TIPS & TRICKS.

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Keep a list of the essential items required on a backpack trip and follow it each time you pack. Most backpackers do this. Out in the middle of the wilderness is not the time to discover that you've forgotten your water filter or something to light your stove! Along these same lines, it doesn't hurt to have paper and a pen for keeping track of things that were extremely useful and things you could have done without. Make a note of things you crave while hiking and try to figure out if you can carry any of the items on your next trip. Remember, things that sound good on the trail may not sound good at home, and visa versa, so be sure you follow this hiking list while planning any trip in the future.

SHELTER

For all overnight treks one can spend the night in a village school, temple, in a fort or maybe even in a cave. In many forts, caves are trilling places to spend a night in. Although carrying your own tent is not a bad idea.

FOOD

Carry your own food and water bottle as almost nothing will be available in some of the villages. Carry plenty of fruits and plan your meals well. In a few villages cooked meals to trekkers are served for a charge. This food is generally hot and simple. Test your menu ideas at home first! If you are planning on using the prepackaged backpacking meals, try them in your kitchen where you can feed them to your dog if you just can't stand them! You can't throw it away when you are on the trail; you must pack it out! And remember, once the food is re-hydrated, it is much, much heavier.

WATER

Carry water purification tables as some of the water is not pure. How you manage your water will determine how much you will enjoy your trek. Always enquire whether water will be available at your destination. Also check out our water purification section.

OTHER HOT TIPS

	Use at least one, but preferably two, walking sticks. Until you've tried them, you'll have no idea of the benefit derived from these marvels. Not only do they take the pressure off of your knees, hips and ankles, but they also help propel you along. Walking sticks help establish a comfortable rhythm and also lessen your overall fatigue from hiking. Hiking with the extra weight of a backpack can make you a little unstable, and the sticks can help you balance yourself and prevent a fall. A good idea, don't you think?
	When tying your boots for the long, downhill climbs in the Sahyadri Mountains, there is an especially effective way to tie your laces to keep your feet from sliding forward and hitting the front of the boot with your toes. For the foot section where there are regular eyelets, tie the boot laces with a little give in them; not real loose, but not snug either. Leaving this a little looser will allow your feet room to swell, which they will do with exertion and heat. Then just below the point that the eyelets change to the quick release style, do an overhand with the laces and snug them to tighten the boot comfortably to your ankle, go through the next set of eyelets, do another snug overhand, and continue in this manner until you reach the top. Tie the boot in the regular style, and just to keep them from becoming loose while hiking, take the loops and tie them overhand too (just like you do for kid's shoes). By tying the ankle portion of the boot snugly, the heel stays put towards the back of your boot. This will go a long way towards saving your toenails! Don't forget to clip your toenails as short as possible before your hike.
	Splurge—buy an inflatable air mattress! The trekkers who have used one on hikes wanted me to stress this to everyone. Each of them said it was one of the most important items they either had—or didn't have! I cannot begin to tell you the difference in comfort it can make.
	While sleeping on your back, place a stuff sack full of clothes under your knees to raise them slightly. This helps flatten the lower back, preventing stiffness and soreness, and it just plain feels good.

