Backpacking Journals ? Preserve Your Backpacking Experiences -

Home
>
Outdoors
>
Backpacking Journals ? Preserve Your Backpacking Experiences

Backpacking Journals ? Preserve Your Backpacking Experiences

Backpacking is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your backpacking experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a backpacking journal for your adventures.

Backpacking Journals

Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent backpacking experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went backpacking. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, particular backpacking routes and spectacular views. The experiences you've forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a backpacking journal, this won't be the case.

There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank's Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your backpacking experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.

A good backpacking journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don't have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:

1. Who you went backpacking with,

2. Where you backpacked and if you enjoyed it,

3. Who you met and contact information for them,

4. The geographic and weather conditions,

5. Routes you tried and how far you made it, and

6. Any unique things that occurred while backpacking.

At the end of the trip, you should be able to get the following from your journal:

1. Contact information for other backpackers and people you met,

2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you backpack the location a second time.

3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and

4. Something to pass on to your friends, children and grandchildren.

To get the most out of your backpacking journal, you should write in it during backpacking breaks or immediately after. Every trip is special, even if you just go out for a weekend.

Backpacking is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals for outdoor activities and traveling. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read articles and stories on travel and outdoor activities.

In The News:

Give a toast to summer outdoors
Seattle Times, United States - 13 hours ago
Rather than struggle to find level ground on which to balance your drink, take along The Pampered Chef's Outdoor Party Sticks. ...

Pursuits - Great Outdoors: The Gore Timezone Kit
Financial Times, UK - 19 hours ago
By Sam Murphy By Sam Murphy If James Bond were a runner, he'd have one of these. Contained in a compact zip-up pouch, the Gore TimeZone kit is a running ...

OUTDOORS REPORT Calcasieu Lake a hot spot for trout
Houston Chronicle, United States - Jul 3, 2008
By BINK GRIMES and WILKINS WEATHER Kirk Stansel of Hackberry Rod and Gun reported good catches of trout around the jetty and short rigs on Hackberry ...

Flathead Beacon
Art Studio Looks to Expand Outdoors
Flathead Beacon, MT - 4 hours ago
But now the nonprofit art center would like to spruce it up for an outdoor classroom. â€œIt means we could take art that should be done outside--like sawdust ...

Outdoors calendar
HeraldNet, WA - 13 hours ago
Volunteers for Outdoor Washington: Learn how to build trails and volunteer to construct and maintain hiking routes; 206-517-3019, www.trailvolunteers.org. ...

OUTDOORS: Striped bass appear to be taking summer off from Maine ...
Morning Sentinel, maine - 15 hours ago
By TRAVIS BARRETT By TRAVIS BARRETT The Winslow fisherman can count on one hand the number of striped bass heâ€™s caught in the Kennebec River near his home ...

CBS News
Food Safety When Dining Outdoors
CBS News, NY - Jul 4, 2008
(CBS) There's nothing like enjoying food outdoors, but you have to be sure you don't put yourself at risk while you're at it. On The Early Show Friday, ...

Custom home lets couple bring the outdoors inside
NewsOK.com (subscription), OK - 15 hours ago
By Chris Brawley Morgan Scott Kluthe was living in Seattle when he spotted a picture on a real estate Web site. Based on that image, he flew to Oklahoma and ...

CBS News
Gadgets To Enhance Your Time Outdoors
CBS News, NY - Jul 4, 2008
(CBS) Most Americans will be spending the Fourth of July weekend outdoors, so you may want to check out some cool, "hot" gadgets that are perfect for the ...

Capturing the sweet outdoors
Jerusalem Post, Israel - Jul 4, 2008
"They seem to have captured the sweet outdoors in their leaves." When I cooked rice with a thyme sprig in the pan for a dinner party, a guest asked me what ...

outdoors - Google News