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Beating the Bugs
By Hiking Expert Karen Berger

It's bug season: Those pesky mosquitoes and carnivorous black flies are coming out of their winter slumber packing sharpened teeth and heightened appetites. Will you let them keep you out of the woods? Or can you keep them at bay? Is there a way to avoid these backcountry spoilsports?

• DEET. No one likes the stuff. It's smelly, and if it can strip the plastic off of your watchband and the coating off of your Gore-Tex, you've got to wonder what it can do to human skin. But test after test has confirmed that DEET, the active ingredient in most insect repellents, is the most effective anti-bug skin-lotion. Use it sparingly.

• You don't need 100-percent DEET to do the job. Tests show that diluted concentrations work just as well. You can buy combo sunscreen-insect repellent lotions to protect your skin from two problems at once.

• Know where bugs hang out. Lush grassy meadows, especially wet ones, are prime skeeter territory. Windy passes are not.

• Citronella candles can help keep mosquitoes out of the area, meaning that you don't have to slather so much repellent on yourself. Mosquitoes are primarily attracted to heat, carbon dioxide and sent. Everyone gives of all three, so trying to camouflage that attraction is the best way to protect your self. Normal Candles work well if they are scattered about the camp area. Since they too give off all three.

• Every once in a while an outdoor magazine tests the theory that Skin-so-Soft skin lotion by Avon is the bug repellent par excellence. The tests never hold up the theory. But the debunkers and disclaimers have no effect on backwoodsmen and lumberjacks who wouldn't think of heading into Maine's northwoods during black fly season without slathering on their wives' skin lotion. After years of claiming that the lotion is only a lotion, Avon has finally buckled to the pressure and produced an insect repellent. Old- timers swear it works against black flies.

• Head-nets can be a sanity saver, and they weigh next to nothing.

• Try clothes, not chemicals. Long-sleeved tightly woven loose-fitting clothes in light colors work best.

• A hat with a brim keeps bugs away from your face. Many insect fly in an up-and-down pattern; the brim keeps them at bay.


Treating Water
By Andrew Graham

Here's the scoop on water: It's no longer safe to drink water straight out of a river, a stream--or even a pond. That's because in recent years, backcountry parasites such as Giardia Lamblia and Cryptosporidium have set up shop in our wild places, traveling from mammalian intestines to pristine-looking streams through feces. Other contaminants include pesticides and herbicides.

The simple fact is this : If you don't treat backcountry water, you're risking spending your vacation in intestinal distress. Here's how to stay out of trouble:

A. Boiling. This is the tried and true method of killing microscopic beasties, but it takes a lot of fuel. Fires work, but they're not exactly minimum impact, plus your water ends up tasting like wood-smoke. If you do use a fire, decant the water from one bottle to another to get rid of the sour burnt taste. Or throw in a couple of herbal tea-bags.

There's a lot of disagreement over just how long you need to boil water for. Some agencies recommend five minutes or even longer, especially at higher altitudes. Others say that a strong rolling boil at any altitude will kill the cooties. The Centers for Disease Control recommends three minutes to make sure everything is really and truly dead, including hardy viruses (more a problem in developing countries than in the American backcountry).

B. Chemical. Iodine the most popular has some compelling advantages: it's lightweight, reliable, and trouble-free. But it does not kill the most recent arrival on the microbial scene: Cryptosporidium, which causes giardia-like symptoms and has no cure (the disease runs its course in 7 -10 days). Iodine is available in liquid, crystals, or tablets. Read the directions for how much to use and how long to wait--more iodine and longer waiting times are required in cold or especially dirty water. Potable Aqua is another alternative. It does not have a after taste. It is very popular with A.T. Thru Hikers. Note: it's not a good idea to use iodine for days on end, but it is an excellent idea to carry a few tablets, even if you plan to mostly filter or boil your water. That way, even if you don't feel like filtering or boiling (say it's terrible weather and you're exhausted), you'll still be able to drink. There are newer forms of chemical and non-chemical treatments that work better then Iodine. Check out your local outfitter to find out about them.

