First Backpacking Experience

[mts4602]

This is really long, but if you are bored, read on.

I feel like telling this story because I think it's a good description of the many things a first time backpacker can do wrong. Some of you might get a good laugh out of it as well.

I first went backpacking about three years ago when I was a senior in high school. I always thought it would be fun to do but had just never done it. Plus I was clueless about what to do. I went with five guys, two of which were eagle scouts and the other three of us had never been before. We decided to go to the Smokies and climb Mount Sterling. It was sometime in November and we had a three day weekend so thats when we decided to go.

Whether or not my eagle scout friends advised us on what to do and what not to do and bring, I really don't know. Or maybe it was just me thinking "it's no big deal, what do they know". I can't remember. I certainly didn't bring the right stuff. On my body, and in my pack was, you guessed it: ALL COTTON, plus every little thing I certainly didn't need. My pack weighed around 40 pounds and of course I thought it was fine. Oh, and picking it up the night before to bring it down stairs was "no big deal", haha.

So we leave around 4 right after school. We get to the Big Creek Campground around 11 that night after coming from Louisville, KY. After getting our gear ready and dividing our food up between each of us, it was close to midnight before we started off on the Big Creek Trail towards campsite 37. When we started out it was drizzling and pretty cold being November. I put on 3 or 4 layers of clothes, not knowing that it's bad to sweat and my cotton clothes won't dry. So off we go and not to long into it I am sweating like crazy. My friends realize what I did and freak out. So I take off a couple layers. They didn't tell me it was serious, and I didn't know until later, but they said we really need to get to camp soon. I was shaking like crazy at the time. Finally we get to camp at around 3am and as others have said, there were tents everywhere. We set up our tents and I managed to get pretty warm in my sleeping bag falling asleep around 4am.

We woke up around 11am and were the only ones in camp which was actually pretty nice. We started out around noon on Shallow Fork Trail up towards Mount Sterling. I am beat down already, not to mention I was getting over being sick the week before. As many of you know, this trail KICKED MY BUTT. There were times when I could only go for 30 seconds before I had to stop. But never the less we made it to camp, again in darkness. We cooked up some mountain house food. I had the chicken with rice...thinking it was more chicken than rice..NOPE. You would think they'd call it rice with little chunks of chicken, but I digress. I hate rice, so I got down what I could without throwing up, haha. The fire tower was awesome even though we couldn't see anything. And even though we got to camp last we got the little spot on the side that is secluded from everyone else...so that was cool as well.

That night was HORRIBLE. I don't know what the temperature was but having done research about Mount Sterling after the hike, I'm surprised it didn't snow on us. My QUEST brand sleeping bag, although rated to 20 degrees was a piece of c**p. Though I'm sure I did sleep, I don't remember acutally falling asleep. Just moving around made cold air come in it seemed from everywhere.

We had planned on staying the whole next day atop Mount Sterling just to "chill", but being so cold and miserable we elected to hike down Baxter Creek Trail. I did manage to lay in the sun by myself for a few minutes before we left. There are those few moments when something so simple makes you happy and that was one of them. As we hiked down I found out my boots were too small for me. When I decided to use them for the trip I thought that they were a little snug, but thought "oh well, they've never hurt before". After 10 miles of hiking and 40 pounds slamming down on them. They sure did hurt.

After finally making it back to the car, we drove to the KFC and ate mucho chicken. Mountain Mammas was closed for some reason. Having left the mountain a day early, we checked into a holiday inn and sat in the hot tub for hours. After finally relaxing, I could not walk. I limped everywhere.

It was on the drive home when I realized I actually liked what I did. For some reason I wanted to do it again, though a little better prepared. For me it was the adventure. We were out on our own, hiking through the forrest with everything we needed on our backs...at 2 am no less. What were our friends doing at the time? Certainly nothing as interesting. Even with all my mistakes it was still a great trip and a great story. Plus I now know not to be stupid and come prepared.

So for any of you that are actually reading this and are thinking about going backpacking for the first time...do your research, come prepared, and you will have a great time no matter what you do.

[Ramble~On]

Thanks for sharing !

I've had my share of trips like that...I remember lugging canned food and cooking pots into the woods and cooking over a fire....cheap, single layer, hexagon dome tents, bulky external frame packs, COTTON ..."D" cell flashlights, big leather, lug sole hiking boots...no sleeping pad.....nasty sleeping bags made out of ?..HEAVY...Worthless gear......
BUT....like you I got bit by the bug...and I always wanted to do it again....
I'd go home and think about what went wrong and what I wished I'd have had...What to take along (or not take along) for the next hike......and the hikes kept getting better and I'd enjoy myself more and more...
This process hasn't stopped either and I admit to being a gear addict which leads to being a hikaholic.
So...on your drive home you realized that you actually liked it and at that point the bug probably bit you....hiking around in the woods with everything you need carried on you back is an ever evolving science.

Great story thanks !

[Mags]

I think we all had similar experiences on trips like that! Thans for sharing. It brought back some memories!

