Extended Hikes.....

"or addicted level of bushwalking"

As if one packs worth of gear isn't enough.......

Once you plan to head out for more days than which you can carry the food and gear for, this becomes an Extended Hike. Normally people can go for up to around 7 - 9 days carrying all their food and equipment. But what if you need to go out for 20+ days or doing the AAWT (Australian Alps Walking Track) which may take you over 50+ days......

You need to plan where you may meet someone with your equipment and food somewhere on the trip. 

If your doing the AAWT there are many places where people can meet you with your stuff, but what if this isn't possible? Also with heaps of creeks drying up these are becoming very important caches with water inside where you can refill your water bottles.

While many people just call these Food Drops - I call them Caches as they don't need to just have food, you can put spare equipment, Maps for the next section of your route, extra munchies, batteries for your GPS, Digital Camera, torch etc plus - water, ropes, pegs what ever you think you may need. These can also allow you have things you normally couldn't have on a hike due to being to heavy etc. Spare Tent, Large tarp just about anything.

You may need to think about leaving a cache with food and other equipment somewhere on the route where you can find it, but how do you hide it and how do you find it later....

Firstly you may need something like one of these barrels...---->

These excellent 30lt barrels completely seal up so no water or animals can get in and your gear won't fall out but there are many other types of barrels which are good for this job. Some have screw tops, others like this one and even some with large handles.

First problem with these blue barrels is they stand out like dogs..... so the first step is to paint them and this is one of the few items I would paint in camo colours as you really don't want other people stumbling across them.

There are a few issues to look at which I have broken down.

Finally - After your hike you need to Retrieve your food drop. - Yes you need to head out and pickup your barrel etc or that's littering! and remember your name is on it! (if you followed my suggestion of detailing who you are and when you planning on coming through...) See Hiding and Finding for more information.

A few years ago on a hike I left a normal plastic milk bottle full of water out in the bush where I was planning to come through - However I didn't need it and a couple of weeks later I went back to pickup the water bottle. There were 2 distinct puncture holes in the top....See even snakes get thirsty.

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