anyone a transient, hobo, road dog, tour rat, or any road lifers.. id like advice. im going to ocala and leaving a bunch of stuff there or trading etc.. just to free up some posessions.. but i do need to live out of my pack for a while.. im looking for essentials, im not packing a grill or anything.. like what would you pack in your bag? theres prolly threads all over like this so links work too. peas. luvkoz.
oh i'm doing that soon hopefully with my dad and brother. i'm planning on taking toothbrush/paste, soap, a few shirts/pants/skirts(not that you'll need skirts. lol) my walkman and cd's just because i need my bob dylan, a few personal items that i'm putting in my keepsake box, sandals/moccassins, and then i'm carrying my guitar.
oooooooh lotus those are all good ideas... my dad was probably going to pack all those things so i left them out. heh.
Good tips man, I'm also looking to do a trip like this. How does that olive oil taste? As far as the rice, you probably don't want white rice tho, it's bleached and thus deprived of a lot of nutrients. Stay away from cotton clothing; cotton does not belong in the woods. If it gets wet it loses most of it's insulation power and becomes useless. Stick to wool and synthetics. Take baking soda for toothpaste, it's cheaper, lasts longer and works better (none of that fluoride shit...fluoride is toxic to cavity causing bacteria, but also to humans). Might even be lighter (weight is everything when backpacking). So yeah, your basic essentials are food, shelter, and basic tools. Shelter includes tent, sleeping bag and clothing, food is obvious, and tools would include rope (50 feet of nylon rope, rope is very useful to have), a knife, cateen, compass (if you're going off the roads), matches/lighter, map, first aid kit (including stuff for blisters~ skin ointments), bug spray...stuff like that. You'll probably want a camera too, and maybe a notepad for a journal.
Well, river water can be dangerous to drink, thanks to pollution. Boiling only kills bacteria, straining just removes particulate stuff. But out west it might not be so bad. Springs are better. I hear you can find water by watching bird flight patterns, but that would take experience, just like other water finding techniques. Out there, sticking to roads would be the best option. Traveling in winter is better too, because it's cooler. You can collect morning dew with a sponge or using a handful of grass as a sponge. You can make a water-catcher, but you'll need a big sheet of see-through plastic. what you do is dig a hole (hopefully hitting some moisture in the soil), then drape the plastic over the hole, piling dirt around the edges. You put a rock in the middle so it forms an inverted cone. The water will evaporate out of the soil, condense on the plastic, then run down to the point of the cone, and drip into a cup or canteen you put in the hole under tip of the cone. You can even urinate in there, since only the water will evaporate. But it won't produce tons and tons of water like you'll need in a desert. Still a neat technique. By the way, rivers in the desert are not always running, so just because the map shows one, doesn't mean it won't be a dry streambed when you arrive.
True, urine is safe to drink...but it's sorta a last resort, dont you think? Haha. As far as space between towns, depends on your route. Still, it's gonna be a long ways.
i been in my pack for 3 years. this is whats in it. sleeping bag(0 degree), small walmart tent, 2 heavy rain ponchos(groundscored), shorts, 3 t-shirts, water filter, coffee percolator, socks, needles and thread, extra clips and straps, some hemp, some beads, a hoodie, resteraunt tongs, resteraunt pizza grate. i also carry my madolin with me and wear jeans and boots. do not pack anything you are attached too. the key is to keep it as light as possible, keep you and your gear safe from the rain, and be warm when you sleep. all these things have the greatest impact on your happiness level. food is not as important, as the world is overflowing with food.
Ah, the old Oregon Trail way. There's more towns up there (so I hear), and more water (if you stay near the snake river anyways)
Best advise I can give if you're going to be walking alot is bring two pairs of shoes (or sandals or boots). The innersoles get smashed down after a few hours of walking. Changing your shoes makes a world of difference. It can mean the difference between going 10 and 15 miles a day. Can never have too many pairs of sox either.
Although I do own a bablonian form of transportation, I still get in alot of pack time especially in the woods along trails such as the Appalachain Trail (BTW-if some of you haven't heard of the AT check out the web for more info-it's a great place to live with EZ access to towns), I carry everything I need on my back-tent, sleeping bag, stove,food, water, clothes with raingear,compass, iodine(to purify water) string (for clothesline, fishing, etc.),mountain money, and usually some amount of a pungent green leafy substance to help me deal with all that damn walking. My pack weighs out fully loaded at about 25 lbs. luckily I work seasonally at a backpacking store so it helps me keep my gear in good shape and I get good deals. You don't need all the fancy stuff tho, I've seen people do just fine with homemade stuff (usually better than Mal-Wart type stuff. Also, I've seen people make their gear from dumpster dived items.
