Week long trekking for the first time, advice?

Basar

Hi all,

My bud and I are going to be trekking the Lycian Way in mid September and we are both noobs when it comes to trekking for anything longer than a day. There are a gazillion websites with general advice but I am hoping to hear what PArs have to say.

Apparently the trail is marked fully and there will for sure be others walking it. We only plan to do the first quarter of it as the recommended time for the whole thing is a month.

Here's my checklist so far:

- Backpack
- Sleeping mat
- Water filter (I have a MSR Miniworks Ex)
- Lighter (in case we need a fire)
- First aid kit
- Sanitizer
- Tent
- Clothing
- Hiking boots
- Socks
- Baton
- Personal Hygiene stuff (toothbrush, etc)
- Headlamp
- Toilet paper
- Notepad, pen.
- Nalgene
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Bug repellent

I am 6'2" and built, I know I should try to keep my load as light as I can but is there a number I should aim for?

Any general advice?

Thanks.

hsu

Do an overnight hike this month, as in, hike in 4-6 hours, make camp, hike out the next day, as a test run. Nothing you bring with you should be new, aka, you should be wearing your boots, using your headlamp, etc, before you go hiking with them, to break them in, to make sure you aren't dealing with any "new gear" quirks while hiking. And even though the trail is marked, bring a compass, bring a paper map, bring a GPS (or GPS mobile app that works offline like NavMii), bring a battery pack to recharge it.

Basar

hsu wrote: »

Do an overnight hike this month, as in, hike in 4-6 hours, make camp, hike out the next day, as a test run. Nothing you bring with you should be new, aka, you should be wearing your boots, using your headlamp, etc, before you go hiking with them, to break them in, to make sure you aren't dealing with any "new gear" quirks while hiking. And even though the trail is marked, bring a compass, bring a paper map, bring a GPS (or GPS mobile app that works offline like NavMii), bring a battery pack to recharge it.

Thanks, those are great suggestions. My boots are well worn, and I'll definitely retest all the gear beforehand. I don't have a GPS device but I will have my phone with google offline maps, as well as a solar juice pack that can be attached to the back of backpack.

My Gshock has a compass but I need to learn how to use it.

What about tents?

Thanks again hsu.

spool32

Bring more than one fire creation device

dispatch.o

multi-tool, small mirror (or equivilant), jars or packets of peanut butter for a lasts forever source of calories/snack

Basar

spool32 wrote: »

Bring more than one fire creation device

Yeah I was thinking of picking up a some stormproof matches with waterproof casing just in case.

dispatch.o wrote: »

multi-tool, small mirror (or equivilant), jars or packets of peanut butter for a lasts forever source of calories/snack

Multi-tool! How did I forget that?! A must. Small mirror for signalling I suppose? Peanut butter is also a good idea, thanks!

hsu

Basar wrote: »

...a solar juice pack that can be attached to the back of backpack.

I've never had much luck with solar chargers, mainly because, when I'm hiking, I'm hiking in a forest, not exactly the best environment for a solar charger. Even at a music festival, I've never had much luck with them, due to all the other tents/canopies/etc around me, so my solar panel never stayed in direct sunlight for more than a few hours. I end up relying on 20,000 mAh battery packs, plus making sure as much gear as possible can use alkaline batteries.

What about tents?

There's a camping thread in the Debate & Discourse forum that covers lots of camping related stuff, like tents. My preference is unusual - I use a hammock tent, as I don't need a sleeping mat, but then again, I'm camping in a forest during warm months. When I'm at a music festival, I have an big 8 man tent, even though it's for 2 people, which I get away with since my car is nearby.

Basar

hsu wrote: »

Basar wrote: »

...a solar juice pack that can be attached to the back of backpack.

I've never had much luck with solar chargers, mainly because, when I'm hiking, I'm hiking in a forest, not exactly the best environment for a solar charger. Even at a music festival, I've never had much luck with them, due to all the other tents/canopies/etc around me, so my solar panel never stayed in direct sunlight for more than a few hours. I end up relying on 20,000 mAh battery packs, plus making sure as much gear as possible can use alkaline batteries.

What about tents?

There's a camping thread in the Debate & Discourse forum that covers lots of camping related stuff, like tents. My preference is unusual - I use a hammock tent, as I don't need a sleeping mat, but then again, I'm camping in a forest during warm months. When I'm at a music festival, I have an big 8 man tent, even though it's for 2 people, which I get away with since my car is nearby.

Hmmm. You maybe right about the solar pack, I used it once to charge my phone but at the beach, not in dense forest. What worries me is the impact those battery packs have on my phone. I had one that I used all the time until I read on several websites that they may be harming the phone's internal battery and I have just replaced my phone's battery. I'll think about it.

Thanks for the hammock tent suggestion, I don't think I would be very comfortable sleeping on that as I am a big fella and will be walking long hours and need good sleep

Heading to the camping thread, thanks again.