Backpacking 101

All you need to know to take your first overnight backpacking trip

By Andrew Engelson

Taking your first backpacking trip is a leap of faith. It’s one thing to head out into the wilderness for a day hike, leaving the bears and things that go bump in the night behind you as you return to your car. On a day hike, you don’t need to bring your home with you—a soft bed and showers are waiting for you.

But by limiting yourself to day hiking, you’re missing something about wilderness. Starlight like you’ve never seen it before. The satisfaction of cooking a delicious meal 20 miles from the nearest supermarket. Waking up to the sounds of hermit thrushes echoing among the cedars.

Backpacking is more challenging than dayhiking. But its rewards are well worth the extra effort. You’ll need a little new knowledge, some gear and extra preparation. Most people are surprised at how easy spending a night in the woods is. You don’t need thousands of dollars worth of shiny titanium gear, and you don’t need to be Sir Edmund Hillary.

If you’ve only day hiked, you should try overnight backpacking. You owe it to yourself to experience a night in wilderness. Once you start, you’ll be back for more.

Making the Switch From Day Hiking to Overnight

Most of you have probably taken a day hike before. If not, try some day hikes before leaping into overnights. Get comfortable with your hiking boots, confident in pacing yourself on trail, and knowledgeable about the basics of hiking.

Some things apply similarly to day hikes and overnights. Always bring the 10 essentials: maps, compass, flashlight/extra batteries, extra food, extra clothing and shelter, sunglasses/sunscreen, first aid kit, pocket knife, matches/firestarter, and adequate water.

Whether you’re out for the day or a week, you should practice Leave No Trace ethics: plan ahead and prepare, travel on established trails and camp in  established or durable camps, dispose of waste properly, leave nature as you find it, minimize campfire impacts, respect and don’t disturb wildlife, and be considerate of others.

Overnight backpacking does require extra gear, extra planning, and extra knowledge and skills.Before you upgrade from day hikes to overnights, talk to friends who backpack. Try to schedule a one-night trip with someone who’s been out before. Take a class, or join a club such as the Mountaineers that leads guided overnight hikes.

Before you go

Information is a critical part of an enjoyable and safe backpacking trip. It’s a bummer to get to a trailhead all ready for your first trip, only to discover the trail is closed or still under snow. Read guidebooks. Browse WTA’s Hiking Guide of hike descriptions. Search WTA’s trip reports to read what other hikers are encountering on a trail. Call ahead to the ranger station to find out if the trail you’ve chosen is open, and what permits and passes are required.

Creating a Trip Plan

One thing you should always do before you leave on your journeys into the wild is leave a trip plan with someone you trust. Instruct them when you plan to leave, exactly where you’re going and when you’re expected to return (and when to call 911 if you don’t return). Leave a detailed itinerary of campsites and areas you plan to visit, which trailhead you’ll be parking at, and the make and license number of your car. Leave the names of all hikers on the trip and any cell phone numbers if they will be carrying them. Also, sign in and sign out at trailhead registers. You can find a printable trip plan created by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department here.

Before you leave, make sure you’ve packed all your gear ahead of time. Get a good night’s sleep the day before — you may find your first night in the woods isn’t exactly deep slumber. Also, be sure to complete an itinerary and expected time back and leave it with someone you know. Make arrangements so that if you aren’t back by a certain time, this person should call 911 to initiate a search. Don’t depend on cell phone reception in the mountains to contact this person. Service is often spotty at best, even at popular trailheads and major mountain highways.

What To Bring

Packing for an overnight trip requires more gear and planning than a day hike. The big issue for backpacking is balancing gear needs for safety and comfort with keeping pack weight light enough to carry it for miles. A pack loaded with the necessary gear, food, and two quarts of water should generally weigh between 30 and 40 pounds for a 2-4 day trip. Longer trips require heavier pack loads.

New ultralight gear is definitely helping backpackers balance necessity, convenience and weight. But much of this gear is still relatively expensive. Still, if you stick to the basics, there’s no reason you should have to choose between thousands of dollars of ultralight gear and an impossibly heavy pack. A bathroom scale can be a great help to weigh your pack and decide what goes and what stays. Here are some things no backpacking trip should be without.

Hikers at Headlight Basin, by Mytho-Man.

Clothing

Temperatures can range widely in the mountains, even in the height of summer. For safety and comfort, it’s crucial you keep warm when you’re in camp or resting, and also stay cool when you’re huffing it up the trail with a pack on. The key to clothing in the backcountry is layering. By bringing lightweight, but well-insulating layers, you can add or peel off clothing as your activity level or the outside temperature changes.

The first, or base, layer should be made of a wicking synthetic material that helps carry moisture away from your body, and can insulate even if wet. Polypropylene, Capilene, Thermax or other fabrics are ideal for this purpose. Bring both tops and bottoms of long underwear of this variety.

The second, or middle layer should be a warm insulator. A fleece jacket, a down jacket or wool garment (or combinations of these) can help insulate you.

