8 Mistakes Beginner Backpackers Make

i know all about this because i have made all of these mistakes some of them like just today so [Music] hello lovely people of the internet welcome to eight mistakes beginner backpackers make this video is all about how you can have a much better backpacking experience by not making some newbie mistakes that i really frequently see on the trail i have taken let's see about 50 women backpacking now a lot of them it was their first time and so one of the key things that i am hyper focused on is getting that pack lighter so let's start with the big number one thing that people really often get wrong and that is not thinking light when it comes to your food so when you're at the grocery store you really want to be thinking about can i buy food that can be rehydrated vanilla honey cinnamon peanut butter chocolate hazelnut almond butter that sounds like nutella yeah let's do it and see butter what most backpacking trails that i've been on did have plenty of water available not in the desert but rather in mountains where there are lakes and streams a glacier runoff melting snow so for me water is usually not a problem if you are backpacking in the desert you're going to have to carry it so maybe it's a moot point but for me i'm always thinking about how can i bring food that is not already hydrated i really like these organic mary jane farm ones they are a little bit smaller than some of the other brands but they don't have sort of that weird chemical taste they actually taste really good so here i have a bear burrito i've got protein i've got fiber i've got tomatoes sweet corn red bell peppers onions garlic herb spices and citric acid other things to consider are if you're going to bring peanut butter or some kind of spread which is a really good idea that you don't want to bring the entire jar not only are you bringing the weight of either a plastic or worse glass jar with you but you have all this peanut butter that you're probably honestly not going to eat i like to bring little individual packets so that i can have different flavors little things to look forward to i also really like kale chips to keep my veggie intake high power bars can be really good as well i really like to bring some nuts and fruit for my lunch meals so that i don't have to stop and cook anything and they also pack a lot of energy per ounce also bring powdered milk hydrated milk is heavy but powdered milk honestly it's not that bad you've probably had it before without even realizing it and it will remove a lot of weight so just have these things in mind when you're packing your food powdered potatoes pasta these can all be really good choices the number two big mistake i see people making is not going as light as possible i think a lot of people don't realize that you really only should bring two pairs of clothes when you go backpacking one that you hike in and one that you sleep in and don't try to tell me that's disgusting because it just doesn't make sense to bring extra pairs of hiking clothes that you are then getting sweaty and disgusting within five minutes so really trust me on this i've advised so many women to do this they were all really grateful to not have the extra weight and did not have to pick what they were going to wear each day bring enough underwear bring ample socks but really only bring like two pairs of leggings and two shirt situations and you will thank me later i also like to bring some baby wipes that are dried and in a pellet and can be hydrated same with toothpaste just bringing little toothpaste dots rather than a whole entire toothpaste every little way that you can get creative do so because every gram seriously matters when you're climbing up a mountain with a 50 pound pack on i do have a backpacking checklist with all of the gear that i've been using for almost a decade i'm gonna edit in the checklist right here there's a link below where you can sign up to receive it and it will be super helpful for you for figuring out which things you should be bringing another big thing that people don't always do is try your pack on in the store with weight in it before you buy it the last thing that you want is to have a pack that doesn't really fit you right and that trust me is just the recipe for misery you want a pack that is big enough you want a pack that truly fits your body packs that are designed for female bodies are different than for male bodies so if you're going to borrow a backpack from someone just make sure that you try it on with weight in it because it feels way different when it has weight in it versus not and just make sure that it actually fits you if you go to say an rei or a similar store they pretty much always have an expert in the backpacking area who will give you some weight to put in the pack if you have to order them online then give yourself plenty of time order a few different kinds so that you can make sure that you test them and obviously check the return policy on them and while we're on the topic of gear i made this mistake today we just thought it would be fun to go to a whole bunch of stores today to find a whole bunch of things that i waited till the last minute to buy so we're at rei they have a curbside pickup which is great because it's really dangerous for me to go in there i will not be able to just pick up the fuel i ordered i never have gotten out of there without spending 200 bucks [Music] oh that's a lot smaller than i thought it was going to be yes yes don't leave gear buying until the last minute i actually have a closet full of stuff it's like a little magic closet that i'll take you into right now [Music] but what i didn't do is make sure that i had a bear can a stove and fuel for this particular trip so i was just running all around town trying to find these things and it was actually impossible i went to seven different stores i was calling and if you live in a sporty area at all for some reason this summer just things are selling out and back ordered but if you're watching this with enough lead time buy your gear now don't wait until the last minute because a lot of people are trying to get outside and enjoy the wilderness right now hello number five big mistake that i find first-time backpackers make is leave in mad trace there are a lot of different ways that you can enjoy the wilderness by leaving no trace and there's a whole website