Experience is certainly the best teacher, or at least the most effective, but when it comes to backpacking, it is far better to learn from others’ mistakes than to make them ourselves. Suffering the consequences of poor judgment or inadequate preparation can be uncomfortable at best. In the twenty years I’ve been backpacking and across a wide range of scenarios throughout the country on every type of trail, I’ve made plenty of my own mistakes and learned a great deal about preparation and training for ambitious multi-day hikes.

In recent years I’ve taken up hiking in the Grand Canyon, where bail-outs are not as easy as hitchhiking on the nearest county road. As the signs at the canyon say, “Going down is optional, coming up is mandatory.” Don’t overtax the staff at the Park Service with avoidable issues of dehydration or blisters, but rather, be prepared! My excursions into the canyon have helped me fine-tune my approach to training and preparation for backpacking, and I continue to learn from others more expert than myself. Whether deep in the abyss of the Grand Canyon or high atop a peak in the Rockies, there are some fundamentals that should be considered for any backpacking trip.

Prepare Your Body: Training & Physical Conditioning for Backpacking

Human beings are very adept at self-deception, and one area in which we are most talented is overestimating our physical conditioning, then failing to test ourselves adequately before we attempt some epic undertaking. I’m a strong believer in maintaining a constant level of conditioning that will allow me to “train up” for a backpacking trip within a couple of months. Some may go backpacking so often that they don’t need to “train up” at all but I only do one or two major backpacking trips a year, necessitating a ramp-up each time.

There are two aspects to preparing your body: one is conditioning yourself physically to carry a certain load over a certain type of terrain for a certain number of miles. The other is testing your physical and mental toughness and readiness for those certainties before you put yourself out there in a remote wilderness situation.

To maintain a high level of fitness, I run two to three times a week, do strength training three times a week, and walk on the days I don’t run. When I am preparing for a backpacking trip, I add the stairclimber to my gym routine and start carrying my backpack with heavier and heavier weights on longer and longer hikes as the date of my trip approaches. Training for steep ascents and descents is the biggest challenge, since I live in the flatlands, but there are multiple ways to address this.

In the gym, you can use the stairclimber and do step-ups to help prepare your legs for ascending. Walking backwards on a treadmill at maximum incline and pulling/pushing sleds also help. Of course, if you live in a mountainous area, this may not be a problem for you, but the main thing is to hone your body to become accustomed to the conditions you will experience on your hike, and finishing your training with the assurance that your physical conditioning (and mental toughness!) is up to the task. Neglecting this will make your experience far less enjoyable.

It should be noted however, that overdoing it is a possibility. The last thing we want is to have to cancel a planned trip because we injured ourselves by over training for it.

Prepare Your Backpacking Gear

I’m often asked, “What is the most important piece of gear for backpacking?” The answer is footwear. It’s no surprise that you need to wear a well broken-in pair of shoes or boots and, like your body, footwear is something you need to test in training. Wear the shoes or boots you plan to hike in while you are getting in shape for the hike. That way you will find out whether your shoes give you blisters or rub hot spots, or have any other issues.

Footwear

Should you wear hiking boots or trail runners? It’s a personal choice, with trail runners becoming more and more popular, but if you are carrying a heavy pack the ankle support of a hiking boot may be beneficial. I did my first Grand Canyon backpacking trips in Keen hiking boots but used Hoka Speedgoat trail shoes for a rim-to-rim day hike and a rim-to-river-to-rim day hike. Both worked well for the task at hand. For more on footwear, refer to this guide on the TrailGroove Blog.

And, good socks are essential. Look for Merino wool and synthetic materials, and stay away from cotton – other materials offer much better performance. Some hikers wear hiking gaiters to keep out rocks and sand, and this isn’t a bad idea. I wore gaiters on my rim-to-rim hike because of what I read about deep sand on one section of the trail but this proved to be a non-issue. Still, gaiters are not a bad idea if you are wearing trail shoes and want to prevent debris from invading your footwear. In some places, snow and ice are a consideration. Microspikes are handy in this case and I used YakTrax on one of my late spring backpacking trips in the Grand Canyon.

Packs

Second only to footwear, a properly fitted backpack is your most important piece of gear. It may be tempting to borrow a pack from a friend but if that friend’s body is not exactly the same as yours it could be a mistake. Go to an outdoor store and get fitted for the right pack. Look for a lightweight pack but think twice before sacrificing comfort.

It may seem counterintuitive that a lighter pack would not be more comfortable, but I prefer my 3.5 lb. Osprey to my 1.5lb. Osprey because the hip belt on the heavier pack is more substantial and distributes the weight better. With any pack, test, test, test. These are items that I’ve found are particularly important to have dialed in and may require a few tries to get right prior to a trip (find more backpacking gear articles here).

