Extra Gear on the Trail
Taking Creature Comforts With You When Backpacking or Camping
"Getting away from it all" is sometimes more enjoyable if you take a little bit of it with you.
One of the big draws, for a lot of people, of camping or hiking is the opportunity to leave civilization behind and rough it in the wilderness. But answering the siren call of nature and perhaps solitude in outdoor activities doesn't mean you can't take along a few modern-day extras or conveniences along with you in order to make that outdoor experience even more enjoyable and memorable.
Here is some extra gear that can go along on the trail with you:
Camera - One of the most enjoyable things to do when you're out hiking is to take photographs of the beautiful sights and vistas you come across so that you can share them and the experience with others and use them to recall your hiking or camping trip later down the road. With today's digital cameras you can take as many pictures as your disk will hold, guaranteeing you'll get that perfect shot...or several of them. Just make sure your batteries are charged up and your data disks are empty.
Digital Voice Recorder - You always think you'll remember what happened when on your hike or camping trip, then you get home and the memory has faded or left. How many miles from camp was I when that eagle flew across my line of vision? Did I take 300 or 350 paces before I turned left after passing the ridge? Or even worse; where are those directions to the campsite that I wrote down? Using one of these new, compact digital voice recorders can be easier than pulling out a pad and pen or pencil (it only takes one hand) and they're extremely lightweight.
MP3 Player - Hikers used to use small, transistor radios to enjoy music while out on the trail, but there are plenty of places where the signal is either too weak to enjoy or completely non-existent. With an MP3 player you can not only enjoy music at any time during your hike or camping trip, but you have the added benefit of it always being the music YOU want to listen to while in the great outdoors. And, like the digital voice recorder, these players are extremely lightweight.
Laptop - This is probably an item that you wouldn't want to take a pure hiking trip, due to the added weight. But if you're driving to a camping locale, a laptop can be useful. While you most likely won't get any kind of Internet connection (unless you're using a satellite uplink) you can still use the laptop for mapping, downloading your photos or even keeping up that journal of your camping trip. You can also use it to view DVDs or read ebooks on it.
The next time you're packing for that hiking, backpacking or camping trip, stop and think about the extra gear you could add in that will make your outdoor activity a little more enjoyable.
