First let me introduce myself, I’m Andrew and I am completely new to the backpacking experience. In short, I’ve wanted to do an extended backpacking trip my entire life but never had the opportunity until now. I’ve gone through some of the forum topics to get a feel for what I need to do and what to expect as I learn the basics this fall.

I finish graduate school next summer and my ultimate plan is to acquire a 30-day pass from Amtrak to travel the country. So far, I’m planning on stopping at three national forests: Glacier National Park, Crater Lake National Forest, and Rocky Mountain National Park. I’ll also be stopping at various cities in-between. My goal is to stay for 4-5 days at each national park and camp at a different cite for each night. I’ll also be traveling with two other friends who also have little experience. I do plan on taking several backpacking trips this fall: North Carolina, New Hampshire, and West Virginia as a means of gaining some experience. Do you recommend these places to backpack (they are very accessible through Amtrak) or should I narrow it down to one or two locations and stay at these locations for a longer period of time?

My primary question for the forum is in the mean time, what are some critical reading materials I need to attend to? I’ve noticed a plethora of reading material on backpacking but I’m not sure who are the leading authors in the field, the most popular and helpful books, ect. I was hoping some of you all would point me in the right direction. As of right now, I’m slowly shopping around online for proper equipment (I plan on staying away from major stores as I find they generally are more concerned with just selling you a product) and by October I plan on having some of the major components!

Cheers

Did you read all the articles at backpacking.net? The forums are great, too.

For recipes and food ideas, freezerbagcooking.com and A Fork in the Trail, and Lipsmackin' Backpackin', and lots of other good books available on Amazon, and the forums here have recipes posted in the Food area.

Backpackinglight.com has some free material - I haven't sprung for the membership so can't tell you if that's worth it.

Interested in making stoves? zenstoves.net or http://wings.interfree.it/html/main.html

Gossamer Gear, Antigravity gear, ULA and Titanium Goat. Jacks R Better quilts. Hammockforums.net. All online.

Mark Verber gave me lots of info as well.

This is the tip of the iceburg - you can dig deeper by just clicking through, clicking through.

The old stand-by in backpacking texts is Collin Fletcher's The Complete Walker. It's a bit old school in terms of equipment but it's good solid information and very entertaining.

This one has been good for me. I also read Collin Fletchers book. It was way too basic for me, but great for beginners. So read Collin before Ryan Jordon. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I concur that much of it can be found online in various places, including here and in the non-forum
sections of this site.

If you really want a book, Colin Fletcher's was mentioned, and Ray Jardine's "Beyond Backpacking"
isn't too bad. But realisticly, Opinions are like you-know-whats.. everyone's got one and most of the
time it's not worth seeing.

Your idea of slowly acquiring gear, and trying things out on some local overnighters is a very good one, you'll learn more there than you will from a book. Also do not discount camping out with your
gear without going anywhere. Eat off your stove and food for a day. Sleep in the back yard. Get in your shelter, and take a garden hose to it. practice setting up and tearing down. Wait for a rainstorm to hit and then go out in the backyard and set up in the rain and stay there overnight... that sort of thing. Look at the various lists of gear on this site and others, look at what people
are using, and draw your own opinions on what to try first. You'll probably find like most of us
that what you use and do adapts and changes over the years anyway, so don't worry too much
about not getting it perfect the first time. You'll learn.

I agree with Phat: gain your basic experience in a "safe" environment - by "basic" I mean using your gear enough that doing it is almost second nature. My first few trips, for just such a purpose, were to state parks within 25 miles of Cincinnati, Ohio - not exactly backcountry, but ideal for my purpose. I simulated a backpacking trip by packing my pack and dayhiking for a full day with a 3-day load of food and water. I purified all my water during the day, and ate lunch from my pack. That night, I camped by my car in the public campground, using only the gear in my pack and staying out of the car. A few trips like that, and I was very comfortable on how to pitch my tent, use my stove, cook a meal, and use my filter (and clean it in the field.) I also knew how to sleep in a sleeping bag, and was confident that it was warm enough and my pad comfortable enough. I learned how to pack so the load rode comfortably all day, and what to keep accessible during the day. I also started to learn what I could live without.

That made it much easier to walk away from the car and camp in the backcountry - I wasn't worrying that I couldn't use the gear, or that it would break down on me. The confidence level made it a lot more fun.

I really enjoy Fletcher and Jardine and have read both multiple times. But an argument might be made that they each make things seem too complex, especially later editions of Fletcher.

Backpacking is an extremely simple topic, and all that's necessary to know apart from navigation can be written up in a relatively few pages. A good example is probably the camping section of "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills," which also has concise section on navigation.

Definitely read The Complete Walker. This book is considered by most to be the "bible" of backpacking. The "Dummies" series even has a book on camping. As you have already found out, there are many others.

You might want to consider joining the Sierra Club or a local hiking club. Your school may have one.

If you read through this site, read the articles other than just the forums. There are articles on gear lists and technique.

Read through the archives here-the beginner forum is a good place to start, but also the food forum and gear forums will be helpful.

The focus of this site is lightweight gear and techniques, many of which I do not recommend for beginners for a lot of reason. That puts me at odds with many other members. Ray Jardine is one of the extreme proponents of lightweight backpacking, so keep that in mind if you read his book.

Going to different places will give you different experiences, so I do recommend doing that. Weekend trips are good-they are easier to plan and you usually can't get into too much trouble. Keep in mind that NC and WVA are going to be very different from the West.

Buying gear can be confusing. Going to a big specialty store like an REI and looking around will help a lot. Unfortunately, I don't think there is an REI in Florida, but you might find a store comparable to it. You can't tell how well something fits, feels or works just by looking at pictures or descriptions online.

