Joseph's Tips

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ponderosa

ponderosa

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If you're fortunate enough to come across some high elevation snow on a hot summer day, fill your cup and stir in some crystal lite or punch powder for a backpacker's snow cone.
 
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Hikenhunter

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Tip#14 10/16/12---- Wear a fanny pack with the bag to the front of yourself. Keep things in it you might need to get at while backpacking like your map, compass, sunglasses, camera, a snack bar or gorp, etc.. This eliminates the need to stop and drop your pack everytime you need any of these items.
 
Grandpa

Grandpa

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Oct 16 In this day and age of hi tech materials like thinsulate and goretex, keeping feet warm and dry is easy......if you have those kinds of footwear at hand. In the old days, it was wool socks and plastic bread sacks shoved into our boots for dry feet. So in a pinch, a couple of plastic bags can be real handy carried in your car or in your office desk for when that nasty rain or sleet storm hits and you are far away from your goretex.
 
ponderosa

ponderosa

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Grandpa said:
Oct 16 In this day and age of hi tech materials like thinsulate and goretex, keeping feet warm and dry is easy......if you have those kinds of footwear at hand. In the old days, it was wool socks and plastic bread sacks shoved into our boots for dry feet. So in a pinch, a couple of plastic bags can be real handy carried in your car or in your office desk for when that nasty rain or sleet storm hits and you are far away from your goretex.
Click to expand...

I remember hiking as a kid with bread sacks in my boots, and a big trash bag for a rain jacket. It worked, right?
 
ponderosa

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Busy day tomorrow, so I'm going to post this now while I'm thinking about it.

Minimus.biz is a great web resource for backpackers. They carry tiny, shelf stable, portable packets and containers of every imaginable condiment, sauce, spread, dressing, & beverage you can imagine. Get single servings of steak sauce, maple syrup, salad dressing, tabasco, etc. They also sell first aid supplies in small quantities, and all kinds of travel sized items. Need a tiny tube of sunscreen or little bottle of contact lens solution? Get it here.
 
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_Jack

_Jack

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Thanks Ponderosa! Are you sure you got the right site?

I'm seeing at Minimus.com "Minimus is a unique Latin course for younger children."

If the products you mentioned are on an inner page of this site can you post a link to them?

Jack
 
dinosaur

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Always remember that you can't fight Mother Nature. The best you can hope for is to go along for the ride. Once you realize this you'll be able to relax and enjoy the experience.

The corollary to this bit of advice is that you can't fully concentrate unless you're relaxed and concentration is very important when you're out in the wilds.
 
Pathfinder1

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Hi...


Telling directions by using your watch.

You can use a watch that has hour and minute hands to get an accurate indication of north and south (in the northern hemisphere). This technique is most reliable on a clear day when you can see the sun, but if it's cloudy, simply look for the brightest area of the sky.

Point the HOUR hand of your watch at the sun. South will be halfway between the HOUR hand and the 12 o'clock mark.
 
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Hikenhunter

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ponderosa said:
Busy day tomorrow, so I'm going to post this now while I'm thinking about it.

Minimus.biz is a great web resource for backpackers. They carry tiny, shelf stable, portable packets and containers of every imaginable condiment, sauce, spread, dressing, & beverage you can imagine. Get single servings of steak sauce, maple syrup, salad dressing, tabasco, etc. They also sell first aid supplies in small quantities, and all kinds of travel sized items. Need a tiny tube of sunscreen or little bottle of contact lens solution? Get it here.
Click to expand...
Thanks ponderosa, I just added this site to my favorites. I'm pretty sure I'll be buying from them sometime in the future.
 
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Hikenhunter

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Tip#15 10/17/12---- Organize your pack and pack it the same way each and everytime you go out. You may have to move things around a bit till you find the best system of packing to suit yourself but once you do you will be glad. This will streamline camp set up, which means you might beat that storm brewing in the distance, or if there is no storm you might get a little more time to explore your surroundings.One other advantage to this method of packing is that when you are packing up it will be easier to make sure that you do not forget anything.
 
Grandpa

Grandpa

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Oct 17 For years, I carried a terry cloth golfing towel due to the numerous stream crossings and alpine marshy meadows I encountered. For one drying, it worked okay but took a long time hanging outside my pack to get dry again. I then discovered the microfiber towels distributed by the big outdoor companies. My first was a large by MSR but to the expense of (I think) about $14 dollars. These towels absorb well and dry quickly, great for backpacking in wet conditions. I since have found packets of these towels at automotive supply stores as well as big box stores that are much cheaper and work just as well.

When hiking in areas where stream wading and marshy meadows occur, be sure to take along water shoes and a couple of these towels.
 
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charley

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An old cd makes a good signaling mirror. You can even sight through the hole in the center. Don't forget a pack of handiwipes, many uses.
 
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Hikenhunter

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Tip #16 10/18/12----Safety Tip today. Do not use stones from a continuously damp or wet area, to build your fire ring. Water inside of the stone can turn to steam and built up pressure until the stone explodes. Peices exploding off of an exploding stone can injure, maim, and could even kill, anyone sitting near it.
 
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Grandpa

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Oct 18 Air expands and contracts quite a bit with temperature variations. A lot of people blow up an air mattress and later that night, think the mattress has a small leak because the air has cooled and contracted and their mattress looks like a limp noodle. I have found with my Big Agnus insulated air core mattress, it is best to blow it all the way up during the day and not adjust it until after I have layed on it a few minutes after going to bed. This allows my body heat to affect the air compaction. At this time, lying on my side, I slowly let air out until my hip touches the ground. This gives me a great night sleep without overinflating and rolling all over the place or underinflating and sleeping on the hard ground all night.

With my thermarest, I let the pad self-inflate and resist the urge to give it a puff or two extra and about bedtime, it will be just right.
 
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