New to backpacking?

If you're new to the world of backpacking, things can seem overwhelming. What do I need to bring with me? What gear is the best? How far should I go? Am I gonna get attacked by bears? There are so many questions that run through our heads when we start to think about going out for our first backpacking trip. Luckily I am here to help answer some of those questions and hopefully relieve some stress of a first time backpacking trip.

Where Should I go?

The first thing you should do when planning your first trip is to think about where you're going to be going. Most first timers don't want to do too strenuous of a trail and don't want to be out for a 100+ mile hike. Unless you're in great physical shape and really enjoy challenges, I would stay away from trails that cross over mountains or that have inclines of over 15%. Now you might think, "oh 15% isn't that steep and I've climbed mountains before" but trust me on this one. Hiking mountains with a day pack on and hiking a mountain with a 40lb pack on are two completely different scenarios. I'm not saying find the flattest trail possible, but just be mindful of your physical capabilities and remember it's better to take it easy the first time around while figuring everything out. Now at the same time you probably don't want to be doing a week long trip either. For the first time I recommend shooting for around 40 miles and spreading it over 3 days. My first ever backpacking trip was a 40 mile loop that I did on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My mom's first trip was 42 miles spread over a Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Shooting for 40 miles will be enough time to figure out if you like backpacking or not and also allows you to figure out your gear setup.

Gear Setup

There is so much that goes into setting up your pack that if I could write a 500 page book about

it. I'll go over the basics now and in later posts I will go into more detail.

The biggest mistake beginning backpackers make is overloading their pack. Everyone does it their first time, they pack everything they think they need but in reality they won't even touch half the stuff they bring. Things like hand sanitizer, cups, bowls, and extras such as extra clothes, food, batteries, lighters are all unnecessary. No matter what you cut there will always be something else that you can cut. When I hiked the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail, I ended up cutting 8lbs after the first week. With that I dropped extra fuel, batteries, food, a knife, ibuprofen bottle (I put the ibuprofen in a zip lock bag), poncho, cup, bowl, and extra markers. If there is a way around using an item in your bag then that means you can probably drop it. For example, I dropped my bowl because most of the time I would just eat out of my titanium pot set instead. I dropped the cup because I would make my hot chocolate in the pot set as well. Every ounce you can cut the better. After all , every ounce adds up which brings me to the other part of overloading your bag.

Don't bring your everyday camping gear with you on your backpacking trip. Keep things light by purchasing backpacking specific items such as a tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, and stove. A big mistake that people do when planning their first backpacking trip is purchasing items that are too heavy. Try to stick with the concept, "keep the main 3 under 3." Meaning keep your tent under 3lbs, your sleeping bag under 3lbs, and your bag itself under 3lbs. This is your base weight and it shouldn't weigh anymore than 9lbs. Obviously the lighter the items, the more expensive but also keep in mind that if your bag is too heavy, you might never make it back on trail again as it might deter you from ever trying again. Another huge mistake that people make is the way they setup their pack. There is a certain way to load your pack so that the weight is evenly distributed and the pack feels good on your shoulders. The image below shows the way you should load your pack. Put your sleeping bag on the bottom and keep the heavy items

closest to your back. You don't want your heavy items up top as it will cause you to feel unbalance and very top heavy. If you keep the heavy items in the front of your pack (away from your back), you will feel the strain on your shoulders as the pack will want pull you backwards. There is no one right way to load a pack, everyone loads theirs different, but just make sure to follow this general weight distribution.

Now for some gear essentials. There is the obvious tent, sleeping bag, and pack but you may be thinking, "what else should I put in my pack?" As far as other essential items go, I will not leave without my sleeping pad, stove, water filtration system, trekking poles, water bottles, utensils, headlamp, first aid kit, paracord, bandana, food, and clothes. Now there are a lot of other items I carry with me, but you can get through a weekend adventure with just that in your bag. I will go into further details about exactly what I bring and what products I recommend in a later post. I do recommend doing a pack test or two (or as many as you need) before setting out on your adventure so you can get the feel for your pack and your ability in backpacking. Pack testing allows you to figure out your pack setup and you can rearrange your items as many times as you need to figure out the best way for you to load your pack. You might figure out things you can drop or things you might want or need to bring with you for your trek. So load up your pack and hit the local trails for 5-10 miles and see what needs changing.

Safety

A big concern for first time backpackers is safety, as it should be. Safety is definitely something you should consider when planning your first trip, but with that being said don't take all the fun out of backpacking by being too cautious. There is a good middle ground. I had a lot of people who were surprised by how little protection I brought with me when I hiked across Oregon, but the reason I had so little protection was because if you take caution to the right things, you won't need any protection. So are you going to get attacked by a bear? No, no you are not going to get attacked by a bear. Through my 456 mile hike I only saw a couple deer, two snakes, and a ton of lizards, chipmunks, and birds. I hiked through bear country and I hiked through rattlesnake territory but never saw either one. If bear country scares you, I'll let you in on the three reasons why a bear might attack you.

One: a bear smells your food and wants a taste of what you've got. They aren't going to bother you during the day, it's the night that you would have to worry about. Luckily there's a couple ways around that such as hanging your food up or using a bear can. You should hang your food in a tree 200 feet downwind of your campsite and 10ft up and 10ft out from tree as shown here.

There are a lot of methods out there as to how to hang your food but the best one is the PCT method. It takes quite a bit of practice but once you get it down, it is almost impossible for a bear to reach your food. Do a little research and watch some videos to figure out exactly how to hang your food using the PCT method. The other practice is to throw your food in a bear can which is an airtight canister that stops the smell of food from getting out to attract animals.

Two: You make a bear mad. This would only happen if you were dumb enough to try and play with the bear or purposefully make it mad.

Three: you get between a momma bear and its cub. When this happens you have to be careful as to what you do and there are a lot of articles out there describing what to do in this circumstance but the possibility of you making it out unscathed is pretty high.

You will only have to worry about bears if you are traveling through bear country and there are many places outside of bear country to hike. So if you're terrified of seeing a bear, make sure to pick a location that won't allow for that to happen. Aside from wild animals, there still is a chance that you could get hurt, so be prepared incase of an event where you are injured. Carry a first aid kit which should at least include Band-Aids, aspirin, alcohol wipes, gauze, tape, moleskin, and a space blanket. That should be enough to take care of any minor injury that you may occur on trail. In the case that you incur a major injury such as a broken bone, utilize your materials to stabilize and care to your injured area while trying to make contact with someone who can help you. You may have to walk to where someone can reach you and if you don't have service, you really don't have much other of a choice. If you are in an area that is frequently trafficked, it may be best to wait for someone to walk by and ask for assistance in getting you to help.

The first time getting out there and going backpacking may be a little intimidating and I know I threw in a lot of information, but take it one step at a time in your planning. You'll get out there and realize it's not as intimidating as it seems. Happy thoughts and happy hiking.