Backpacking involves a high degree of independence when you are in the wild.
With hikers making up for their lack of supplies with more specialized wilderness knowledge, learning such a set of skills is a must! It is important to take note that many other hikers and backpackers share similar abilities and learning them requires greater dedication for most of us.
Here are some of the essential skills you must know before heading out there.
PLAN AHEAD
Planning is the most crucial step in any backpacking trip since it determines the environmental circumstances you'll encounter, the equipment needed and the skill trade-off selections necessary to adapt.
Making decisions about where to travel and when is only a part of the planning process and it is more than just choosing where to go and when. Planning a route, estimating travel times, addressing logistical concerns like transportation and resupply points, figuring out water availability, identifying dangerous plants or wildlife, learning new skills you'll need, gauging your physical fitness in relation to your distance goals, taking group dynamics into account, contingency planning, and risk management are all that is required.
SELECTING YOUR CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT
You may choose the necessary clothing and equipment once you've planned your journey's itinerary and environmental conditions. This is important because the gear you'll be bringing will greatly depend on the environment you will be heading to.
If the equipment you already have doesn't meet the needs of your trip, you may need to purchase more suitable clothes and gear or change your route to trails that are intended for the gear you have.
CHOOSING A CAMPSITE
Good campsite selection and orientation skills can help you find campsites that are more shielded from the wind, cold air pockets, or groundwater. It is then safe to say that a campground that has been strategically placed will be less affected by the wind and cold and will have less danger of being flooded by heavy rain.
It is important to remember that as much as possible we must reduce our influence on plant and animal life. This is to limit the disturbance we might introduce to wildlife.
THE THERMOREGULATION
Thermoregulation is the ability to stay warm in places and weather conditions that are damp and cold. This skill gets tricky if you can pull this out when you have limited clothes to wear since having so many clothes to bring when backpacking is not beneficial.
For instance, the best method to remain warm is to frequently stay active, layer up, eat fatty foods, and drink enough water. Pitching your shelter and doing curl-ups in a sleeping bag or quilt until you feel warm again is also recommended.
FOOD PREPARATION
Food will likely weigh the most in your bag.
With this in mind, your food bag's weight may be greatly reduced by removing extra packaging and choosing items that are high in calories and nutritional content, since you can cut any other food products that only add to your carry weight.
NAVIGATING ON AND OFF-TRAIL
Off-trail and on-trail routes frequently call for varying degrees of navigational skill, but being adept with the most basic equipment, like a map and compass, can prevent the need to carry heavier navigational aids like GPS systems and the additional batteries or power packs that they demand.
That is why it is important to learn the basics!
KNOWING THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
Depending on your shelter and gear load, backpackers may be more affected by weather variations. Therefore, it's crucial to become aware of how the weather is changing and to take preventative measures.
You can lessen your exposure to strong winds, hail, heavy rain, or other environmental concerns like flash floods or forest fires by seeking shelter, moving into a forest, or by altering your route.
REPAIRING AND MAINTAINING YOUR GEAR
Gear for hiking may be pretty delicate. To ensure that your hiking equipment lasts, handle it with care. If you can't patch up damaged gear or clothes right away, they might become useless. Examples of this include doing field repairs like patching a broken zipper or mending ripped fabric.
Learning these skills is a must!
KNOWING YOUR SURVIVAL SKILLS & FIRST AID
Strong wilderness first aid and survival abilities allow one to take advantage of available natural resources and features to make up for a lack of equipment in survival scenarios.
Although these skills are taught to be utilized in emergencies, you may also use them to improve your comfort when the weather or conditions are too extreme.
1 comment
Navigation ? In doing the the AT you follow the trail I had zero need for a compass yes you can get lost and turned around I witnessed it myself 1 of the through hikers I met just a few miles from Harpers Ferry passed by me on the trail going nobo 1/2 hour later he was coming back at me telling me I was going the wrong way ? He had stopped to use a privy and turned the wrong direction IF he had said to himself I need to go right to go North he may have saved himself the error