Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category

Methods of outdoor cooking

Friday, April 11th, 2008

When you go out in the wild, you have to be prepared for each and every task that is put in front of you. For example, if you and other campers are confronted with cooking for a particular night, you have various options. One of the most traditional methods of outdoor cooking is a campfire.

These campfires can be used exceptionally for cooking food with various techniques. These techniques are quite different from the usual kitchen cooking stove techniques. In the wild, you can’t use a stove. So, the campers who are backpacking in a specific area covered with woods can collect dried woods to make a campfire to avoid extra luggage. In most cases, a lot of campfire cooking is done in front of country campgrounds. Sometimes, this task can be tricky for those campers who are not accustomed with the campfire techniques. As a matter of fact, some of the campfires are considered illegal in specific areas and so a lot of campers opt for portable stoves.

Another method of outdoor cooking is roasting, in which one has to cook over a campfire and one of the common technique in this type of cooking is to roast the food on long skewers which can be held above the fire flames. For instance, one can cook hot dogs and even toast marshmallows in this manner. There are also pie irons which can be used in which the bread slices are kept with some fillings. Even meat can be roasted. Grilling, boiling and frying are also some of the best methods used in outdoor cooking.

Popularity: 13%

Safety measures while caving

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

Cavers have to be on guard while pursuing their favorite sport as it requires exploring dangerous places. He can be confronted with unpredictable situations like falling, flooding, hypothermia, physical exhaustion and other such risks. To rescue people from underground caves can be difficult and time consuming for which one has to have special skills in equipment and training.

Such caving activity is also pursued by full scale rescuers which include the effort of a lot of rescue workers which are specialized in this sport and who put themselves in risk by helping the normal cavers. Further, caving is not necessarily a high extreme sport and one should know one’s limit in this sport.

There are certain risks which can be minimized like a caver can check the flooding details while on a cave expedition. He can check the rainwater funneled in an underground cave, where the floods can come at any time trapping people and drowning them. The caver can use several techniques in order to avoid any fatal accidents for him as well as for other cavers. If any of the caver is injured, one person can stay with him while other person goes for help. The caver should also notify people outside the expedition community about his teams return time. If there is delay, the other party can notify the search team to search for the cavers.

The cavers should wear a helmet and sturdy clothing and footwear as told by their guide or leader. Also, the caver should take with him the fagging tape if he gets lost.

Popularity: 14%

Equipment which are needed for the backpacking sport

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

There is a lot of equipment which is needed for a backpacking sport adventure. The backpackers ensure that they carry minimal weight as a backpack. A light weight backpack can cause less of an injury, soreness and fatigue. This can allow the backpacker to travel long distances. When planning for a backpacking trip, the person has to pre plan the equipment which he requires during the trip.

Like, each and every gear is evaluated to see the balance of utility with weight. The significant reduction in weight can be possible only with little sacrifice in the gear utility, even though light weight gears are more costly. Some of the best industries have developed light weight gears especially for the backpackers. This gear comprises of the backpack itself, ordinary camping equipment which is altered as to reduce the weight, reduced size, lighter materials like special titanium, carbon fiber and alloys of aluminum. There are also portable stoves and ingenious stoves designed for backpackers.

Some of the backpackers use more compact and light equipments with them and one of the most radical measures is to go for ultra light backpacking. Because of the emphasis on weight reduction, there is a practical joke which is common in some backpackers circle. This joke is to pack secretly a small but heavy luxury item like a soft drink in another backpacker’s pack bag. After a long trip, when the backpacker team stops to rest, the person behind this plan retrieves the drink and says thanks to the bearer for carrying the soft drink on his behalf. The person then drinks the soft drink, by sharing the drink with others.

Popularity: 12%

Caving

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Caving is an outdoor activity which is also referred to as spelunking. It is a recreational sport wherein the participant explores the caves. However, speleology is scientific study of the caves and the cave environment.

The caving sport challenge includes a participant to explore the cave and the whole expedition depends on the cave which is being visited and includes the negotiation of squeezes, pitches and water. Cave diving is apart from caving. In this sport of caving, the caver needs to often climb and crawl and for the same, he has to use ropes for safety of negotiation of steep or slippery passages.

This outdoor activity needs a lot of energy on the part of the person pursuing this sport and is often undertaken for the enjoyment and physical exercise of the sport. There are also original exploration which is quite similar to other outdoor sports like diving and mountaineering. Further, biological or physical science is an important goal for some of the cavers and the basic cave systems includes some of last unexplored regions on the Earth. There is also a lot of effort being put to try and locate these regions and enter them.

Well explored and accessible caves have already been seen and to gain access to new caves requires a lot of diving or digging. This sport is for total fun and exploring them has become a necessity for some people. People come for caving out of curiosity and also for mystical reasons for thousands of years. Recent studies show that caving is pursued for extreme sport events and for nature activities like urban exploration or mine exploration.

Popularity: 47%