Backpacking Trails (page 4)
Once the tent is in order, it’s a good idea to replenish your water supply. Hopefully you will have a source nearby; otherwise you may need to scout around for a little bit. You will not only need water to drink, but water to cook and clean for the evening.
Then you can start pulling out all your other gear. Find a place to set up your stove, the best is somewhere stable, flat, and sheltered from the wind. A large flat rock often serves nicely. Put all your cooking accessories and food near your stove for ease of access. As the light starts to fade, make sure to put your flashlight somewhere where it will be easy to find. Since we use the clip-on keychain LED lights, we clip ours to the zipper of our jackets. If you are starving, go ahead and get the food started as you unload and sort out the rest of the gear. Pull everything out of your pack, and leave it somewhere nearby with all the zippers open. Critters in the night may come to sniff around in it, and they appreciate it if they don’t have to rip through the fabric to check out the inside. Unless it rains, it is safe to leave the majority of your gear outside. Backpacking tents tend to be pretty cramped as it is, and there is no need to make it worse by cramming more junk in it. Since there are very few other people around, and everybody has to carry everything they have with them, it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to come steal your stuff.
After dinner, it is important to clean everything well. Wash your pots and dishes a few hundred feet away from your tent: the leftover food residue in the pan may attract wild animals. Critters are also why you need to not put off your cleaning. That, and nobody wants to have to clean crusty pans in the morning before breakfast. Move a distance away from your tent when brushing your teeth as well; to those wild animals, toothpaste smells like food. I guess technically it is edible. Any food you did not each should be burned if you have a fire, or put in a trash bag to pack out. Again, do not just dump it somewhere! After dinner and cleanup, gather together all your food, smelly toiletries (such as toothpaste, lotions, and deodorant) and trash, and put it all into a bear canister or large stuff sack. If you are using a bear canister, set it in a place several hundred feet from your tent that will be easy to find in the morning. A bear will be able to smell the food in the canister, but will not be able to get it out of the canister. However, it may knock the canister around for awhile before it figures this out, and that is not something you want happening right next to your tent while sleeping. If you are not in an area that requires a bear canister, the next best thing to do to protect your food is to hang it. The most common method of hanging you food is to tie your food bag to the end of a length of rope. The other end is tied around a rock and thrown over a high, sturdy tree branch. That end is then pulled to lift the food sack; you need it a minimum of ten feet in the air. When it’s at the right height, the rock end is tied off
somewhere to hold it in place, usually a lower hanging branch. Sounds simple, right? Well, it’s a notorious pain in the butt, as many backpacking sites will attest. But it does work, though if you are doing this, give yourself ample time at least the first time you try it. Even if you are lucky enough to find a perfectly sized and shaped rock for throwing, it will probably take several attempts to get it over the branch.
And that’s it; you’ve survived your first day of backpacking! At this point, you are probably dirty, sore, and tired, so it’s time to hit the sleeping bags. Before you retire, though, take a minute to look up at the stars. If the night is clear, you will be amazed at how many of them you can see up there. In our day-to-day lives, many of them are not visible because of our constant proximity to artificial lights, so take a moment to appreciate the clear night sky.
As you climb in, leave your shoes right outside the door of your tent. You don’t want to track dirt inside, but you need to have them accessible. If you are not accustomed to sleeping in the wilderness, be warned, it is noisy at night. Not only will you be able to hear any running water you may be camped near, there are the popping of breaking tree branches, the hooting of owls, and the calls and scuffling of the nocturnal critters. While some find this relaxing, others may be too startled to sleep at first, or may be bothered by all the noise. If you tend to be a light sleeper, you may want to consider bringing along some ear plugs. On the other hand, you may be so exhausted that you fall right into a heavy sleep and miss all the noise. Don’t bother trying to stay up late, you need as much sleep as you can get when backpacking, and most likely you will not be able to sleep in. And remember that after that night’s sleep, you have to get up, stretch out those sore muscles, pack it all up, and get back on the trail if you are heading to another site. And again and again, for the duration of the trip. But this is fun, remember?
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