subject: Trekking equipment - What to keep in mind when heading out alone [print this page] Outdoorsmen and adventurists alike are always looking out for new equipment that they can get their hands on. No wonder; their hobby is so perilous that they need to use any gear that they can to reduce their chances of getting in trouble outdoors and to make their lives a little bit easier. We know logging is the second most hazardous profession in the United States. You might be wondering what is the first? Why, it is fishing. Outdoorsmen are often fishermen and loggers too, in one way or another. Now you might be wondering, "Well I am an outdoorsman too and I don't fish or cut trees down." Perhaps I should have explained my definition of adventurist, outdoorsman, or expeditioner that I oftentimes refer to. To me, these 3 names represent those people who not only enjoy hiking for a mile on a trail within a metro city, but those who drive/boat/fly for hours out to the most wild areas that they can come up with to find themselves completely immersed into nature. My point is then that a real adventurist, outdoorsman, or expeditioner who goes to very remote places will actually need to be able to fish occasionally and cut down trees in order to supply themselves with firewood. With that in mind, realize just how dangerous our hobby is. We are practicing things that are statistically declared to be the top most dangerous jobs in the United States. Not only that, we are in the middle of nowhere and can depend only on ourselves and our equipment.
Being such an adventurist myself, one of my main goals when looking for a place to check out is the traffic, or the amount of people, that it receives. I do not enjoy heavily-stampeded trails or popular tourist destinations. If I can find a place where just a few people visit every year, that is where I am going to go.
The previous was mostly my definition of an outdoorsman. An adventurist builds upon the definition of an outdoorsman, adding a more physical or hands-on aspect to it. An outdoorsman may simply like to go to the outdoors to enjoy it. An adventurist would seek out some activities or thrills within the forest. It is a way of describing a person who has a more defined goal or interest in his adventures. Another word that I am always using to depict people like myself is "expeditioner". I think that expeditioners are not only outdoorsmen who enjoy raw nature and serenity; they are not just adventurists who go to the woods for a certain something; they are also travelers and campers, who may spend days, weeks, months or even years out in the wild. A famous expeditioners known on the internet is a Finnish man Lars Monsen. He is famous for having gone on 10 expeditions, taking up a total of over six years. One of his longest trips was traversing northern Canada over the span of two years and seven months. You better believe that the equipment he was hauling on his trek was worth thousands of dollars. Perhaps if he didn't have the quality gear, he wouldn't even have survived.
In fact, I should not have said that he was hauling his equipment; he was carrying it. Why I made this correction is because good quality outdoors gear is usually quite light, which leads me to my next point. A very important aspect to be considered when choosing equipment for your adventurist needs is weight. Yes, it is nice to have a machete with you as well as three knives and an axe. But, do you really need that machete in a northern forest? Cooking in cast-iron pots is romantic, but perhaps you want to sacrifice that for a titanium pot that weighs 10 pounds lighter. Weight is a very key aspect to consider, and there is a flourishing market for light or "lite" woods equipment for an extremely reason.
For more of my reviews and articles on woodsman equipment, visit my website at http://backpackercabin.com
Trekking equipment - What to keep in mind when heading out alone
