Each year听about 4,000 backpackers attempt thru-hikes on the nation鈥檚 big three footpaths: the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. Each is a massive commitment, with gear bills in the thousands of dollars and up to six months away from work.
But backpacking doesn鈥檛 have to be a months-long, bank-account-draining undertaking. For many people, the real appeal of backpacking听is the quiet remoteness it affords, a听chance to step away from the rat race and experience some real solitude. With a little bit of planning and creative preparation, you can easily have the time of your life out there, even if this is your first overnight sojourn.
Safety First
As great as backpacking is, it also comes with certain risks. It鈥檚 your job to minimize them with some basic precautions:
- Assume that you鈥檙e not going to have cell-phone reception for at least part of your hike. That means听if you get lost (and even the best hikers do), it鈥檚 going to be up to you to get yourself found. Always make sure an emergency contact is aware of your intended itinerary, when you plan to return, what vehicle听you鈥檒l be driving, and who is going with you.
- Invest in a decent compass and of your hiking destination, and know how to use both. Many major gear outfitters and regional chapters of offer map and compass courses for new users that usually cost less than $100. If you can鈥檛 get to one of these locations, check out the Appalachian Mountain Club鈥檚 or this video from REI.
- If you have the cash to spare, consider investing in听a personal locator beacon听(usually a few听hundred dollars), which will allow you to send your exact location and/or an emergency distress call when there鈥檚 no cell reception.
- And be sure to study听 from the U.S. Forest听Service on what to do if you do get lost or find yourself in distress: it鈥檚 chock-full of great tips on how to keep it together when all else fails.
Keep It Simple
On the听Trail
State and national parks can be great places for beginners: their trails are usually well marked, and their websites offer user-friendly guidelines for new and experienced hikers alike. For first trips, , director of the Appalachian Trail Institute,听who has been educating hikers for over 45 years, recommends staying close to home and restricting initial outings to easily accessible and well-indicated听trails. Look for routes with low mileage听and little in the way of difficult terrain, like steep elevation gains and losses or听tricky footing that you might find听with boulders, loose rock, or even a rat鈥檚 nest of roots.听鈥淏e modest in your expectations,鈥 Doyle advises. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about completing mileage. It鈥檚 about simplicity and the willingness to step away from society鈥檚 cradle. You can do that as easily in five miles as you can 500.鈥 Websites like and offer databases that can be searched by zip code or geography, and regional trail conservancies are also great resources.
Searching for a Campsite
鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to set up camp after just a few miles on your first day, especially if you鈥檙e already tired,鈥 Doyle says. Also consider听using this camp as the听base for your weekend adventures. For听weekend hikes, this might mean听hiking听in and establishing听a base camp on Friday night, which then allows听you to day-hike on Saturday with a much smaller pack听and听return to your听tent and sleeping bag that evening. There鈥檚 also no harm in using the hostel-hut systems at places like 听in California听or 听in New Hampshire. But听if you want the full backpacking experience, look for loops with designated camping areas or even established shelters (which often also come with water sources nearby).
Before You Buy
, author of ,听hiking record holder, and owner of the Blue Ridge Hiking Company, in Ashville, North Carolina, recommends using loaner hiking gear before investing in your own goods. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to know what you need without a frame of reference,鈥 she says. 鈥淏y borrowing or renting gear, you can decide what you love, like, dislike, or can鈥檛 stand about certain products.鈥澨齊EI听rents out gear, including听backpacks and听camp stoves, but you should听 for a complete list听of available gear.听Or, for $92 per day, startup听CampCrate will mail you a , including a sleeping bag, tent, water filter, and headlamp.
The Essentials
Once you鈥檙e ready to invest in your own听gear, you need to determine where and how you鈥檙e going to regularly hike鈥攄ifferent climates and trip lengths听will call for different gear. Backpacks come in a variety of sizes, and most are measured in liters; you can probably get away with a backpack in the 50-to-60-liter range for a trip less than four days. Many sleeping bags are labeled by the minimum temperature an average sleeper will be comfortable; a compressible 20-degree bag will work for听many people for three seasons. And while some prefer crawling into a tent at night, others prefer to sleep in a bivy sack or hammock.
Other essential items include a basic first-aid kit, activity-specific items like sunscreen, bug spray, moleskin or duct table for blisters, and a Mylar emergency heat blanket (which can also serve as a great signal for search and rescue planes听in the event you get really lost). A reliable headlamp with fresh batteries is also a must, as is a whistle, a waterproof lighter or matches, and a collapsible knife or multitool.
For a comprehensive list of recommended equipment, check out the National Outdoor Leadership School鈥檚 basic or 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 list听of backpacking essentials.
Pack Right
When it comes to packing these essentials, play to the engineering of the pack itself. Modern-day backpacks are designed with waist belts that distribute the weight of a pack to your hips and lower body, where our real core strength lies. Keep heavy items, like reserve water, heating fuel, and food, low in the main pouch of the pack, and place light items, like a down coat or sleeping bag, higher in the back. The most essential items, like maps, snacks, a cell phone,听and at least one water bottle, should be kept in an external pocket where they can easily be reached.
