Hey Yall! Hope everyone is doing fine this week. This week I wanted to cover the 10 essentials of things that you need to carry when you're hiking or backpacking. It seems to me that these essentials were brought up by the Boy Scouts a long time ago but are true and tried things that you need to have with you. I will go over these 10 essentials, but keep in mind that you can go overboard on some of these items. These are things that you have to decide for yourself. 

1. Navigation - Some type of navigation, whether it be a map and compass or GPS, is needed.  This will keep you from getting lost. I also suggest that you have a backup if you're using a phone or a GPS in case the battery goes dead. The backup would be a paper map of some kind. It doesn't need to be an elaborate map, just one that can get you out of the woods if you get lost. I use my phone and a map that I have printed out and I carry a small compass just so I know where north is.

2. Sun Protection - When exposed to the elements, it is very easy to get sunburn or even heat stroke. Protecting your skin and eyes from the harsh sun is the goal. Sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat or long-sleeve sun shirt can protect these areas. I carry a small amount of sunblock in a pouch and wear a hat and long sleeves.

3. Insulation - Insulation includes a jacket, gloves, rain shell, and thermal underwear. These essentials can make the difference between getting hypothermia or being cozy at camp. You can spend a lot of money on this one, but you don't have to. There are some good items that you can substitute for jackets and gloves.

4.Illumination - Guess what? It gets dark when the sun goes down in the wilderness. So some sort of light is needed. I use a headlamp, but there are all kinds of flashlights and lanterns that can be used.

5. First Aid and Supplies - This is one area that you can go overboard on or either not take enough. You need to make your first aid kit cater to you. If you're on medication, make sure you bring it. If you're allergic to bees, make sure you have an EpiPen with you. Also bring some pain killers, band aids, and Leukotape is great for blisters. Bring what you think you will need.

6. Fire Starter - Matches or a lighter are safety items.  A fire can keep you warm and can be used to signal for help.  You should know how to start a fire in the wilderness. Some type of fire starter, like lent from your dryer, works well to get a fire started. I carry 2 Bic lighters. One is in my cook kit, and the other is in my first aid kit with Leukotape wrapped around it. I also carry some fuel tablets just for starting a fire.  After you light one they will last for 10 min. or so, enough time to get a fire going.

7. Repair Kit and tools -  For backpacking, your repair kit could be in the form of duct tape and a knife. I carry a repair kit for my sleeping pad, and duct tape is wrapped around my trekking poles. I only carry one knife with me. It's a small Swiss Army knife that has some tools built in like scissors, all very small and lightweight. If you carry dental floss and a needle, you can use that to sew up tears in packs or clothing.

8. Nutrition -  You must carry food with you if you're doing a long hike or backpacking. If you're doing a hike, a simple power bar might do. But if you're going backpacking, you must carry meals to make sure you're at your best energy level when moving around in the wilderness.

9. Hydration - You need water to survive. Getting dehydrated can make you sick, and it's dangerous to your health. Either pack enough water with you to last the hike or backpacking trip, or carry a water filter. Water is the heaviest thing in your pack while backpacking, so being able to find water sources and using a water filter will lighten the amount of water that you need to carry.

10. Shelter - This can be in the form of some sort of emergency shelter or tarp if you're hiking, or a tent or hammock if you are backpacking.  If the weather gets bad and you end up in a storm, it's great to have a place to get out of the weather. This could prevent you from getting hypothermia. I use either a small tarp if I'm doing a long hike, or my tent or hammock for backpacking.

The 10 essentials, if used correctly, could save your life or the life of others while traveling in the wilderness. These can fit into a small bag if you're just hiking or could fill up your whole pack. Choose wisely and make sure you have some version of the 10 essentials with you when you're out exploring nature.  Until next week, get outside and explore!

Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week. This week I'm going to be talking about cooking on the trail while backpacking.  I am very simple cook on the trail and mainly just rehydrate food to eat.  But some people can get very elaborate with their cooking on the trail.  Being more fancy on the trail with your food can mean more weight but for some people its their luxury that they bring. Today Ill cover the kind of cooking I do while on trail and the tools I use to do it with.

Meals on the trail.  While your hiking on the trail especially if your doing lots of miles.  To me lots of miles is anything over 10. You're going to burn lots of calories.  So high calorie food is what you want.  You need to feed the machine.  You're also going to need high calorie snacks.  For my main meal at night I usually have some sort of freeze dried prepackaged meal.  They usually come in two serving sizes but your usually so hungry that you'll eat the whole thing.  Mountain House meals is probably the most used and you can get them at your local Walmart.  There are many more from Backpackers Pantry and many other companies that you can find on Amazon or your local REI.  You can get all sorts of meals from Lasagna to chicken teriyaki and most of them are very tasty.  They can be a little on the expensive side.  But you could substitute Ramen Camp Coffee Noodles and some sort of meat like tuna or chicken in packets for protein.  For lunch I usually have some sort of simple wrap.  I bring some tortilla wrappers and fill with tuna or chicken in the packs if you bring in some cheese and packets of condiments that you have leftover in a drawer in your kitchen come in handy.  Some people also make peanut butter wraps. For breakfast I keep it pretty simple with oatmeal or a breakfast bar.  Something to give me some energy but won't weigh me down. Of course substitutions can be made for all of these meals.  And I always carry an extra pack of Ramen Noodles for emergencies. For snacks I usually have some sort of trail mix or protein bar. One good thing about backpacking is if you're putting in the miles you can eat about what you want. _MSP1815