The third layer is a windproof and waterproof layer. This means a water-shedding material, preferably one that “breathes,” such as the famous GoreTex. Bring both jacket and pants.

Other clothing to bring includes shirt, pants, sun hat, gloves and bandana. A warm knit hat of wool or fleece is absolutely essential. Shorts can be great in the sun,but when brushy trail or stinging nettles are encountered, a good pair of lightweight hiking pants is ideal. Avoid cotton clothing. The old mountaineers’ bit of advice, “cotton kills,” is true. Cotton is a bad insulator when wet. Stick to synthetic clothing, wool, and waterproof fabrics to keep you warm—even your underwear.

You’ll find an infinite variety of hiking socks, from wool to synthetic materials. To prevent blisters, many backpackers chose to wear two pairs of socks: an outer insulating sock, and a thin polyester liner sock.

Boots come in a wide range of sizes and prices. Find a boot that has good ankle support, doesn’t have a lot of motion in the heel, has plenty of room in the toe for the downhill stretches, and has some level of water repellency. Work with an experienced gear retailer to fit a boot for your hiking needs.

Backpack

You’ll also need a backpack to carry the things you’ll need for your night in the woods. Most backpacks sold today are internal frame, as opposed to the older external frame packs. Either variety should work fine for on-trail backpacking. The important thing to remember is that 80 percent of the pack weight should be carried by your hips. To do this, the pack must fit correctly, and this is especially the case with internal frame packs, which have less adjustability than external frame packs. Get good advice from an experienced outdoor gear retailer and try on many varieties to find one that feels comfortable.

You’ll also need to consider what size overnight pack you’ll need. If you think you’ll be doing 5-day or longer trips, you’ll want a pack that can hold at least 70 liters (4,200 cubic inches) of gear. For most 2-4 day trips, you can get by with a pack volume of between 40 and 70 liters (2,400 to 4,200 cubic inches). If weight is a concern, consider an ultralight pack or one that focuses on the bare essentials.

Tent

Again, the choices here are seemingly endless. If price is no object, you can find an extremely lightweight tent that can stand up to all but the very worst conditions. Most of us don’t have that luxury, so you’ll want to balance price, weight and features. What you should consider is what seasons you’ll be camping in, where you’ll generally go and how many people will use the tent. If you have a significant other or frequent backpacking partner, you can split the tent parts among the two of you to reduce weight. Many companies offer lightweight three-season tents that are ideal for backpacking and are a snap to set up.
Tents almost universally come in two parts: the inner tent, and a separate rain fly. This system allows the tent to ventilate and helps prevent condensation inside the tent while also keeping rain off. Some hikers bring a small piece of tarp for a ground cover to protect the bottom of the tent. Always make sure the ground cover is two inches shorter than the edges of the tent. Putting a tarp bigger than the footprint of the tent under your tent will funnel water to you and leave you completely soaked.

Sleeping Bag and Pads

You’re spending a night in the wilds, so you’ll need a sleeping bag to keep you warm. Even in summer, temperatures in the mountains can dip below freezing at night. But sometimes you’ll have a hot or warm night requiring less insulation. Choose a bag that insulates you beyond the coldest temperatures you think you’ll encounter.

Sleeping bags are generally rated with a degree, indicating the lowest temperature you can encounter and still sleep comfortably in the bag. A  rating of 20 degrees should keep you comfortable in weather 20 degrees or warmer. The ratings are notoriously fickle — if you’re a warm sleeper or a cold sleeper, “comfort” might not follow the ratings exactly. Most backpackers carry a “three-season” bag, with a comfort rating between 10 and 35 degrees. You should tend to buy a bag a little on the warm side—you can always vent the back by keeping the zipper open. You can add five to nine degrees by adding a silk bag liner.

Pads can be complicated or very simple. Many backpackers like Therm-a-Rests or other “self-inflating” pads (you generally still need to blow them up) for comfort and heat insulation. If you’re looking to save weight or money, an inexpensive closed-cell pad can often fit the bill nicely.

Photo by Dave Schiefelbein.

Food and Water

One of the pleasures (and challenges) of overnight hiking is feeding yourself. A warm meal eaten on a boulder overlooking the peaks of the North Cascades is something you won’t experience on a day hike. Because you’re trying to balance nutrition with conserving weight, you’ll want to focus on foods with high energy and nutrition content for their weight. Since water makes food heavier, dehydrated foods are easier to pack, and can be rehydrated easily and quickly. There are myriad options of prepackaged backpacking meals. But they tend to be expensive, and meals advertised for two hikers are sometimes only sufficient for one hiker after a hard day on trail. You can make your own simple backpacking meals much more cheaply. Boxed macaroni and  cheese, supplemented with a small can of tuna, is a classic  backpacking dinner (rebag in resealable plastic bags to reduce weight, and remember to bring some dehydrated milk powder to mix with the cheese packet). Angel-hair pasta tossed with a package of dried pesto sauce, some pine nuts, a little olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes makes a quick, gourmet dinner. Instant soups are a great appetizer and warm-up while you’re waiting for your meal to cook.

