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Hints
and Suggestions
General
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Backpacks
are not waterproof, especially in heavy showers or if you fall into a
river! Pack food items that should not be allowed to get wet in plastic bags
with ties. Put clothing in larger bags, squash each bag to expel as
much air as you can, and then tie the end of the bag in a thumb-knot to
prevent it from inflating again. Your sleeping bag can be a survival item so carry it inside
your backpack, not outside! If it is too big to fit inside your backpack in
its own stuff-sack, invest in a compression stuff-sack that will allow you
to compress the sleeping bag to a size that does fit. |
| Keep
your water bottle within easy reach. You should not have to ask
someone else to hand you your water bottle every time you need a drink, and
- besides - this can become very irritating to the others in your
group! Your water bottle should have a pouch with its own shoulder
strap and / or belt loops and / or harness clip that will allow you to
choose any one of several locations where you can reach it on your own. |
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Radios
and cassette players are a waste of space. Carry
useful items instead! |
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Leave
a clean set of clothes in a tog bag in the car for the return trip. |
Clothing
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The
berg can be cold, even in mid summer, so come prepared. |
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Many
so-called waterproof items are merely water repellent, and most are not
seam-sealed. Ensure that your rain gear is seam-sealed and
totally waterproof, otherwise you could land yourself and your party in
serious trouble, especially in winter, besides making yourself totally
miserable. Rain gear should be considered an essential survival item. |
| Lace
your boots up properly. You won't deserve any sympathy if you twist
an ankle because you failed to lace your boots all the way up and
sufficiently tightly to provide good ankle support! Gaiters - either
the full-length type or just anklets - will protect your laces and prevent
them from hooking on the adjacent boot or branches and roots. |
| Unless
you hike with walking poles, keep your hands free! This is a far more
comfortable and natural way to walk than being burdened with all sorts of paraphernalia
that could be inside your backpack or strapped to the outside of it. |
| Walking
poles are expensive but they have their uses and can be indispensable in
slippery conditions. They can be used to break cobwebs, knock dew off
grass, warn snakes of your approach, and act as additional legs to steady
yourself with. However, they can require a lot of action from your
arms, and they may spoil your natural balance if you become too reliant on
them for this purpose. A good idea is to carry one or two poles tied
to your backpack, and only make use of them when they are really necessary. |
Food
| Food
items such as fresh cheese and chocolate should be wrapped in several layers
of newspaper and placed in plastic bags to insulate them from the heat on
summer hikes. Margarine and butter are a waste of time in summer! |
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Compact,
light foods are the most desirable, but often the most tasteless! Try
spicing them up a little. |
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Both
salt and sugar are essential food items because their levels drop rapidly
during hot, strenuous activity. Salt can be obtained from chips, but
salted peanuts are more compact and have better food value. |
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Avoid
individually wrapped sweets like Sparkles - it is far too easy to litter,
especially with kids! |
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Chewing
/ bubble-gum has little energy value and some contend that they are bad for the digestive system. However, sugarless gum is a useful
alternative to a toothbrush when water is scarce. |
Navigation
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It
is always a good idea to carry at least one spare map if you are hiking in
unfamiliar territory. It is amazing how easily a map can blow away in
a strong wind! |
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A
GPS is a useful piece of technology, but never rely totally upon them in
case they fail. The leader and at least one other member should always
track the group's progress by old-fashioned map-reading as well. |
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Check
the scenery behind you at regular intervals as you hike. If you don't
and you have to back-track, you may be amazed at how unfamiliar your route
looks in reverse! |
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Except
on hard, clean rock, it is impossible for a hiking group to cover ground
without leaving a trail. If you need to back-track, follow an
indistinct "way-to-go" path or find someone, you should be able to
follow a trail. This is a skill which develops slowly and
subconsciously over many years, but if you want to become really good at it
you should consider taking some tracking lessons! |
Tenting
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A
tent is a survival item and should be treated as such. Check your tent
regularly for tears, broken stitching, faulty zips, etc. Always clean and
dry your tent thoroughly before putting it back into storage after a hike,
otherwise it will become mildewed and start perishing.
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Most
tents can be split into four basic components: inner, flysheet, pegs and
poles. Share these components amongst the people who will be occupying the
tent. Each set of components should have its own bag for protection. Avoid
stuffing the inner or flysheet straight into a backpack, and never
hang them on the outside of your pack unprotected. Thorns, twigs, grass and
other hiking equipment can easily puncture these components, and in heavy
rain water will leak in through even pinprick-sized holes.
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| Place
a groundsheet under the tent when you pitch it. This provides some
protection for the inner, and if the groundsheet is long enough it can also
provide a floor for the bell/s of the tent. Don't wear boots inside your
tent - leave them in the bells.
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| Use
strips of car tyre inner tubing to tie the poles together wherever they
cross. This improves the rigidity of the tent and prevents the poles from
clattering together in strong wind.
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Anchor
the groundsheet with pegs before inserting the poles. This makes the job
easier and ensures that your tent won't blow away before you finish pitching
it! Dome tents are particularly prone to rolling away like this!
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Avoid
cooking and eating or drinking inside your tent unless the weather really
dictates this. Tents burn at an alarming rate, and spilt food or drinks can
turn a cosy interior into a mess.
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Always
ensure that you have sufficient pegs plus some spares to anchor your tent
properly as intended by the designers. Use an indelible marker to write the
number of pegs on the peg bag and always check that you have the same number
when you break camp. While pitching the tent or taking it down, place unused
pegs on a rock where they are highly visible.
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On
stubborn ground wire pegs - especially aluminium ones - bend easily. You can
coax them in using a small rock, but try pressing them into the ground by
using the front of your boot instead. Keeping the boot on your foot, hold
the front of the boot over the peg with both hands and press down firmly.
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The
flysheet usually gets wet overnight, either from rain, dew, condensation,
snow, ice or a combination of these. In the morning, as soon as the
occupants are ready and assuming the weather allows it, remove the flysheet,
gently shake off the excess water and ice, and leave it out to start drying,
placing a few smooth rocks on top of it to prevent it from blowing away.
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In
extreme cold, the ground around the tent is likely to freeze overnight, in
which case the pegs will be frozen into the ground when you come to remove
them the following morning. There is only one way to get them out: hit them
further into the ground first, using a rock.
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It is
usually easiest to remove pegs from the ground using the eye of a spare peg.
Never use the tent's peg loops for this purpose - you may damage the
tent.
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