Something I wrote previously:

An account of my first backpacking trip in 1996. I did not know what I was doing to say the least! But, everyone has to start somewhere. With me on that first trip was my buddy Tim. We both went to the same Catholic elementary school, worked in the same hospital, and (along with our other buddy Leo) probably spent enough to money on beers and wings in “Dave’s Bar and Grill” to pay for the addition they put up shortly after I moved to Colorado. I do doubt Tim’s sanity since he left a lovely, intelligent, attractive girlfriend to join me for the last stretch of my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. His sanity was further questioned four years later when he left his a lovely, intelligent, attractive WIFE to join me for the last stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail. This letter was published in the September 2001 issue of Backpacker Magazine.

A Thru-Hiker is Born.

Years ago, my friend Tim and I started our summer with a trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I had done dayhikes and camping while in the Boyscouts, but no backpacking. I was 25 pounds overweight, and my gear included a Rambo-sized knife, a flashlight with a big 6-volt battery, and enough canned goods to stock a 7-Eleven. But we planned to only hike 12 miles, so how difficult could that be?


The first day, I was out of breath as we hiked, but enjoyed the sunshine and the fantastic views-until we realized we'd forgotten the map. Tim said he remembered the way, so not to worry. Around 6 PM, we saw the same campsite we had used the previous night. We'd hiked in a 12-mile circle! We set up the tent, didn't bother to eat dinner, and collapsed in our sleeping bags.


Skip ahead two years to a sunny August day. I'm on the summit of Kathadin, Maine, a big smile on my face because I had just complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. On that first, mistake-prone, trip, I got lost, carried too much, and in the end enjoyed myself thoroughly. Out of th adventure came a love for backpacking.


The view from that first trip:

[jesse]

Spiritwind,
I had everything you mentioned, plus a lantern, and axe. Now I would probably be considered a gram weenie by some. I love ultralite backpacking.

[Chaco Taco]

When I was 8 and in Boy Scouts, we had our first trip to Mt Sterling also. I was 8 years old and my parents arranged for me to use a friends pack. No hipbelt. Also, got a brand new pair of boots, never used them prior to puting them on on my way to meet the group the am of the trip. No idea what I was doinga nd wondered why everyone else had hip belts and I didnt. Needless to say, I completed the hike that weekend. After that, I saved my money for the next trip in Spring and bought my first external frame pack and kicked everyones butt hiking up Mt Rogers.
Stopped hiking for a couple of years after that and sold all of my gear in my 20's. Then, when I turned 28, I saved and bought one piece of gear every few weeks and stepped back out at Mt Rogers when I was 29. I havent looked back since. 2 weeks til I hike again for 10 days!!!

[bigmac_in]

Just about everyone has a story like this. My buddy, Canteen Boy, and I have done a few section hikes on the AT in Georgia. I thought I was fairly well prepared, even did some homework here on Whiteblaze, but I was still overloaded with a pack over 35 pounds. Canteen boy was extremely weighed down. He was using an old pack that Grandpa must have used, had it loaded to the hilt, including the following - lantern, 5 qt. metal cook pot, an old sleeping bag that HAD to weigh 6-8 pounds, a 2 pound summer sausage, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, a single burner coleman stove, and of course a boy scout canteen (thus the trail name). Each time we go out, we get a little lighter. This year, I was under 25, and CB was under 30. I'm already looking to lighten the load for next time.

[littlelaurel59]

There is music in nature for those who will listen.

Such reads a quote on a t-shirt my wife found in New Zealand. Most WBers have heard, seen, and felt that music. For many of us it is a very spiritual experience.

Once you have experienced it, you want it again and again and again. It is a music more powerful than ill-advised heavy gear,poorly fitting
backpacks, sore backs and blistered feet, wet clothes and cold everything.

All of us have memories of "miserable" trips that we love to tell over and over, because in spite of being "miserable" we heard the music, and that made us want to go again. And so we keep going out to hear the music.

Those who can't hear the music will never understand.

[Roland]

There is music in nature for those who will listen.

Such reads a quote on a t-shirt my wife found in New Zealand. Most WBers have heard, seen, and felt that music. For many of us it is a very spiritual experience.

Once you have experienced it, you want it again and again and again. It is a music more powerful than ill-advised heavy gear,poorly fitting
backpacks, sore backs and blistered feet, wet clothes and cold everything.

All of us have memories of "miserable" trips that we love to tell over and over, because in spite of being "miserable" we heard the music, and that made us want to go again. And so we keep going out to hear the music.

Those who can't hear the music will never understand.

Great post!

[SawnieRobertson]

There is music in nature for those who will listen.

Such reads a quote on a t-shirt my wife found in New Zealand. Most WBers have heard, seen, and felt that music. For many of us it is a very spiritual experience.

Once you have experienced it, you want it again and again and again. It is a music more powerful than ill-advised heavy gear,poorly fitting
backpacks, sore backs and blistered feet, wet clothes and cold everything.

All of us have memories of "miserable" trips that we love to tell over and over, because in spite of being "miserable" we heard the music, and that made us want to go again. And so we keep going out to hear the music.

Those who can't hear the music will never understand.

This is one of the loveliest posts I have ever read, one that reaches to the depths of the heart of the situation. In one miserable day/night, we become addicts.--Kinnickinic

[Kerosene]

Here's a picture of me near the end of my first AT section hike in April 1973, from Delaware Water Gap to Unionville. Note the jeans, jeans jacket, huge synthetic sleeping bag covered in white plastic, and an early version of a nylon pack from Sears. I wouldn't be surprised if the pack weighed 45 pounds. We were extremely fortunate that we didn't encounter much in the way of rain.