HIKING LIGHT IN AUSTRALIA
At Aussie Disposals, we love hiking just as much as the next person. Experiencing the breath-taking scenery of Australia by foot has to one of the best ways to explore this incredible country. Whether it’s travelling through the country side with your day pack on, or trudging your way up a snowy mountain with your trusty pair of trekking boots in Australia, it’s truly one of life’s greatest pleasures. However, making sure to stay light while hiking is important. When trekking, there’s nothing worse than taking items you don’t need and having that excess weight bringing you down while walking. Being as light as possible is ideal. To help with this, we have some ideas for you to watch out for when planning and going on your adventure.
Here are a few key tips on how to stay light:
1. A heavy pack can take its toll down the track, so keep it as light as possible. The fewer kilograms in your pack, the better! Do you really need to pack a second pair of walking boots for that Melbourne trek? Can you get away with not taking certain items? The longer your hike trip, the more important it is to pack smart.
2. Make sure you’re taking light materials. If you want to take things like shovels, chairs or cooking utensils, make sure these are lightweight. For example: take a plastic trowel, use a hiker’s stool or bring along lightweight plastic or aluminium cutlery.
3. Take less clothing. We suggest bringing only two changes of clothes: one to walk in, and one to sleep in. This may sounds gross, but the less clothing you have, the lighter your pack and the more space you’ll have for other more important things.
The most essential things to try and keep as light as possible are your hiking tent, sleeping bag, mats and cooking equipment. These are the biggest items in your pack and will likely also be the heaviest, so keeping them to a low weight is going to be the best option.
A few things to look out for when looking into those items are:
1. Look into smaller hiking tents. If you’re hiking by yourself, taking a one or two man tent is ideal – anything bigger is going to take up too much space in your bag.
2. Your sleeping bag and hiking mat should be as small as possible. You need to make sure these items pack up well, as you don’t want big and bulky items in your pack.
3. When it comes to your cooking equipment, have a look into hard iodised material, aluminium or enamel. These are durable, heat up well and are super lightweight.
4. If you want to use a gas stove, look into getting a few smaller butane canisters instead of one big one – this is great for weight distribution.
You also need to remember all those smaller items that are sometimes forgotten. These are little things like your LED lanterns, head lamps, small traps and groundsheets, first aid kits and repair kits. These items are probably the most essential smaller items you’ll need when out hiking.
If you’re like most of us here at Aussie’s and you find it a lot easier to plan a trip with a list, we’ve also attached our Hiker’s Check List for you to go through and organise your next trek! From a good pair of hike boots in Australia through to the best cooking equipment, it covers everything you need for a successful hike. Don’t forget to tag us in your next adventure on Facebook or Instagram to be shared on our socials. Now go out there and have fun!
