For most people exercising means driving through traffic after work and spending a token hour at the gym running on a treadmill or doing the weights circuit. The modern workout is more about losing calories than about enjoyment. Getting in shape is usually a chore rather than a way of life. But hikers experience something different. The sheer joy of moving through the great outdoors is a fantastic way to reconnect with your body in a natural, healthy way.

Energising

It may not always be easy to get out of the city and into the countryside on a regular basis. But spending just one day in nature, breathing fresh air, has a way of sustaining you through several days of city stress. Even just a short walk and a picnic can help you get perspective on the strains of every day life.

Fitness

Walking on uneven terrain is an incredibly good workout, especially of you combine both uphill and downhill stretches. It works your calves, thighs and glutes even better than exercise machines at the gym. And if you carry a bit of weigh in a backpack you have all the weight training you need to strengthen your back and core muscles.

Adventure

Overnight hikes can be an incredible adventure. Some hiking trails offer overnight stops in midway campsites. But there are also hikers who choose to travel light and simply carry a basic hiking kit with water, food and sleeping bags. A night under the stars is both romantic and a way to return for a short while to the simplicity of pure survival as opposed to the complex lifestyles we’ve become used to.

Hiking safety tips

So here are some basic hiking guidelines:

Let someone know where you’re going and take a buddy with you.

Make sure you know the route so that you don’t get lost.

Take the following hiking kit: sunscreen, matches, a first aid kit, pocket knife, flashlight, toilet paper, food and water.

Don’t take unnecessary risks.

Make the effort and get out of the city. Your body and spirit will thank you for it.

A few tips will help you in your preparations:

• Decide the site you want to visit. It will help you to get an idea what you can expect there and will also help you in your packaging.
• Don’t forget to keep an eye on the weather as a rainy day can play spoilsport to your plans. While most tents, like the Vango Tornado 300, are thoroughly weather resistant, poor weather can still put a damper on any outdoor activities. Try calling up the locales for information; go through weather forecast given in the newspapers or broadcast, or any similar thing.
• An easily forgotten thing or one we invariably do on such an outing is listening to music at high volumes. Just avoid such obnoxiousness unless the location is away from local inhabitants.
• Have you thought of mosquito repellant? Think now! Mosquito’s have the obnoxious habit of driving you crazy, but the only difference is that you will not like the craziness!
• A shovel would come in very handy because you cannot expect the location to be a plain field waiting to serve your needs.
• You can even allow your dogs to accompany you. Just make sure that you don’t leave him to guard your belongings. He also deserves some fun.
• Clean the place before you leave. Simple activities like this can go a long way in preserving these beautiful locations and also inculcate the habit of responsibility and values on you.

]]> http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/do-it-yourself-diy/355/things-that-need-to-be-remembered-while-you-go-camping.html/feed 0 http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/do-it-yourself-diy/171/a-portable-and-re-usable-outdoor-lavatory-from-the-brown-corporation.html http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/do-it-yourself-diy/171/a-portable-and-re-usable-outdoor-lavatory-from-the-brown-corporation.html#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:05:34 +0000 Manuel http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/?p=171

Summer is in full force, as is the festival season, camping, hiking, and all sorts of other outdoor activities. Of course being so close to nature means forgoing certain comforts offered by civilization. For many people the comfort they miss most is a clean, sanitary and porcelain toilet.

At any festival, whatever mobile toilets are available quickly degenerate into disgusting and nearly unusable conditions after only a few days of continuous use. If using the mobile toilets provided is out of the question, then the next option is to head for the woods, but even here bugs, poison ivy, stinging nettle, and a general lack of comfort make this an unwelcome choice. Introducing the Shit Box portable lavatory from the Brown Corporation, which makes going to the bathroom in the wild nearly as comfortable, clean and sanitary as back home.

Although it might look a little basic, the Shit Box is actually quite cleverly designed and comes with many innovative features. For starters, its cardboard material means that it is incredibly lightweight and can easily be added to camping gear, such as your heavy tent and air mattress, without adding any excess burden. Secondly, the Box can be folded up for more manageable transportation, and lastly, it is re-usable. Now the concept of a re-usable, portable cardboard box toilet might at first seem revolting and like a bad idea. However, the Shit Box comes with customised plastic poo bags that capture any waste, allowing the Box itself to stay clean and be used multiple times. And perhaps the coolest feature is that whenever the Box is not being used a toilet, it doubles as a perfectly workable seat, in case your legs get tired from walking. Why bother purchasing the Amazonas Brasil Swinging Chair or the Outwell Arm Chair deluxe, when you can simply rest on your new Shit Box. With all these useful features, the Shit Box practically sells itself, and easily justifies its £15.67 price tag.