If outdoor pursuits were the skilled trades, I’d be a master backpacker. If it were like the military, my MOS would be Backpacking Specialist. You get the idea. It’s my thing. I remember my first trip, down Chestnut Lead Trail in the Cohuttas with Boy Scout Troop 241 when I was maybe twelve years old. A borrowed external-frame pack that was older than me, and packed way too heavy, but I was hooked.
A decade or so later, I threw myself against the challenge of the Appalachian Trail, and washed out miserably, but not before making it over a thousand miles in one go. I took a bitter hiatus for a few years, but I could never walk away forever. Something about being able to see places that can’t be driven to, living as a self-contained unit out of what I could carry on my back, and dropping out of the modern world will never not appeal to me.
To me, backpacking is a great gateway drug to other outdoor pursuits. It’s a natural progression to bushcraft to start making camp tools and utensils around the fire in the evening. Wilderness survival and wilderness medicine are vital skillsets to have as a backpacker, especially if you intend to go out by yourself. If you’re a hunter, it’s only natural to combine the two and take up backcountry hunting. Natural curiosity about the plants around you leads to foraging and plant medicine.
It’s also a lynchpin for conservation. People don’t fight to conserve what they don’t love, and the best way to fall in love with our last wild places is to experience them for yourself, on foot and firsthand. One trip into the woods can do more than a hundred preachy environmentalists for actually conserving wilderness areas.
All of that said… if you haven’t been and you want to, how do you start? If you weren’t introduced to it at a young age, and don’t have a bunch of hiker trash friends to take you, getting your foot in the door can be intimidating.
Here are some pointers to help get you on the right track, and help make your first backpacking trip a win.
1. Be in shape for you, and know your limits.
“In shape for you” is exactly what it sounds like. You don’t have to be a world-class athlete to go backpacking. You’re not preparing for Army Ranger School here.
But what it does mean is that for your age, physical ability, and other factors, you should strive to be the best you can be. That looks different for everyone. But if you get winded climbing a flight of stairs, you have some work to do.
The better shape you’re in, the more enjoyable your experience will be. You can be more focused on how awesome the views are rather than how much you hate your life because your legs are cramping. You’ll also be safer, putting yourself at less risk, and reducing the possibility of injuries.
Knowing your limits is also important. If the most you’ve ever hiked in one day is three miles and one leg of your multiday trip is fifteen, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Speaking from my own experience in search & rescue, lots of our lost subjects were enthusiastic newbie hikers whose legs took them out further into the woods than they could get them back, and ended up injured or just straight up exhausted waiting for rescue.
Start doing some moderate cardio (stairclimbers are GREAT for hiker training, fyi), and some resistance training to build your legs, back, and core, and you’ll be right as rain.
2. Know where you’re going, and how to navigate.
I don’t care how experienced you are, anyone who says they don’t feel the tension rise in their throat when they realize they’re turned around in the woods is lying.
Having a clear idea of where you’re going – what trails to take from the parking lot to your campsite, their distances, how they’re marked, and what the surrounding terrain looks like – is vital to your confidence, especially as a beginner.
I highly recommend getting a real paper map of the area you’re going to, getting your hands on a compass, and learning how to use them both. Land navigation is one of the most confidence-building skills you can learn. We teach it – if you’re in the Southeast, sign up for our next Land Navigation Essentials course to get that time in the field.
3. Buy quality gear and put some thought into it.
Over time, backpacking is actually a very affordable pursuit. Other than food and the fuel to get there, a trip really doesn’t cost anything. But damn, that initial gear investment though… it can get really expensive, really fast.
However, as someone who’s lived out of their bag for months at a time, it pays not to cheap out. I’ve seen a lot of no-name Chinese gear fail, and usually at the worst time imaginable.
If you’re looking to purchase, start by reading and watching gear reviews to familiarize yourself with what’s out there. Then go to an outfitter in-person and try on different packs filled with weight bags to see what fits you best in the real world. REI actually trains its employees really well on how to fit and evaluate packs.
The good news is that you don’t have to buy from there – if you’ve made a decision, you can shop around online for discounted or lightly used examples and save some cash. One of my favorite ways to find quality gear at affordable prices is outdoor consignment shops. There aren’t a ton of them out there, but one that I’ve bought from repeatedly and been really happy with is Gear Goat XCHG in Charlotte, NC.
4. Manage your pack weight.
This doesn’t mean you have to go crazy minimalist ultralight on your first trip, but I can tell you that the less your pack weighs, the better time you’ll have. With quality modern gear, there’s really no reason that your pack should ever weigh over 35lbs with water – and that’s in the winter with extra clothing and food.
An old-school way to decide what to pack is to place everything you’re considering bringing into three piles – necessities, maybes, and luxuries.
Necessities are the things you truly can’t do without. Your pack, tent, sleeping bag, ground pad, water filter, life safety items, etc. Maybes are the things you “might” need – more extra clothes, pillows, full cooking kits, LED lanterns and such.
Luxuries are the things you know you don’t need, but would be nice. Books, games, junk food, comfort items, you name it. One of my old scoutmasters brought fluffy slippers as his luxury item. One of my buddies in college brought a cast iron skillet. The sky is the limit, within reason.
Take everything from the necessities pile, nothing from the maybes, and one luxury item, and you’ll be good to go. This reduces the temptation to keep stuffing gear in your pack because you “might need it.” You won’t. And if you really missed it, you can make a note to bring it next time.
Like what you saw?
Stay tuned for How to Make Your First Backpacking Trip a Win – Part 2 next week. And in the meantime, if you’re planning your first trip, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re real people, and we want to see people be successful in their outdoor adventures.
Alex
