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How to obtain water in the wilderness
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How to obtain water in the wilderness

Water is an essential item on any camping or hiking trip. Some campgrounds have tap water, drawn from wells and purified. This water is of reliable quality under normal circumstances and should be used whenever practical. When tap water is not available, it is usually best to bring all necessary water from home. However, it is impossible to bring more than a couple of days' worth of water on a backpacking trip, and survival situations may create an unforeseen demand for water. If this demand is not met, dehydration will result, leading to heat exhaustion, heatstroke and death within days.

Table of contents 1 If a natural water source is available
2 If a natural water source is not available
2.1 The evaporation still
2.2 The vegetation still

If a natural water source is available

It is not difficult to obtain water from a natural body of fresh water such as a river or lake, but this water may not be used immediately. Natural water often contains organisms that cause infectious disease, most notably Giardia lamblia. There are three ways to remove this threat and make natural water potable.

  • Water may be boiled over a campfire or portable stove. At high altitudes, water boils at a lower temperature, so the boil must be maintained for several minutes to kill the microorganisms.
  • Water may be filtered with a portable water purification device. Water purifiers differ widely, so if you own one, familiarize yourself with the instruction manual. If the water is visibly dirty, pour it through a cloth to remove large particles and avoid prematurely clogging the purifier.
  • Certain chemicals, such as dilute chlorine solution, are commercially sold as antimicrobial additives. Some leave an unpleasant flavor that may be masked with powdered drink mix.

If a natural water source is not available

The evaporation still

Water may also be obtained from the
soil or from plant matter.

Probably the best way to get water from the ground is the evaporation still, shown in cross-section in the diagram at right. To build an evaporation still, you need only four items: a shovel, a sturdy sheet of transparent plastic, a cup, and a piece of flexible plastic tubing long enough to reach from the middle of the plastic sheet to the side with some excess length.

Begin by digging a hole with sloping sides in the shape of the sheet of plastic, but slightly smaller. Avoid digging in hot weather, as you will lose considerable amounts of water through sweat. Sink the cup in the middle of the hole so that the rim is almost flush with the sides of the hole. Place one end of the tube in the cup, run the other end to the outside of the hole, and place the sheet of plastic over the whole assembly. Weigh down the sides of the plastic sheet, or anchor them with stakes, and place a small weight directly over the cup.

The evaporation still will produce water continuously. The plastic sheet will create a greenhouse effect in the still, accelerating the natural evaporation of water from the soil. When the water vapor hits the plastic sheet, it will condense and drip down into the cup. The tubing may be used to drink from the cup without disturbing the still. For added effectiveness, use a second cup to pour any available fluids, such as urine, into the pit.

The vegetation still

An easier method uses just a plastic bag. Gather enough succulent vegetation (big leaves, cacti stripped of their thorns, etc.) to mostly fill the bag. Mash it to break through the leaves' outer water-resistant cuticle. As in the evaporation still, a greenhouse effect will cause water to evaporate from the leaves. It will then condense on the plastic and run down into the bottom of the bag.

The water in the bag will pick up chemicals from the leaves. These will give it a strong leafy flavor, and may include toxins, so make sure not to gather any poisonous plants.

 
This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Backpacking
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Backpacking

Backpacking is traveling long distances with a backpack. Two forms can be distinguished.

Backpacking is the most thorough combination of hiking and camping. It is usually done for recreation, to explore a place that the backpacker considers beautiful and fascinating. A backpacker camps in one place, then packs all of his or her gear into a backpack and hikes off to a different location. This gear must include food, water, and shelter or the means to obtain them, but very little else, and often in a more compact and simpler form than one would use for stationary camping. Long-distance backpacking trips may be done lasting weeks or months, sometimes aided by prearranged food and supply drops.

Overnight stays may be out of doors (under the stars or in a tent), or in some sort of permanent shelter such as in a hostel or with members of hospitality services. Hiking and walking trails cover all types of terrain and range in location from semi-developed areas to complete wilderness. The main advantage of backpacking over day hiking is that it allows the hiker to see remote areas, almost entirely devoid of people or their effects, that are otherwise inaccessible. The main disadvantages are that the encumbrance of the backpack itself substantially reduces the hiking pace, so that less ground can be covered in a day, that the backpack is something of a nuisance and a distraction to enjoying the scenery, and that camping-related activities use up a considerable amount of time every day.