C. Filters. Simple and safe. Few pieces of backpacking equipment are as vilified as water filters. Think of filters as microscopic strainers. They give you clean water with no bad taste--and no residue of fugglies floating in your canteen. To choose a filter, first look at the "absolute" pore size, which should be 1 micron or less for hiking in North America: That'll take care of both Giardia and Cryptosporidium. For hiking abroad, you may also need a filter that can handle viruses. Other then weight and bulk filters are a great choice for backpacking.

Fuss-free filtering . Clogging is the main filter problem. You can help prevent it by keeping the filter element as clean as possible. Start by using clear water. If that's not an option, let clouded water sit for a while so that the gunk settles on the bottom. You can also pre-filter water through a bandanna or use the pre-filter that comes with some filter systems. If you're filtering directly from the water source, use a float to keep your intake tube off of the river or lake bottom.

Unclogging . Filters clog because they do their job: The gunk that clogs them is gunk you'd otherwise be drinking. Make sure you take your filter's directions into the field with you. Some ceramic filters can be cleaned by scrubbing the element with an old toothbrush. Others can be wiped clean. Some filters can be backwashed, which is a temporary solution. Reverse the intake and output tubes, then pump backwards so the water flushes the gunk out of the filter element. After backwashing, you must run clean water that has been treated with iodine or bleach through the filter and its hoses.


Hiking Sticks
By Karen Berger

Hiking sticks are a traditional part of the walker's uniform. As long ago as the Middle Ages, pilgrims on their way to the Spanish shrine of Santiago da Compostela could be identified by their garb and gear, which included a staff. Today, some hikers still use the traditional wooden staff, but more and more backpackers are going high-tech.

The newest trend: using two trekking poles.

I'll admit I was suspicious at first: It seemed to me that here was yet another opportunity to spend money on stuff that maybe wasn't all that necessary.

But then I carried a pair of Leki poles on a winter trip, when I was snowshoeing and hiking. I used the sticks even when my snowshoes were strapped to my pack and I was hiking on dirt. I found that they helped take pressure off my knees, especially on a steep downhill.

I especially like telescoping poles (because they are easier to travel with) and the kind with little shock-absorbing springs (which take even more stress off your joints, especially when you have to take a BIG step down).

Here are some other ways to use them:

1.For balance when crossing streams.

2.To pitch your tarp.

3.For checking to see if there are snakes in the underbrush.

4.To wave threateningly at barking dogs.

5.As aids to help you get some uphill momentum going.

6.To poke a bear-bag into place.

7.As a third (and fourth) leg when picking your way through boulder fields.


How To Sleep Warmly - 10 steps to a goosebump-free night
By Ted Stedman

Lucky is the warm sleeper. You know you're a member of this club if you've ever slept blissfully through the night with the zipper to your bag wide open while companions with nearly identical sleeping bags complained of the bone shivering cold.

Warm sleepers and cold sleepers are indeed born that way, due in large part to metabolism and body size. But a whole bunch of other factors come into play that influence your ability to sleep comfortably through the night, such as how much water and food you consumed that day and how much insulation lies between you and the heat-sucking ground.

So, cold sleepers don't despair. You can level the playing field with a few easy-to-follow tips to help you generate and conserve more body heat when the night turns frosty. Here's how:

1. Get enough" bag" for your buck. Select a temperature rating for your sleeping bag that's adequate for the nighttime temperatures you're likely to encounter. Head into New Hampshire's White Mountains in November with a 35-degree bag, for example, and you'll likely be a cold pup.

2. Hold onto your heat. A sleeping bag's design plays a big role in your ability to retain body heat. If you're a serious camper or backpacker, your slam-dunk choice is a mummy-cut bag for the simple reason that there's less empty space inside that needs to be heated and the close-fitting hood prevents heat from escaping. (Attention women: new women's bags conform to the realities of the female form and metabolism -- narrower fitting in the shoulders, wider in the hips, shorter overall, and extra insulation in the foot area -- to create a bag that's easier to heat up.)