Practice Makes Perfect
At Davis鈥檚 store,听mornings are by appointment only so that backpackers can receive one-on-one attention from employees trained to help customers find the right size backpack and make sure it鈥檚 properly fitted. Even if that kind of individualized treatment isn鈥檛 available where you live, find an outfitter that will take the time to show you how to use items like a听water purifier,听camp stove, tent, and rain fly. Practice using them听long before you鈥檝e hit the road. There鈥檚 nothing like getting stuck outside in a deluge to make you consider another hobby.
Hit the听Gym Before the Trail
Even the most thoughtfully packed backpack is going to add extra weight and strain to your body. Couple that with the repetitive motion of hiking听and you鈥檙e going to tax your body in new (and sometimes exhausting) ways.
To make sure that body is trail ready, personal trainer and competitive ultramarathoner recommends considering a workout strategy that leads with basic cardiovascular conditioning. 鈥淏efore you even add weight to the mix, start spending some real time on your feet,鈥 Seaver says.
After that, you鈥檒l听need to train your body for the unique demands of hiking with specific exercises. Building core strength will help keep you stabilized on variable terrain; back and upper-body strength will help you shoulder that pack. To achieve both, Seaver recommends these five exercises.听Try for ten听reps of each, making sure to focus on controlled movement and good form.
Step-Ups
Lunges
Single-Leg Deadlifts
Downward-Dog Holds
Push-ups鈥擱egular or Modified
Consider Your Fuel听
When planning meals, think first about what and how you actually like to eat, and then add a little bit to that. Backcountry cooking can be a blast and even gourmet鈥攂ut only if you have the time and patience to pull it off. And although dehydrated meals are super easy, they are also expensive.
, a registered dietician and Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, recommends starting with easy enhancements to supermarket meals. For breakfast, she鈥檒l add peanut butter or Nutella to instant oatmeal and wash it down with an instant coffee. Lunches are almost always variations on wraps鈥攖here are endless combinations to be had with听hummus, a good hard cheese, and some salami. Carberry鈥檚 preferred dinners start with boxed rice or听pasta (think Annie鈥檚 mac and cheese or Near East鈥檚 rice pilaf), to which she鈥檒l add pouches of tuna or precooked chicken. Umami goes a long way to making food taste great, so consider bringing along small bags of sun-dried tomatoes, olives, or freeze-dried mushrooms for some zing. Travel-size condiments like sriracha or flavored salts can add a welcome zip of flavor to the mix as well. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way less expensive way to eat,鈥 says Carberry, 鈥渁nd you鈥檙e still ultimately just boiling a pot of water.鈥
Carberry advises听hikers putting in听light to moderate effort听to听add an extra 500 to 1,000 calories to their daily intake. Spreading out those calories with regular snacks is a great way to keep from bonking. Energy bars are easy, as is the omnipresent trail mix. And when it comes to hydration, Carberry says she tends to skip energy drinks or hydration powders in favor of water. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e drinking the recommended daily amount鈥濃攁t least 64 ounces, with more for cooking鈥斺渁nd eating adequately, hydration shouldn鈥檛 be a problem,鈥澨齭he says.
Take Only Photographs,听Leave Only Footprints
We take to the trail because it is wild and often pristine. But it doesn鈥檛 take much to destroy that beauty altogether. That鈥檚 one reason why backpacking is defined by 听ethics,听and it鈥檚 essential you know how to follow it.听Hike only on designated paths. Whenever possible, camp only on designated sites. Light fires only in established fire rings (or even better, don鈥檛 light one at all). Clean up every campsite before you leave, even if the trash isn鈥檛 yours, and leave the rest of the ecosystem as听you found it.
The Nitty-Gritty
With few exceptions, any trail should always be considered carry in, carry out.听That includes obvious stuff like wrappers and empty canisters, but it also includes leftover food, water used for cleaning, toilet paper, and (let鈥檚 just get this out there) your own poop. If the landscape allows for it, you can opt to bury your organic waste in a cathole, so long as it is at least six听inches deep and 200 feet away from any water source. If that鈥檚 not an option, you鈥檙e going to need to invest in a 鈥though听on more than one occasion, I鈥檝e successfully used pet-store poo bags to surprisingly good ends. To avoid lugging excess stinky trash, many female hikers will use a dedicated pee rag (often a bandana kept in a Ziploc bag) and a menstrual cup. To further cut down on what you need to pack out, combine meal ingredients into single bags and favor bulk-food items, especially those that can be stashed in resealable pouches. Resealable freezer bags make for great garbage-disposal units on the trail.
If any of these rules feel confusing, stick to this basic mantra: the woods do not belong to me. If that doesn鈥檛 work, try this one: I will not be a jackass. Got it? Good. Now get outside.