Backcountry hiking requires preparation of your equipment, mind and body. You can witness beautiful scenery and wildlife on a backcountry hiking trip, along with extreme and unexpected weather. Being prepared for these situations and following a few tips can enhance your backcountry hiking experience. The trip starts at home with packing your equipment and ends when you have returned home safely.
Follow Leave No Trace Priniciples
The Leave No Trace ethic--also called "pack it in, pack it out"--addresses maintaining clean campsites, building awareness for natural resources and conserving the outdoor beauty for future generations. Follow such simple Leave No Trace tips as picking up trash along the trail or in campsites, repackaging food to minimize waste, staying on established trails and hiking in smaller parties. High-use recreation areas, such as the Grand Canyon, rely on hikers following the Leave No Trace mindset so the natural beauty is maintained for future generations.
Use Multiuse Gear
Before packing your backpack, consider gear that has multiple functions. Using gear that can be used for two or more functions can help to reduce pack weight and size. Carefully analyze each piece of gear to consider its possible uses. Common gear that has multiple purposes includes multitools, stuff sacks and cooking pots. Multitools, for example, feature a knife blade for cutting and a can opener for opening food items. Stuff sacks can keep gear organized in your pack, along with serving as a pillow during the night. Cooking pots can be used to boil water, and you can eat from them and use them as a cup for hot drinks.
Listen to Your Body
Listen to your body for signs of fatigue, dehydration or altitude sickness. Any altered mental or physical status can increase your risk for injury. To prevent fatigue, prepare for the terrain, know your physical limitations and have a plan for the distance you plan to hike each day. Dehydration can be reduced by packing adequate amounts of water and having a plan to refill your water bottles or reservoirs. If you experience altitude sickness, stay hydrated and slowly descend to lower altitudes. Accidents, however, do happen while backcountry hiking, so always let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return.
Pack the Right Foods
Food on a backcountry hiking trip needs to provide calories and nutrients. Providing fuel and energy, backcountry food can consist of homemade recipes, energy bars or prepackaged meals. The easiest foods to carry that provide a high weight-to-calorie ratio include mixed nuts, dried fruit and granola. If you have space for a backpacking stove, you can make hot meals using a mess kit and boiling water. Prepackaged freeze-dried backpacking meals are lightweight, provide essential nutrients and are easy to prepare and clean up.
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