Want to get years of enjoyment from your tent? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  >Seal Your Seems - Make sure you seal all of your seems. Once you apply the seem sealer, let it dry for 24 hours, and then set up your tent under a water sprinkler. Even if the manufacturer says that you don’t need to seal the seems, test your tent just to make sure.
  >Dry Your Tent - As soon as you get home, hang your tent or set it up inside until it is 100% dry. This prevents mildew which will cause your tent to stink and also remove the water-repellant coating.
  >Don’t Stuff a Wet Tent - If you can avoid it, hang your wet tent and allow it to dry before stuffing it in it’s sack. If you can’t avoid stuffing it wet, make sure you remove it and dry it as soon as possible.
  >Use a Ground Cloth - This will prevent wear and tear on the floor of the tent. Make sure the ground cloth is just slightly smaller than the tent foot print to avoid water channeling underneath the tent if it rains.

Hiking tip courtesy of PAHikes.com.

Here are three tips to keep you focused on your training regimen and get you into mountain shape:

KNOW WHERE YOU WANT TO GO: Don't get into shape just for fitness sake. I like going into a gym knowing what specific trips I plan to take and will train accordingly. You’ll be better prepared and more capable of enjoying the trip if your workouts are adjusted for whatever trip you have coming up on your calendar.

HIRE A PERSONAL TRAINER: When I turned 32 years old in January, I realized something as my knees ached during jogs and my weight training wasn’t paying off in Kelly Slater-like muscles. What I was doing for training was the same regimen I used when I was 25 years old. Paying a personal trainer and scheduling regular workout sessions with him or her commits you to training. The trainer will hold you accountable and help you reach those goals. Sometimes, you just need someone else’s perspective to help you get into mountain shape.

TOUCH THOSE TOES: Stretch every day, even the days you don’t workout. If you fail to stretch, you leave yourself vulnerable to injuries. Stretching gets the blood flowing and can wake you up.Almost every injury I’ve had can be directly linked to a lack of stretching.

Hiking tip courtesy of Compass Points.

A compass is one of the smallest, yet the most valuable piece of hiking equipment you should have. If you don't have any idea what direction you're walking in the best map on the planet becomes useless. You need not buy an expensive one nor is it necessary to be an expert in its use. At the minimum you should be able to use it to orient you and your map to true north.

Hiking tip courtesy of MidAtlanticHikes.com.

Clean water is a must when hiking, especially in the back country or on overnight hikes. Ideally you would bring along water from home, but water is heavy and it’s not a smart idea to carry 4 days worth of water with you when doing an overnight back packing trip.

In most cases a water filter will work well with water sources found on the hike. However, filtration will only work on two of the three water contaminants: protoza and bacteria. Filtering water does not eliminate viruses. In this case you will need to purify your water with either chlorine or iodine. Water purification also kills protoza and bacteria, but will give an off flavor to the water.

When hiking in the United States, filtering of water from mountain streams will most likely be adequate. But if you find yourself hiking in other countries you may want to consider pruifying your water as well. It is also a good idea to carry along some iodine tablets, just in case your filter breaks or clogs.

Hiking tip courtesy of PAHikes.com.