Backpacking camps are more spartan than ordinary camps. In areas with comparatively high use, a hike-in camp might have a fire ring and a small wooden bulletin board with a map and some warning signs regarding wildlife, campfire safety, and the like. In truly remote areas, a hike-in camp is no more than a level patch of ground without undergrowth.

A large industry has developed to provide lightweight gear and food for backpackers. The gear includes the backpacks themselves, as well as ordinary camping equipment modified to reduce the weight, by either reducing the size, reducing the durability, or using lighter materials such as special plastics and alloys of aluminium. Designers of portable stoves and tents have been particularly ingenious.

The food is typically highly packaged, dehydrated fare that can be reconstituted by adding hot water. Some backpacking meals are pre-cooked and vacuum-packed without being dehydrated, and reheated when needed by a chemical reaction, allowing the backpacker to avoid carrying a stove and fuel. (This technology was originally developed for military purposes.) However, meals of this type are heavier, and if the backpacker carries more than two or three, there is typically no weight savings.

The Scouting movement has traditionally been very involved in backpacking.

Backpacking is also a subculture of generally youthful travellers exploring the planet on a limited budget. They refer to themselves as backpackers because they can be roughly defined as travellers that travel with a rucksack (a large backpack) instead of a suitcase. They often go hiking and camping, backpacking in the other sense, but they more often explore more urban settings. United in having slim wallets as well as a passion for the exotic, they seek out low-cost options such as standby flights (or if backpacking trip is circumglobal, a relatively cheap round-the-world air ticket which permits numerous stops), youth hostels, free hospitality services and buying food at supermarkets abroad instead of going to restaurants. They often collect in beautiful places with low costs of living such as Goa (India), Essaouira (Morocco), or Thailand.

They are generally very social, and a highlight for many backpackers is meeting others on the road. They are quick to share advice on great sites, cheap accommodations, and e-mail addresses. Many strive to meet locals wherever they visit but find that the loose network of backpackers makes them feel at home instantly in a foreign country.

Many backpackers gain temporary work (usually low-paid, unskilled, casual, and sometimes in violation of local labor laws) in the countries they visit. For instance, London's pubs are well known for the number of Australian bartenders working in them; "Irish pubs" the world over hire Irish backpackers.

Novels about backpackers include William Sutcliffe´s Are You Experienced (India), Alex Garland´s The Beach (Thailand) and Emily Barr's Backpack (India, Vietnam, China).

See also: YHA, Tourism, Hospitality Services.

 
This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Scout Outdoor Essentials
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Scout Outdoor Essentials

The Scout Outdoor Essentials, as established by the Boy Scouts of America, are a list of ten items or categories of items that should be brought to any outdoor activity, such as camping or hiking. They are often called by their former (though now unofficial) name, the "Ten Essentials".

As listed in the Eleventh Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook, they are:

  • A pocket knife (presumably more than just a knife) can come in handy in a wide variety of situations. It is useful for tasks as large as building an emergency shelter or lighting a campfire with poor fuel, or as small as repairing a damaged backpack.
  • A first aid kit can be a lifesaver. A basic kit might include adhesive bandages, medical tape, sterile gauze, moleskin, soap, antiseptic, a mouth-barrier device for CPR, and scissors.
  • Extra clothing to match the weather. Multiple layers are superior to a single massive jacket, because layered clothing is adaptable to a wide range of temperatures.
  • Rain gear is very important. Being wet from rain may result in hypothermia, a potentially fatal condition.
  • A flashlight is, of course, important for finding one's way at night.
  • Trail food is good for maintaining your energy. However, the human body can reportedly survive for weeks without food, so starving to death should be the least of your worries if you become lost in the wilderness.
  • Water is probably the most important of the Essentials. Dehydration may develop into heat exhaustion and heatstroke. The human body may only survive for a few days without water. Portable water purifiers and water stills may be used to obtain potable water from virtually any source.
  • Matches may be used to light fires for heat, or for signalling purposes. (Publicly owned forests in the United States often have lookout stations for forest fires and signal fires.)
  • Sun protection may include sunblock, sunglasses, lip balm and a wide-brimmed hat. Used properly, it will prevent sunburn and possibly heat exhaustion.
  • Map and compass are probably the most important tools one can carry in case of getting lost, but they won't be of any use to someone who does not know how to use them. In knowledgeable hands, they can be used to determine one's location and the best route to reach another location.

     
    This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.


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