When you really want to get away from it all, there is no better
alternative than backpacking.

Should you wear hiking shoes, running shoes, walking shoes, or hiking boots? I can't tell you what is right for you, but I can tell you that anything with "boot" in the name sounds too heavy for my tastes. I can also give you probabilities: you will probably be better off with running or hiking shoes than with heavy hiking boots.

Hiking shoes or running shoes are better for most people, at least during late spring, summer and early fall. Hiking boots are hot, and once they are wet, they tend to stay wet forever. However, weight may be the biggest reason more and more backpackers are using shoes.

According to research done by the U.S. Army many years ago, a pound on your feet is equivalent to five on your back. Some say it is equivalent to six. This equivalency is in regard to energy expenditure, and though I don't know exactly how the research was done, I suspect the conclusion is close to the truth. It is easy to hike ten miles with twenty pounds on your back, but try it with nothing on your back, but a ten-pound weight on each foot - you'll get the point.

Five pounds per pound or six - whatever the truth, you can understand why three-pound boots leave you tired at the end of the day. Why then, do so many people wear heavy hiking boots instead of lighter hiking shoes?

Ankle Support

You have probably heard that you need the ankle support provided by hiking boots. Is this true? If so, how did people all over the world, throughout history, manage without stiff ankle-supporting boots? They had stronger ankles!

Perhaps the problem is weak ankles, not a lack of support. Want stronger ankles? Try walking a little each week on uneven ground (not in the mall). That should solve this problem. Unless carrying thirty-five or more pounds when backpacking, most people just don't need extra ankle support after a few weeks of simple exercise.

Of course some hikers need boots, especially if they have specific problems with their ankles. Still, I have yet to meet a person who has tried backpacking in hiking shoes or running shoes and then returned to boots. Lightweight hiking shoes are so much nicer! Don't settle for hiking boots until you are sure your ankle problems are not due to a lack of exercise.

The Advantages Of Running Or Hiking Shoes

It isn't all about the weight. In a good pair of running shoes your feet will stay cooler than in hiking boots. This isn't a small matter. Cooler means fewer blisters. Blistered feet can be a serious problem - your feet are all you have to carry you out of that wilderness.

Once I started using running shoes and lightweight socks, I stopped getting blisters. I don't mean I've had fewer blisters. I mean haven't had any blisters on my feet at all in over ten years. I didn't have one blister after a 110-mile 7-day trek in the Rockies, for example.

One supposed advantage of hiking boots is that they keep your feet drier. Do they? You sweat inside those boots, and even the best waterproof breathable hiking boots will leave your feet damp from this alone. Add to that that they are rarely entirely waterproof, and I just don't see any advantage here. Hiking shoes, on the other hand, breath well, and when they get well, they dry quickly.

 

Choosing Your Hiking Shoes

Since weights are not always shown in catalogs, so sometimes have to just guess at which hiking shoes are lighter based on the description and photo. This gets easier with experience. If the weights are shown, find a pair that weighs two pounds or less per pair - unless you have size 13 feet.

If the attention doesn't bother you, you can also take a small kitchen scale into the shoe store with you. Again, try to keep it to 16 ounces or less per shoe. After looking at different shoes for a while, you'll be able to guess the weight within a couple ounces.

Good quality running or hiking shoes will always have their soles stitched to the uppers. Check this by removing the insoles to look - a removable insole is another sign of quality shoes. The "footprint," or bottom of the sole shouldn't be too large. Large soles can cause twisted ankles by coming down on rocks or roots too far out to the side of your foot.

Walk in the shoes to see if their are any areas that rub your foot or feel uncomfortable. Some shoes will bend near the bottom of the tongue, and push into the top of your foot. Good shoes should hold your heel firmly.

Buy the latest high-tech hiking shoes, and you'll pay a high-tech price. However, there are discount catalogs that have closeouts on great running shoes. I regularly find $90 running shoes on sale for $40 or less. I have no problem wearing last years style for a savings of $50.

You can also find closeout sales at shoe stores in any shopping mall. Even if it isn't a closeout, I can usually find a good pair of running shoes that weighs less than 28 ounces for under $60.

I once bought a pair of shoes for $7 ( weight 28 ounces - size 11), and used them for a seven-day backpacking trip in the mountains. They worked okay, but they barely survived the trip. Durability seems to be the primary problem with cheap shoes. You are better off waiting for a sale on good quality hiking shoes. Planning to have campfires? It may be tough to start one if everything is damp. Carry a fire starter or two, to make it easy. Pieces of cardboard soaked in candle wax work well, even when wet.

