If you wear contact lenses, chances are you have bad eyesight and dislike wearing glasses. Is there any reason to stop using your contact lenses while backpacking? The answer is no. It is possible to wear and sanitize your contact lenses successfully in the wilderness, but you must pay careful attention to maintaining lens hygiene. Are Glasses really Necessary? Consider how confident you would be if you were to lose your contact lenses for any reason. It’s wise to bring glasses, especially if you struggle to see clearly enough to determine whether that thing nestled inside your shoe is your […]
Backpacking Tips
69 posts
For backpackers, especially thru-hikers, quality sleep is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of enjoying the trail. However, falling asleep and staying asleep can be a challenge. Endless reasons can disrupt your sleep while on the trail, such as stormy weather, nocturnal animals scurrying around your tent, aching bones, physical discomfort sleeping on the ground, a snoring tentmate, and noisy campmates. What can you do if you have trouble sleeping in the wilderness? Prevent sleeplessness from occurring in the first place by not eating a heavy meal right before bed and avoiding sugary foods. Eat foods that promote sleep in the evening or a […]
Estimating distance is a crucial skill in various scenarios such as daily life, hiking, and survival situations. It helps you maintain your sense of direction, calculate distance and height, and estimate travel time while hiking relative to your pace. Did you know you can estimate distance using only your finger? Estimating distance using only your finger is based on this known fact about human anatomy: Your arm is about ten times longer than the distance between your eyes. Here’s how you can use this information to estimate distance: Imagine you’re standing on a hill, and you want to estimate the […]
White gas, kerosene, isobutane, and denatured alcohols are standard fuels used with backpacking stoves. Fuel savings greatly depend on the efficiency of the cooking process, as well as the stove and cooking pot. One of the most effective ways to conserve fuel is to minimize energy loss during cooking. You don’t want to run out of fuel mid-hike and be left eating cold freeze-dried entrées. Here are a few strategies to conserve stove fuel. No flame in vain Only allow the fuel to burn when it is in use, such as when heating your food. Before preparing food, collect all […]
Whether you have recently started backpacking or are a veteran, you could probably benefit from a few cooking tips. First, we’ll describe the common method that backpackers use when cooking dried foods and strategies you can use to conserve your cooking fuel when using a backpacking stove. This cooking method is a great concept and works well both on and off the trail. We call it boil-soak cooking. It is incredibly efficient because it uses less fuel and water. Boil Soak Cooking Instructions Set up your backpacking stove. Find a spot to cook on level ground that is insulated from the wind. Add […]