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Preparing for my West Coast Road Trip
24/06/2019
So a little back story...
I met my boyfriend Matt, around November 2018, whilst we were both studying at the University of Chester. We met through the snow sports team that we were both a part of and quickly realised that we had a lot in common.
He's originally from Colorado, California and Washington and his family still live over there. We had spent the first few months of our relationship long distance as I was doing a work placement in Gibraltar, whilst he was continuing his studies back in Chester.
So pretty early on into the relationship, we decided to organise for me to fly over to Seattle, Washington and spend part of the summer over there with him and his family. My parents agreed on the condition that we came back to Gibraltar afterwards, and spend a couple of weeks here before having to go back to University at the end of summer.
We decided that because I had never been to America, we should arrange a road trip across the West Coast. This way we could stay with a few of Matt's friends and family along the way and make it a longer journey.
What I planned to pack:
I knew I had to pack light because we were technically going to be living out of a car. Most of my preparation went to planning and getting all my camping gear together.
I had always loved the outdoors and being out in nature, but I had never been camping before or at least not for multiple nights. So, I really had to do my research and see what I needed to pack, what I had to prepare myself for. YouTube was my best friend when it came to this! Watching videos on what other woman had packed and taken on through hikes was super helpful and really did answer a lot of questions I had when it came to all the ins and outs of camping, hiking and just general outdoor etiquette.
Things I had to learn:
- L.N.T.
- Poopin' in the outdoors.
- Bear Bags and hangs.
- How to properly pack my backpack.
- Health and Hygiene on the trail.
- How to set up a tent!
L.N.T - Leave No Trace!!!
The Seven Principles of L.N.T:
1) Plan Ahead & Prepare.
2) Travel and Camp on Durable surfaces.
3) Dispose of waste properly.
4) Leave what you find.
5) Minimize campfire impacts.
6) Respect wildlife.
7) Be considerate of other visitors!
Why should you practice L.N.T?
L.N.T teaches us how to minimize our impacts on the environment. If we pay attention to these 7 principles, not only when we are in remote areas, but also in public parks and areas, it reduces bigger impacts such as water pollution, putting the wildlife at risk, damaged trails, destructive fires and crowding of natural parks and areas.
Here is the link to the official L.N.T website where I got most of my information from when it came to preparing for my big trip! https://lnt.org
Stay up to date and read how my road trip went!