Lunches usually consist of dense, calorie-rich foods such as bagels, cheese, nuts, salami, trail mix, dried fruit, powdered hummus, jerky, M&Ms, drink mixes (such as powdered Gatorade) and energy bars. Snack throughout the day to keep energy levels higher and to avoid feeling full.

Breakfast options range from the old standby — instant oatmeal — to more creative ideas such as homemade granola, instant soups, toaster pastries, or even pancakes laden with fresh mountain huckleberries.

To cook your meals, you’ll need a lightweight backpacking stove. Stoves generally break into two categories: white gas and butane/propane. White gas stoves have a metal fuel bottle you refill with camping gasoline, and these generally burn hotter than canister stoves.You usually need to prime the stove, which adds time to the cooking process.

Canister stoves are simpler to light. Fuel is contained in a sealed cylinder that you toss out when empty. Some downsides include more expensive fuel, and more waste. But canister stoves are extremely lightweight and easy to use.

When cooking, take care to set your stove on a flat, stable surface well away from dry grass or other flammable materials. If simmering isn’t required, boil water and mix directly in the meal package, or a lightweight bowl to ease clean up. In addition to a spoon, bowl, and cooking pot you’ll want a pot-grabber for lifting your pot if it doesn’t have handles. An insulated cup is handy for hot drinks and soups.

Clean your dishes 200 feet away from water sources using a drop or two of biodegradable soap if you need it. Store all food and scented toiletries in a bear bag hung from a tree.

When you’re in the backcountry you’ll always want to treat your water. Even if a stream looks crystal clear, it can harbor all sorts of bacteria and parasites, including the dreaded Giardia, which can set you back several weeks with intestinal trouble. To treat water, you’ll want to use either a filter, chemical treatment, or the new electric devices. Filters pull bacteria and parasites from the water. They’re effective, simple to use, moderately expensive and generally weigh from 10 ounces to a pound. Less time-consuming and lighter in weight are chemical treatments. Most effective of these is AquaMira from McNett, a two-step process that results in fewer chemical tastes. Yet another option is MSR’s MIOX, which uses electricity and salt to create a mixed oxidant treatment that kills bad bugs. It’s lightweight, simple and effective, but costs about $140.

Hikers take a rest atop Iron Peak in the Teanaway region. By Dave Schiefelbein.

Setting up Camp

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics. Pack out everything you bring in. Keep your campsite looking better than you left it. When choosing a site, pick an existing campsite, or if none is available, camp on a sturdy surface well away from the edge of lakes. Avoid setting up camp on fragile meadows.

You’ll want to find a campsite where you can hang a bear bag (a stuff sack containing your food and scented toiletries) 10 feet away from a tree trunk and 12 feet off the ground. Some backcountry campsites have bear wires for this purpose.

When choosing a site, be sure to give other campers plenty of space. Try to put your camp out of sight of other campers. Keep noises to a minimum—let the sounds of nature prevail. You’ll want to set up camp relatively near a water source (but not right on the shoreline) so you can easily get water for drinking and cooking. Always wash your dishes 200 feet (70 adult paces) from water sources, using only a drop or two of biodegradable soap if you need it.

When nature calls while you’re out in nature,you’ll want to relieve yourself 200 feet from water sources. Pack along a small, lightweight plastic shovel for doing “number two” and dig a cathole. Catholes should be about 6-8 inches deep. Some folks burn their toilet paper, but forest fires have been started by this practice, so it’s best to just bury the paper with everything else. Fully cover the hole and replace pine needles, etc. to keep the forest looking like it did before you arrived.

Navigation

As a beginning backpacker you’ll be hiking on trails, so you won’t need extensive navigation to get you to your destination. You will need a topographic map of the trail and surrounding area, plus a compass. Know how to use them if you get lost.

Maps should be topographic. Green Trails and Custom Correct Maps are best suited for hikers because they have been updated with current trail information. USGS topo maps have more detail, but aren’t updated as frequently. You can also print out maps from a variety of software programs, even on waterproof paper.

Some useful tips when heading up the trail: note the time you leave, so you can gauge how long your return trip will take. Follow your progress on the topographic map. You can photocopy the hike description from your guidebook to conserve weight.Use your compass to triangulate: take a bearing on a known landmark with your compass, and then draw a line from that point on your map along that compass bearing. Where that line intersects the trail you’re on is the approximate location. Remember to set the declination on your compass, too. In Washington state, magnetic north is approximately 20 degrees to the east of true north. Refer to your compass instructions for more details. An altimeter, if you can afford it, is another handy navigation tool.

Also, as you hike in, look backward occasionally to note how the trail looks from the other direction so you'll recognize landmarks on your return. Write notes on your map concerning trail forks, or routes that you take off trail (such as a side trip up a nearby peak.)

Overnight backpacking opens a wealth of new hiking opportunities. Follow these steps, get together a few hiking friends and try your first backpacking trip. It may be the beginning of a whole new avocation!