A successful backpacking trip starts with planning and packing at home.

General Backpacking Gear List Overview

Backpack
Tent / Shelter & Accessories
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Backpacking Pillow (or stuff sack with spare clothes)
Trekking poles (optional, suggested)
Water Treatment & Water Storage
Backpacking Stove, Fuel, and Cooking Gear / Eating Utensils
Lightweight Headlamp and Extra Batteries
Lighter
Small Pocketknife
Food, Proper Storage
Bear Spray (depending on destination)
Toiletries & Hygiene Kit
Clothing for the Weather and Extra Clothing including Rain Gear
Map & Compass
First Aid Kit
Whistle
Satellite Communicator
Permits

Additional Resources

Some specific links are included above (when not otherwise linked to in this guide) for additional reading, and you can find all of these items here at REI Co-op. You can again find more information and specific articles on just about all of the above categories here on the TrailGroove Blog.

Keep Your Pack Weight Down

No one doing a three or four-day backpacking trip should have to carry more than 30-35 pounds. I’ve heard the rule of thumb as one-quarter of your body weight, and 30 pounds is more than that for me. But if you weighed 200 pounds, there’s still no sense in carrying a 50-pound pack just because you can…unless of course you prefer many heavier creature comforts. In general though, lighter pack weights lead to more successful longer hikes. In training, I gradually increase pack weight on training hikes, using the contents I will actually carry on the hiking trip. I once put a dumbbell and bags of beans and rice in my pack but that did not work out so well. Replicate your planned hiking experience in as many ways as possible.

Make a formal gear list and weigh everything using a backpacking scale. Don’t take anything you really don’t need, although it does take experience to determine what “need” truly means. For instance, I do now carry a one-pound chair when I backpack because it’s worth it! When it comes to gearing up, checking out the gear selection at REI Co-op is a great place to start.

A Note on Trekking Poles

I am frequently astonished that anyone would question the need for trekking poles, especially when carrying a heavy pack. I’ve found that poles are extremely helpful on uneven terrain and they are of critical importance in taking the load off my knees when I am hiking downhill, as well as giving me an advantage when ascending. With poles, I have the added advantage of my upper body strength to help with the movement, almost becoming a four-legged animal. I prefer the collapsible (bungee-cord) kind to the telescoping poles.

To me they seem more stable and reduce to suitcase size if you are flying. I have an old pair of Black Diamond poles I have used so much I recently had to replace the wrist straps. Otherwise, they are in good condition. I prefer cork handles as they provide better ventilation for your hands. I usually wear cycling gloves when using poles, however, as this protects my palms from rubbing. See the TrailGroove trekking pole guide for more info.

Know the Route

Phone apps have become increasingly popular in recent years, but they cannot replace a paper map. Things can happen to your phone and trails can sometimes become obscure. It’s fairly easy to follow trails in a place like the Grand Canyon but not always so in the deep woods. Thankfully, most “official” trails are well blazed, although distractions can lead to following what seems like “the trail” but actually is not. If you get to a point where you can’t see any more blazes, go back to the last blaze you saw and start again. You will often see the next trail marker when you take another look.

Before you set out on your adventure, catch up on the latest trail reports for your destination. Closures, detours, etc. can all happen at the last minute. Online resources include, but are not limited to park websites / groups, trip reports, and even an old-fashioned call to the ranger station can be a great way to keep up. Plan in advance if permits are required and make sure you obtain those beforehand or ensure that you can obtain them in person once you arrive. Additionally, familiarize yourself with regulations prior to a trip.

Once the plan and itinerary is set (and despite modern satellite communication devices, I still like to make someone else aware of this prior to setting out), one of the last things that is typically done is getting that food packed – the right food, the right amount, and the right way to pack it are all important considerations. You can find more on packing backpacking food here.

As a last step, check the weather forecast before you head out so you’ll know what to expect and can plan accordingly. It is obviously ideal to have the gear you’ll need for any weather occurrence no matter the forecast, but if it will be particularly cold for example, swapping in the warmer of two insulating jackets or a pair of warmer socks to sleep in can be considered…and so on for other types of anticipated weather conditions.

Practice, Practice, Practice

There’s so much more to backpacking, but you get the idea. Learn all you can, test yourself and your gear, and prepare carefully. New backpackers will benefit from a trial run with an overnight backpacking trip close to home to test body, gear, tent, sleeping system, cooking setup, et cetera. One can gradually ramp up from there. When you get it all dialed in, it’s a beautiful thing. Have fun out there!

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 58 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here with additional photos.