Backpacking/Camping/Roughing It tips anyone?

Question

Do you have any tips on long term (more than a week) camping, roughing it/survival? I would love to go backpacking either through the Grand Canyon, or SOMEWHERE, for a month or so, just living off the land, exploring, fishing, hiking, etc. But I have NEVER done it before. Have you ever done it? And do you have any tips you would like to share with me? One guy already told me that if you eat match heads it protects you from ticks. Things like that. Essential but minimal equipment to bring, how to purify water, food, shelter-should I bring a tent, or find something else to use? Recommend any places to go? Whats the best way to protect against animals? How do I wash my hair?! Im looking for any tips, recommendations, places to go, suggestions, websites, books, etc! Thanks!

Answer 1

I love backpacking. Get backpacker magazine. http://www.backpacker.com/

The grand canyon is incredibly difficult. Try somewhere easier first. Try local parks first. I suggest you try weekend trips and work your way up. It will give you an idea of what it is like and you can test out all of your gear.

Every part of the country is different and it depends what season you are going. Find a good local sporting goods shop where backpackers go. They'll be able to help you.

Never eat a match head. It could kill you.

Answer 2

Go with someone who knows what they're doing. Go with as many people as you can. Safety in numbers and all that.

My favorite place is Yosemite.

Bring organic shampoo/toothpaste so you don't harm the environment. I recommend you put your hair in braids so you don't have to wash it, and just wear a bandana on your head all week. Bring sunscreen. First aid kit. Know beforehand which plants and snakes are poisonous. I don't recommend living off the land unless you know how to catch a fish or rabbit and clean them. Bring protein bars with you. They take up little space and usually one is enough for a meal. Learn how to build a fire. Know what to do when there are bears and/or mountain lions around. I don't know about the mountain lions, but I know when there are bears you should stand up and reach your arms way over your head and make as much noise as possible- bang pots and pans together if you can. Make sure you don't keep your toothpaste or food or anything smelly in your tent with you. Bring rope so you can hang your food in a sack from a tree to keep it from the animals. There are many ways to purify water. Probably the easiest way are those tablets you dissolve in the water.

Make sure you are in top physical shape before you go backpacking.

Don't go backpacking in the Grand Canyon during the summer. You will probably die of heat exhaustion.

REI is a great camping equipment store.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Something that has always stuck to me through the years is called the "rule of threes." Rules for survival are really quite basic. They go pretty much like this if memory serves me correctly:

Three minutes without oxygen.
Three hours without shelter.
Three days without water.
Three weeks without food.

You should strive to never break any of these rules in a survival situation. I recommend a slow approach to backpacking. Start off with a weekend getaway on a short trail and progressively work yourself up to a week long trip followed by your month long excursion. I prefer my home turf of Arkansas. The Buffalo National River Trail is my favorite for short trips. Good luck!

jc

Answer 5

I would strongly urge you to NOT do the Grand Canyon. You can't carry enough water with you, along with your other gear, in order to survive. There aren't any water stations set up and you will be hard pressed to find water that you can boil to use for drinking and cooking. You would probably be better off going to one of the National Parks in the upper northwest where the weather is a little more favorable and not nearly as hot.

Answer 6

Do some weekend practice sessions first- find out what it feels like and what you wish you had brought. Go to a large bookstore, like Waldens, and get a handbook; you could even get a Boyscout Handbook, actually, for lots of great camping tips.

Answer 7

After doing many 'long weekend' backpacking trips (including numerous trips in the Grand Canyon), some friends and I decided to do a really long multi-week trip somewhere. We did a lot of research in terms of logistics, trails, permits, beauty, solitude and finally decided on a two-week trip along the 'Wonderland Trail' - a 93 mile loop around Mount Rainier in Washington. It is a beautiful trail, nice camps, plenty of water, and a few places along the way where you can 'cache' food and pick it up during your trip. It was one of the best trips (best experiences) of my life. Once you settle into the routine of camp life in the backcountry it is actually hard to come back to civilization. We are planning another 10 day backpacking trip this year.

