If you have never been in the mountains, then you do not know what it means - to break away from everyday life and rise above the world with its petty and vain problems. Only high in the mountains can come an indescribable feeling of freedom and love of life. No wonder the great expert of human souls Vladimir Vysotsky sang "better than mountains can only be mountains ...".
However, you are still ahead and you can only be envied - the first trip to the mountains leaves indelible impressions and they are incomparable to anything else.
How to prepare for a hike in the mountains?
If you have order with a moral attitude and you are ready for the difficulties, lack of some benefits of civilization, physical activity, tangible weight of the backpack and hard karematu, it's time to get ready.
From the obligatory equipment for a hike in the mountains you should have:
- tent ;
- sleeping bag;
- carpet or inflatable mat ;
- a strong backpack;
- light unbreakable dishes;
- a kettle;
- sealed cases for technology (mobile phones, flashlights, player);
- folding knife;
- burner and cylinders with gas to it;
- first-aid kit with all the basic medicines and dressings.
Modern tents are very light, they are made of thin materials. They are completely waterproof, especially double-layered. The bottom in them can withstand even the night on the stream. Folding into a compact carrying case, they occupy very little space. Today even a 4-person tent can weigh only 2-3 kg.
Modern sleeping bags, too, have gone far from the Soviet cotton analogs. Today the material of their packing allows them to be rolled into a narrow tube. At night, in the sleeping bag, you will feel quite comfortable.
Karemat is the most common variant of a sleeping pad in a tent, but it has already been replaced by inflatable mats that occupy much less space and are much more comfortable to use.
The backpack should be designed for hiking, have many outside pockets for convenience, and a pair of unloading straps (in the chest and thighs or waist) so that its weight does not press down on the shoulders and does not lead to wild back pain.
The dishes are better to take the metal, specially designed for such cases. For example, a bowl in a set with a spoon, a cup with a carabiner handle for the convenience of wearing it in an easily accessible place: on a belt or a backpack loop. In the mountains, often along the way there are streams from which you can, without stopping, scoop up amazing water and quench your thirst.
The kettles today are made of lighter metals, so that they do not weigh our already serious burden. Covers for hydroprotection will be useful in wet weather, by the way, it will not be superfluous to have a large cover on the backpack.
The burner will insure if the firewood is submerged or completely absent (high in the mountains along the way there can be only rare bushes, and even completely endless snow).
Clothes for hiking in the mountains
If everything is clear with the equipment, it remains unclear what to take to the hike in the mountains out of clothes and shoes. Particular attention is the shoes. First, it should be 2 pairs: one is easier, the other - more serious.
The main role for you will be to carry out special boots for mountain hikes. They have the necessary strength of socks and soles, a high bootleg that protects the ankle, the non-slip surface of the soles. This is necessary because you often have to walk on a stony surface, to wade brooks, climb the slippery grass.
Food for a hike in the mountains
Usually it is a dry bag: canned food, stew, boiled cereals and pasta, dry soups, dry biscuits. Be sure to take food for snacks while driving: nuts, raisins, dates and other dried fruits.
Usually when organizing trips to the mountains, the members of the group discuss the provisions in advance and distribute who will take what. The rest is left to your own discretion. Of course, perishable products are inappropriate here.