It’s true, you’ll sometimes have to go with the flow when you’re out on the road. However, taking the time to thoroughly prepare yourself before your backpacking trip will drastically increase your chances of having a safe and enjoyable experience.
So, before you venture into the wilderness, be sure to check the following off your to-do list.
Choose An Easy Destination For Your First Trip
Your first backpacking trip will mostly be about understanding your gear and learning the basics of surviving on just a few essentials. This is why you’ll want to pick an easy destination that allows you to get comfortable with the logistics of backpacking before you can really push your limits and tackle more challenging trails.
Because hiking requires a lot of physical energy, you’ll need more than your average supply of water to stay hydrated, which is why having an accessible source of fresh and clean water is vital. So before choosing a destination, look at the maps of the trails and see where the streams, springs, or rivers meet the tracks. These would probably be the best locations to gather and filter drinking water.
You should also keep the elevation gain in mind. For an easy first trip, aim for a few hundred feet of elevation gain or less; the less you have to ascend or descend, the less energy you’ll spend and the easier your trip will be. If you don’t have much experience, it pays to choose a well-well-traveled trail and a popular destination. This way, if you run into any difficulties or you accidentally get hurt, you’ll have other backpackers nearby who can help you out.
Get the Right Gear
Having the right gear for your trip is crucial, however, determining the items that you actually need can be quite intimidating, especially when you’re new to backpacking. If you’re not sure where to begin, start by covering the eleven backpacking basics, which are: food, water, shelter, tools, fire, clothing, navigation, lighting, first aid, hygiene, and sun protection.
Pretty much all the essentials you’ll need include your headlamp, sunglasses, utility knife, sunscreen, and toilet paper will fall into these categories. If you’re having trouble filtering through the infinite choices out there, head here where you’ll find numerous comprehensive guides to every type of backpacking gear you may possibly need. Regardless of the brands and models you choose, make sure that your backpacking gear is lightweight, especially the ones that normally take up the most space like your sleeping bag or your tent.
Pack the Necessary Permits, and Documents
Many popular backpacking destinations require special permits. To avoid getting in trouble or possibly even ruining your trip, be sure to check with a local land management agency and learn about the necessary requirements in advance. If you’re backpacking across borders, your passport, credit cards, and driving license are paramount and if you’re headed to a tropical destination or a developing country, consult your healthcare provider and see if there are any vaccinations that you need to take. Ideally, you should visit your general practitioner well ahead of time — at least 4 to 6 weeks beforehand.
Test Your Gear at Home
One of the biggest mistakes you can do is wait until you’re out on the trail to try your gear. Before you set out on your backpacking adventure, you should always do a test run at home so that you can rest assured that everything is going to work properly when you’re out there.
This mostly applies to your tent, but it pays to try all your gear to make sure that you’re familiar with how everything works. After all, you wouldn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the trail on a pitch-black night trying to turn on your headlamp only to find that it’s missing a battery.
Testing your gear before you head out allows you to know if it’s missing any essential pieces, this way you can avoid many inconvenient, and possibly even dangerous, situations. Some examples of the most important things to check at home include testing your water filter and checking that your tent has all the poles and guy-lines you need to safely secure it.
We hope that the list above covered the most important points that you need to tick off your list before you hit the road. With the aforementioned tips in mind, you should now be pretty well prepared for your upcoming backpacking trip. Are you ready to broaden your horizons beyond the terrains and the campsites? Then pack your bag and get going, the great outdoors are calling!
