight. This will be a must for me because I want to go on a bicycle trip during the summer. 

I have shared a few posts recently about my summer plans. I wanted to go on a backpacking and fishing trip, and I still do, however the recent upsurge in cycling made me reconsider my plans. I will need some kind of transportation in order to go from one fishing spot to the next, so using a bike for that is a valid option.

So what kind of bike will I need? I am going to need a cross-country bicycle, one that has wide enough tires so that I will be able to ride it in the countryside. I am going to need a thick yet light skeleton so that it will be able to carry all the weight of me and my gear.

I am going to need to side baskets on the sides on the back of my bike. That will be invaluable when it comes to carrying my gear, and making sure that I will be able to carry everything I need. I am prone to taking too much gear with myself on my trips, so it wouldn't be a surprise if I would pack those baskets full.

I am going to need lights as well. I might have to travel during the night if I don't reach my destination during the day, and I like to plan for all circumstances anyway, so I will need to take lights and extra batteries with myself.

A bicycle trip means that I will have to take more clothes with me. Layered clothing is a must when you try to ride a bike. The cold wind can cool down your body, which can eventually lead to bad muscle injuries.

I am going to need to research my future route. I will have to check out the route first on Google maps, than I am going to go through the smaller parts of the routes weekend-by-weekend doing one little bit every week. This is crucial, because so many times I though that I am going to find a road somewhere, but when I arrived at the place, I had to find out that the plants have grown over the route, and there is no way I was able to get through it. I had to make a U-turn, and make a huge extra circle. It was very unpleasant, and it messed with the timetable of my whole trip. It was a very unpleasant experience, and I would rather go through the whole trip first than experience it again.

When I went through the whole trip I am going to make a more detailed training plan. I will decide how much training I am going to do on slopes, and how much I will have to train all in all.

Stay alert for more updates coming in the future. I am sure I am not going to make any changes to my plan after this. A backpacking, fishing and cycling trip sounds hard enough, and I honestly can't think of any ways I could make it harder. Alright, if I would make it a jogging trip instead of a cycling trip, but I don't want to give myself any ideas.