Are you wondering how to start hiking and backpacking? Are you a total beginner whose never been on a hike before in your life, let alone an overnight camping trip? Before I started my overnight backpacking adventures, I was also a beginner who shouted “YES” to both of these questions. It actually took quite a while for me to get comfortable and graduate beyond the basic day hike. Luckily, I quickly learned that hiking possessed an allure far beyond the tangible, even for beginners like myself.
There is an endorphin rush of some sort whenever we fulfill a purpose, whether it be doing a mundane task or reaching a longstanding goal. Backpacking in nature allowed me to satisfy what I consider a personal carnal need: physical and mental triumph.
It’s not tangible and even though I’ve experienced it, my explanations of why I find solace in backpacking tend to fall on deaf ears. What am I overcoming? In a word, fear.
Mental and Physical Fear
Fear plays a huge role on a new backpacker’s trips. At first, I had many fears. I may have been scared to hike alone or hike in the dark, anxious about getting lost while on the trail (which ended up happening quite a bit), or been unsure about whether or not I could finish a particularly long or difficult hike.
These fears were quickly overcome, and, as it turns out, many of my hikes would take up entire days. Some even involved overnight hiking, but up to a certain point, none of them involved actually sleeping outdoors. As I got more and more experience with the longer hikes, I would search for even longer, more difficult ones.
Pretty soon, the most appealing hikes happened to be the ones that I could not possibly complete in a single day. I quickly realized that the only way to experience these awesome trails was to learn how to sleep outdoors. Personal fears aside, “learning” how to do this simply translates to “what exactly do I need?”
Gear
Below are the items I used for my very first overnight backpacking trip. I have used each of these items since my very first backpacking adventure, and I still use these same items. To me, this means that all of the items are of high quality. If brand names don’t concern you, consider these low-cost items if you have no idea where to start and just want to give backpacking a try without breaking the bank.
Backpack
This is going to hold all your other gear. You’ll notice this is only a fraction of the cost of other brand backpacks at REI and such. I have been using this one since I got it, and it is of high quality.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014K6LIZK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Backpacking tent
This is a lightweight backpacking tent. I love this. It is tiny, almost like a coffin, but that means it is lightweight and takes almost no space in your pack. Setup/breakdown is easy. Once again, this is on the lower-cost side, but is certainly of excellent quality and a must-have for lightweight backpacking. NOTE: it only fits 1!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQCVNY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sleeping pad
You put this inside your tent, underneath your sleeping bag. It provides a cushion, which is much more comfortable than the hard ground, but, more importantly, it provides insulation from the floor. This is essential in the winter!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007RFG0NM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sleeping bag
This is a warm-weather sleeping bag. It won’t work for the winter, but it is perfect for spring/summer backpacking, and although it is low-cost compared to other options, I have found it to be of high quality
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FWKYKPE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Stove
This is used to cook/heat food, and must be used with fuel (separate) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B4FY8YO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Water bottle
For use with a water filter (below), these bottles allow you to grab water from a river/stream, and since they are soft plastic they take up hardly any space or weight.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010OLZ3E2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Water filter
This screws directly onto the mouth of the water bottles above!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LA97I8M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Flashlights
These are probably on the cheap side, but I’ve used these without issue, and again, I have not had to replace them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X61AJYM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Headlamp
This is for setting up camp in the dark, or even night hiking. In my opinion, the headlamp is the most important piece of gear – as long as you can see where you are going, you don’t necessarily need to stop and sleep.
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