dedicated to this so the first thing to do to make sure that you're not leaving a big trace is to avoid social trails so if you see little side paths off of the main trail maybe to cut out of something or to avoid like a mud puddle um don't take those unless the mud puddle is gonna come up to your shins but if you have good shoes like we already talked about that are waterproof and have decent tread you're gonna be fine walking through some mud you know going off trail just in general is uh worse for the wilderness than you may think so it can harm the desert definitely meadows these are a lot of vulnerable ecosystems and stepping on these plants can cause them to not grow back and then there's less food for the bees etc etc so have that in mind before you go off trail additionally never wash anything in a water source if you're going to use the bathroom walk at least 200 feet away from the water source bury it and pack out your tissue please don't backpack if it if you can't do that because leaving it out here is just disgusting for other people to come up across but also like it lasts a lot longer than you think and it's so easy to just bring a zip log and pack it out if you don't want to see it then duct tape the zip pack don't do any washing in a stream don't wash your dishes in it collect some water carry it away from the stream just like you would if you're going to the bathroom and do your washing there otherwise it all flows down to people who are lower than you and then they're having to drink your dirty dish water or whatever you may be washing in there the number six mistake i see beginner backpackers make and this is a big one is strapping a bunch of stuff to the outside of your pack and the reason why this is a problem is if it happens to rain which even if the forecast says it won't you can't be sure in the mountains they do their own thing if your sleeping bag gets wet and you're in an area where it's it's not going to clear up and dry often that puts you in a pretty dangerous position because you can't get warm uh also almost every hike i've been on has gotten really windy at some point and i've done them all over the world at this point and having something to the outside of your pack will act as a sail and it might not seem like a big deal but when the wind is really heavy which can absolutely happen in iceland patagonia alaska you will just be thrown around like a marionette so i really recommend a 75 liter because this can basically hold everything you need for eight to nine days and i pretty much bring almost exactly the same things even for shorter trips like a sleeping bag and all the gear so this is a really perfect size for backpacking number seven mistake beginner backpackers make is not having the right gear or not checking the gear before you go i've had it happen before where i rented a tent and it had a leak in it and unfortunately that's really hard to detect until you're out there having an issue but that particular hike i got caught in snow and rain and i was just getting dripped on all night and it was not fun but if you're borrowing gear or you're renting gear you can at least check the air mattress for leaks you can make sure that the sleeping bag that you're borrowing is rated for the temperatures that you might encounter and make sure it's all as light as it can be the colder weather you go the more expensive it's going to be to have ultralight gear but it's so worth it as we talked about earlier in this video so rent it if it's getting too expensive for you rei's a great place make sure that you get that reservation early because there's it's been a popular summer for outdoorsy adventures so you just want to make sure that you can actually get that gear or if you're borrowing from a friend just ask them how recently they used it and if it's still working well for them wow nice sunset the number eight biggest mistake that i see beginner backpackers make is not taking care of your feet so when i went to buy some hiking shoes i looked on amazon and i went with the best reviewed ones and when i got them they had no tread on the bottom at all and i mean when you're out backpacking you're probably going to be going up and down rocky mountains like the ones behind me or like who knows what so you really need shoes with good tread that's super important they should also be waterproof and provide good ankle support for you so these are high enough they're also great in the water so i can go through puddles rivers mud and it's no big deal and they're super comfortable they fit me lace them up really tight tighter than you think is even reasonable because that'll stop your foot from moving and you won't get blisters as easily blisters are a trip ruiner they're one of the biggest reasons why people suffer when they backpack so ring blister bandages and as soon as one is forming take care of it make sure that you stop everything and put that blister bandage on because it will only get worse and wow this is a gorgeous sunset behind me i was thinking of so many more mistakes people make as i made this video but you that's part of the fun is learning and refining it and figuring out what works better for you other people might have totally different advice to mine this is just what i've learned throughout the years and what i teach people but you have to find your own way and also know that backpacking is just so much more mental than it is physical it's definitely not a competitive sport so just get out there and enjoy know that it's always the hardest in the beginning and that you're gonna have moments of heaven and moments of hell but the reward is you get to spend the night in places like this and there's no one even around me right now so it's pretty magical i hope that you liked this video let me know what kinds of things you want to know about the outdoors and again the checklist we're going to edit it right here you can sign up for that in the show notes below yes i'm listening because i have invisalign if you got to the end of this video let me know give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends and i will see you soon for another amazing video on how to enjoy the outdoors [Music] you

Channel: Be My Travel Muse

Views: 2,546

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Id: 8o4MXfDUcQc

Length: 13min 2sec (782 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 12 2020