Looking to break my wife in....advice greatly appreciated!

[clash9]

Hello everyone,

I am a section hiker of the AT (I've done 500 mi or so over the last few years). I live near Philadelphia. My wife wants to start backpacking with me, which thrills me. But I have to be careful, I have spooked her from a few sports in the past by starting off too ambitiously. Kayaking, mountain biking...to name a few. I don't want to add any more to the list! I want to take her out for a 2 nighter (12-15) miles or so, 2-4 hours from Philly...Something with mellow elevation changes, hopefully some streams or, rivers, ponds etc...a hike with a little bit of everything. I am hoping to ease her into it so that it will stick, I need the perfect hike, or at least something approaching perfect. Does anyone know of this wonderful mythical place?

Thanks so much for the feedback, you may save my marriage-just kidding!

[bigcranky]

How about the Batona Trail in the Pine Barrens? Close by, flat, streams, allows overnight backpacking. I wouldn't go until the fall, because I expect it would be buggy and hot in the summer.
Basic advice from someone who's been there: bring a real tent, a good sleeping pad, some red wine and a lot of chocolate. Keep the miles down and the pace reasonable. Skip the freezer bag meals and make your best camp food. Two nights is perfect.

Have fun!

[Ewker]

why even start her off with a 12-15 mile backpacking trip? If she hasn't been before why not start her off with something shorter? My gf wanted to go backpacking at 61. I started her off with a 2 mile hike and we have increased the distance and difficulty each time. She totally enjoys getting out now.

[BigRing]

I just went through the same situation. It sounds like you have done a good job introducing her to hiking. My suggestion would be to pick a campsite location that is a short distance...3-4 miles, pitch camp, and then go on a day hike. I picked a campsite location next to a stream,....so she could soak her feet after the hike.....! Good luck!

[Wild Type]

Based on your previous history, you might want to start off with the five mile paved loop in Valley Forge Park then work up to include some of their basic unpaved trails, then add in a pack and some weight along the hilly regions. Once that is comfortable, then go with an overnighter on a larger trail system.

[sbhikes]

Jeez, why don't you just ask her how many miles and what kind of terraine she would like, rather than assuming she needs paved roads or only 2 miles.

[paistes5]

I think planning together will make it much more enjoyable. When I took the girlfriend a couple months ago we planned it together.

We did 27 miles in three days and ate nothing but trail food. She had a blast and can't wait to go again.

[Tipi Walter]

Hello everyone,

I am a section hiker of the AT (I've done 500 mi or so over the last few years). I live near Philadelphia. My wife wants to start backpacking with me, which thrills me. But I have to be careful, I have spooked her from a few sports in the past by starting off too ambitiously. Kayaking, mountain biking...to name a few. I don't want to add any more to the list! I want to take her out for a 2 nighter (12-15) miles or so, 2-4 hours from Philly...Something with mellow elevation changes, hopefully some streams or, rivers, ponds etc...a hike with a little bit of everything. I am hoping to ease her into it so that it will stick, I need the perfect hike, or at least something approaching perfect. Does anyone know of this wonderful mythical place?

Thanks so much for the feedback, you may save my marriage-just kidding!

I have spooked many women over many decades, and a few were even backpackers. In the last ten years I've taken many backpacking trips and about seven with my GF Little Mitten, and on a few of them she went haywire and got terminally spooked. Here's what I learned:

** Carry everything---her food, her water, her tent, her Thermarest. Why not? You'll be carrying 75 lbs anyway when you decide to go out for a 21 day solo trip w/o resupply, so get used to it.

** Keep the mileage low---between four and seven. YOU may want to go ten or twelve, she won't.

** Use separate tents or separate shelters---this is vital. Let her have her own space to read with her nice new headlamp, just set up camp for her and point her towards the lodge. Everybody needs their own space. She needs to get away from our snoring, and we need to toss and turn all night w/o waking her up. I like to get up at three in the morning and slap on the radio headphones.

