9 Ways to Excel at Long Trail Hikes:

A Trail Runner’s Observations

What makes me qualified to talk about long trail hikes? You decide….

As a runner, almost solely off road, I do long trail runs carrying almost nothing. Running a long route may take a day or a few hours. For a hiker the same long trail may take days to complete.

Even though I don’t do a lot of overnight hikes unless they include something else like a climbing route or a mountain ascent, I have experienced first hand the importance of packing properly. Also, combining hiking and climbing or skiing involves packing extra carefully because there is gear to carry that has nothing to do with hiking.

Recently I went on a 4.5 day hike through the mountains on a remote (no towns, stores, roads, people) 120km trail with another firefighter.

Here are some recommendations based on having passed many sad hikers en route over the years:

1) Go Light – for long trail hikes

You have never seen a more miserable person than the one that has their house on their back trying to walk up and down mountains on a trail. Every kilogram/pound you remove from your backpack leads to more happiness. Take only what is needed. Get rid of absolutely everything that is not essential. Also what you deem as essential probably isn’t. See the packing list at the end.

2) Don’t be an Embarrassment to Your Ancestors

Remember the hunter gatherers? That bad ass group lived their whole lives walking around carrying all their possession and children while managing to eat, get shelter and live healthier than we do today. This included everyone for all of humanity up until a second ago. They would be mortified to see us now. Be like a hunter gatherer!

3) Get Over Yourself

You will get dirty, stinky and wet. Your hair may get messed up and you will be able to tell what your body actually smells like. Don’t let any of this bother you. You will glow with radiance from constant exercise and living outside….or something like that.

4) Here’s How You Go to the Bathroom in the Forest

1. Get a good distance away from your companions (be brave, get away from everyone)
2. Find cover – someone may also be trying to get away from the group
3. Dig a small hole – use your hands, get some dirt under those nails
4. Squat over the hole and do your business
5. Use toilet paper
6. Burn the toilet paper with a lighter or match
7. Bury everything.
8. Wash your hands with water if available or rub them in dirt.
9. When its all done there should be no sign of anything – no little animals should have to forfeit their lives because of you

5) Footwear – for long trail hikes

If you don’t hike much you will get blisters and sore feet regardless of your footwear. What feels super comfy walking around the store will most likely feel different after being worn all day on uneven ground in wet, sweaty, dirty conditions. Ignore the ‘blister voice’. It screams louder the more you pay attention to it. (Some army guy told me this.)

There are 2 main options:

Hiking boots

Provide a lot of support when you are carrying heavy weight over uneven ground and may be waterproof as long as you don’t tread/fall into a creek.

Running shoes

These are light, comfortable but don’t provide much support with a big load. Also your feet will get wet. I wear running shoes because I’m used to them and don’t care if my feet are wet. I still get blisters. I wear

Neither option is all that great when you are just starting out as a hiker. You can also get a hiking shoe which may provide the best of both worlds but may also end up being the worst of both worlds (heavier, not waterproof, don’t provide the ankle support required).

Pick your poison.

6) Everybody, Carry Your Weight!

If you can’t lift and carry as much as the rest of your group, then you will have to take less.

7) Be Realistic

If you don’t know how far you can hike in a day then you are probably more out of shape than you thought. My guess is that either you or someone in your group will overestimate the daily distance that’s reasonable to cover. This will make you sad. You will be pushed beyond your comfort zone, suffer immensely and be a better person for it.

8) Pack Calories Not Food

$15 for a fancy, gourmet style freeze dried meal consisting of 300 calories isn’t going to cut it. Look at the nutritional information and see how many calories are in each serving. Let’s be realistic, 2 servings in the package doesn’t mean you share. You need it all for yourself. Make your meal purchase based on the amount of calories it provides. Try at least 800 calories for supper. Now isn’t the time to lose weight. It will most likely happen (see 7) so it wont be necessary to consciously starve yourself. 

9) Liquids

Water is heavy. Try not to carry it if possible. This is location dependent. If you hike in the Northern Rockies there are many water sources that you can drink from without treating the water. Other places there may be lots of water but also enough people that it needs to be treated. For this I recommend a Steri-pen. You hold it in your water bottle for about a minute and ultraviolet light kills everything so you can safely drink dead bacteria. It works great and I’ve tested it in many sketchy places.

My friend had a drinking straw. This looked like a lot of work with out much reward. Lots of sucking. Maybe you have skills that I don’t possess but regardless it’s a slow process.

And there you have it folks! Hope this helps. Remember if life sucks and you are suffering under the weight of your pack and the soreness in your feet take time to see the humour in someone else that is suffering more!

Any other suggestions for hiking gear?

Packing List for Long Trail Hiking

Backpack

• No matter what size your backpack is, it will get filled. Start small. Go with a 45 – 50 litre for a 5 day hike and don’t have a whole bunch of crap hanging off it. Keep your shit tight (old wildfire saying)

Camping Gear

• Tent – sharing is caring, split the load
• Sleeping bag – down is the best bang for your buck – light and warm
• Sleeping pad – an old school foamy rules. It is the one thing you can attach to the side of your pack. When you stop for lunch, use it as a comfortable seat and make all your friends jealous. Also it won’t get a hole and lose air.

Kitchen

• Jetboil Stove– if you don’t know what it is, look it up
• Fuel – 1 small one that fits in the Jetboil canister
• Pot – Cheap, lightweight that you don’t mind wrecking by cooking on a fire
• Spork
• Lightweight Mug – use as a cup for drinks and as bowl
• Knife – small and sharp
• Camp suds – biodegradable soap that can be used for dishes, clothes, hair, face etc.
• Steri-pen for water treatment
• Water bottle with a wide opening – easier to fill in the creek and use with the Steri-pen
• 1 jay cloth

Bathroom

• Toilet paper
• Wet wipes, small container
• Sunscreen if you aren’t used to being in the sun
• Toothbrush and paste

Clothes

• What you are wearing
• Footwear
• ONE Extra t-shirt, pair of socks (try to rig up a system that doesn’t involve underwear, like short spandex tights under your hiking pants….tell everyone you’ll wash them at night but then don’t)
• Puff jacket – down or synthetic (these are super light and warm and make a good pillow)
• Long johns or light insulated pants (an extra layer and something warm to sleep in)
• Toque – if you aren’t Canadian bring a beanie
• Ball cap for hiking so you don’t have to brush your hair

Miscellaneous

• Headlamp – make sure its not the kind that turns on in your pack when something bumps it
• Ziplocs and grocery bags
• SmartPhone – set it to airplane mode and it will last for days
• inReach or Satellite phone if you want to talk to anyone if something goes wrong
• Lighter – a few stashed in various locations

First Aid

• Band-aids
• Ibuprofen in case someone gets hurt and has to walk out injured

Food

• Enough food and snacks for the duration of your trip plus a day just in case
• Calories not food – try low carb
• Snacks – high calorie
• One thing that you look forward to (for me it’s a mickey of vodka. If you aren’t Canadian  that would be a pint of hard liqour)