Backpacking 101

If you've been thinking about jumping into the sport of backpacking chances are you've done quite a bit of research on gear to buy or rent; however, this isn't always the case.  As someone who works as a guide and has done a number of distance hikes I can tell you while many people are doing the research there are still huge numbers of people who do absolutely no research at all.  Don't let your first trip take you by surprise!  Here are some common beginner mistakes a lot of people make on their first few backpacking trips and some tips for how to avoid making them. 

Carrying the Wrong Gear

We have all seen people out on the trail for the weekend carrying that backpack their dad bought back in 1979.  While the gear manufactured back then was truly built to last, sitting in the basement unused since the 80's means that your gear has a tendency to fall apart the minute you try to put it through the rigors of a backpacking trip.  As a guide, I've repaired numerous pieces of "durable and built to last" backpacking gear out on a trip.  Avoid this happening to you by heading to an outfitter and buying a new pack, getting fitted properly and learning how to use it.  Can't afford a new pack for the once-a-year trip you're about to take? There are plenty of gear rental companies out there to help you out!  Try looking online for a local place where you're headed into the woods, or check out a website like Get Out Backpacking for ultralight gear rental you can do online.  

Carrying Too Much Gear

Just because you bought it doesn't mean it needs to come out on the trip with you!  While many outdoors aisles have lots of fun and cool-looking outdoor tools you don't necessarily need to bring them on a trip!  Carry a small Swiss Army knife instead of that Leatherman multitool.  Leave the hatchet and saw at home.  A solar charger is useless under most tree canopies.  Cosmetics and deodorants will melt.  A full camp kitchen isn't necessary.  And last, but not least, you aren't going to need a different set of hiking clothes every single day.  By going through your pack and eliminating extra items you'll be able to shave a few pounds off your pack's overall weight.  By carrying less weight you'll decrease your chance for injury and have a more enjoyable trip.  Remember - a pack should never be more than 20% of your total body weight!

Carrying Outdated Gear

Now, I'm not saying that the gear you bought in the late 90's isn't any good any more.  I'm sure it's great!  But, what I am saying is that it might be time to retire that heavy gear to your front country camping stash instead.  Over the last several years backpacking gear has become significantly lighter and more advanced.  While it was common for thru hikers to carry 30-40 pound packs back in the 90's it is no longer necessary for hikers to carry that kind of weight.  By updating your gear piece by piece you'll save yourself quite a few pounds.  One of my favorite switches is a water filtration system.  Commonly weighing a pound or more, the old-fashioned water pumps are no longer necessary with options out on the market today.  Consider switching to a Sawyer Mini or Squeeze system and ditch that Nalgene bottle for a Smartwater bottle and you've saved yourself nearly two pounds and only spent about $20.  

Take More Breaks

As a guide, I teach people not only how to update, replace, or even buy gear properly, I also teach people how to hike properly.  Just because you did a 15-mile hike the last time you went into the woods doesn't necessarily mean you can still do 15 miles without any training time again!  By taking a slower pace and taking a few snack and stretch breaks along the way you'll not only get to camp in one piece, you'll also wake up the next morning with fewer aches and pains.  I recommend taking a 5-minute break every hour to take off your pack and roll out your neck (because looking down at the ground for an hour can really do a number on you) and stretch out your legs.  Snack breaks, even if you're not hungry, can help your body recover before you can even tell that you need to.  Taking small sips of water throughout the day will also go a long way against preventing dehydration.  

These are just a few of many tips I could offer to help make your first (or first in a while) backpacking trip go successfully.  What are some mistakes you made when you first became a backpacker?  What advice would you give someone who wants to try to go out on their own for the first time? 

Common Hiking Injuries - How to Avoid and Treat Them

Injury prevention and treatment is something anyone participating in any sport will eventually have to deal with.  While many people don't consider hiking to be a sport, it's very easy to draw comparisons between hiking and high impact exercise like running and ultrarunning.  While taking your time to ease into hiking is always a great way to begin, overuse injuries are extremely common in novice and experienced hikers alike.  Here are my tips to avoid and treat common hiking injuries.

Sprains and Strains: 

First, let's understand the difference between a sprain and a strain.  A strain is when you have a pull or tear in a muscle or tendon while a sprain is when you have an overuse injury in a joint that causes damage to a ligament.  Muscle strains in hikers are commonly seen in the hamstrings, while a sprain is more likely found in the ankle.  Regardless of the difference in terminology, prevention and treatment for both are very similar.  

Prevention: Begin your mornings by hiking a slower pace, giving your body plenty of time to warm up.  I always recommend that you take a minute to stretch your ankles by writing your full in name in cursive with each foot about 15 minutes into your hike.  Stretching out your quads and hamstrings is also helpful.  This is easy to do by making a "figure 4", balancing one leg just above the knee of the opposite leg and bending at the waist.  Bend only as far as needed before you begin to feel a slight pull in your hip.  

Treatment: For an ankle sprain, stop and sit down.  Remove your shoe and take a look.  If it is beginning to swell, it's time to take action.  While in the real world we would recommend the RICE method (Rest, ice, compression, elevation), on trail it's important to rest, elevate, and compress - in that order.  Since not everyone has an Ace bandage on them, rest and elevation for 30-45 minutes after the injury can significantly help.  If you're having pain, ibuprofen (Vitamin I as many hikers call it) can also be helpful for both the pain and the swelling.  I also recommend sleeping with your feet elevated the night of your injury.  Just use your pack to keep your feet off the ground.  Take a zero day if you're in a lot of pain and give your body time to heal. 

