When preparing for a backpacking trip, most people are concerned with what to pack. However, how you pack and carry your backpack is just as crucial for a successful hike.

If you are wearing your backpack correctly, nearly all of the weight should be resting on your hips, through the use of the straps that tighten around your waist. These are the most important straps and should be very snug. If the backpack you are using doesn’t have waist straps, it might be time to invest in one that does. It makes a world of a difference on longer hikes. The only function of the shoulder straps should be to keep the bag close to you. You can check this by leaving the waist strap secured while removing the shoulder straps. There should be very little shift in weight, except that the bag may start to tip away from you. If you do notice that you were carrying some of the weight on your shoulders, tighten the straps around your waist.

The way you pack your backpack is also a critical thing to note. All heavier items should be placed as low and as close to your body as possible. Packing heavier items away from your body and higher up in the pack will cause the load to feel heavier than it is. (Imagine carrying your suitcase or purse at the end of a stick that you were holding instead of directly in your hand.) This will also save the lighter items from being broken or deformed under the weight of other objects. You will want most of the weight near your center of mass; this will make it easier to balance and prevent falls while climbing. This is why most backpacks designed for overnight hikes provide a place to secure your sleeping bag underneath the bulk of the pack.

Properly wearing and packing your backpack will help prevent unnecessary shoulder or back pain associated with hiking. It also allows you to comfortably hike for a longer distance, because weight on your waist doesn’t really feel like weight at all. Pack smart, hike happy.

I mentioned in a previously posted article, “Share My Excitement,” that I would be attending the National Youth Science Camp. Well, I’m back, and it was everything that I expected and more! The 3.5 week stay in the middle of the Monongahela National Forest (without any cell service, I might add) truly brought all of the campers close to each other, but more importantly, to nature. I greatly enjoyed many of our outdoor activities, and will certainly post a few articles about the specific experiences I had doing the various outdoor activities such as rock climbing and kayaking. However, before I am able to describe those experiences, it seems essential to write about a policy that the National Youth Science Camp took very seriously: leave no trace.

Naturally, as outdoor fanatics, we respect nature. We wouldn’t leave an aluminum can behind on a trail, or mark rocks with graffiti. Before camp, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving some crumbs on a campground. They decompose, right? Yes, they do, but before they get a chance to do that, they will attract some animal, and that animal might assume that the campground is a natural place for it to come and find food; as you can imagine, this can cause problems.

And what about throwing an apple core or an orange peel into the brush? Would you do that? Before tossing something, one needs to ask himself or herself, is this something that naturally grows here? If the answer is a no, then it should be put into a trash bag that he or she carries out of the area, even if it decomposes. The general rule is, “Pack out what you pack in.”

Another thing to note is that, when one comes across a muddy area on a trail, the best thing to do is trudge through it, not around, as unpleasant as the idea might be. Going around the mud causes the trail to widen, increasing our infringement upon nature.

“Leave no trace” means more than not leaving any plastic behind; it’s about trying to prevent even the slightest disruption in nature.

Every once in a while, things come up that we just can’t wait to tell the rest of the world. This is also known to some as bragging. Okay, maybe it is bragging, but in my opinion, a little bragging is okay sometimes, right? I’m saying all this because I have something that I’m too excited about to keep to myself: I was selected to take part in the 2010 National Youth Science Camp.

What is the National Youth Science Camp? It is a month-long camp for students in the summer after their senior year to explore various fields of science, learning both from hands-on experiments and exciting lectures made by scientists from around the nation. The delegates also will have a chance to travel to special locations, such as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and several national museums. The National Youth Science Foundation (NYSF) sponsors this event, which is free to each of the two high school seniors chosen to represent each state nationwide. There also will be two delegates from Germany.

What does all this have to do with the outdoors? NYSC is set in the Monongahela National Forest. The delegates will be staying in Camp Pocahontas, near the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the eastern mountains of West Virginia. There will be several opportunities to take overnight expeditions into the Monongahela National Forest; the excursions will include backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, and similar(ly amazing) activities.  NYSF writes, “The area provides an outstanding natural laboratory for teaching and experimentation. Isolation from the usual distractions of cities or college campuses provides a nurturing atmosphere.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. What better way is there to learn science than to be immersed in the outdoors?

As fellow outdoors enthusiasts, I hope you can understand and share my extreme excitement for this upcoming summer. I can’t wait to attend this camp, which offers such an amazing experience, much of it in the outdoors. Expect a post on how this experience actually goes sometime after the end of July! Until then, I will be bursting with excitement.

Sometimes it can be fun to go on walks or hikes in the outdoors without a planned route or destination. However, such an adventure only stays fun as long as you can navigate your way to where you need to be. Being able to determine your cardinal directions (north, south, east or west) without a compass is one of the most important navigational tools.

You’ve probably heard about this one: moss grows thicker on the north side of the tree. This tip is handy if you live in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, otherwise it might not do you any good. Moss grows thicker on the north side because it grows better in shade; this side, in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, receives the least amount of light. However, if you’re in a thick forest, all sides of the tree will receive the same amount and that quick trick won’t do you any good.