As others have mentioned, if you have never backpacked before, start small (do some one-nighters then work up to a couple of days, carrying more weight and going longer distances each time). You definitely don't want your first trek to be a week-long (or longer) journey. National Forests are a good place to do short and easy one-night hikes without the need for a permit. National Parks are the next step up (usually tougher trails to campsites and - more importantly - usually require some sort of permit reservation). Once you have some multi-day trips under your belt and are ready for a 'big' trip, the Wonderland is an excellent choice because it is easy to get a permit for the whole thing, has nicely spaced campgrounds, and has a process for mailing food to backcountry ranger stations where you can pick it up along the way.

Food is really your biggest limiting factor on how long you can stay out. With a small hand-pump water filter and purifying drops, you don't have to worry as much about water (as long as you know where your next source is), but you can realistically only carry about 4-6 days worth of food at a time. Living off the land (hunting, fishing, gathering) requires a lot of skill and training, takes a lot of time, has no gaurantees of success, and is hard to get a good mixture of the right nutrients. In most cases, if you want to stay out for more than a week, you will need to either purchase or cache food supplies along the way (such as where your trail goes by a ranger station or store).

As far as the basics on equipment - you want good quality and light-weight (trade offs between weight and comfort are a personal decision). Some great gear to consider:
JetBoil - instead of a stove and pots, get a JetBoil which boils a liter of water in a couple of minutes on minimum fuel and then eat dehydrated food (never used canned for more than a one night trip - too heavy). Four of us only used 3 small cans of fuel in two weeks on the Wonderland using 2 JetBoils. They are also very light and easy to setup and store.
Dehydrated food - Costs a bit more than other options, but worth it. I especially like the MountainHouse brand.
Tents - Some people go with just a tarp (or sleep out in the open), but I always take a tent (privacy, a bit warmer, protection from bugs). Some of the newer backpacking tents are under 4 pounds (REI Half-Dome is a popular two person).
Water - Get a backpacker hand-pump water filter (and Chlorine drops) so that you can refill your water at streams, springs, and ponds and along the way. This way you only need to carry 2-4 liters on you at one time. I prefer Chlorine drops to Iodine because there is less taste and less messy.

The Grand Canyon is a great place to go backpacking (I go at least once per year) and the most popular trips (down one of the main trails to Indian Gardens or Bright Angel campground) are not that difficult (adv beginner to intermediate), but I would still not recommend it as a first backpacking trip. When you get more advanced, you can do week-long trips along the canyon's Tonto Plateau. Paria Canyon (along the AZ-UT border near Page) is also an excellent SW backpacking trip of 4-5 days. There are also a lot of great backpacking trips of all lengths and difficulty in the Canyonlands area near Moab, UT.

As for a few of your other questions, washing (clothes, hair, body) is usually done in a stream or lake (burr) - only use bio-degradable soap (and you really should not even use that if you can avoid it - cold water and scrubbing do a lot). You can buy little light-weight camp towels that wring out and dry quick.

Bears can be a problem in much of the northwest and California (particularly getting into food). Rattlesnakes are not uncommon in the southwest, but in both cases, a little common sense and simple preventive measures go a long ways. Bad encounters with dangerous animals are actually pretty rare (you are more likely to get hurt in a car accident getting to your trailhead).

There is really too much info about all the aspects of backpacking (let along long trips) to cover in a single posting. I would definitely recommend reading a book or two on the subject or - better yet - see if your local university or community college has a backpacking class. Backpacker magazine is a good source of info. Keith McCafferty's "Hiking and Backpacking Handbook" is a good intro, so is Hugh McManner's "The Backpacker's Handbook" (but there are plenty of others too).

Backpacking (particulary long trips) are not for everyone, but if you get into it, it can be one of the greatest experiences of your life - it is hard to explain the feeling of getting completely away from it all and getting back into tune with the rhymes of nature. I find it very relaxing and a great way to clear my head, get rid of stress, and find inspiration.

Answer 8

Do you have normal camping equipment? (water purifier, tent, sleeping pad, etc)

Answer 9

lol rent an RV and stay within a pizza place distance

Answer 10

http://www.MissouriScenicRivers.com/gearchecklist.html