Backpacking For Beginners

Travelers like campers and backpackers are prone to diarrhea caused by contaminated water. According to the latest report released by the World Health Organization, about eighty percent of travel diseases are causes by unsafe water. If you are camping or backpacking, the only way you can avoid s getting sick is to take extra care especially when water is involved.

The common microbes in backcountry drinking water include giardia and cryptosporidia that cause chronic diarrhea and vomiting. In the wilderness of North America, giardia has been found in 90% of these waters. The bottom line therefore is that these waters are not safe to drink. There are however available methods of treating water to avoid sickness like boiling, iodine treatment, bleaching or simply with reliable water purifier.

If you are a light backpacker, it will be inconvenient for you to bring boiling equipment. Treating water with iodine, purification tablets and chlorine bleach will leave a chemical taste in the treated water. Portable water purifier like Katadyn Water Filter is a reliable partner and kills most water microbes. It is better than iodine, purification tablets and chlorine bleach since it does not leave unpleasant taste in the water.

When on travel, make sure you only drink industrially bottled beverages. It is always possible that open or unsealed bottles are filled from a contaminated source. For your safety, do not drink untreated water especially from backcountry water sources. A hand sanitizer will help disinfect your hands especially if water source is limited. Prepare your food, either fruits or vegetables using treated water only. In the same way use treated water for personal hygiene use.

In preparing your food, make sure that you wash cooking utensils including fruits and vegetables properly. As a common hygiene practice, you should wash your hands first before touching food for cooking or before eating. It is recommended that you wash fruits and vegetables first before packing them in clean containers prior to the trip. If possible, plan meals that do not require perishable ingredients such as fresh meat and chicken. This is to avoid spoilage and possible food poisoning. Canned and dried foods are safer if you plan to camp for several days.

It is vital for campers and backpacker to prioritize safety at all times. In order to avoid getting sick, follow proper sanitation practices. It will be advantageous to bring few pieces of clean towels to dry your hands after washing. Be responsible enough to dispose your waste properly in favor of other campers and the environment.

Technorati Tags: Camping and Backpacking Hygiene, Hygiene for the Outdoors, Wilderness Hygiene and Health

Tags: Camping and Backpacking Hygiene, Hygiene for the Outdoors, Wilderness Hygiene and Health

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Backpacking For Beginners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.