Backpacking is a wonderful way to get personal with nature. There are so many scenic hiking trails across America to go backpacking on.
Some people take a year off from school and work just to go backpacking across some exotic land.
The best thing to do before you go backpacking is to make sure you have all of the camping essentials that you will need.
You would hate to be out on a long backpacking journey and find out that you need something that you forgot.
Direction and Getting Lost
Direction plays a big part in any backpacking trip. Getting lost in the woods or anywhere can be a scary thing. When you are lost you tend to go around in circles because everything starts to look the same.
You won’t realize that you have been by that same tree ten times already. To avoid all of this you will want to purchase a good compass, map of the area, and a cell phone with good service.
You need to put the map, compass, and cell phone in a Ziploc bag just in case it rains. You don’t want them to get wet. The cell phone may not have service in all areas. It is a good thing to carry though just in case you can get service.
First Aid Kit
A really important necessity that anyone needs when backpacking is a first aid kit. You just never know what can happen on your adventure. It’s like they say “better safe than sorry”. Bandages will need to be packed in a Ziploc bag.
Include a tube of antibiotic cream in your kit. You may also want to include a tube of itch cream just in case you stumble into poison ivy or poison oak. A bottle of sanitizer would be a good idea. You can sanitize your hands before having to bandage a cut or scrape.
Food and Drink
Food and water are two things that you don’t want to forget when going backpacking. Granola bars with vitamins, trail mix including dried fruits and nuts, and other non-perishable food items will help you survive in the wild.
Getting dehydrated especially on a hot summer day is easy to do when you are backpacking. Be sure to put several bottles of water and drinks that will put the electrolytes back into your body into your backpack.
Other Essential Things
Some other things that are essential for you to consider putting in your backpack are a knife, scissors, trash bag, toilet paper, wet wipes, and a flashlight. Use a knife if you get tangled in some brush or briars.
Scissors can be used to open food packages that are hard to open. You will need a small trash bag for all of your disposal needs. Toilet paper is kind of self explanatory.
Wet wipes will help you when you get ready to eat to clean your hands. It is always good to have a flashlight handy in case you stay out too long and darkness falls.
All of these items will become indispensable on your backpacking trek.
