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Articles on hostels and youth hosteling
| | The following articles are re-produced courtesy of the Authors and are re-printed here in the hope that visitors to the I Just Gotta GOthere web site will enjoy the content and possibly derive a benefit which will enable them to gain further enjoyment from their proposed trip. These Articles are designed to be informative and entertaining with some relevance to the subject matter of the page you are on and will be updated on a regular basis, IJustGottaGoThere.com have no association or affiliation with the Authors of these Articles and it should be understood that the content of the articles is the sole responsibility and copyright of the Author. Should you have any comment on these articles please address them to the Author. If there is any particular article or subject matter you would like I Just Gotta GOthere to cover on these pages please contact us with as much detail as possible. | | find articles relevant to: |
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| Ways To Use Backpacks - Travel In Comfort
by Elaine Smith
Backpacks are commonly associated with kids carrying books to and from school. However, there are many other ways to use backpacks. Campers, hikers and mountaineers have been using backpacks for decades. It allows them to have their hands free when climbing over a wall or fallen trees, using a walking stick when traversing rough terrain, or climbing a mountain and still being able to carry all of their gear, makes the backpack a vital piece of their equipment. It was from these groups that college students first got the idea to use backpacks as book bags. Now most students at all grade levels use backpacks to haul their school supplies back and forth. One concern of parents and pediatricians is the increased incidence of back, neck and shoulder pain, and numbing of the hands and arms, among kids who routinely carry heavy backpacks to and from school. When these symptoms could not be linked to any other causes, it was found that the one thing all the children had in common, was, that they all used backpacks. Obviously the backpack in and of itself, is not the whole problem. The load being carried, the way the pack is worn and the construction of the bags, marketed as book sacks for kids, all contribute to the problem. Orthopedists, pediatricians, physical therapists, and chiropractors all agree that kids’ backpacks, should not exceed 10-15% of their body weight, even when using ergonomically designed backpacks. Some groups say up to 20%, that is a 10-pound pack for a fifty pound kid. This is the equivalent of a 150lb adult, having a 30-pound weight bouncing repeatedly against his back, causing repetitive impact injury. Too narrow, unpadded shoulder straps can pinch the nerves and cause numbness and tingling in the arm and hand. An overloaded bag can pull backward and cause the child to lean forward to compensate, this can cause compression of the vertebrae and pain in the neck and shoulders. You don’t have to abandon backpacks for your kids. There are back friendly backpacks out there. You just need to know what to look for. Get a bag that has wide shoulder straps, padded back and at the very least a waist belt. Ideally, it should have chest and side straps also. There are other uses for backpacks. Young parents sometimes use backpacks for a diaper bag, when they are out for a stroll in the park or are pushing junior in his jogging stroller. This is also a good way to carry your water bottles, keys and other incidentals at the same time. Travelers often use backpacks as carry ons. They fit easily under the seat or in the overhead bin, and you still have access to your book, notes whatever. Many people carry their laptops in their backpacks, when flying or walking to work school. Occasionally, women will use smaller backpacks as purses, again it leaves your hands free to push a cart or remove items from the shelf. It is also wise to use a pack when bike-riding. It leaves you free to handle the bike safely. Crafters will often use a backpack to transport fabric and other sewing notions to a guild meeting, leaving both hands free to carry the sewing machine.Hang several see through backpacks to store fabric by color. Hang them on a pegboard so that you can see at a glance what you have. This would also work for knitters and crocheters, as a yarn storage solution. As you can see there are many ways to use backpacks. I am sure you have ideas of your own.
About the AuthorElaine Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of School Backpacks, Backbacks,and more! her numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information. |
| Camping With Aliens In Montana
by Steven Gillman
Ten minutes out of town, we found the dirt road that goes up to Storm Lake. We had been there before, shortly after moving to Anaconda, Montana. The road was hard on the car, but we couldn't resist going. This time we would hike up to the tundra and stay the night. My wife Ana had never been camping above the treeline.There were a couple cars, but nobody in sight. The lake was sparkling in the sunlight, and the mountains of the Anaconda-Pintler range rose up all around it. It was quiet and cool here at 8,000 feet. We put on our packs and started up the trail. Twenty minutes later we were past the lake, and the trail steepened.Hiking With Guns In MontanaAfter an hour of zig-zagging up the mountain we met another hiker. We talked briefly, and noticed the handgun on his belt. This is common in Montana. We've seen guns on the hiking trails and in the bars, and the bank tellers don't even blink when customers walk in wearing guns - they probably have their own.We never did ask this hiker why he had one, and didn't find out until later that there are grizzlies in the area at times, something some "experts," have denied. At least we had our freon horn to blast if we met a bear, but then maybe that would just get the bear angry.The trees got smaller as we climbed, and ended just before Storm Lake Pass. Ana waited patiently at the pass while I ran the five minutes - which became twenty - up to the peak of Mount Tiny, about 10,000 feet high. Small, compared to some of the surrounding mountains, but it seemed almost rude to give a beautiful mountain a name like that.Later, past goat meadow, Ana waited again while I scrambled up the rocks to the top of Kurt Peak (also about 10,000 feet). I couldn't find the route where I came up, so I went back up, then down the west side and finally back north to the grassy slope where Ana was waiting.Maybe it was foolish to leave Ana alone. Just three months later, two boys were attacked by a mountain lion on the hill just behind the town of Anaconda. The fourteen-year-old fired his gun to scare it off. Both boys were probably larger than my gunless wife. Fortunately, we didn't meet any cougars or bears on this hike, but Ana had other things to worry about.Camping With Aliens In Montana"I hear voices," she told me in the tent that night. I assured her there was nobody within ten miles of us, and then she was worried about aliens landing in the meadow. Well, it would make a good landing site. The wind threatened to shred the tent all night, sounding like the whispers or screams of ghosts - or aliens. By morning the wind relented, but it was well below freezing - time to get Ana home.Despite the cold she hates so much, Ana couldn't help stopping to take in the view as we crossed the high meadows on our way home. Mountains, grey with rock, green with grass and flowers, and painted with white patches of snow, were everywhere. Lakes sat in valleys below, unvisited for weeks at a time. We'll be back there again, but perhaps with bear spray and alien repellant.Notes:Forty-five miles of the Continental Divide Trail pass through the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. Other trails in the area are never heavily used. You can easily find mountains and whole valleys where you'll be the only human residents for as long as you stay.
Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. To read their stories, tips and travel information, visit: www.EverythingAboutTravel.com |
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