You want to go on a wilderness adventure but the uncertainty is overwhelming. You have more questions than answers.
- How many miles can I walk in a day?
- What kind of shoes should I wear?
- How many days could I survive in the wilderness?
- Where will I get water and will it make me sick?
- How much food should I take?
- How am I going to cook it?
- What equipment will I need?
- How much weight can I carry?
- How much training would I have to do?
- What about inclement weather?
- How safe is it?
- How scary is it at night?
- What kind of first aid supplies should I take?
- Where should I go? What trails should I try?
- What if I get lost?
- What if I get hurt?
The list goes on and on. There is a lot to think about. Yet, with a little planning you can accomplish that bucket list adventure. I can help you.
My weekly Exploration blog post is for wilderness beginners. We will be discussing all the above and so much more. Follow along. Join in the discussion. Ask questions. Build your confidence. Then go out and experience the beauty of the wilderness.
I have been preparing for wilderness adventures for most of my life. I grew up in the country and I spent much of my childhood in the woods. My parents and I camped a lot. We went on weekend trips as well as many epic road trip vacations.
While in the U.S. Army I mastered:
- day and night land navigation,
- obstacle courses,
- first aid,
- and many other military skills.
I was also part of the 85th Maintenance Battalion’s 1992 road marching team. For six months our sole focus was our daily road marching training. Our training culminated with two International road marches. Needless to say, I’ve wore out more than a few pair of boots in my day. In the “March of Memory and Friendship” we covered 80 miles in four days through the Bastogne area of Belgium. Then we covered 100 miles in four days in the Nijmegan International Road Marches in Holland. Both were in memory of the many soldiers who fought and died there during World War II.
As a civilian, I have been a project manager since about 1999. I have started applying my project management skills to my adventures.
I’ve planned and executed:
- weekend camping trips,
- tropical beach vacations,
- cross country RV trips,
- and back country backpacking trips.
My project management traits carry over to adventure planning very well. Adventures are like projects in many ways. Most adventures, like projects have:
- a budget,
- start and end dates,
- one or more objectives,
- things that don’t go as planned along the way (This I know well),
- and people who care about how the adventure turns out.
You also can fulfill your wilderness adventure dreams. There are only three easy steps to a successful wilderness adventure.
- Plan It
- Train For It
- Hike It
Plan It
The core parts of planning a wilderness adventure are:
- selecting an area and trail that you want to explore,
- deciding how many days you have,
- applying for permits (if necessary),
- and purchasing or checking your equipment.
Train For It
The core parts of training for a wilderness adventure are:
- building up your distance and pack weight to increase your fitness,
- learning to use your equipment,
- and learning a few basic survival skills, land navigation, and first aid.
Hike It
The core parts of hiking a successful wilderness adventure are:
- handling deviations from your plan,
- relaxing,
- having fun,
- and enjoying the beauty of the outdoors.
Join me as I share my experience with planning for, training for, and completing successful wilderness adventures. Please join in the discussion. I’d like to hear from you.
Leave a comment with a wilderness experience you have to share. What will your next wilderness adventure be? What aspects of it are you the most nervous about? What questions do you have?
Featured Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/magnetic-compass-navigation-390912/
