the OFFICIAL "Model-T."
Hikin' Tips
Model T sez:
Water can be purified by using iodine tablets according to manufacturer's instructions. The method is really good for short trips.
(WARNING: Do NOT use if you have a chronic thyroid problem. Also, while iodine will kill Giardia, it will not kill Cryptosporidium.)
After the iodine has had proper amount of time to work, to get rid of the color & taste, add 1/4 tablet of vitamin C (crushing the tablet speeds the action) and shake the water bottle. The water will clear & the iodine taste disappears. Wallah!
other Hikin' tips
Want a hydration unit...but don't want to pay big bucks?
Here's what I use:
Two 20 (or 32oz) soda or distilled water bottles, a suitable length of 3/8" outside diameter plastic tubing (available from hardware stores), & a bite valve (available from most outfitters).
Drill a 3/8" hole in the top of one bottle; push the hose through until it just reaches the bottom; push the bite valve onto the other end; & Wallah! You have a hydration unit! Leave the top intact on the water bottle; switch the bottles when the hose-attached bottle becomes empty. (keep an extra top so that you can close both bottles when necessary.)
Don't like sitting on the cold, wet ground?
A piece of old foam cell sleeping pad cut to
"butt- size makes a great butt pad
& weighs next to nothing.
If you dont have an old sleeping pad, spring for five bucks & buy a Wal-Mart sleeping pad.
You can share butt pads (& your "woods savvy") with your friends.
The old saying goes..."Hikers live by ounces & die by pounds" is true. Even a couple of pounds can make the difference between a fun trip & a curse-filled, blister-plagued ordeal.
Another truism: "Ounces makes pounds...
& pounds make pain."
So you ask, "How do i work this magic weight-loss?" Simple. Be innovative & ruthless (But balance the act with safety concerns.)
The Dont's:
Don't carry canned goods or food items with water already added.
Don't carry food for the entire trip when you can resupply along the way.
Don't carry full containers when less will suffice-especially toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, toilet paper, water, etc.
Don't bring along unnecessary items (remember "ruthless"? If you don't use the item @ least once a day--except for "emergency stuff"--it doesn't make it into my pack.), & excess clothing.
Don't use a heavy piece of gear when a lighter one will do the same job. (for example: some packs weigh 7-8 lbs empty! Others are in the 4lb range or lighter.)
More about "weight loss" next month--
"The Do's"
Last month I noted a few "Don'ts" relating to lessening that burden on your back. This month, a few "Do's":
** Do wear light weight boots. (Can you imagine how many foot-pounds per mile you'll save by wearing a pair of 3 lb. pair of Timberlands instead of a 6 lb. pair of Merrell Wilderness boots?)
** Do make one outfit--the one you wear--suffice. So you wanna look great when you go into town? Who's going to care if you have on a clean outfit? No one (as long as you have the cash to pay your bill at the local greasy spoon)!
** Do use a "bounce box" if on a long trip to send items only used sporadically to a post office on up the trail (examples: food you haven't eaten but want to save, extra batteries, film, maps and guides not needed until later, extra sun block, insect repellent, shoe waterproofing, etc.)
** Do not be bashful about ripping that 800-page Michener or Clancy tome into sections and put what you won't need until the next mail drop in your bounce box.
**Do be critical of every single ounce that goes into your backpack. IT ALL ADDS UP!
"For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost..."
An old saying, but very true.
A finger nail clipper can keep the hike going when those toe nails that you really meant to cut before you left got short shrift, and that ingrown big toenail on the left foot has suddenly become a rogue. Get the picture?
Like that tent site?
Okay, but before you put the stakes in the ground, check overhead for dead limbs.
A strong breeze during the night can wreck havoc with your dreams. Also, check the surrounding ground for ant hills. Ants are worse predators than hungry thru-hikers when it comes to food.
(Yeah, been there; done that!)
"Go lighter, go lighter, go lighter..."
The chant of most burdened distance hikers. Another weight reducing gimmick: A gallon plastic bag (slider closure works best) carried inside a plastic "Wal-Mart" bag makes a very light (and cheap) water bag. Fill the bag at the spring/creek, carry it back to the tentsite/shelter in the Wal-Mart bag, which you can suspend from a limb or rope. You can filter right out of the bag while you watch all kinds of swimming thingys entertaining you as you pump. Try it!
Cold weather is coming on. An unexpected snow storm or a bone-chilling rain can bring on hypothermia for the the inexperienced or inadequately protected. Keep a couple of fire starters and a wax candle in your wintertime backpack to get that wet kindling blazing, for a fire can save your bacon!
I don't advocate carrying extra clothing (except for added warmth/bad weather,
but I do recommend three pair of socks. Wear one, keep a pair dry to wear at night/camp, and have a pair washed and drying on the outside of your back pack. Rotate as required.
Do you have a favorite hikin' tip?
send it to us!
A hot weather hiking tip:
Stay inside hunkered down in front of the AC ! :-)
Seriously,
"Tie a bandana to your pack strap, where it will be handy to wipe away the sweat from your eyes and face. Comes in handy for other things as well, like sponging off in a stream and straining "nasties" from "desperate" water sources when you fill your water bottles."
Winter hiking tip:
Wintertime hiking resurrects such nasty words as hypothermia and frostbite. A fire can save your "bacon." Even if the woods are wet or snow-clogged, with some "firestarter" in your pack, you can usually find enough nearly-dry twigs to start a fire. So be sure to stick some firestarter in your pack. You can buy the commercial kind at Wal-Mart. However, the stub of a candle works equally well.
