Driving you Buggy

Bugs are the mascot of the muskeg. Insects are an important and key factor in the web of life. Mosquitoes, blackflies, and no-see-ums ensure that the flowers get pollinated, the birds have something to eat, and that the North-country is not overrun by people. Bad bug conditions can drive you insane if you do not take some precautions.

Make sure that you have some long-sleeve, tightly woven shirts: what the bugs can’t get at they can’t bite. Avoid darker colors, especially blue, which attract biting bugs in plague-like numbers; green is an excellent bug-neutral color. In really bad conditions you might want to wear gloves as well as a headnet, and make sure that your pants are tucked into your socks so that the blackflies won’t leave bloody rings on both ankles.

Campsite selection is also important. The bugs will be worse near dense vegetation (grass, willows, etc.) and wet ground (swamps and puddles). An exposed site will be windier with less bugs. Usually the mosquitoes get worse after sundown, so early-to-bed and early-to-rise might be a wise schedule. Ensure that the netting on your tent is no-see-um proof and in good repair, and that all the zippers close fully. If your tent can keep the bugs out, a quick dive in through the door and a 5 minute bug hunt by flashlight will usually ensure a good night’s sleep.

I don’t believe in DEET products. The Badger Anti-Bug Balm works. Whether you buy it from us or not—try it—you’ll like it.


Stepping into wilderness and looking past ourselves, we see the vivid space of great forests, mountains, rivers, and deserts. You might say the wilderness experience gives us a standard by which to measure our sanity . . . (It) calls out the wilderness inside ourselves, and we’re always surprised by its sane and gentle nature. —Albert Saijo

Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask!

Don’t give the sun any lip —
Gradually exposing your lips to longer and longer periods of sun will make them tougher and less likely to bum. It’s usually uttered by people who forgot to bring lip balm. The truth of the matter is that when outdoors, you must pucker up and smear on sunscreen. That’s because lips are not true skin. They’re mucous membranes and lack melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color and provides a brief degree of natural sunscreening. So actually, your lips will burn easier than your skin. There’s also the matter of lip cancer, so be safe and wear a protective coating whenever you’re outside.

In the tick of time —
Ticks are the objects of more than a fair share of misinformation. For instance: Once you find one embedded in your skin, you’re already the recipient of its nasty pathogens.
Estimates on how long a tick must be attached to give you enough germs to cause illness is as much as 10 hours. If you check yourself immediately after tromping through brush, and properly remove all the little buggers, chances are you’ll avoid illness.

• Tyvek vapor-barrier wrap used on houses makes a durable, extremely lightweight ground cloth. It only comes in 9-by-200-feet rolls, though, so the best way to get it is to keep an eye out for houses under construction. Just ask the foreman if you can buy a piece the size you need (it retails for about $.75 a foot). Sometimes they’ll say no, but usually they just give me a piece or let me scavenge for what I need.

• The moon makes no light of its own. The light we see from its face is reflected sunlight. Half the moon is always lit by the sun, and the phases are caused by the position of Earth relative to the moon.

• Baking Soda Uses: Foot odor eater, toothpaste, insect bites, dishwashing and even heartburn.

• Your body has about 3 million sweat glands. Most are occrine glands, which produce a salty fluid that evaporates to keep you cool when your body is working hard. Your feet house the most sweat glands, and thus, are the smelliest human body part.

Hiking After 50

I get many questions about walking, hiking and especially backpacking after the age of 50. I can't say that things have not changed since the hiking days of my youth, but the secret is to keep doing what you enjoy and do it in a health-conscious way.
I find that if I do not carry a pack for a month or so, I pay for it in sore muscles the first day of an extended hike. The same can be said for day-hiking or even walking for exercise. The best exercise for hiking is hiking— for backpacking is backpacking and for walking is walking. Walking is a pure joy that helps in weight reduction, heart and lung capacity, muscle toning, circulation and good looks. That's right! If you feel good, you're going to look better. That doesn't mean you can stop the first time you hear a wolf whistle as you trot down the road. Making walking a daily routine will create an urge in your life-style that will turn into a craving.
Walking is something you can do just about anywhere. Whether you are at home or traveling, you can always find a place to pace.
Another important factor in staying in shape for hiking and backpacking is stretching. A half hour of yoga stretches every day will give your body mechanics the freedom to operate properly and do the jobs assigned to them. I consider stretching as important as aerobics and strength building.
You can find many titles and videos at your local library that will give you very easy and basic yoga stretches, changing the way you feel in a very short time. Many annoying aches and pains that turn into headaches and fatigue can be simply worked out on a regular basis with walking and stretching.
Riding a one-wheeled exercise bike going nowhere is boring. Running on a treadmill is no fun. And huffing and puffing on a Stairclimber is mindless.
The solution is simple—go outside for a hike. Breathe fresh air, revel in nature and burn some calories while enjoying yourself.
More and more communities are adding hiking paths to their master plans; The reason is a new popularity in walking. The introduction of the new personal transporter that is now making all the headlines could be good for walkers. These vehicles will need their own pathways which will at the same time create corridors for those of us who consider our personal transporters the toed mechanisms just below the ankle.
So hiking after 50 is the wisest exercise you can do for yourself foryears to come. If you don't use it, you lose it! So strap on a water bottle andhit the road! —Keep Smilin', Dick E. Bird

