Combining Hiking and Camping

Hiking and camping, in a sense, are twin disciplines. Mastering the ins and outs of hiking will allow you to access newer and more impressive places in which to camp. In turn, camping will allow the extension of hiking trips, letting you venture forth much further into the wilderness.

The two activities, when combined, significantly impact upon one another in several senses. For example, turning a one-day hike into a three day hiking and camping trip can really complicate your packing procedure beforehand.

You give yourself a lot of new, important things to pack and very little space in which to pack it. You may have to re-sort, re-fold and re-pack everything before ultimately having to leave some of your less essential equipment behind after all to make space for a tent, a sleeping bag and a decent stove.

Similarly, you really can’t afford to carry an 8-man luxury canvas tent with separate dressing rooms and living area- as well as a great big propane stove- when you've planned a 40 mile, two-day hike because over rough terrain (and in bad weather conditions) weight considerations really come into play.

Hiking and Camping are a great combination of activities that can be experienced by all ages groups.

If you're a hiker, but have little experience of camping, here are some items that you might not normally pack that you will almost certainly need when you're in the great outdoors overnight:

• Tent: Select a tent that is intended for use by no more than three men, made from nylon (or similar) with fibreglass rods in order to keep added weight to a minimum. You should aim to get a tent that is as simple as possible to erect and disassemble because at the end of a long day's walk, the last thing you want to do is try to solve the tent equivalent of a Rubik's cube in the dark.
• Sleeping bag: The type of sleeping bag you'll require will depend heavily on the climate in which you're camping. For the most part, a three season sleeping bag should be enough to keep you comfortable overnight- try to get one that packs down into as small a space as possible so that you don't have to ditch too much of your other kit to make room.
• Roll Mat: More of a convenience than a requirement, but anyone who's ever spent a night sleeping on rocky ground will tell you it's no laughing matter. A foam roll mat is a little bulky, but light enough not to push you over your weight requirements and well worth it if it allows you to sleep soundly.