So You Want to Go Hiking, Volume 2

Noah's Unofficial Guide to Not Dying in the Backcountry, Volume 2

Things to Put in the Things

Congratulations! You bought your pack, and it probably fits! Now the fun part: look at all those gadgets and foldy things I can stuff in it! Foldable forks! Solar-powered flashlights! A foldable TV that runs on granola! Packable fire pits! HOW AM I GONNA FIT IT ALL?

You're not. I've broken your heart, and I'm mildly sorry for that. 

The goal here: cover some of the very basics of what you should carry in your back-thing-carrier if you're camping in, say, the Upper Mid-West in late Spring, Summer, or early Fall. If you want to add over-priced but really awesome extra-dimensional ultralight full-bake ovens, that's on you. Weight is weight, and it's your back.

Initial drafts of this post were meant to be all-inclusive. But you know what that reminded me of? Those recipe blogs that, like, go into great detail about some asshole's life, and after 26 paragraphs, you're like "WHERE'S THE RECIPE?" Let's not. Let's do this by themes. I think we'll start with one of the two most important things to a human being: 

At Some Point, You May Want to Sleep

Hammock Sleeping

Aesthetics over function

My boys and I use ENO DoubleNest hammocks, ENO Guardian bug nets, and Atlas suspension straps (to save the trees!). If it rains or rain is predicted, we pack light tarps to drape over the system, but we did just purchase the ENO rainfly and found it just as easy to set up, even preemptively. 

All you need for hammock sleeping from Nature: 2 trees, at least forearm-thick, about 10' apart. My 12-year-olds can hang their own hammocks, bug nets, and rain fly...that's how easy this is. Like, you cannot mess up hammocks. They're so easy, you can set them up in the dark for those rare circumstances where you're like "nah, just push one more mile, there'll be a better spot" and before you know it, the sun disappeared. Not that that's eeeever happened to me.

Let's get back to that "your ass is literally swinging in the breeze" bit:

Looks cozy!

Physics, entropy, wind: it can get chilly. We're in Michigan, so we all know the truth behind that "if ya don't like the weather wait a minute hurr hurr" joke; but it's a joke because it contains a kernel of truth. Even in the summer up North it can get a little chilly at night. For the most part, sleeping in a fleece blanket in the hammock is fine. But if it's going to get south of 60 degrees, a handy piece of survival gear does just the trick: my oldest and I carry the SOL Emergency Bivvy and the twins carry the NanoHeat Blanket. We don't actually get in them; you'd sweat like crazy! We line the hammock with them like it's a camp pad. Keeps the wind off, toasty warm! Only downside: they're a mild pain in the ass to re-pack into their tiny little carry sacks, but it's a small price to pay. And for Spring and Fall trips, then we actually do wrap them around us, in our light little fleece blankets for some comy-wumfy sleepy-time joy.

Our favorite brand of hammocks also happens to carry a brand new line of hammock insulation and blankets for hammock -sleeping in the dead of winter. I have not tried any of this. I am tempted, to the point of adding this stuff to my Christmas wish-list...hint-hint.

We'll get into "winter camping" in another post regarding "How Not to Freeze to Death." 

There you have it: everything you need for a great night's sleep! Small, packable, light, and efficient way to crash anywhere on the trail. No need to clear brush, sticks, rocks, or hammer (and thus bend...) stakes into solid bedrock. You're - literally - above it all! 

Join us in the next volume, wherein we talk about what to eat.