Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In that case, you'll need to look into treating water. Regardless of which method
you choose, you should always carry some water with you in case of an emer-
gency. Save this reserve until you absolutely need it.
There are three methods of treating water: boiling, chemical treatment, and fil-
tering. If you boil water, it's recommended that you do so for ten to fifteen
minutes. This is often impractical because you're forced to exhaust a great deal of
your fuel supply. You can opt for chemical treatment, which will kill Giardia but
will not take care of other chemical pollutants. Another drawback to chemical
treatments is the unpleasant taste of the water after it's treated. You can remedy
this by adding powdered drink mix to the water. Filters are the preferred method
for treating water. Many filters remove Giardia, organic and inorganic contamin-
ants, and don't leave an aftertaste. Water filters are far from perfect as they can
easily become clogged or leak if a gasket wears out. It's always a good idea to
carry a backup supply of chemical treatment tablets in case your filter decides to
quit on you.
Food.
If we're talking about survival, you can go days without food, as long as
you have water. But we're also talking about comfort. Try to avoid foods that are
high in sugar and fat like candy bars and potato chips. These food types are harder
to digest and are low in nutritional value. Instead, bring along foods that are easy
to pack, nutritious, and high in energy (e.g., bagels, nutrition bars, dehydrated
fruit, gorp, and jerky). If you are on an overnight trip, easy-to-fix dinners include
rice mixes with dehydrated potatoes, corn, pasta with cheese sauce, and soup
mixes. For a tasty breakfast, you can fix hot oatmeal with brown sugar and recon-
stituted milk powder topped off with banana chips. If you like a hot drink in the
morning, bring along herbal tea bags or hot chocolate. If you are a coffee junkie,
you can purchase coffee that is packaged like tea bags. You can prepackage all of
your meals in heavy-duty resealable plastic bags to keep food from spilling in
your pack. These bags can be reused to pack out trash.
Shelter.
The type of shelter you choose depends less on the conditions than on
your tolerance for discomfort. Shelter comes in many forms—tent, tarp, lean-to,
bivy sack, cabin, cave, etc. If you're camping in the desert, a bivy sack may suf-
fice, but if you're above the treeline and a storm is approaching, a better choice is
a three- or four-season tent. Tents are the logical and most popular choice for most
backpackers as they're lightweight and packable—and you can rest assured that
you always have shelter from the elements. Before you leave on your trip, anticip-
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