How to Pack for Appalachian Mountain Camping

Series Summary

Hiking in the Appalachian Mountains is an incredible experience, full of beautiful and awesome views, as well as dangers. It is important to know some basic survival skills, tips, and techniques for hiking and camping in the mountains. Many times these basic and essential skills mean the difference between walking out of the mountains and not walking out of the mountains. Just understanding some basic mountain hiking principles will help you know what to do in a crisis situation or an emergency when hiking the Appalachian mountains. If you would like to learn these basic and essential hiking techniques, you can learn for free from one of our hiking survival experts.

In this free survival video series, learn how to survive hiking in the Appalachian Mountains from hiking expert David Jackel. David will teach you how to survive hiking in the Appalachian Mountains with camping tips and survival techniques such as how to pack for a camping trip in the Appalachians, how to choose footwear for hiking in the mountains, how to find firewood in the Appalachians, how to start a fire, how to find shelter when hiking, how to handle rain in the Appalachian Mountains, how to protect yourself from the sun and heat, how to manage you water supply, and how to find food hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. He will also teach you how to treat poison ivy, how to deal with insects and animals in the Appalachian Mountains, how to care for your feet when hiking, how to prepare a first aid kit for a camping trip, and how to dispose of trash and human waste when hiking in the Appalachian Mountains.

Video Transcript

"Hi. This is David Jackel on behalf of Expert Village and I'm here to talk to you about what to pack when you're in the Appalachian Mountains. Now what you decide to pack, depends on the length of your stay. However, no matter how long you plan to stay in the mountains, you should always pack more than you actually might need. because you never know when there is going to be an emergency and you have to rely on what you've got in your pack. You might need supplies for just one day or you might need supplies for an entire week. But either way, always pack a little extra, just in case there is an emergency and you need what's in your pack for longer than expected. When packing extra though, make sure that you don't pack too much, so that it becomes a burden. No matter what, you're going to want a back pack of some sort so you can carry what you bring with you around the mountains. Get a back pack that fits comfortably. It's strong enough to hold everything that you need to carry and is waterproof so it's not going to get soaked. Even if your backpack is waterproof, you should also bring along some plastic to cover the backpack and anything else if it rains. When bringing food make sure that you bring food that is not easily perishable. Stuff that already comes wrapped up, stuff that can last for a week or two out in the wilderness. Bring a large water bottle so that you always have a good amount of water with you. For longer trips, you should bring a small stove, or a pot, so that you can boil water, so that you can keep it clean. You're going to be bringing clothing with you. You should have a variety of different sorts of clothing and depending on different types of weather you might encounter. Bring a cell phone , but leave it off for the duration of the trip unless there is an emergency. And remember that you may not be able to get reception, depending on where you are. Bring a map of the area where you're going to be. It's helpful to have a Swiss army knife because they are useful in many sorts of situations. If you plan on spending the night in the mountains, bring along a sleeping bag. That's much more comfortable than sleeping on the hard ground. You'll want to bring a first aid kit of some sort with you. It could be something very small, or something larger, and it should include medication that you normally take. Bring along sunscreen to prevent sun burn and aloe, just in case you do actually get sun burn. Carry matches with you and keep them in a ziplock bag so that they don't get wet and finally, remember not to pack more than you can carry because then you are going to want to ditch the stuff that you have."