Good Backpacking Habits To Develop

The following backpacking habits will make your wilderness hiking easier and safer. It is true that a better sleeping bag can keep you a bit warmer, or that a cell phone or GPS unit makes a trip safer. On the other hand, the things you regularly do while on the trail can be just as crucial.

1. Plan For Water

Becoming dehydrated is always a possibility when backpacking. In hot weather this is an obvious danger, but it can even lead to hypothermia when it is cold (our bodies need enough fluids to properly heat themselves). Careful planning means you never get the point of being thirsty when far from a stream or other source of water.

Make it a habit to carry two water bottles. Here's another good backpacking habit to develop: Each time come to a water source with a water bottle less than half full, finish it off and fill it up. If using a water treatment like iodine, you'll still have the other bottle full while it does its job. When you know you'll be hiking a long stretch to the next water supply, drink up and fill both water bottles if you can. Starting each trip fully hydrated is another good habit. And watch your urine too. Except when you're taking vitamin pills it will usually be bright yellow only when you're getting dehydrated.

2. Pay Attention To The Weather

Watch the weather reports before you go backpacking. The forecast for anywhere in the world is now available on the internet. Look at that sky from time to time, and be aware of any changes in it. Lightning almost every afternoon is common in some mountain areas, for example, so if the trail you're hiking is heading up high and you see the clouds forming, you may want to wait until after the storms to go further.

Habitually observe the skies in the direction where the weather is coming from. Also watch where the stream source are. If the streams you're crossing are fed by the mountains to the east, and you see heavy rain clouds there, you might soon have raging torrents to cross. Learn a few things about weather prediction too. For example, if you see the whole sky clearing out at sunset, you may be in for a cold night, and there may be frost in the morning.

3. Take Care Of Your Feet

Foot problems are not always just painful inconveniences when you're far away from civilization. They can slow your backpacking trip to the point where food runs short. Obviously it's good to know how to treat a blister or trench foot, but good backpacking habits can prevent these in the first place.

Stop several times daily to air out your feet. Remove your shoes and socks and set them in the sun while you rest. You might also pull out your insoles if they're removable. Put your feet in a cold stream for a minute if they're hot, but dry them before putting the shoes on again. Switch socks as necessary, and let the damp pair hang from the pack to dry as you hike. "Hot spots" should be covered with moleskin before they become blisters. Such regular attention to your feet can be time consuming, but it also allows you to travel more miles without problems.

4. Turn Off Cell Phones

Fully charge your cell phone before you leave, and then turn it off. Your main reason to bring it should be safety - to have a way to call for help, so preserve the batteries just in case that's necessary. Besides, it's no fun to hear the phone ringing in the wilderness.

5. Use Your GPS Correctly

Put fresh batteries in your GPS before every trip (if you have one). "Mark" your car or the trail head just before you hit the trail, so the GPS can guide you right back to the vehicle in an emergency. Knowing your coordinates alone doesn't help much at all if you have no "landmarks" entered.

6. Leave An Itinerary

This is one of the most important backpacking habits, as far as safety goes. Let someone you trust know where you will be and when you expect to return. If you then run into trouble and all else fails, help will be sent out to look for you eventually. But be sure to notify that person when you do return, so they don't think you're lost out there still.

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