Marv's Thoughts For Car Campers

If you are an experienced car camper and are thinking about backpacking, great. You are going to get the real experience with nature. However, there are some significant differences, and you need to do at least minimal planning because there are no stores or motels nearby. I recommend you read about Equipment, Tips, and Recipes. In addition, consider the following items.

Trash. There is no place to dump your trash in the woods, and there is no maintenance person to pick up things you might leave in your campsite. Whatever you carry in you must carry out. If you have a fire, you can burn paper and plastic; but you cannot burn aluminum foil, cans, bottles. A typical mistake is to pitch non-burnables into the fire, and then go away and leave them there.
Human Waste. No one wants to happen upon your mess. You must carry a small garden trowel. Dig a hole 200 - 300 feet from any water source and bury your waste and toilet tissue. Put a rock on top to discourage rodents.
Pack Weight. You will have to carry your gear all day, and too much weight can ruin your day. You must keep pack weight at a minimum. Other than your sleeping bag and tent, items in your pack should weigh less than a pound. Leave the coffee pot at home. Leave the lantern at home. Likewise for the skillet, the soft drinks and beer, the boom box, the gun, the ax.
Single Pan Meals. Backpackers tend to cook single pan meals. Cook your meal in one pan and eat it from that pan. If you don't have a cook kit, you can purchase a cheap aluminum pan at your grocery. Think about simple entrees based on rice or noodles, supplemented with fruit and cookies.
Water From The Stream. It is not practical to carry water with you for even an over-night trip. Dehydration is a definite problem, even/especially in the winter. You will have to drink water from the streams, and you must purify it always.
Plan A Short First Trip. Your first backpacking trip should be short, maybe only 5 or 6 miles. The emphasis is on finding out how to backpack. My first trip was 10 hilly miles the first day, and the second day found me out on the road hitching a ride.

When you return home go through your pack. If you have items you didn't use, ask yourself why you carried them. If you have no good reason, leave them home the next trip.

Happy backpacking!