If you don’t have a compass but you have a watch on you, that can be just as useful. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the first step is to hold your watch horizontally. Then, rotate the watch until the hour hand is pointing towards the sun. South will lie exactly halfway between the half hand and the numeral twelve on the watch. (If it is a digital watch you will have to imagine where the hour hand would be on an analog watch.) From this, you can determine the other three points of the compass you have created from your watch. In the Southern hemisphere, the same first few steps will lead you to the North rather than the South.

RunThePlanet.com encourages avid hikers to take advantage of the expansive outdoors that our planet has provided for us. For more navigation tips, you can read their article “Outdoor Navigation Tips” that explains a method of finding North without a watch. There are also methods to keep course with clouds so you don’t need to know your cardinal directions at all! Know a way out of the woods before you go in.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that 90% of the world’s water is contaminated in some way. The water might look clear, but chances are that there are microscopic dangers, lurking unseen. There are three basic methods of water purification: boiling, filtering, and using chemical additives. All have pros and cons.

Boiling is the age-old method, which always has proven effective. Bringing water to a boil kills whatever is living inside of it. However, boiling water takes time. You’ll need a device to boil the water, and it probably will be a hassle. On a hot day, who would want to drink warm water over the cool water from the stream? Boiling is safe, and might be ideal for hot drinks such as coffee or tea, but might not be worth the effort.

Mountain Safety Research has a variety of water purifier options. The MIOX purifier is a pocket-sized, easy-to-use, battery-powered device that quickly kills protozoa, bacteria, and viruses. With a battery life good for approximately 200 liters, it really packs a punch. It was recognized by Popular Science as the 2003 winner in “The Best of What’s New.”

Water filters need to do more than just take out the sediment in water, especially if you want to take care of the culprits that give water an odd odor or taste. Filtration is more expensive than boiling, but is very easy and portable. The filters can be very ergonomic; click here to see an example, and they often remove the taste that chemical purifiers can create.

Chemical purifiers use either chlorine or iodine as the major disinfectant. Chlorine tablets are very compact, but many have short life spans. After collecting the water and adding the tablets, the chemicals should be allowed at least a half hour to work. Tablets often cause a bad taste; the taste can be improved by adding salt or other flavoring such as a lemonade mix. The chemical are more effective in warmer water.

You should choose your purification methods based on your needs, and never choose the risk of not purifying the water you drink.

Sure, a lot of people say that camping is not camping if you are using some sort of electric stove instead of the good ole’ gas or over the fire methods. I personally would object to seeing someone use some sort of a “cooking made easy!” device if they were simply at a campground for their leisure. However, when you are climbing with a purpose, hiking, or doing some other sort of extreme exercise where food is an essential necessity, I think that being able to make dinner in a short amount of time could be very useful.

I recently was researching a company whose founders had the same frustrations as some people have experienced. Dwight Aspinwall and Perry Dowst were sick of dragging around their heavy vacuum bottles and clunky stoves, so they formed a company called Jetboil. At first I thought it would be some sort of an aircraft company, but it turns out that this company makes products that will make outdoor cooking much easier.

One of their newer devices is the Flash. Flash is an all-in-one design, and it is a combined burner and cooking vessel in one compact unit. This product features a 1.0 Liter FluxRing® cooking cup with insulating cozy and color-change heat indicator. Do not worry, the cup clips onto the burner, so you do not have to carry around the burner while you are enjoying your soup, coffee, hot chocolate, or something else. Just think, with the click of a burner, you could be eating gourmet freeze-dried right in the White Mountains.

Another type of product that people use is the group cooking system. This pot has a 1.5 liter system, and it heats evenly throughout the whole material. What this means is that you could cook something like a scrambled egg right on there!

There are a lot of other places that sell outdoors equipment. These are just two of the examples of “cooking gone easy.”

Franconia Notch State Park was once known as the home of New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain. One could see it driving northbound on Interstate 93. As most know, the Old Man of the Mountain collapsed back in 2003, but there are still plenty of worthwhile locations to visit in this beautiful area. Depending on the season, Franconia Notch State Park can be useful for the activities of which we, outdoors eagles, are fond: camping, swimming, hiking, picnicking, fishing, boating, biking, skiing/snowboarding, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling.

This past weekend my friends and I decided to drive up to Franconia Notch State Park. We did not have much more than some water bottles, a camera, and a will to hike. By the suggestion of my sister, we took an exit off I-93 marked “The Basin.” This is where we planned to start our hike. Just 30 seconds from the parking lot we came across the stunning Basin (pictured). It is a  large granite pothole, believed to have been eroded thousands of years ago. The water flows away from the Basin and runs through what is known as “the Old Man’s foot.”

Take One: Not checking a map, we picked the trail less traveled. We realized quickly that there was no incline, thus no hike, and we turned to start over. (We later found out that we had selected a 4-mile trip to Profile Lake, for which we simply would not have had time.)

