Month: November 2012

Why Use a Hiking Staff and Certain Points to Consider

Why Use a Hiking Staff and Certain Points to Consider When Buying One

Well you dont actually have to rely on a hiking staff throughout your hiking tour but you can see the value of one when you need it most.

Hiking staffs were not meant to be actually used like those of the walking staffs. You probably have seen hikers holding long, sturdy sticks on their hands. While at first sight you might observe that they were quite uncomfortable with the staffs since they are more like burdens than help, you will see that the hiking staffs help a lot to ease the leg work.

Hiking staffs, in the long run, would help save you a great deal of energy. This is because a staff acts like another leg that will share your weight.

If you haven’t placed your confidence on hiking staffs yet, it would be best to remember that even ancient people and other notable recent personalities were known to using sticks for support. Even the late President Roosevelt himself noted for us to carry a big stick. Walking sticks, as you might think, assist people with certain walking handicaps. This might not be your exact picture of how to use a hiking staff but just the same, it helps a lot when you want some sturdy additional support.

Apart from supporting your balance, a hiking staff is also helpful in giving you an advanced feel of the surrounding. For example, you can use your hiking staff to measure the depth of the stream without actually getting your feet or arms soaked in it. You can also push vegetation aside when you dont want to remove them by hands.

Using a hiking staff or two has a lot of benefits for you. It might even save your life from an unwanted creature in the forest or from a fall. You’ll never know what awaits you during the hike, even expert hikers know this very well. Thus, it is but crucial that you bring something with you that is so versatile that it can even save you from life-threatening circumstances.

If you are considering of buying a hiking staff, it is best that you know some important things. Well, you can always rely on the good supply from the trail but you will never know what you might be getting. Thus it is best that you bring your own hiking staff. This would not only equip you with one readily but would also help you save a lot of time searching for a good stick.

There are numerous stores from where you could buy a hiking staff. From online vendors to fancy stores, merchants are ready to sell you what stock they have and even allow you to order what they do not have.

The choice of hiking staff is really up to you. There are virtually hundreds of options that you might look into.

The general rule of thumb in choosing one is to get the right height and weight of the stick. Always buy a hiking staff that is 6″ higher than your elbow. This will give you enough length to use in quite a lot of purposes. It will also provide you with studier hold on the staff and a firmer grounding on a downhill trek. The weight however must be the most comfortable for you. The manufacturers normally produce hiking staffs that are just perfect for every type of hiker.

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Where to Go When Hiking in Montana

Montana, the name itself resonates the very thing hikers come after for- mountains!

The name of the place is inviting enough and there are lots to witness and experience within its perimeter. Here are some of the best places for hiking in Montana:

Glacier Country
In 1910, the Glacier National Park was formally established amidst the rivers and the mountain ranges that were formed since prehistoric ages. There are around 200 lakes and 50 glaciers plus a couple of waterfalls, great alpine meadows and enchanting deep forests.

Within Glacier Country are some of the best spots that hikers, fly-fishers and mountaineers could enjoy.

Hoskins Lake- Best hiked from May to October, Hoskins Lake is best accessible using a short trail towards the mountains. Children and day hikers would enjoy this short travel which goes only for ten minutes, unless you stay and indulge the sight within you. There are two lakes, one in the higher elevation and the other is in the lower side of the trail. The lower one is more popular for fishing both among locals and travelers.

Fish Lakes Canyon Starting from a magnificent place down to a five-chain lakes, Fish Lakes Canyon boasts of the most diverse and picturesque trails in all Montana. For veteran hikers, Fish Lakes Canyon is only an overnight trip with a few exceptions of those who choose to stay and camp. However, for most hikers the trail takes an average of 12 hours. But, if you choose to see the first series of lake chains alone, it could only take a mere 8 hours of hike.

Peterson Lake- If you want to hike between mid-June up to September, your best site in Montana is the Peterson Lake. It offers a great view of the Sweeney Canyon and a few other mountain peaks and a sprinkle of lakes situated in the mountains.

