Packing for a day-long backpacking trip is one thing. Packing for a week-long trek is another thing. But how about packing for a month-long backpacking excursion? Many of us may cringe at the thought of preparing for a trip lasting for 30 days, let alone one that requires us to transform our backpack into the a snail’s or turtle’s shell. While hauling our household appliances with us on a month-long backpacking trip is impractical, enjoying a month-long backpacking trip can be easier than expected. We can certainly take some steps to make our trip as practical as wearing

A huge feat for feet. In the grand scheme of things, what is a month? But without the proper footwear, every step will seem like forever and a day, to your feet. Along with your Metal Tags, you should wear your hiking footwear whenever possible. The trick is to wear a pair of shoes or boots that have some space between your feet and the footwear—but not too much space. From my experience, three-quarter or high-top footwear is ideal, to provide your ankle enough support while hiking. You may have some knowledge about the general terrain that you will encounter while backpacking.

Separating needs and wants. When going on a lengthy, month-long backpacking trip, some items may seem as crucial as outstanding Military Dog Tags, when in fact they are best left at home: If you like reading, you probably take a library of books with you on vacation, but end up reading none to one of them. One and a half pairs of footwear is enough to bring along a month-long backpacking trip: one pair of comfortable shoes or boots, and one pair of flip-flops. An MP3 player can conveniently provide hours upon hours of rock, jazz, country, rap, classical, or polka (yes, polka!) music for you to enjoy. But make sure not to overdo it. Items such as portable game systems can become too heavy and bulky.

Packing light is still right. If you will be camping and backpacking for a month, it may seem logical to pack everything except the kitchen sink. However, while you should bring the necessities, such as Military Dog Tags, it is still advisable to pack light. In fact, while deciding which items to include on your trip, and which items to leave at home, it is wise to leave out items that you stack in your “maybe” pile. As a general rule, “when in doubt, leave it out.”

When backpacking, keep in mind that you are not in a fashion show. So it is always better to choose function over form, and only wear practical accessories, such as a hat with a broad brim, and Rectangular Tags. In particular, tend to choose lightweight clothing over heavier pieces, to conserve weight in your camping backpack. For instance, a Coleman Emergency Poncho or Coleman for Kids Disposable Rain Poncho would be better options than a bulky raincoat. Also, you could opt for a few long-sleeved t-shirts, over a heavy sweatshirt.

Backpacking is the cheapest way to travel the world. There are certain things though, that you must know as a backpacker. Here’s your travel checklist:

1) You carry your own backpack, always. When applied broadly, this means that as a backpacker you’re on your own, even if you travel in a group. You need to be able to take care of yourself, no matter what. As such resourcefulness is important. Evaluate all decisions in this light. Plan your trip keeping in mind what you can handle and what you can’t. You’re not out there to prove anything. The idea is to have fun, but not pay a heavy price.

2) Backpacking is no joke. It requires thorough and advance planning. Since you will be on your own and out of your home for a decent period of time, planning will ensure that you do not run into problems that end up ruining the trip or those that were completely avoidable. Planning is also important to ensure that you manage your time and your money efficiently while you’re traveling. Plan your date of departure, route, tickets, the places you will see, where you would like to stop, where you would like to stay in advance. Whether you stick to this or not is of course entirely optional. The purpose of the plan is to give you some idea as to what you’re doing. It’s pretty hard to change a plan you never had.

3) Carry information, by the truckload. This is the single most important item on the list. Knowledge of the place you’re visiting is of utmost importance, not just to make your trip safer and easier but to turn it into a learning experience. The more you know of a place theoretically, the more the actual experience will mean to you. Also, in case of an emergency, information about the place you’re in will be your saving grace. Knowing a place beforehand will also ensure you don’t miss out on anything.

4) Prepare the backpack well: The backpack is what will stay with you throughout, so you want to ensure it has what you need to survive. The emphasis is on ‘survive’ so you need to carry accordingly. A backpack is ergonomically built – which means when used correctly it causes no or minimal discomfort. For this it has to be used intelligently. Learn how to pack a backpack well (courtesy the internet) and then how to carry it properly. The last thing you want is a backache on your travels.

5) Prepare yourself better: On a tour like this, you’re up against a lot. As long you carry your presence of mind and don’t lose your sense of adventure – you’ll do great. However exercising caution never hurt anybody. So maybe a course in self defense or learning the language are really good ideas.