Dried peat moss can be used for insulation to turn a light jacket into a warm coat. Just stuff the jacket full without removing it. It can also be used as mattress material or toilet paper.

Sleeping bags should not be stored in stuff sacks. This constant compression will eventually crush the insulation, making for less loft and therefore less warmth. Store bags unpacked on a shelf or in a large cloth bag. Pocket lint makes a good tinder for fire-starting. By the way, this is why so many fires start in peoples clothes dryers. A spark will usually take hold in lint and can be blown into a flame .

It's nice to have a cold drink when hiking in hot weather. One way to do this, at least for the first day of the hike, is to freeze your water bottle or sports drink before you go. It should take most of the day to thaw if you keep it wrapped in clothing in your pack. It is best to have another unfrozen water bottles too. I have had to sit there thirsty more than once while staring at my frozen water, waiting for it to thaw.

Pack your rain gear where you can easily get at it. You don't want to be digging through the backpack in the rain.

Try and keep wood matches in old film containers to keep them dry. You can but water proof matches and keep them in your pocket incase of a emergency. Use large rocks around your fire they will hold in the heat longer.

How To Start A Fire - A Few More Tips

- Collect twice as much firewood as you think you'll need for the night.

- Blow vigorously on the hot coals to restart the flames of a dying fire (and add fuel).

- Spray kindling with insect repellent or other flammable liquids to make it burn more easily.

- Use a large piece of birch bark to shelter a fire if starting it in the rain.

- Wood on the ground is usually wet. Look for standing dead wood or trees and branches that are leaning against other trees or rocks.

- You can break a long piece of wood by inserting the end between two close trees and pushing on the far end. Be careful not to fall when the wood breaks.

- Don't break wood over your knee or by jumping on it. Lean it up on a rock and step on the middle of the piece.

- Unbreakable pieces can be burnt in half in the fire.

- Use a base of green logs or sticks for a fire on the snow.

- If firewood is scarce, use as small a fire as possible, to extend your fuel supply.

- Collect and carry dry tinder in your pocket, in case it is raining when you need to start a fire.

Key Points

1. The best way to learn how to start a fire is to practice.

2. A fire requires tinder, kindling and fuel.

3. A balance of air, heat and fuel is necessary for a fire to burn well.

4. Fire starting without matches or a lighter is very difficult - bring a lighter and matches.

 

To conserve energy on steep terrain, especially at high altitude, try the mountaineer's "rest-step." Before pushing up into the next step, rest a few seconds on your rear leg, with you knee locked, and take a deep breath or two.

Remember to always bring good quality backpacking equipment whenever you head out for the open trail, including a survival guide. A cell phone is also handy if you get lost, as it can produce a signal to help rescue workers find you. There have been people who were rescued solely because of the signal their cell phone put out.

Some backpackers argue for the necessity of ankle support, but throughout history people managed without stiff ankle-supporting boots. Even if you are carrying thirty pounds on your back, consider the fact that there are people walking around that weigh 60 pounds more than you, and without problems. It is an issue of weak ankles, not a lack of support. To solve this problem, try walking a little each week on uneven ground (not in the mall).

While some may really need hiking boots, why not be sure your ankle problems are not just due to a lack of exercise before you settle for backpacking in heavy boots. It is true you may need hiking boots if you carry more than thirty pounds when you backpack. The solution to that is to cut the weight down.Injury: Pop a "blister" on the luggage of a diminutive neaten or conifer tree, and you crapper ingest the muggins that oozes discover as an beatific sterile intermixture for diminutive cuts.

Multi-tool knives may contain several blades, as well as additional other tools such as wire cutters or pliers. Examples of multi-tools include Leatherman, SOG, Gerber, Wenger and Victorinox (The "Swiss Army knife"). Keep your knife blades sharp and your knife will serve you well when backpacking.

A camping and hiking backpack should not rest on the shoulders to carry it; the majority of the weight should rest on the hips through the belt that goes around the waist. The shoulder and chest straps hold the pack snugly to the body so that the weight distribution is properly placed at the hips, thus relieving the pressure from the back.Mosquito head nets are a good idea if you know you'll be in an area with many mosquitoes.