Lightweight Backpacking
by: Steve Gillman
Lightweight backpacking or ultralight backpacking certainly enable you to travel more miles in a day. I can easily go farther in my running shoes, with my fifteen-pound pack on, than I could with heavy hiking boots and a forty-pound pack. That isn't all, though. Going light also means more comfort, more freedom and even more safety.
Disadvantages Of Traditional Backpacking
Less freedom. It isn't easy to take a side trip up that hill, just to see what's there. Do it without your pack, and you have to go back the same way to get your pack.
More tiring. It's clearly more tiring with a heavy pack, and you probably won't enjoy yourself as much when you are tired.
More Injuries. Blistered feet, sprained ankles, sore muscles, and back and knee problems are just some of the common consequences of too much weight on your back.
More hassle. Removing and putting on a heavy pack quickly becomes a chore. Some backpackers start to leave it on during rest stops, just so they don't have to deal with it.
Slower. Weight equals slower progress, meaning less access to wild places, since you can't go as far on a trip. It can also mean less time to for enjoyable activities, like a swim in a mountain lake, or a relaxing evening in camp.
Riskier. Injuries are more likely with heavy packs, but that's not the only risk. The inability to move as quickly when a storm is coming or when an emergency requires you to get to a road, can be a real problem. Then there is the possibility of bad decisions due to tiredness.
Lightweight Backpacking Advantages
Safety. Have all necessary items, but bring lighter versions. Lighten the load, and you're less likely to lose your balance and fall, or otherwise injure yourself. You can also respond faster to iffy situations. Safety is also a matter of knowledge and experience. Expert survivalists are safer with no shelter than a neophyte with the best tent. Know how to use you equipment properly, or to read the sky for comimg storms, and you can go lighter and safer.
Comfort. Does 18 pounds on your back instead of 50 sound nice? I completely stopped getting blisters when I started using running shoes instead of hiking boots. There's no sacrifice here. Eliminate twenty-five pounds of pack weight, and you can add back a heavier coat, or whatever you need to be comfortable.
Speed and freedom. When I walk past overloaded backpackers struggling up steep trails, and I have an eleven-pound pack on, I remember being in their place, and I know I am enjoying myself more now. Lightweight backpacking allows you to move faster, but notice I say "allows." No requirement, just the option, and that means more freedom.
Never yet have I met or heard about a person who tried lightweight backpacking, and then went back to a heavy load. This isn't to say it's for everyone. Some hiker's bad ankles may require heavy hiking boots, and some bad habits require a big pack to satisfy them. Still,
even a backpacker who needs a pillow and big rectangular sleeping bag, can find these in lighter forms.
Try it. You'll experience more freedom, more comfort, more safety, more enjoyment and less suffering. The first time you are fifteen miles into the day, and you realize that you can easily run up that hill - just to see what is there, you'll know you made the right decision. You'll love lightweight backpacking.
About The Author
Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His tips, photos, gear recommendations,
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Packing For Adventure Travel
Packing For Adventure Travel
by: Rob Wood
There?s a funny scene in Romancing the Stone when Michael Douglas? character meets Kathleen Turner?s character and agrees to take her to a phone booth hundreds of miles away. He simply refuses to help her carry her completely impractical luggage and a few scenes later goes even further by chopping the heels off her shoes so she can actually walk in them. This little fiasco encompasses the essence of packing for adventure travel. Less is most definitely more!
When in a foreign country it is usually pretty easy to spot the experienced traveler from the novice. The novice is usually dragging a giant suitcase or trying to lug a brightly coloured backpack that is even bigger than they are. They are dressed in the latest ?must have? adventure gear from the most expensive adventure stores and have ?trekking? shoes worth hundreds of dollars. This is not the way to do it for several reasons. The first is comfort....
Packing For Adventure Travel
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Search Engine Marketing & Keyword Consulting
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Search engines seem to be all the rage these days. Internet users want easy accessibility to various sites for shopping, entertainment, business, etc. And the best way to do this is with the help of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Overture.
So, how do advertisers get their listings on these ever-popular sites? Google and Overture, the two major players in search engine marketing, offer two ways--organic (natural) or paid listings. We're going to explore the latter and how you can make it work for you, particularly with respect to keyword match types.
Google Match Types:
Google AdWords is Google?s own advertising system, allowing advertisers to "create your own ads, choose keywords to tell us where to show your ads and pay only when someone clicks on them," boasts its site. It is basically a way to purchase Google's search engine keywords.
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Search Engine Marketing & Keyword Consulting
Shoes > Search Engine Marketing & Keyword Consulting
Packing For Adventure Travel
Packing For Adventure Travel
by: Rob Wood
There?s a funny scene in Romancing the Stone when Michael Douglas? character meets Kathleen Turner?s character and agrees to take her to a phone booth hundreds of miles away. He simply refuses to help her carry her completely impractical luggage and a few scenes later goes even further by chopping the heels off her shoes so she can actually walk in them. This little fiasco encompasses the essence of packing for adventure travel. Less is most definitely more!
When in a foreign country it is usually pretty easy to spot the experienced traveler from the novice. The novice is usually dragging a giant suitcase or trying to lug a brightly coloured backpack that is even bigger than they are. They are dressed in the latest ?must have? adventure gear from the most expensive adventure stores and have ?trekking? shoes worth hundreds of dollars. This is not the way to do it for several reasons. The first is comfort....
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Shoes > Packing For Adventure Travel
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Golf Shoes are a very important part of your success as a golfer, we all spend hours choosing clubs, and five minutes choosing Golf Shoes.
This is just crazy when you consider you will walk somewhere over 4 miles every time you play, and you?ll be on your feet for anything from 3 to 5 hours. Like me you probably haven?t given much thought to the part that golf shoes play in reducing your handicap. It was only after I took expert advice and invested some money in a pair of Adidas Golf Shoes that my game improved by three or four shots. Coincidence ? No I don?t think so!!
What follows are a few guidelines you should follow when choosing golf shoes
1. Always wear the same socks you golf in when trying on new golf shoes
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How to Buy and Look After Your Golf Shoes
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The Finer Points of Poverty
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Most coffee lovers have a strong liking to freshly brewed coffee. They are not very fond of instant coffee and sometimes may even consider it demeaning to have coffee right out of the can. They will either grind their coffee and stir a cuppa or have one of the new fancy coffee roaster machines which promise a quick fix from the bean to the cup in a few minutes without loosing the authentic flavour...
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With the price of a new car getting higher and higher each year, many buyers choose to buy used cars instead. The price of a new car can easily equal a year's pay for many people, so buying a used car makes sense. But there are risks associated with buying a pre-owned vehicle. What if is defective? What if it is a lemon law buyback? Once should always be a bit suspicious of a used vehicle. After all...
Lightweight Backpacking
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