Preparing food on the trail.  Most if not all of my cooking on the trail consist of rehydrating something . So I really only have to boil water to do that.  I use a 750ml titanium pot to boil my water in and a small propane canister stove to heat up the water. It is all very light weight and small.  Everything fits into the small pot which is really just a good sized cup with a lid.  The small canister of fuel, the stove , lighter and camp towel all fit into the pot . I made a little bag that the pot with all the contents go into for easy storage in my pack.  The water that I use is either brought with me or filtered water from a stream.  I use a Sawer Squeeze water filtering system and haven't had any problems with bacteria.  So when cooking one of the freeze dried meals I follow the instructions. Usually 2 cups of boiling water is added to the package that the meal comes in. Wait 10 min or so and you have a meal. I usually take the meals out of their packages at home and repackage them into freezer bags (they pack better).  I have made a Reflectix Pouch where  I place the zip lock bags with the freeze dried food.  I add the water to the zip lock bag and cook inside the Reflectix Pouch
. And I eat right out of the bag with a long handled spoon. when I'm done I just close the ziplock bag and put in my trash bag to be hauled out. Easy peasy for quick clean up.  If I make coffee or coco I use the pot to boil the water and either used instant coffee or I bring ground and I have a little strainer that I put the coffee in and pour the boiling water over ( I have to bring an extra cup to do this coffee method).  All the food that I bring on trail with me is kept in a Dyneema Food Bag and when at camp it is hung in a tree a few hundred feet away from the campsite.  Bears, Racons and mice want your food also and if your in an established campsite they know that humans bring food so they can be sniffing around. Some Backcountry places you have to use a Food Canister to put your food in. It is a plastic cylinder with a lockable lid it's bear proof and will keep the critters out of it.  I don't have one yet but plan on getting one this year because I will be in areas where bear activity is high.

Experimenting with different types of food to bring is an ongoing adventure for me. I'm still just a boil water rehydrate cooker in the backcountry but there are all kinds of meals to try.  You could even dehydrate your own meals. Lots of people do.  I tried and it worked but I wasn't very good at it.  For example you could dehydrate spaghetti sauce and cook the noodles at the campsite and rehydrate the sauce. Or dehydrate chili and rehydrate at your camp. My advice is to at first keep it simple after a long days hike all you want to do is eat and sleep and having to prepare a fancy meal on the trail will be hard to do.  So keep it simple boil water like me.  So until next week keep exploring and get outside!

Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well today. This week I want to talk about my backpacking camera kit. Now if you have followed me for a while, you know that I commute a lot for my real job, and the camera I take with me is a Canon G7XMII point and shoot. This is the same camera that I use for backpacking.  It's a good camera that can shoot in manual mode and in RAW mode. It is a small and very versatile camera. I have actually used it and won some monthly photo contests with my camera club with this camera. Things that I look for in a backpacking camera are, first, size. How heavy is it?  If I have to carry lenses, how heavy and bulky are those? Back when I used to shoot a full-frame camera, the total weight could be 7 lbs. That was with just one lens. That's about equal to lugging around a gallon of milk on your back. So that's one of the reasons I started using a mirrorless camera years ago because I cut my weight to 3.5 lbs with multiple lenses. And now I have cut it even lower, to about 1 lb. So I have cut the weight down to almost nothing. The only time I will consider taking my larger camera is if I am going to a big photo spot, like If I go to a waterfall or special place or if I'm going to do astrophotography. But my go-to camera is the G7XMII.

Versatility is the next component that you want to look at. You want a camera that can shoot in all kinds of conditions. You can shoot wide-angle, telephoto, manual mode, and RAW.  It's almost impossible to get a camera that can do it all. Being able to be weatherproof is also something to look at. It is very hard to find one that is weather resistant. Other things that are nice are maybe wifi to transfer photos to your phone to share or edit. The G7XMII has a focal length of  24-100mm F1.8-2.8.  This gives you lots of flexibility when hiking or backpacking, especially in the woods. You can get those wide-angle shots, and 100mm is plenty when you're out and about. The aperture is open enough to isolate a subject and get a blurry background. It also has a macro mode for close-up shots. Shooting in manual can be handy, especially when shooting long exposures, like when shooting waterfalls. Wifi and the apps on my phone that connect to my camera come in handy. I can remotely trigger the shutter, which comes in handy when taking long exposures, and I can transfer photos to my phone or iPad and edit the photos there.  The only category that the camera falls short in is that it's not weatherproof. So I have to be careful when in the rain. I keep the bag in a weatherproof bag that I use as a fanny pack around my waist, and it protects it when it's wet outside. I also keep it in a neoprene wrap that protects it against shocks somewhat. This camera has a 1-inch 20 megapixel sensor that makes it much better than most point-and-shoots.

Accessories that I take with me for my camera kit are small but effective.  I use a small tripod that I also use with a GoPro I sometimes bring with me.  It's a tabletop tripod that is very small but can be used with this small camera.  I have some filters that I use with this camera too. I have an adapter that can be attached to the lens of the camera and can use 52mm filter size filters. I have a circular polarizer that I can use and a 2-stop neutral density filter I can use for long exposures. And of course, I have cleaning cloths to keep everything as dust-free as possible.  I use my phone and a Canon app to remotely trigger the shutter during long exposures.

So that's pretty much my camera kit for backpacking. I try to keep it simple and lightweight. You can check out my gear by following this link Lighter Pack. You can see my gear loadout and how much it weighs between tent and hammock and summer and winter by clicking on the list on the left. So until next week, stay safe and get outside and shoot!