I would stay away from "big box" stores like Target or Wal-Mart. They carry lower quality gear suitable mostly for car camping and the people who work there will know little or nothing about the products.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I seem to have a better understanding as to where to start. I will definitely try the backyard camping as well as weekend trips. I’ll also look into “The Complete Walker” and “Lightweight.” I’ll stay active on the Forum through the months as a means of learning the basics as well as attending to some of the articles posted!

Here's another thread with some good choices in it.
Book thread

I'm a big fan of Allen & Mike's books. Great stuff for beginners-I have their backcountry ski ( covers winter camping) and telemark books.

Tom:

I partly agree that many lightweight techniques, particularly those toward the ultralight and sub-ultralight fringes, are not suitable for beginners. They require experience to make-do with minimal amounts of minimally-built gear if the unexpected happens.

However, I do feel that it is appropriate for beginners to start out somewhat lightweight. One side effect of the ultralight movement has been that it goaded mainstream equipment makers to lighten up traditional gear by either using newer materials or eliminating some overbuilding tendencies (does a solo tent really need two doors?)

This means that you can assemble an adequate kit of well-built gear and still keep the base load under 20 pounds, which makes it more comfortable, and therefore more fun, for beginners and experienced hikers alike. (MSR, Granite Gear, Big Agnes, and Snow Peak are just 4 of many mainstream companies that leap to mind.)

While I think the cautions are somewhat waranted, lest a first timer head out with nothing but
a 4x7 cuben fibre tarp as a shelter, I do think the community is slightly to aggressive on the warnings to beginners who are not necessarily going to differentiate between "sublight" "ultralight" and "lightweight". I.E. similar to my rant here:

http://www.backpacking.net/forums/showth...o=&vc=1


Particularly in the context of the advice given to this OP (of trying things out first in safe situations) I think most beginners can have a safe trip with a kit like the majority of us use here, (especially things like Charles' gear lists on the main page). No, I'm not advocating trying to send a beginner out with a 6 pound base weight - but what I am saying is most beginners won't differentiate between our little pigeonholed names based on how hardcore each of us feels we are. I know for a fact that most hikers I pass on trails who chat me up about what I'm carrying are still kind of stunned, like I'm some kind of lunatic hardcore fringe, and frankly, I'm not. I'm merely reasonably lightweight, but nothing close to extreme - look at my gear list - I like my creature comfort too much.

My real point is - most beginners don't make distinctions between categories of "lighter than walk in to MEC/REI and walk out with a 40 pound base". I think we're in agreement Glen, other than I think it's pretty easy to send a beginner out with about 15 pounds base with properly chosen mass market gear - heck my brother recently decided to get into it and was pretty much at that - SMD lunar solo, Gregory Z55, MEC down bag, blue foam pad, caldera cone, and the usual odds and sods with properly chosen clothing - and I didn't even really tell him what to get other than pointing him at a few places (Heck, he's a heretic ground dweller - he learned nothing from me! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

We should be ensuring a beginner who is intereted in backpacking but not interested in lugging the kitchen sink with them is not discouraged from trying our methods.

A few things to consider. Your trip is just as much a "road trip" as a backpack trip so you need to prepare for both.

1) you will be traveling public transporation so some of the light-weight gear may not hold up to harsh handling- get a large duffle to put your pack inside so it does not get wrecked.

2) you will be traveling through different climates - have your gear flexible enough to add and subtract items as weather dictates. Layering works well here. A solo pot, cup and spoon is sufficient for backpacking but you will appreciate an extra pot and fry pan for the non-backpacking parts of your trip.

3) Since you will be short on room traveling on public transporation, try to get your cook gear to nest into a small packet, use compression sacks for sleeping bag and clothing.

4) Although your backpack trips will be in relativly cool temperatures, traveling between parks you can encounter 100 degree temps. Have at least one change of hot-weather travel clothing.

5) Be aware that not all stores carry specific backpack suitable consumables- particulary butane stove cannisters. The general car-camping gas cannisters do not fit on the backpack stoves. If you use a light backpacker's butane stove, you may want to carry an extra cannister.

6) You will have to figure out how and where to store your non-backpack gear when you are doing your short backpack trips.

7) Just as important as gear is your overall trip planning. Spend the winter doing a good job of researching the routes.

8) You have an entire year to "practice" backpacking and test your gear. Just do some winter weekend trips where you live. Pick a weekend where you will have lousy weather to test out your gear.

Glenn, I agree with you. But, as Phat points out, not all beginners even know enough to differentiate between various degrees of lightweight.

Almost anyone can get along fine with almost nothing in good weather, no question about it, but there is no guarantee that a beginner will not find him self or herself in less than ideal conditions, even in summer.

A bad experience, such as getting soaked and cold or going hungry may turn off a beginner from camping altogether, and there is no need for that. I am not suggesting that beginners should only buy whatever is on sale at REI with no concern for weight; carrying less weight is a great idea, but for beginners, I think there are limits.

For example, I usually recommend that a beginner use a canister stove instead of a white gas stove or soda can stove. Why? Because they are relatively cheap, fairly light, easy to use, less likely to act up and you can actually cook on them, as opposed to just heating water, which is about all you can do with a soda can alcohol stove.

I have two of them; I also have three white gas/multifuel stoves and have made several alcohol stoves. I know which one is the easiest to use and I carry that one in my day pack and as a backup in winter. It is a Primus Micron- screw on the canister, turn the valve, hit the striker and it is on. Takes about a minute. Why make it any more complicated than that for someone dealing with everything else?

There are plenty of other examples, but you get the idea.