Tips for Backpacker

1. How you pack and load your gear into your backpack determines whether you arrive at the campsite crying or smiling :-). The lighter the item, the deeper it should go into your pack. The heaviest should be on the top part. Also a bulky or fat backpack makes a difference compared with a slender one. Don't get cheap on backpack especially if you are over 50.
2. .Have you ever climbed the mountain in Indonesia with your friends? Did you remember the many items dangling from their pack? Their water bottle, their kitchen utensils, sometimes even their stoves and fuels. This is a waste of energy. All your items should fit in your backpack or should be loaded on top of it. If you can't, it means you are not camping but moving your home.
3. Cecilia and I bought 2 nice rain pants at MEC for our last camping trip. We didn't encounter pouring rain in Europe and our Gore Tex jacket was already adequate but keeping dry or becoming wet makes a difference between heavenly camping or a 'lousy' one. I shall always remember the three hints my fellow camper told me on winter camping. Number 1 don't get wet, number 2 don't get wet, number 3 don't get wet.
4. On waterproofing, we did that regularly to our tent from time to time. The fabric is OK in general unless you put your tent in a washer :-). What needs reapplication is the seam (jahitan) of the tent zipper. Make sure your hand is steady when doing the waterproofing cause if the glue gets to the zipper, you may have to sleep outside :-).
5. I love leaving for the campsite on a Friday morning. This way, we get to choose from many scenic sites and are not forced to camp in the dark.
6. When you are tired, you will be hungry and thirsty. So if you lead a team, make sure you allow time for rest. If you are a member of the team, munch on your snack from time to time :-), but share.
7. This is a secret actually, not all of my friends know. I keep pee bottle just outside my tent (inside the vestibule). If the weather is lousy or cold, I don't have to wear jacket and get into the boots, just to go pee. I took that bottle inside my tent, ser-ser-ser, finished, I slept again.
8. I told you a hundred times by now, get a good map. The same when you are backpacking, especially to an area you have never set foot before. In this province of Ontario, you can buy any topographical map of any place from MEC or other excellent camping store. Each geographical area in Ontario has a number, you just have to know roughly where you are going.
9. I don't know about your breakfast style but I eat big meal for breakfast. The best type of food is either bean or rice. Sandwich will only last me a couple hours. As said above, bring along snack like nuts and raisins.
10. I have used all kind of fuels for my camping stove. I have to say, gas is the best. There are several varities and if you are a beginner ask advice from the store person which one is suitable for your needs.
11. The temperature dropped to almost 0 when we camped in Zurich. Other than one down-filled sleeping back that Cecilia and I shared (both of us can fit sleeping in a twin-size bed :-)), we had headband that kept us warm. If your head is big, you may want to buy a tuque to cover all of it.
12. Do you know what is a perfect campsite? This is a place close to the water, well drained, above the waterline, lots of space for your friends' tents, the 'john' or biffy is nearby, far from the human noise, in a place you love and you have the company of someone you treasure. :-)
13. Don't bring the following items just by yourself but SHARE the load. Stove, pots and pans, tarp, water filter, water bag, map, first aid kit, GPS, compass, rope.
14. Bring the following and don't borrow: whistle, headlamp, lighter, sunscreen lotion, TP (toilet paper), pocket knife, personal medication.
15. Never save money on tent, your camping enjoyment depends on it. For beginner campers, it's better to borrow or rent first if you intend to camp more than once. This way you get a better idea of the tent you want to buy for the next trip.
16. A tarp could also contribute to a nice camping experience. If the rain is a downpour and the tent is leaking, you can expect a four-letter word swearing followed by 'never-again-in-my-life' oath from your friend.
17. I don't like to wear jeans when camping. It sucks. When it's wet, it is heavy. It is not easy to get dry and when you have a few jeans in your backpack and the climb is a 70 degree slope, I bet you will swear too :-).
18. "You don't want the breast you pay the price," said an unfriendly Popeye Chicken guy to us in Florida at one time. You don't want to get wet ever, you pay the price to wear Gore Tex pant, jacket and shoes :-). They are indeed one of the best inventions of human-being.
19. You don't want to get sick after your camping trip and in Ontario, Canada you could get the 'beaver-fever' from giardia. Invest in a good water filter or if you know how, bring iodine to kill the bacteria from those parasites. (You can use chlorine too if you want.)
20. When you go camping for several days, you can use a 'base camping' method. You stay in one place and only go to explore in different directions. This way, you don't have to pack and unpack every day.
21. Your stove could be your life. At one point in time, at the beginning of a 10-days interior camping, the main stove I brought was broken. We were already a day canoeing from the starting point. My back-up stove was a gas type with only one canister and there were 12 of us. I was lucky that we had engineer among us who was able to fix the stove. Moral of the story, brought either important part or a full back-up if the success of your whole trip depends on just one small item like that.
22. The same thing in clothing. If your pack falls to the water, you want to make sure you don't sleep with wet clothes. So store them inside a plastic (garbage) bag. During a day trip in one fall season, Cecilia fell to the water and was totally wet. Campsite was an hour paddling back. She was lucky that she could borrow dry clothing from the 3 of us because we also brought spare clothing when we went on a day trip.
23. Invest in a good first-aid-kit, especially if you go to the interior (read: several hours or days from civilisation). In Canada it is quite common that people are trained to do first-aid, else make sure that you could have one first-aider participant in your team. More important actually, DO NOT HORSE AROUND in the interior. It means do not do stupid things (becanda keterlaluan) that could cause trouble.
24. Be nice to the environment (exception: peeing a beaver dam, kidding). When you leave your campsite, make sure it is cleaner than before you come. When you walk on the trail, do not litter but put any wrapping in your pocket where you can stuff it in the garbage later on. This way, your grand-grandchildren would have the same enjoyment as you.
25. I don't think most of you will go to bear-country or camp in the interior. Regardless, important stuff like your (bear) pepper-spray, water, first- aid kit, etc. should all be easily accessible, preferably in the outside of your backpack.