Cooking

There are useful cooking shelters at the campsites. All cooking should be done on a lightweight camping stove. Bring a back-up stove if possible, in case your primary stove breaks down.

Meals should be as simple & quick-cooking as possible. This doesn't mean boring. Some of the (expensive!) dehydrated camping food sold in gear shops has become remarkably palatable over the last few years!

Even better, get a food dehydrator; reduce your favourite meals to compact, lightweight, non-perishable ziplocs. Label the baggies clearly so no one will get confused on the Trail.

Toilets

If you get the urge to purge between toilets, responsible camping means burning your toilet paper. Don’t bury TP as animals may dig it up. Used toilet paper is the worst litter of all.

Only the best hikers can burn TP in the pouring rain. (It always refuses to burn when you are most in a hurry.) Our Swiss hiker allows you only 1 match. If you’re not that talented, carry the paper out in a plastic bag.

Need more advice? Get a copy of How to Shit in the Woods, by Kathleen Meyer, a useful, frequently hilarious guide for hikers.

A few tips from Kathleen Meyer:

• Face uphill. Steady yourself by holding on to a tree (or your pack).
• Urine evaporates rapidly and is relatively sterile.

Defecating. How to:

• at least 60 m off the trail
• bring a light trowel (or stick) to dig your own toilet pit
• Find a nice mossy area that is easy to dig-up
• cat hole 10-20 cm deep (some people dig the hole after they do their business)
• in the forest, best is soft, dark soil
• if possible, cover the cat hole with a heavy stone

By the way, at the Grand Canyon, since 1979, all solid human waste from river trips must be packed out in watertight boxes!. Other US hikes require you bag and carry out your faeces.

Gear Checklist

Before you browse our long checklist of standard gear, let us add the usual warning that you should carry no more than 30% of your body weight.

Photography & Video

Most hikers take a light digital or point and shoot camera in a waterproof bag.

Die hard photographers lug an SLR (single lens reflex) camera and some heavy lenses in a padded, waterproof camera bag. Weight is a factor, but a quality zoom lens is essential for shooting birds, whales & other distant marine life. You'll likely be frustrated with any camera — digital or not — which has less than 10x zoom.

Many of the photos on this website are video stills taken from digital video with 20x optical zoom. The 640 x 400 pixel resolution is OK for the web, but not detailed enough for printing.

An Environmental Philosophy

… appreciation for the joys and rewards of wilderness experiences. Enlightened outdoor users have a feeling of stewardship for the land, travel & camp with minimum impact on the natural environment & clean up areas of those who are less environmentally sensitive.

- The Canadian Recreational Canoeists Association Canoeists Code

Respect wildlife. Observe but don’t interfere.

Respect private property, cultural & historical sites, etc.

When brushing your teeth, spit well away from water sources.

Use biodegradable soap or no soap at all.

Respect the reverie of other hikers, local peoples, fishermen, etc. Respect the privacy of other campsites even if they are just a few metres away from your own.

Trash

Practice low-impact, no trace camping. Leave the Track cleaner than you found it.

Always cleanup your campsite before departure. Collect any trash left by those who have come before you.

If you pack it in, you must pack it out.

Bring thick plastic (string-tied) trash bags. We've even used waterproof stuff sacks to carry out trash. Once emptied of food, they become trash containers.

Plan meals which minimise the amount of trash you will need to carry out.

Grey water should be dumped into the sea, or disposed of at least 30 metres (yards) away from any drinking water sources. This includes even biodegradable soap.

Pack out garbage with plastic or metal content. (e.g. twist-ties, foil, etc.)

Pack-out or burn cigarette butts. (Why don’t you go ‘cold turkey’ this hike)

Pack-out or burn fruit peels, especially orange peels.