	Take along clean, dry socks for every hiking day. Clean socks help prevent blisters and keep your feet happy! If you are hiking in very warm, dry weather, you can wash socks out instead of taking along many pairs. I will still carry at least three pairs along to cover the possibility that the washed pair won't dry overnight.
	Carry allergy medication, such as Benadryl or an antihistamine of some sort. People who have never experienced allergies in their life can often find the desert vegetation will affect even them. Be prepared.
	If you are not allergic to aspirin, carry Ibuprofen (generic name) with you. None of the other anti-inflammatory medications will be as effective with the soreness you get from hiking. Some of those that are ineffective for the joint pain and muscle soreness include Aleve, Tylenol, and aspirin. Trust me, this has been found to be the case over and over with hundreds of people.
	Repackage your personal hygiene items into smaller bottles and buy travel sizes when available. These items can really contribute to the weight of your pack. When you buy the biodegradable camp soap, buy the sachets. It is very concentrated! Liquid organic cleaners works well for shampoo, laundry, body and dish soap.
	It is always nice to take your boots off at night after a hard day's hiking. If you take along some Slippers, you can have comfortable camp shoes without a lot of extra weight.
	Bandanas will be one of the most versatile items included in your pack. They can be used as a washcloth or towel, worn under a hat or alone to protect you from the sun, a strainer for water to strain the gunk out, a headband to keep sweat out of your eyes, wet down to wear around your neck to cool you on hot days, a first aid item to staunch blood flow or to use as a splint, and even as it was originally intended, as a handkerchief! In fact, if you tie a bandana on a loop of your backpack shoulder strap, you can have it handy for your nose, which will seem to run often while you hike. I've even seen bandanas used for a woman's top. It was a hot day and this person didn't have a cool top to wear, so she tied two bandanas together—one knot tied between her breasts and one knot at her back. It worked and it looked like a real top!

TREKKING DURING THE HOT WEATHER

	For hot weather hiking, wet down an extra t-shirt and store it in a Ziploc bag inside your pack. When you are feeling hot and parched, take out your treasure and put it on. You'll be amazed at how refreshing it feels to put on a damp shirt. The evaporative cooling will revitalize you for those last difficult switchbacks!
	Also for hot weather hiking, carry a small spray bottle filled with water. When you start warming up, spray yourself and your hiking buddies with the water. The effect of the evaporative cooling will be very welcome and you'll be a popular hiking companion!

THE SECRET OF THE REST STEP

For hiking up steep grades, like those you find in the mountains, discipline yourself to take small, slow steps. Mountaineers have used a step known as the rest step for years, and it can be a very useful tool for you as well! How slow your step should be will depend on several different factors: the elevation you live at and that at which you're hiking, your aerobic fitness, how much weight you are carrying (both on your body and in your pack), and how steep the grade is.

While hiking uphill, you are using your large muscles, the quadriceps (thigh muscles) and your gluteus maximus (butt muscles). These are very strong muscles which shouldn't have any trouble carrying yours and your pack's weight; however, they also require a good, steady supply of oxygen during exercise. Because of the high altitude, you have to breathe more to get the same amount of oxygen that you would at lower elevations. This combination ends up being very tough on people who don't know how to hike correctly in these conditions. If you insist on trying to maintain a relatively fast pace, your breathing becomes labored, you feel your heart pounding in your head, and you start building up lactic acid in your muscles! Lactic acid is that burning sensation in the muscles when you're exercising hard. You don't have to get it while you're hiking though!

I will attempt to describe the step here; although it is difficult to explain how slowly you must actually go to do it properly. Keep in mind that the hardest thing about the rest step is disciplining yourself to go as slowly as you should. The step itself doesn't have to be anything more special than a slow step. It might help you to think of some tune, or count numbers, or repeat a mantra in your mind to get your rhythm. If while you're are hiking, you can talk in a normal—not at all breathless—voice, you are doing it right! Remember that everybody's rest step will be different because of his or her different fitness level.

At first, it will seem very awkward and like it'll take forever to get anywhere, but you will be amazed at how fast you actually get to your destination. Because you are not depleting your body's resources and building up lactic acid in your muscles, you don't have to stop near as often to rest. Therefore, you will save time in the long run. You will find yourself playing leapfrog with all of the fast hikers and not getting exhausted like they will be. In fact, by doing this, you will still have energy to enjoy the rest of your day and not have to go straight to bed to rest! This step has been so remarkable. Try it—you'll love it!!!

Updated: 07/28/00

This page contains some little treasures meant to make your life easier and more enjoyable while on the trail. Find out what others are doing to make life on the trail simpler and more enjoyable. If you have any ideas you'd like to share, please drop me a line!

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