Take Two: Eventually we found our way back to a trail that would take us up the mountain. Weaving between the trees and the rocks beside the creek flowing down the mountain, we steadily ascended the mountain. What we were traveling was actually a part of the Appalachian Trail, which happens to pass through Franconia Notch. Unfortunately, we only made it a third of the way up to our destination (Lonesome Lake) before we ran out of time, due to our earlier blunder, and made our way back down. It is certain that I will be making the full hike in the future!

For more opporunities in Franconia Notch State Park, check here.

While I was visiting Montreal with a school organization this weekend, my friend from Vermont picked me up, and we went to her house for Saturday night. The drive from Montreal to her house took about two hours. As we drove to her house, I gazed at my surroundings. We drove up a slightly inclined rocky path for about a mile; as I looked to my left, I saw rolling hills and the mountains of New Hampshire, and as I looked to my right, I saw farm houses and more mountains in the background. I imagined how this place would look like when the leaves turn colors in the fall, and I immediately fell in love. It truly is  a place for those of us who love nature.

She lives in the Northeast Kingdom. When she first told the staff that she and I work with that she lives in the Northeast Kingdom, we all could not help but laugh. The Northeast Kingdom? Are you the princess of the Northeast Kingdom? Well, it turned out to be real after all! I have pictures of stores in her town that say things such as “Where the Northeast Kingdom Shops.”

Her house is about 25 minutes away from the nearest grocery store and to the center of the town called St. Johnsbury. St. Johnsbury is part of the grand picture that Vermont likes to call the “Northeast Kingdom.” The “kingdom” is more like a general area of Vermont that the state uses to attract tourists. However, there is so much to do in this gorgeous place. Whether you are in the mood to hang out by the lake, ski or snowboard at Burke Mountain, climb a mountain, explore the woods, take a boat out for a ride, tour around the towns with your car, or eat in little diners, it is a really great place to visit. It is so clean, quaint, and cozy and perfect for those of us who love the outdoors.

I definitely could feel the “small town vibe” and enjoyed every minute of my stay. I now can vouch for my friend when she says that she lives in the “Northeast Kingdom”–it truly is a magnificent place to visit.

When planning a weekend hiking trip, what food items you bring does not matter all too much. Your main focus is to buy the food that you like, that you will be able to cook, and that can go without refrigeration for a few days. However, for trips longer than a weekend, planning the food for your trip becomes extremely important.

There are two kinds of backpacking food. One type is freeze-dried backpacking meals, while the other is buying nonperishable food from a grocery store. There are hundreds of options in terms of freeze-dried foods. These foods can be bought online or in stores or can be made by you.

You want to travel lightly when you are backpacking. When packing for a trip, food could take up a lot of space and weight in your bags, so it would be wise to travel with food that is fulfilling, but light as well. The best backpacking food is lightweight, tasty, calorie-packed and allows for quick cooking. When planning for a longer trip, it is wise to figure out every meal and ration out each meal in little bags. Some people will make “x” amount of breakfast bags, “x” amount of lunch bags, and “x” amount of dinner bags–this makes it easier to pick out a meal to eat as the days go by. You’ll also know that you will have enough food to last you throughout your trip.

Typical breakfast foods include rice, granola, fruit cocktail, raisins, pancakes, and more. Breakfast is a meal that will give you the initial kick to your day and the energy boost that you need. Lunch is also an most important meal. Lunch is usually heavier, bulkier, high energy, and requires no cooking. Some examples of lunch foods are tuna, trail mix, Logan Bread, pita bread, bagels, granola bars, dried fruit, Wheat Thins, etc. Dinner doesn’t have to be heavy; light, cooked, dehydrated meals are typically the type of food that backpackers eat at night.

When going on longer backpacking trips, it is really important that you think about the food that you are going to eat on a daily basis. Planning ahead is one of the most important steps you can take.

If you are looking for the best trails or locations for outdoor activities, like biking, boating, camping, hiking, fishing, or climbing, NH Outdoors is a very valuable Website.  The aesthetics of the site, I will admit, definitely could use some work. When I first saw the site, I hesitated to follow the links, fearing it might be one of those trap advertisement sites. Nevertheless, I followed the links and was surprised by the great selection of information.

NH Outdoors is organized by the type of activity or location in which you are interested. For example, golfing,  skateboarding, skiing,  and biking are among the many topics listed under the category “Activities.” Follow the link, and you will be brought to a page that shows all of the courses, rinks, mountains, and trails, respectively, divided conveniently by their locations in New Hampshire. You also can find information on locations, like beaches, fairs, or farms.

Directed especially toward tourists, there is a great page that details the location of all of the famous covered bridges in New Hampshire. In addition to that, there are pages for our state parks, lodging, and area attractions. The benefit of the simple site layout is that the information you are looking for is extremely easy to locate. It takes only a couple seconds to scan the home page and find the exact activity or type of destination you are interested in. Immediately, you are immersed in all the information for which you could possibly ask, which, in a sense, is very ergonomic.

If the sponsors of this Website could renovate it, the overall appeal of it would be much greater, but as they say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” NH Outdoors provides a very thorough supply of New Hampshire’s finest options. It is a terrific resource for anyone interested in experiencing the great outdoors that New Hampshire has to offer.