Team Canter Prepares to hit the trail

As Gaynor and I (aka Team Canter) make our final equine preparations for our endurance ride at roundup Montana in the next weekend, we also have the “camping” extravaganza to prepare for too

As with weddings and tax-evasion, an journey to a backwoods trail demands that attention be paid to what seems like a myriad of details. Even among seasoned outdoors folks  there is no such thing as immunity to forgetfulness, while for the novice, simple lack of experience necessitates a near-compulsive attentiveness while planning, as often enough, even seemingly obvious points of note can go woefully overlooked. I know getting ready for this ride, I’ve printed out the quintessential “what to bring to a ride list” only to read and re-read til I have it indelibly etched in my brain. And still I worry I’m gonna for get something important.

That Hill Looked Flatter on Paper . . .

Never fails to happen. he problem though, is that when most initiate backpackers first pour over a park map, they focus on the indicated length of the trail, and not the terrain it runs over. Always remember: Most park-maintained trails are designed to offer the path of moderate resistance, and that winding red line measures the distance from A to B as the crow flies – while you’ll be walking.

A 10-mile trail traversing a park’s hill-strewn highland region can easily be more difficult than a than a 15-kilometer (9.3 miles) route through gently rolling terrain. Attention must be paid to the topographic contour lines that overlay the indicator for the trail itself, yet they are so often and easily overlooked by someone judging a trail’s difficulty on horizontal distance alone.

Cutting Weight Versus Cutting Corners

Anyone who’s ever carried so much as a schoolbag on their back knows that lighter is the way to go, but some kit pieces are unquestionably worth the extra poundage. This is particularly important to keep in mind, as a few of these are often among the heavier items you’ll need along with you. Back to my original theory… “less is more”.

Forgetfulness isn’t so much a problem here as is inexperience – know what’s mandatory and when looking to shed weight, give a thought toward Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Food, water and shelter above all else, followed then by what’s required for basic safety. In other words, whatever you do away with, adequate food, a means of producing heat (matches, flint, etc.) water and a pot to boil more in, clothing, tent and sleeping roll suited for nighttime temperatures and a first-aid kit all form the immutable core of your gear – look elsewhere when lightening the load.

Partners In Crime

The larger the group the better, and where a two-member party is the minimum, four would be truly ideal. This offers numerous advantages, including the dispersal of weighty communal items (cookware, tents, etc.) an increased party-presence that will help ward-off unwanted wildlife, and the reduced chance that a disaster along the trail will leave one member alone and immobilized while another goes back for help.

The Three Most Neglected Items . . .

Knife: There’s a reason why the first tools ever wielded had cutting edges. For all intents and purposes, a sturdy, sharpened knife will be one of the most oft-reached for items in your pack.

Matches: It’s the worst feeling in the world to sit hunched before your carefully included stove or readied kindling, only to realize you’ve forgotten a means of igniting it. On their first trip beyond car-camping, no one wants to find themselves re-enacting Quest for Fire . . . or Alive, for that matter.

Rope: You’ll be setting lines for your tent, binding things to the outside of your pack, stringing food high up in the trees at night, erecting tarps between fire and falling rain, replacing severed bootlaces . . . in short, you’ll need rope, preferably about 100 feet worth of the polypropylene variety.

Perhaps most important of all things to remember is that when embarking on any journey into great outdoors, camping, care and consideration are paramount, as barring that of Nature, the most common Law in the life of a hiker, trail rider or runner is, often enough, that of Murphy.

Camping checklists can vary depending on the length of the camping trip, size of the group, and your priorities … but here’s where you can find more than the ABC’s of camping and your outdoor extravaganzas.

Time to hit the road and git ‘r done. See you on the other side. Happy trails