Basic Equipment for Wilderness

To make any serious weekend wilderness excursion, you need to own, borrow or rent a basic array of equipment, including:

- A good backpack, with weight-bearing waistband, which should be stocked with food (choose light-weight items like rice, macaroni-and-cheese, canned tuna or chicken, dried fruits and trail mixes of nuts and raisins), a small cook stove (campfires for cooking are generally not permitted), stove fuel, water containers, cooking utensils and clothing that is light-weight but varied enough to allow for changing weather.

Freeze-dried foods, which were popular in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, have fallen from favor in many quarters because their flavor and nutritional value do not generally match more conventional foods and, for comparatively short weekend trips, the weight saved is insignificant. If you do not plan to carry water, it may be advisable to carry a lightweight filter pump to screen out micro-organisms--especially Giardia , which can cause severe gastrointestinal infection. Iodine tablets are generally inadequate for purification. Unfiltered water should be boiled for at least 10 minutes before it is consumed.

- An accurate map (usually available from the agency administering the wilderness) and a compass, high-quality pocket knife, flashlight, first-aid kit and waterproof matches.

- A tent light enough to be easily carried as part of a backpack load but sturdy enough to withstand high winds or other unexpected conditions, including snow. An extra supply of lightweight tent rope is handy--especially for securing sacks of food in trees to keep it away from animals.

- A sleeping bag rated to provide adequate warmth at the lowest temperature the backpacker may conceivably encounter. Wilderness areas are often at high altitudes and nighttime temperatures--even in mid-summer--may drop into the 40s or even 30s. For high altitude camping--above 8,500 feet--a sleeping bag rated to 20 degrees above zero, or even lower, is advisable even in midsummer.