hiking gear...

“so now I have my first one-day hike behind me (which was great by the way). I have a weekend where my family is going to grandmas (oct 27th weekend) and if I can find someone who's willing to hike with me I will try a overnighter. Can someone tell me what to look for?

I have my husbands army sleeping bag, and a small tent, don't think
the tent is really great, bought it a while back and it's actually a cheap walmart tent, so I am not sure if this will work. (have not
tried it yet)

I am not the heaviest person, weight about 110 lbs, so I have to
watch what I am packing too, right? (heard something that the
backpack should not be more then a certian percentige of our body weight)

Can someone please give me some great tips on what I need or should get / or avoid??

Thanks much :)”

“what's the weather like where you are at?”

“will probably be in the smokeys, so I am guessing in 2 weeks it will be in the low 50's, maybe a little cooler.”

“I own a cheap walmart type tent, it works great- Got it at Target actually- Make sure you set it up before you go on the trip to get familiar with it, perhaps try running some water on it to see if it leaks.”

“A good sleeping pad..thermarest has good ones for just starting.

Your sleeping bag should be okay for those temps.

There are some inexpensive tents out there like Sierra Designs, MSR Zoid, etc.

Go to REI.com or to Campmor.com and check out the prices of things.

You will also need a first aid kit, and have moleskin for your feet just in case.

You will want to have water with you at all times. There are decent bladders out there that will do the trick.

If there is an outfitter near you, I would recommend going there and asking all of your questions. The sales people are usually very accomodating. Make a list while you are there, jot down info and prices and take a look at websites to see if there are good deals going on.

The MOST important thing is your feet. If you don't take cae of those, you won't enjoy yourself. They ARE the transportation to nature's beauty.”

“thanks ya'll!! Big help :)
I have the moleskin, the water filter, and a larger foldable water container.
will check out the websites later tonight and will go to the backpacker store this week. Have not thought about asking them yet.

I will need to get the sleeping pad. (don't have that yet)

what about the weight of the backpack?? how much should it weigh?”

“When you feel your vertebrae splintering as the crane lowers the pack onto your back, you're almost there.
Actually, if you get it down to the low thirties, you're doing okay- Less than that is great, but keep in mind, the lighter the gear, the more expensive it is.”

“again, thanks guys. So 30 lbs. it is. We'll see if I am able to do this.”

“Good luck!”

“go light as possble, 25lbs. max. you can do this, you shouldn't need a tent by then. that will help, ditch the army bag, get a wal-mart fleece and a dry cleaner's large bag. if needed get some of those hand warmers to keep you cozy at night. wear your nylon hose at night too. you should have a silk top somewere in the closet. wear it. put something on the top of your head too. take a couple lbs of food and you should have it. first aid kit, flashlight, matches, knife, whistle, rope, another 1lb. of rain gear if needed, don't forget it rains whenever. don't hurry, be carefull, don't go alone first time.”

“Helped me alot. Heard rumors about the army sleeping bag. Always thought army stuff is light. I guess I was wrong.

Great Tips! Thanks!
Will try not to go alone. (am a chicken anyway). I did okay on a about 10 mile moderate to strenghous hike, so I know I can do an overnigher easily.

oh! Rope? What kind a rope? Heavy or those thin nylon ropes to tie basic stuff...?”

“hot chocolate
you could get away with a small cheapy tarp in the smokies, you'll be staying in the shelter anyway, it'll be just in case.
i don't know if a wal mart fleece will do the trick though.
stove? or stoveless?
the pepsi can stove is light, inexpensive and easy.
pot, fork, spoon, spork, or whatever
powerbars
the cheapie blue pad will probly do you pretty ok in a trail shelter, those thermarests can be expensive, the z rest is pretty cheap though
ugh, it's been a long day, i can't think anymore”

“did not think about a stove yet. I think for now it will be stoveless, even a hot chicken noodle soup or hot chocolate does sound good. hmmm, I will have to think about this one. First I really need to figure out if my backpack is too heavy. Seams like the smaller internal pack is heavier then my larger external pack. I am checking out the sleeping bags right now. I still would like to have some sort of tent, just to be on the save side. I am not sure what the temperature will be up in the mountains in 2 weeks. I just don't know!!!!!”

“id expect anything weather wise
you could always boil water on a small fire, or a big one i guess
there's lots of food you just add boiling water to. it's good to have a hot meal”

“I'm just over 100 lbs and my pack is 26-30 lbs solo (w/tent, chair & 35mm SLR camera). I used to carry 40 lbs minimum. Lighter is sooooo much nicer!”

“can o' sterno is cheap and you can get it anywhere.
Weigh everything. Use a kitchen scale if you have one. List evrything and its' weight. Eat from your cooking pot or cup. Get food out of boxes.
There is a great site, LightweightBackpacker, I think which has plethora of info. Do a search. Half the folks here frequent that site as well.”

“i was thinking about the sterno already, but I think this will take forever to boil, I guess that's not too bad, it's not like we will be cooking sunday dinner.

anyway, the link to the lightweightbackpacker... you are talking about a yahoo group, correct?

Snow Nymp: how do you get your backpack so light? Seams like I pack a couple thinks and it's already heavy as $%##$

ductape: yes, you're right. I should expect anything weather wise. I guess that's what makes me a newby. I don't think. Thanks for the tip.”

“I didn't see anyone here mention to check gear with your hiking partner to try not to duplicate anything like stoves, or larger pots, sharing can save weight, split tents between two people, etc. Put some water proofing conditioner on your boots, take extra socks to change into and go.”

“Check this site for assistance...
http://www.backpacking.net/”

“thanks all! I did not think about checking gear with my partner, but I guess I probably would've once up there. (well, you'll never know, I am known to forget simple things)

thanks for the link too, will check it out now.”

“cheap stove = homemade (pepsi can) alcohol stove or esbit/trioxane tablet stove, avail. at most army/navy surplus stores.”

“Can't beat the stove Roseymonster recommended for starters. It's small and inexpensive and works fine until you need to upgrade. Keep it later for short trips and backup.

A Walmart aluminum greasepot works okay as a basic pot to heat soup or Lipton meals. Or use a small liteweight aluminum kitchen pot.

Plastic bladders from box wine make great water bladders. Best part is making them empty. The faucet end either prys out or has little catches. Clean 'em with baking soda and water.

Can't beat plastic "sporks" from fast food joints. Also leftover condiment packages.

Always use a groundcloth under the tent to protect the tent floor and keep out moisture. Heavy plastic works fine. Cut or fold to a couple inches smaller than the tent floor. Mattress stores throw away tons of it when they unpack new mattresses.

Use onion sacks for net bags to pack loose stuff. Wad one up to make a pot scrubber.

Don't forget the body needs salt when working hard, especially in hot weather. Bring some Gatoraid powder and mix it as you go.

35mm film cannisters are great for carrying small things and small amounts of spices or condiments. They are perfectly acceptable as food containers. Gear stores sell little snap on shaker covers to make them into salt and pepper containers.

You don't need to spend a fortune to get started.
Buy new gear and upgrade your old gear as necessity demends and budget allows.”

“Gemini, it took 2 years, a lot of research, and $$ for me to upgrade. But for as much as I get out, its worth the weight I don't have to carry.”