HOME
Contact Friends
About Friends
Current Events
Annual dues for Friends Hiking is only 15.00 a year? Find out more about membership benefits here.
What are the Hike Leader Responsibilities?
Find answers to that question and much more in the F.A.Q. section.







Hiking Essentials
The 10+ Essentials should always be carried, even on day hikes (map, compass, flashlight / headlamp, extra food, extra clothes, sunglasses, first-aid kit, pocket knife, waterproof matches, firestarter, water / filter/ bottles, whistle, insect repellent or clothing, and sunscreen).
...Read full tip

Backpacking 101
Tips for those new to backpacking. Advise on what equipment to buy, food to bring, and more. By the ever luvin' Kurt and Randy. 
...Read full tip


Camel Up!
Drink lots of water before starting a hike and when refilling water bottles. Its easier to carry the water in your belly than on your back.

Cheap Bottles
Plastic soda or water bottles make great inexpensive water bottles. A 2-liter bottle fits nicely into the side pocket of most backpacks.

Cheap Food
Backpacking meals can be bought inexpensively in grocery stores. Look for just add water or milk meals with very short cooking times. Kraft, Knorr, Lipton's and other manufactures offer a wide choice of tasty rice, pasta, and potato dishes. Chicken, Tuna & Salmon in foils pouches added to the aforementioned can add protein. Freeze-dried meals bought at camping stores, while they have their place, are often very expensive.

Clean Up
Baby wipes are great when soap and water are unavailable.

Cooking Over an Open Fire
If you like to cook over an open fire, there is nothing like a small rubber hose to encourage reluctant wood, or coax a small ember to life. Start with a 3" piece of 3/8" aluminum or copper tubing. Slip an 18" piece of rubber tubing over the metal and you are ready for action. No more bending over with your face next to the fire trying to blow at just the right spot. One caution! Don't breathe in through the hose.

Cracker Storage
If your crackers usually get crunched long before they meet the cheddar, or your cookies are crumbed on the first day, try storing them in a Pringle's potato chip container, or a tennisball or racquetball "can". Either weighs only a few ounces when empty, and you can use it to pack out your trash once the crackers have been eaten.

Cut Your Toenails
On a long downhill trek, your toenails hit and are constantly being "lifted" by the front of the boot. You will lose a toenail, and it's not pretty. So, clip them back as far as you can.

Eat It
Try the food you buy before you take it backpacking. The worst time to find out you don't like something is when you're tired and hungry. Most tired and hungry backpackers prefer quick, easy to prepare meals. Bring special treats (chocolate, etc.) to reward yourself.

Fight Gravity's Drag
Murphy's Law of the Inconvenient Migration of Stuff means that dense items (especially waterbottles, hydration systems, large cameras, and fuel) tend to gravitate to the bottom of your pack, especially when the pack is not full and tightly packed....Read full tip

Fire Starters
For starting campfires, especially with damp or wet wood
...Read full tip

Food Organization
There are lots of ways to organize your food. Some people pack foods into general breakfast, lunch and dinner bags. Pre-measuring portions will make cooking easier, while pre-mixing ingredients that can be stored together like a breakfast drink and milk powder can save space and time. If traveling during the day, pack your lunch and snacks in an accessible place so that they can be pulled out quickly during rest stops..

Get in Shape--Stay in Shape
I recently heard someone referring to backpackers, in general, as having a T-REX SYNDROME. That is, obsession with exercising only the legs. In fact, it's important for hiking, and especially backpacking, that we have strong lower back, upper back, and abdominal muscles, in addition to strong legs....Read full tip

Hot Feet
Blister prevention sure beats blister first aid. Break in your boots or shoes before a big hike. As soon as you feel discomfort or a hot spot, stop and treat the area with Moleskin or a similar product. Keep your feet dry. Let your feet air out and change socks during rest stops.

Killing Two Birds
Try and choose backpacking items that serve a dual purpose... ie. mattress pad/chair, camelback bladder/pillow.

Lightening the Load
Lighten the BIG THREE: tent, sleeping bag, and backpack. They usually rank in the top three heaviest items one carries into the backcountry. Cutting down on these items can save pounds!
Try to keep your overnight/multi-day backpack to 25% of your body weight.
 ....Read full tip

Share the Load
Lighten your load by teaming up with fellow backpackers to share gear like stoves, water filters, tents, cooking gear, and food. Choose your partner carefully so your won't become separated. If one person carries the stove, the other should carry some food that doesn't require cooking, etc.

Spare change
Always carry a phone card or enough change to make an emergency phone call. Better yet.. a cell phone!

Blisters

Blisters are the product of friction. When your skin rubs against another surface, a tear occurs within the upper layers of skin, creating a space between the two layers while leaving the outer surface layer intact. Fluid seeps into that space, forming the tender bubble we know as a blister.  
Feet are a common blister breeding ground because:
· You take about 2,000 steps for every mile you walk. And with each step, there's the possibility of creating friction.
· The skin on your feet is thick, so it's easier for the layers to separate.
· Blisters form more readily on moist skin, and your feet contain a minefield of sweat glands. The trick to preventing blisters is keeping your feet relatively dry and friction-free.

Your first line of defense is wearing the right shoes.
Next to consider are your socks, a choice equal in importance to shoes for preventing blisters. Forget the classic cotton crew. Synthetic fabrics trump 100 % cotton because they wick away sweat and keep your feet dry and blister-free. Better yet are Merino wool socks. Some Prevention staff favorites: well-padded Thorlos or Smartwool; double-layered WrightSocks; and colorful, slim-fitting DeFeet. You also can carry extra pairs of socks to change if your feet become too damp because of weather or excess sweating.  
To keep your feet extra dry, you may want to try sprinkling a sweat-absorbing foot powder in your socks before you put them on, or simply apply an antiperspirant that contains aluminum chlorohydrate or aluminum chloride to the soles of your feet to minimize sweating and decrease moisture.
Finally, try rubbing a fine layer of petroleum jelly on your feet to help them move friction-free inside your shoes. If you still have blister hot spots, cover them with some cloth tape, like sports tape, or commercial blister blockers before your big walks.  

Tighten Your Tent Fly
Two holed pull tabs from aluminum cans make good, cheap, light tensioners for your rain fly.






DISCLAIMER: Hiking is a personal choice and requires personal responsibility. Read full disclaimer.
- Hike Arizona
- Pack Lite Foods
- REI.com
- Sierra Trading Post
- Animated Knot Tying
- eHow Camping Knots
- More Links...