Shin Splints:

Shin splints are the most common overuse injury I've ever seen on trail - and I've seen a ton of them.  I'm also very prone to them myself and often get them during race training as a runner. Signs and symptoms of shin splints can include tenderness, soreness, and pain in the lower leg, which may or may not be accompanied by localized swelling.  Lower leg pain when walking is the most common complaint.  Unfortunately, if not treated, shin splints can lead to another nasty injury called a stress fracture!

Prevention: Wearing properly fitted shoes with insoles is the best thing you can do to help prevent shin splints.  For hikers who prefer a lightweight trail shoe, I highly recommend going to a RUNNING store, not a hiking store, to be properly fitted.  Many running stores are trained to analyze your gait and see what insoles and shoes would be best for you.  If you want a heavier hiking boot, go to an outfitter and be properly fitted.  Since shin splints are an overuse injury, I recommend taking your first days out on the trail a little slower and doing fewer miles to ease your body into carrying a heavy pack and doing long days. 

Treatment: When you're out on trail a few days from town, treatment options are limited. As a long-distance hiker, I always carry leukotape with me and it's invaluable! NoKey and I call this human duct tape - it can work as K-tape in a pinch and also stays stuck to skin that is dirty and grimy for weeks on end (seriously, I had it on my feet for 17 days of straight rain on the Finger Lakes Trail and I still had to rip it off!)  Learn how to tape a shin splint by watching a YouTube tutorial.  This will help you tremendously in getting to town.  Once in town, unfortunately a few zero days will be in order.  That handy RICE method I mentioned above is your best bet for treating a shin splint, along with an NSAID (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory) like ibuprofen or naproxen (Aleve).  Shin splints can take a long time to heal, so being patient is key. 

Blisters:

Ahhh, blisters.  Everyone I know has had more than a few blisters in their lifetime and ways to treat and prevent blisters can vary from person to person.  The advice I'm listing below is the method I was taught at my recent Wilderness First Responder program last month and is on point with how I've treated blisters for a few years. 

Prevention: Since everyone's feet are different, I highly recommend you find works best for you in terms of prevention.  For all hikers, I highly recommend a wool sock and properly fitting shoes that can breathe.  Gortex is not your friend on long hikes because it can actually keep moisture from sweat inside your shoes.  Some hikers who get blisters between the toes find that Injini toe socks can be helpful to alleviate their toes rubbing together.  If you get blisters on the tips of your toes, chances are you need a larger shoe size. 

Treatment: Again, everyone treats blisters differently.  For me, I use a sterilized safety pin (sterilized with an alcohol pad) and pop the blister from the bottom, going underneath the healthy skin before the blister starts.  Gravity will clear the fluid from the blister.  Do not apply any ointment inside the blister and leave the "blanket" in place.  Cut a donut-style hole with moleskin and apply it around the blister.  Secure in place with leukotape.  Make sure to change this every night before going to bed to allow the wound to breathe and heal. If you feel like infection is imminent, you can place triple antibiotic ointment around the outside of the blister, but avoid putting it in the actual wound. 

Muscle Cramps: 

We've all been woken up in the middle of the night with a Charlie Horse pain in our calf muscles.  When you're out on the trail and you don't hike much, it's common to have some muscle aches and pains, pop a few ibuprofen, and continue on your way.  

Prevention: Dehydration is very common not only in long-distance hiking, but also in America in general.   In fact, it's estimated that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated and probably don't even know it!  Muscle cramping on trail is usually due to the fact that you aren't drinking enough water, which sounds like a simple fix, right? I highly recommend using a Gatorate powder or Nuun electrolyte tab in your water you drink with your camp dinner at night before you go to bed.  Not only do they taste like something other than water, they will help replace the vital electrolytes you lost during your hours of hiking during the day.  

Treatment: Just like with the prevention, treatment for muscle cramps means eliminating dehydration.  Unfortunately, just chugging a bunch of water after you cramp up isn't going to help much.  This rehydrating process can take a day or two, so be patient.  I highly recommend drinking an electrolyte drink with each meal for a few days after the cramping began.  Also, drinking more water is important.  Try to remember to take a sip each time you stop to take a photo or talk to a hiker.  

Chaffing: 

No matter if it's your first long-distance hiker or your fiftieth, you're going to chafe when you least expect it.  Whether it's on your thighs, low back, or even shoulders, chafe is definitely irritating and can be prevented and cured while hiking. 

Prevention: A lot of hikers quickly discover Body Glide is their friend!  Simply apply to wherever you've got friction and it will help.  I also highly recommend marino wool undergarments.  I'm a huge fan of Smartwool bras and underwear to prevent chaffing.  

Treatment:  NoKey and I are huge fans of something called Boudreaux's Butt Paste.  It's essentially a zinc cream for treating diaper rash and that's pretty much what chaffing is.  We apply a thick layer of this to wherever is starting to chafe and it will not only soothe the pain, it will help heal the rash.  Also, prerinsing your hiking clothes with you in the shower before doing your laundry will help cut down on the recurrence of chaffing.  If you've been wearing the same shirt for months on end and washing it only 2-3 times a month, doing a prerinse will definitely help cut out some salt crystals.  

I'm NOT a physician and what you're reading here isn't considered diagnosis or treatment for your specific injuries - ask a doctor what is best for your specific injuries after you get back to civilization!  

These are only a few of the common injuries I have treated on both myself and other hikers.  Do you have any trail injury stories?  I'd love to chat with you about what you would do differently.  Leave me a comment or head over to the Facebook page to join in!