Lion Creek Pass- For more experienced hikers who want strenuous hike, the Lion Creek Pass prepares the best trail.

Great Northern- This was named after the former railroad, however even the name fits exactly the experience that awaits you. A good off-trail track fit for very experienced hikers who have already acquired the feel of high peaks or wants to see what makes the high peaks attracting to adventurous souls.

Gold West Country
Found between the Glacier country and the Yellowstone National Park, Gold West Country hosts a variety of snow-capped mountains, valley ridges that is made more beautiful by its history.

Trask Lake- If you plan of visiting the Racetrack peak and would also love to experience the serenity and enjoyment of lake fishing, Trask Lake is one of the best places for you.

Grayling Lake Under the shadow of Sharp Mountain are the three famous lakes. Great for moderate hikers, Grayling Lake prepares a twelve-mile pristine hike which is best during July until September.

Lake Louise- One of the prime backpacking trips, Lake Louise offers outstanding opportunities for family recreations and magnificent scenery which makes it a National Recreation Trail.

Yellowstone National Park
Established during the late 1800’s, Yellowstone National Park boasts of scenic views both in the spring and summer for its vibrant colors and snow and ice during winter. It also includes several rivers and alpine lakes plus mud cauldrons and geysers.

Among the most famous hiking spots in Yellowstone National Park are Spanish Peaks and Ramshorn Lake which are also world-famous for fishing trips and gentle backcountry.

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What You Want to Have from Camping and Hiking Gear

What You Want to Have from Camping and Hiking Gear

Some people just like it hiking while others want to camp as well. Whether you’re into a several hours of hiking or you intend to spend days in the wilderness, you still have to get yourself gears that would give you most of everything.

Some camping and hiking gears will only be useful in some occasions but you can expect to see lots of gears in the market engineered perfectly to cater multiple purposes. However, on most cases the quality of uses suffers from the number of uses the gear hold. The best thing to do therefore is to find the top listed gears that could provide everything a hiker or a camper needs.

For one, your camping and hiking gear should give the primary purposes they were intended to have plus the leisure of enjoying them on their maximum capacity. Second, you should look for things that could protect you while enhancing your hiking experiences.

One of the best qualities of camping and hiking gear is their being lightweight. Remember that several miles of hiking might spend much of your energy that could later deny you of further distances. If you will use lightweight camping and hiking gears, you would be able to go more distance while not being bothered by the heavy equipments you carry on your back. On the other hand, if you are frequently suffering from back pains or you have chronic diseases and disorders concerning your back, you should be extra watchful of your back pack load so that your condition would not be aggravated during the hike.

You would also want camping and hiking gears that would rescue you from potential emergencies like accidents. You may never know what awaits you while hiking or while camping so apart from preparing yourself from unforeseen incidences, you also have to ready your gears to adapt specifically to the demands of emergencies.

You should also be prepared all the time. This means that your camping and hiking gear are maintained in their best conditions and should always be ready when called for use.

Your camping and hiking gears are typically chosen depending on the type of work you want to do. A beginner’s pack must have several equipments used for meals, a survival or first aid kit, a good tracking device and a map of the trail and the camping site, plus several other must-haves. Add an excellent pair of hiking boots, a hiking staff and a backpack.

Most novice hikers and campers tend to load their backs with every imaginable thing they think could be useful during the camp and hike. The first piece of advice we have is to pack as little as possible and pack only those that are essential within the length of your hiking and camping. If you are just doing it for one or two days, it is best to be as lightweight as possible.

To increase comfort, you should need to learn in advance the proper way of packing camping and hiking gears. If you know the tricks, you would be able to keep your gears assembled and organized during the trail.

Apart from being lightweight and multi-purposed, your camping and hiking gears should also be waterproof as you would not want to spoil the experience by having to wear miserably damp clothes or having to wait for your gears to dry before you set off again.

Following some of our advices we have here and the cumulative opinions from your fellow hikers ad campers, you are almost assured of enjoying many good experiences while hiking and camping.

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