hey guys it's papa steve on the move now you might dream of traveling to far-off places
but with travel restrictions have to staycation near home some of you are new to backpacking and
backcountry camping and even if you've been out in the wilderness for several years you might still
be making some of these mistakes this week i'll share with you some common mistakes that i made
and hopefully you won't do the same welcome back now we all learn one of two ways
either from making mistakes ourselves or being taught the correct way to do things
now i'm not going to explain the correct way everybody has their best way so you'll have
to find yours what i will do is share some of my mistakes so hopefully you don't make them
one mistake i've made is not drinking enough water whatever you do don't get dehydrated
one time a friend of mine got really sick the evening after a long hike with no water
sometimes we have this urge to conserve our water maybe you didn't bring enough for your trip maybe
you don't want to take the time to stop and filter trust me make sure you get enough water
last september on my way back to the car on the skokie loop i was forced to take a
quick break at tarmigan lake to fill up my water bottle for the rest of the trip down
if you don't have an expensive filter system that's fine buy one of these personal filters
like the the sawyer squeeze or a life straw and drink right from a clean water source
you don't want to get dehydrated and you definitely don't want to get some water-borne
illness so bring a filter and drink freely anytime you go into the backcountry now second things also
related to water sort of there will be times you need to cross streams or walk through puddles
it's very important to keep your feet dry you don't really need waterproof footwear they just
make my feet feel hot but you do need to carry some sandals or even cross deep water barefoot
anything deeper than your ankles is too deep fast moving streams and rivers can even sweep you off
your feet so take care when you're crossing most importantly keep your feet dry take it
from me wet feet lead to blisters which will make your hike far less comfortable put on dry socks
dry your footwear overnight and take care to keep your feet dry protect your feet at all costs
now i've made plenty of mistakes and one i still make is to over pack i love to eat backpacking
is hard work and you'll burn a lot of calories be careful to bring enough food but not too much food
you don't want to carry food home with you and remember you have to pack out all your trash
clothing too don't over pack be prepared to get dirty bring extra socks and underwear and carry
all your layers but you don't need a clean shirt and pants every day leave extra clothes behind
your back will thank you for dropping the extra weight speaking of extra weight don't be overly
concerned with base weight that's the weight of everything you carry minus your food and water
now backpacking takes a little bit of investment some ultralighters buy new lighter gear every year
many people don't have that kind of money it's perfectly okay to buy budget gear if you pack
correctly now i've talked a lot about how packing correctly can make your pack feel lighter so if
you're interested i'll leave a link here you can safely carry up to 20 of your own weight with you
don't worry about having the lightest gear to start with if you pack properly
you can still be comfortable with your pack i just bought a new tent this year to drop 1.2 pounds
why i like to fish so i intend to actually add base weight and bring a small rod and some tackle
i believe it's important to strike that equilibrium between weight and comfort
so don't be scared to bring some things to make your cat more enjoyable
maybe it's a frying pan for your fire or a chair to sit on i recommend making a list before you go
carefully consider everything you bring and review it when you get back to see what you didn't use
start cutting there first find the balance between weight and comfort and you'll have a
lot more fun in camp lastly be aware of your environment do your research before you go
find out where you'll find water where you'll camp
and what weather you might expect i've been sunburned too cold and eaten by insects
sometimes all the same trap bring appropriate gear to manage sunburn insects and changing weather
maybe more importantly be aware of your own limitations don't try to go too far or too high
know when to stop and turn back everyone has their limits don't push yours too far
so those are five big ones hopefully you guys can learn from my mistakes and prevent doing
the same on your trips so that's it for this week if you guys have any questions go ahead and leave
them down in the comments or reach out on social media you'll find links down below till next week
i'm papa steve on the move and i'll see you on the trail