This is my typical hiking day…
I wake at 5 AM using my alarm. This is just before dawn. Typically this means I’ve slept 9 hours. I take off my sleep things (hat, headband, socks), pack them in their bag, and get on my socks and shoes. I pack up my sleeping bag, air mattress, and ground sheet. I do my toiletries and take my medicine. I eat my breakfast (typically cold cereal). Then I put everything in my backpack, hoist it on to my shoulders, and off I go. Typically this takes me 30-45 minutes so I’m hiking by 5:30-5:45 AM. The previous night I got out and put my morning snacks, lunch, and afternoon snacks in my backpack’s side pocket.
After about 2 – 2 1/2 hours I stop, take off my pack, sit down and eat my first morning stack. Right now this is dried fruit. Then after another 2 – 2 1/2 hours I stop for my second morning snack. For example, a Clif Bar and electrolyte drink. Some time around noon to 1 PM I stop for lunch. My lunches are still changing and I’m not completely satisfied with them. Today I had a mini-sausage, a small bag of Fritos, and an apple (a heavy luxury, but oh so good). On the middle of the afternoon I stop for the last time and have a Nature Valley granola bar with electrolyte drink. It is around this time that I finish hiking.
I make camp wherever I find a flat open spot. Sometimes it’s a Smartphone app’s recommendation. Other times it’s just looking as you hike. Off goes the backpack. If I’m cowboy camping I lay out my ground sheet and get rocks to hold it down. Then I take off my shoes and socks, and empty my backpack. Dinner is important so I boil water in my Jetboil. For example, tonight was Kraft macaroni and cheese, and a ham steak. Other times it is a Knorr side with package chicken. After dinner I floss and brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I sleep in my clothes except for my feet which I put on wool socks. Depending upon the temperature I might also wear additional layers from gloves to down vest to down coat to down pants. What I don’t use becomes my pillow. I put all miscellaneous things like glasses and phone in my hat right next to me. By about 8 PM the sun goes down (AKA hiker midnight) and I go to sleep.
That is a typical hiking day.
