MaryJoe Higgins asks: “I am going on my first backpacking trip in October in Nevada. What is the best way for me to prepare for this physically? I’m in reasonable shape, but not great. Any advice?”
Comment #1: Stairs and carry your pack. Add weight until it equals the weight of the pack you intend to carry.
Comment #2: Walk every night, and start carrying a backpack with moderate weight. Increase the distance and weight as you become more comfortable with it.
Comment #3: Stood quality hiking boots. Spend the money and wear them every day till you head out. Walk at least 2 miles a day for the first month. Add more water to your pack every couple of days. Find places to walk uphill as part of your training. Learn to hydrate, the desert will kill you if you don’t. Understand that water is your number one concern. A warm sleep sack (it gets cold at night) and layered cloths. Sturdy socks. More sturdy socks. Did I mention sturdy socks? If you blister you are screwed.
A light cover or ultralight tent. Food which does not require water to prepare. In your last couple of weeks hit the stairwell of a tall building with your fully loaded pack. Wear your boots as well. Up and down top to bottom a couple of times a day.
Once you are out there, it’s not so bad.
Make sure you have more water than you think you need and it you come up short, abort the hike.
Comment #4: If you aren’t from NV/desert area, consider carefully if this is something you think you can do **SAFELY**.
In the desert, count on there being NO water to purify or find. That was my stumbling block, what was marked as water on the guidemaps was NOT. so, unexpectedly, we had to pack and carry ALL our water.
In the desert, you need even more water due to evaporative loss, so, consider needing the absolute maximum water that you read you’d need, and 1 gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. say you decide you’re going to carry 3 gallons of water (3-4 days of backpacking…) that’s 25 lbs before you talk about gear.
It’s something to SERIOUSLY consider before embarking on that plan. in a desert you have to carry ALL your water, that was a bit of the surprise for me. I was training whit a loaded pack, and then found I had to lade it much much more.
my next backpacking trip was on around lake Michigan…. no water shortage! LOL!!
I would advise for a first backpacking trip, not to attempt the desert. Packing water is something you may wish to avoid for your first time out. Iodine tabs, or a lightweight cook kit for boiling or one of those pens (dunno if they work, I prefer boiling and iodine), weigh next to nothing by comparison.
The post Backpacking in Nevada appeared first on Camping Survival.com Blog.