Other warmth-enhancing bag features to look for: an insulated draft collar, which drapes or cinches around your neck like a gasket to seal in heat; a hood with loads of insulation as well as cinch cords to narrow the face opening; and an insulated zipper draft tube running the entire length of the zipper.

3. Get off the ground. The ground is always colder than you, so without an insulating layer between you and it, you'll be robbed of precious body heat. Your best bets in pads are either the closed-cell foam variety or self-inflators. Tip: When camping on snow or frozen ground, the best formula for warmth is to carry two pads, a smooth, full-length closed-cell foam pad topped with a full-length self-inflator.

4. Eat before you sleep. Think of your body as a furnace that needs stoking with food to generate heat. Treat yourself to some high-calorie indulgences before turning in. For quick heat, carbohydrates like a cereal bar will rev your internal motor almost instantly, but the burn peters out after a few hours. That's where proteins and fats come in. Peanuts and beef jerky, for example, are like big ol' Yule logs that burn long and slowly to help generate metabolic heat into the wee hours.

5. Drink your fill. Blood is to your body what water is to a hot water heating system in a house. Run low on fluid and your blood pressure begins to drop as the volume of blood decreases. Another side effect is that blood viscosity increases and flow becomes sluggish, which slows its progress throughout small capillaries in your extremities. The sum total is you'll begin to feel cold. Get in the habit of drinking beverages even before you feel thirsty throughout the day and hydrate in a big way at dinnertime. Tip: Cold water causes a direct net energy loss, so drink warm beverages before bedtime.

6. Zip into a tent. A tent creates a buffered airspace around you to counteract heat loss on calm, cold nights as well as windy nights. Maximize your tent's warmth potential by pitching camp sheltered from prevailing winds, and try to stay out of depressions or hollows where cold air settles. To ward-off morning chill, scout out a tent location that will receive full sunlight at daybreak. Tip: four-season campers should consider purchasing a convertible tent with zip in-zip out panels that cover breezy mesh panels to retain precious body heat. A well-designed tent can be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.

7. Wear the right amount of clothing. Too much bulky clothing can strangle blood flow and needlessly compress the bag's insulation. Wear non-constricting synthetic long underwear; preferably, a pair that's not damp from the day's activities. Vital to staying warm: cover your noggin with a synthetic or wool pullover hat. Tip: Reduce the amount of internal air space that needs to be warmed in a bag by loosely stuffing next morning's apparel around your feet or along your sides. As a bonus, you'll wake up to pre-warmed clothing.

8. Give your bag a boost. Slip your bag into an over bag and you'll ratchet up the comfort factor a good 10 to 20 degrees. Another warmth booster that also happens to preserve you bag's interior is a liner, which can add about 10 degrees of warmth. In a pinch, try draping a down parka, a shell jacket or any apparel item over your bag to add a few precious degrees of warmth.

9. Get your blood pumping. Remember as a kid when you warmed your hands by swinging your arms like a windmill? That's centrifugal force powering blood into your extremities, and it works. So does a brisk jog-in-place, or anything that temporarily elevates the heart rate. As simple as it sounds, brief exercise prior to bedding down will turn your body into a blast furnace that quickly transforms a crinkly, cold nylon bag into a cozy cocoon.

Conversely, once inside the bag, try to keep your movement to a minimum. Thrashing and rolling creates a bellows effect that blows hard-earned warmth right out the neck opening of the bag.

10. Maintain loft. Trapped air is at the core of a sleeping bag's ability to retain your body heat, so it figures that the more fluffed up and "lofty" the bag the greater it's heat-conserving ability. When you arrive in camp, unroll your sleeping bag as soon as possible and grab one end and give it a few good fluffing shakes. At home, avoid keeping a bag compressed too much or too long. Synthetic fills are more easily damaged in this way than down. Worse still is leaving a stuffed synthetic bag to overheat in the trunk of your car.

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