Wilderness backpacking
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| “ | Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar
Wanderer, there is no path, the path is made by walking
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—Antonio Machado, "Proverbios y cantares XXIX"
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Carrying everything you'll need to get along for several days in the wilderness isn't everyone's idea of a "vacation", but if you don't mind including some physical effort and additional inconvenience in your travel time, it's an ideal way to truly "get away from it all", and hopefully see some truly majestic scenery.
Based on my experience and sharing the common passion with my fellow hikers, collectively we share few tips and points to be taken care off.
Landscape
Before taking off on a backpacking trip, assess what kind of territory you'll be traveling through. Distances on a map never look that hard to cover, but once you find yourself staring up at a 400-foot ridge standing between you and tonight's camp, it's a different story. Topographic maps will give you a better idea of what you're getting yourself into, as well as being essential for navigation if you're going off-trail.
Make sure you know how to cross the rivers on your route. Not all trails have bridges.
Unless you have an uncanny sense of direction, you'll probably need a compass, or at least know how to discern north from the time. GPS can be nifty, but many feel it takes the adventure out of hiking, and it may not always work as well as the sales pitch suggests.
Climate / Culture
Find out what kind of weather you can expect at the time of year you're planning to go. When's the rainy season? What's the temperature range? Keep in mind that going up in altitude is like going up in latitude. Daytime temperatures may be pleasant, but how cold does it get at night?
Even when wilderness backpacking, you will meet local people: those in the village where you do the final preparations, people living in the wilderness (there are few truly uninhabited places on earth), park guards and other authorities. While preparing, get some feeling for what the wilderness means or has meant for people living there or nearby.
Fees/Permits
Check with the local authorities if you'll be using a state/provincial/national park to see what fees there are for use of the park, and for the trails and campsites, if any. In some parts of the world, right to access may give you permission to hike on privately-owned undeveloped land, but elsewhere – especially the highly-territorial United States – be sure to get permission (unless you want to risk prosecution – or gunshot – for trespassing).
Prepare
Get Around
Since "get around" means "walk", footwear is one of the most important aspects of backpacking. Traditional hiking boots could kill a small animal just by being dropped on them (empty) from a few feet up, but modern boots can be much lighter, reducing the drag on every step you take. You don't necessarily need to spend hundreds of dollars on state of the art boots, but odds are that your favorite athletic shoes or street shoes will leave you very uncomfortable and hold up just as poorly. Stiff soles and plenty of ankle support are a good idea if you're going over any rocks.
If the terrain is especially challenging, or if your knees aren't what they used to be, you might benefit from using a hiking stick or a pair of trekking poles (like cross-country ski poles, but without the skis). They aren't just for the feeble; they can improve your balance and increase your pace by adding some power from your arms to your propulsion. A hiking stick is also often needed when fording. A sturdy chest-high branch (not pulled from a standing tree) will do, or you can buy a telescoping staff or set of poles. Some of them can double as a camera monopod. And while this usage isn't recommended, you'd probably rather face an angry cougar with a pole in your hand than without one.
Camping
Tents are available in many shapes, sizes, and levels of protection. Some models (especially domes) can be free-standing, requiring no stakes to hold them in shape. But they tend to be heavier, and trickier to set up. Unless you're sure you're never going to get rained on, a tent with a "rain fly" – a water resistant raincoat for your tent – is essential (this is integrated in some tents). Check how to set up the tent in a heavy rain without the inside getting wet. This is easier with some tents than with others. Also, some tents are more dependable in high winds than others.
At the small end of the scale is the "bivy sack", which is little more than a raincoat for your sleeping bag; the most spacious ones are just big enough inside to carefully roll over. Important: a bivy bag is usually almost airtight and can cause suffocation if closed completely. Additionally, a bivy bag does not allow for drying anything, like a regular tent. Since it is so small condensation from your breath will build up. If you cannot get it dry in the day, your next night will not be too nice. Bivy bags are therefore great for shorter trips or if you are comfortable that the weather or area will provide some opportunities for drying, and are significantly lighter than even the smallest tent.
A typical "1-person" tent might give you enough room inside to actually hunch over and maybe even scrunch up and turn around, but no more. A "2-person" tent is going to be big enough for just that: two people, lying right side-by-side. Depending on just how close you and your camping partner want to be, you might prefer a "2-to-3-person" tent (otherwise big enough for two adults and a child). If you're thinking of a larger tent so you can keep your gear with you (whether for easier access or to keep it out of the weather), a tent with a vestibule or an extended rain fly might be all you really need. By the time you get to a "4-person" tent, you're generally talking about something spacious enough that one or two people can sit upright in it, but heavy enough that you'll want to distribute the components among the people in your hiking party.
Although tents will keep most of the wind out, and usually trap air well enough to keep it warmer than outside, don't count on them to keep you warm; that's your sleeping bag's job. The difference between a 3-season tent and a 4-season tent isn't their warmth, but the latter's ability to stand up to stronger winds and snow. Using a gas powered lamp can also help to warm up your tent, but beware of setting fire to your tent or melting something as the lantern casings get extremely hot.
Medical supplies
You don't want to go overboard with medical supplies, but a basic first aid kit is a worthwhile precaution. If you're lucky, it'll be the one thing you brought that you didn't "need", but if you're not so lucky, then you'll definitely regret leaving the essentials behind. Adhesive bandages, moleskin for blisters or bunions, disinfectant, and a general-purpose headache or inflammation remedy – aspirin or ibuprofen are okay in most areas, but if dengue fever is a risk, carry paracetamol (acetaminophen) instead – are the bare essentials. As makeshift bandages (and dozens of other uses), cotton hankies are worth the extra ounce in your pack.
Many travellers carry a hand sanitizer and a remedy for diarrhea as well. See altitude sickness and sunburn and sun protection for additional things needed in some areas.
Happy Hiking....
___Dev
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