Part of Mark Verber's The Great Outdoors
Version 0.1, October 16, 2007
One of my joys has been introducing people to backpacking and wilderness experiences. I have seen a wide range of reactions. I have watched some city people jump right in and get into the spirit of things. A great example of this was Cyndy. On her first backpacking trip (also her first real camping trip) she expected to use a plate, bowl, multiple utensils and a cup... and that the cup would be cleaned between different beverages. She watched a few of us the first night. The second night she just used her bowl, licking it clean between courses, used it for her hot chocolate, and finish up with hot tea which pretty much cleaned the bowl up. She recognized that while she might not do this at home, there were a lot less dishes to clean. I have seen other people who just couldn't adjust. They were just too used to climate controlled environments, were scared of wild life, hated being dirty, etc. Most people though, enjoy the experience but have a few issues they need to work through. This articles attempts to identify several of the common issues that people new to backpacking might struggle with.
The biggest joy killer I have seen has when someone didn't have comfortable footwear. Especially bad is when someone who lives in running shoes and sandals goes out and gets a brand new pair of heavy weight hiking boots just before leaving on a trip because that's what they are suppose to wear. They end up with monster blisters, hot and tired feet, and maybe a bruised shin if the boots are really wrong. And then they have to walk with those same feet the next day. Ugh! People should use shoes or boots that have have worn for a while before they head off into on a backpacking trip. If a pair of shoes isn't comfortable enough to wear non stop around town for several days, they aren't going to be good on a broken trail while carrying a backpack. As I have noted on my recommended footwear page, unless a heavy pack is being carried, trail runners (or even running shoes) are often very appropriate for backpacking.
One of the most common complaints from new backpackers is that the destination was great, but the hike was no fun at all. Often times, the same people who not have had any problems if it had been a day hike. What's the different? They were carrying a backpack. This is something I understand very well from personal experience. When I was growing up, I had no problem doing 20-30 mile day hikes, but I was unhappy after 5 miles backpacking, and was dead after 10 miles. I thought that pain on the trail was the cost of getting into the back country. I was wrong... but it took more that 20 years for me to discover than I didn't have to be in pain.
The most common issue is that a first time backpackers carry too much weight. There have been a number of studies that find carrying more than approximately 10% of a person's lean body weight will be fatiguing. While most people can carry 30-40% of their body weight, this should not be the goal. The solutions is to carry less and to carry lighter weight items. In the next section I will address taking the right things. Beyond this, I will sometimes "help out" a new backpacker so they can be gentled into backpacking. When my daughter first started backpacking with me I had her carry extra clothing, water for the trail, toys, and some snacks. I carried everything else. This meant she was carrying just a bit more stuff than she would for a day hiking. Once she was up to it, she graduated to carrying all "her" stuff, but I carried the "shared" gear: tent, most of the food, cooking gear. Now that she is getting older and so am I, maybe we can continue the trend and eventually she can be the "pack animal" and I can carry the daypack load. Seriously though, if you are committed to give someone a good start consider the tradeoff between lightening the newbie's load and them feeling like they contributed to the trip. This typically means that they should carry their personal gear, and at least a token of the shared gear. I have found giving the newbie the food that we will eat while hiking can make them feel like they are contributed a lot to the experience, plus their load drops each day.
The second most common issue is that the backpack doesn't fit well. Sometimes this is because the backpacking isn't well adjusted. Sometimes it's because the backpacking being used is the wrong size or shape. This should be easy to catch before going on a trip. Have someone experience adjust the pack and load it up with say 10% of the persons body weight. If they notice the pack or find it annoying, try something different.
The final issue reason I have seem backpacks be really uncomfortable is because a pack is being used way beyond it's design criteria. I have often seem people who are enamored with ultra light thru-hikers, adventure racers, etc so they pick up some ultralight backpack such as the frameless packs made by GoLite. Then these same people try to stuff 35-40lbs into said packs. What happens? Pain. Don't carry more weight in a pack than it was design to comfortably carry.
I have numerous other pages about selection light weight and performant gear. Whenever possible I help a new backpacker make a gear list. I will try to do a shake down day hike before the first backpacking check, and like to do a "pack" check before we leave town. During the pack check we remove everything, discuss if the item is useful (removing those that aren't) and identify anything that might be missing. I think it's best for a pack check to be done by someone who is an experienced light weight backpacker who will be able to encourage a newbie to leave behind things that aren't needed, without pushing the newbie too far out of their comfort zone. Hardcore ultralight backpackers are sometimes not so sensitive.
Of course, it's best if a new backpacker doesn't need to spend a lot of money while they are deciding if backpacking is for them. I try to assist people in a number of ways. First, I point that as a variety generic ways to keep costs down. Second, I have specifically chosen to hold onto some "extra gear" so I can loan it out. I realize this is not within everyone's means, but it is an excellent tool when trying to help people get started. For example, I explicitly decided to purchase a quilt and a sleeping bag so that I could tailor my sleep system to the conditions I would face as well as always having something I could loan. When I upgraded to a more recent tarptent, I held on to the older shelter so I could loan it out. I held onto my transition weight backpack (an Osprey Aether 60), even though I haven't used it since I purchase a Granite Gear Vapor Trail.
A big part of staying comfortable is bring the right clothing, but understanding how activity level impacts thermo-regulation is just as important. I seems that this is not something that a lot of people know. I have found that explicitly talking about how aerobic exercise radically alters how much heat a person produces, and then talking about how much excess moisture can sap someone's heat can go a long way in helping people say comfortable.
People have a variety of reactions to the outdoors. If someone is pretty fearful, I will typically not take them backpacking. Instead I will recommend that they take day hikes, do some car camping. If they can adjust to car camping then I encourage them to give backpacking a trip. A some point I will write more about this.
Getting a good night sleep is extremely important. Evening if one day sucks, a good night sleep can make it easy to set aside the previous problems and start afresh. Many experienced folks, especially those with the mental toughness to thru-hike will say you just lay down and go to sleep. If you can't sleep, then you haven't worked enough during they day. But this doesn't work for everyone, especially someone who is backpacking for the first time. It's only natural for a first time backpacker to be a bit anxious which makes it harder to sleep.
Rather than write a lot of text here I would suggest reading my stand alone article Getting a Good Night Sleep in the Outdoors. The first section covers a number of the psychological factors I should have cover in the above section but didn't. The second section explore what sort of foundation (e.g. pad, hammock, etc) might be needed. The final suggestion is about hot to stay warm enough at night, a common problem for first time backpackers.