Please find below some tips which I have found to be useful in my hiking.

• Get some hiking poles. Four contact points with the ground are better than two.
• Hiking poles allow you to traver faster, transfer the pack weight accross your body, save energy and maintain stability.
• Weigh every item you own, put the weights on a spreadsheet and calculate the weight of your pack as you go. make your pack as light as you can.
• Get a water purifier. It will save you heaps of weight in fuel if you boil water and you don't have to wait for it to cool down.
• By a thick garbage bag and use it as a pack liner. Everything inside will be dry
• Get into the habit of using color coded stuff sacks in your pack. eg. medical supplies in red sack, breakfast in orange sack, lunches in blue sack, dinners in yellow sack, tea/coffee snacks in small black sack etc. this will save time in looking for food when you are tired as well as making it easier to pack.
• Get rid of as much packaging as you can before you leave home. For instance, put all of your "naked" 2 minute noodles inot 1 big zip lock bag
• I pack each days muesli, milk powder and extra dried fruit in a zip lock bag. all I need to do is add water.
• I bought myself an Orikasa folding mug and bowl. They open to flat sheets, making them light, space saving, and easy to clean
• For longer hikes get everyone in the group to pack a surprise treat and have one every day you are away.
• Carry a water bladder (similar to the inside of a wine cask). The take no space in the pack but can save you many trips to the watersource at the campsite
• Carry 3m of small piece of thin rope and a small quantity of clear gaffer tape. It is amazing how many uses you can find for these 2 items