Welcome. Websites such as MeetUp may help you find someone. See if there is a local chapter of the Sierra Club in your area, it may organize outings such as day hikes or weekend trips. If you have a college or university nearby, see if they have any clubs you might join. Are there any outdoor stores in your area? If so, they may have a bulletin board for group outings or offer classes. REI stores usually offer classes at reasonable cost to learn basics and sometimes offer short evening classes for free to introduce gear that they sell.

Also, while no substitute for actual hiking experience, if you want to learn the basics, you can read books on backpacking. The Complete Walker IV, is a great start. The author of the original TCW, Colin Fletcher (who passed away a while back) is considered one of the foremost authors on backpacking. Read the articles here and on other websites. Forums are good for specific questions, but don't give you an overall picture or a base of knowledge.