Sunday, May 31, 2015

How to Pack for Your Hiking Trip?

Ever fell in a river while hiking and had all your stuff in your backpack wet, resulting in a very heavy pack on your back?  The bad luck doesn't end there though... you had 5 hours more of hiking to do before you reach your next destination! Wet clothes combined with heavy wet backpack! Gahh!!

One unlucky hiker also shared his experience of having all his clothes and sleeping bag wet when he hiked in the rain. He reached the peak with no dry clothes and ended up sleeping in the tent, cold with only the heat from his buddies to warm him.

I learnt it the hard way. So did he.

And so... as experience had it... I readjusted my packing method and become better at it. Hope this "common" piece of information help other hikers out there on how to pack their stuff. To avoid what happened to me, happening to them. Fair trade, no?

The Essential Things You Need on a Hiking and Camping Trip
Rules I learnt when hiking and camping in the tropical forests:

  1. Always keep your stuff DRY. So each items are stored in a drybag according to usage. I had my sleeping clothes and sleeping bag in one drybag. Wet tissues, small cosmetic items and headlamp in one small drybag and all the other clothes in one drybag. Food has it's own bag too.
  2. To pack light, two sets of clothing is enough. One to change when what you're wearing is WET. And another set ESPECIALLY for sleeping only. You could be in the jungle for 2 to 5 days. 2 sets are enough. Trust me. Bring more if you can carry more weight. Hehe. The cold is a SILENT KILLER. Stay warm and dry is important during the night.
  3. Wet tissues are handy when you need to poo-poo and other stuff. 
  4. Food rich in carbs are good for energy -- kurma, peanuts, chocolate 
  5. Socks! Need more than one set especially if it is rainy season! 
  6. Extra large plastic bags (120 liters) is good to become your bag's rain cover. And also to put your bag in during the night so that it keeps dry.
  7. Dry bags are better than wet bags. Why? If your stuff are wet... It gets more HEAVIER and you die carrying the extra weight! 
  8. Plastic bag is also used to store all of these items and then put into your bag. Hehe.
  9. Oh and yeah... Was kidding about the dying part. Have any more tips? Do share!?