One of my first trips, after my formal "mountain school" was to climb Mt. Rainier. I doubt I could have done that on my own, trial and error, in Converse tennis shoes!

I came into backpacking via mountaineering in the PNWA and Canada, so my experiences probably are different than most on this forum.

And yes, I have found that adults, especially older adults, often feel advise is condensending, even when it was not meant to be so. Nevertheless, when a newbie goes with me, part of the deal is that I give advise and they need to be open to at least listen to the advise. I have myself received a bucketload of condensending advise from strangers I meet on the trail (probably because I am small, a woman, and older). It strikes me as humorous, since I usually have been out for weeks, mostly off trail, and they are fresh, clean and first day out on the trial and obviously not that experienced. I just smile and say thank you. They usually just are trying to be helpful and show enthusiasm. I am open to all advise- who knows, I may just learn something new. Gems of wisdom come fro the oddest places sometimes.