Backpacking 102

Things You Need When Backpacking in Hostels

Budget Travel is often associated with backpacking. Backpacks give travelers the mobility and flexibility that they need. You rarely see backpackers toting around laptop computers hence, you see a lot of them frequenting internet cafes. Even if you have one, why would you carry it around with you while you go backpacking around, say, Europe? Imagine the added weight? Remember all those theft issues in hostels? What if you drop your backpack and damage your laptop? Again I say, backpacks give travelers mobility and flexibility. Toting a laptop would definitely be more of a nuisance. You need to maximize the space inside your backpack for things which you need and could really use during your travels. Here are a few tips on what you should bring (yes, some of them are obvious):Clothes. No, don't bring way too much. Instead, choose those which are appropriate for the weather of your chosen destination. Personally, I usually choose those which dries easily as I wash my clothes while I hop from one hostel to another. Layering can save a ton of weight.

Earplugs. Staying in hostels, trying to sleep at the airport or trying to sleep in a sleeper train could mean sleepless nights even if you are dog tired if you do not have earplugs.

Dental Floss. Apart from the fact that it will keep you cavity free, that little box could be your savior, you know. Dental Floss has as many uses as a Swiss Army Knife.

Padlock. It should help keep your stuff safe inside hostel or train lockers. Make sure that you do not get one that is way too easy to pick like what they have in most European hostels.

Plastic Bags. Organize your stuff. Keep the clean ones away from your soiled laundry. Just because you are backpacking, it does not mean that you will forget what you have learned about personal hygiene.

Photocopies of all your travel documents. Just in case something happens and you lose your, say, passport. It would be easier to get a new one if you have copies of pertinent documents with you.

Rain jacket. It's light and compact. Since you will be walking a lot to save on transport cost (and to discover more of the local scene), it's always best to have one to protect you from the unpredictable weather. This can also be used when you need to pack something wet, along with your dry stuff.

Swiss Knife. With all the possibilities it makes available to you, you'll definitely find a use for it.

Baby Wipes. Keep those hands clean and the germs away.

Hostels provide budget-oriented accommodation where guests can rent a bed, sometimes a bunk bed in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available. Hostels are generally cheaper for both the operator and the occupant; many hostels employ their long-term residents as desk clerks or housekeeping staff in exchange for free accommodation.
An effort should be made to distinguish between establishments that provide longer term accommodation (often to specific classes of clientèle such as nurses, students, drug addicts, arrested persons subsequently bailed to await trial and homeless people where the hostels are sometimes run by Housing Associations and charities) and those offering short term accommodation to travellers or backpackers.
Within the 'traveller' category another distinction can be drawn between hostels that are members of Hostelling International (HI), a non-profit organization encouraging outdoor activities and cultural exchange for the young and independently operated hostels. Hostels for travellers are sometimes called backpackers' hostels, particularly in Australia and New Zealand (often abbreviated to just backpackers).
There are several differences between hostels and hotels. Some major advantages of hostels include:
Hostels tend to be budget-oriented. Rates are considerably lower, and many hostels have programs to share books, DVDs, and other items. For those who prefer an informal environment, hostels do not usually have the same level of formality as hotels. For those who prefer to socialize with their fellow guests, hostels usually have more common areas and opportunities to socialize. There is less privacy at hostels than at hotels. Sharing a sleeping dormitory is very different from staying in a private room at a hotel or Bed & Breakfast, and might not be comfortable for those requiring more privacy.
Theft can be a problem since guests may share a common living space, but this can be avoided by securing guests' belongings. Most hostels offer some sort of system for safely storing valuables, and an increasing number of hostels offer private lockers.
Noise can make sleeping difficult on occasions, whether from snoring, sexual activity, someone returning late or leaving early, or the close proximity of so many people. This can be easily solved by wearing earplugs when visiting noisier hostels, but only if you do not need to get up earlier than you would naturally wake up. The earplug option might not work in the event that you must be awakened by a noise alarm. In such a case, either asking someone to wake you up before you go to sleep (an option that might require socializing with other guests -- something that should be easy to do at a hostel) or the use of a vibrating alarm (a device that is kept in contact with the sleeping body, e.g. under a pillow) are viable solutions.
The traditional hostel format involved dormitory style accommodation. Some newer hostels include en-suite accommodation with single, double or quad occupancy rooms, though to be considered a hostel they must also provide dormitory accommodation. In recent years the numbers of independent and backpackers' hostels has increased greatly to cater for the greater numbers of overland, multi-destination travellers (such as gap-year travellers, railtrippers, those on sabbaticals etc.)