** FOOD IS VITAL---but this is not so easy as it's hard to find cooked foods which will TRULY INSPIRE her appetite. It's a crap shoot, just take what you think she'll like cooked (don't worry about the snacks---she'll come with them on her own). Coffee in the morning? Better haul it.

** Consider taking CRAP you would never haul yourself---like a backpacking chair or interesting gardening magazines or whatever.

** Overdose on the beefy Thermarest---this is no place to shave off the ounces. If you want her happy, carry the biggest Thermarest you can find---Little Mitten likes her large Base Camp at nearly three inches thick. In the winter definitely consider the Exped Downmat 9 for her and she WILL NOT WANT TO COME HOME EVER AGAIN.

[Sierra Echo]

What is your wife? A horse?

[10-K]

I have spooked many women over many decades, and a few were even backpackers. In the last ten years I've taken many backpacking trips and about seven with my GF Little Mitten, and on a few of them she went haywire and got terminally spooked. Here's what I learned:

** Carry everything---her food, her water, her tent, her Thermarest. Why not? You'll be carrying 75 lbs anyway when you decide to go out for a 21 day solo trip w/o resupply, so get used to it.

** Keep the mileage low---between four and seven. YOU may want to go ten or twelve, she won't.

** Use separate tents or separate shelters---this is vital. Let her have her own space to read with her nice new headlamp, just set up camp for her and point her towards the lodge. Everybody needs their own space. She needs to get away from our snoring, and we need to toss and turn all night w/o waking her up. I like to get up at three in the morning and slap on the radio headphones.

** FOOD IS VITAL---but this is not so easy as it's hard to find cooked foods which will TRULY INSPIRE her appetite. It's a crap shoot, just take what you think she'll like cooked (don't worry about the snacks---she'll come with them on her own). Coffee in the morning? Better haul it.

** Consider taking CRAP you would never haul yourself---like a backpacking chair or interesting gardening magazines or whatever.

** Overdose on the beefy Thermarest---this is no place to shave off the ounces. If you want her happy, carry the biggest Thermarest you can find---Little Mitten likes her large Base Camp at nearly three inches thick. In the winter definitely consider the Exped Downmat 9 for her and she WILL NOT WANT TO COME HOME EVER AGAIN.

Oh my.... before I did all that I'd take her on a cruise.

p.s. I've never been on a cruise so I don't know what I'm talking about....

[Tipi Walter]

No, I'm the horse, she's the tourist.

[Tipi Walter]

To 10-K's Post: All of my points lead up to something I did not mention---she will get to experience fantastic moments of Natural wonder, and so we do what needs to be done to make this happen. I've seen Grandeur aplenty on solo trips, and I always have a nagging thought in the back of my mind that "This needs to be shared!", ergo the above points to bounce off Miss Nature against Little Mitten. Sometimes it even works.

[10-K]

To 10-K's Post: All of my points lead up to something I did not mention---she will get to experience fantastic moments of Natural wonder, and so we do what needs to be done to make this happen. I've seen Grandeur aplenty on solo trips, and I always have a nagging thought in the back of my mind that "This needs to be shared!", ergo the above points to bounce off Miss Nature against Little Mitten. Sometimes it even works.

Yeah, for sure. I agree. I hump the majority of my wife's load whenever she goes with me. It slows me down and it makes her hike much more enjoyable.

(really, I'm just bored and was trying to be funny.)

[Nutbrown]

Seriously?! Do you men thing that all of us women are weak little waifs that need you to hold our hands??? Sheesh.

Plan the trip with her. She should know what her body can handle, and the type of hiking she wants to do.

[10-K]

I would just like to add in deference to Diane that I do not mean to imply women need "help" hiking just because they are anatomically different than men. As witnessed by yourself, Jennifer Pharr, and many other women who could chick me in a without a sweat.

[Tipi Walter]

Seriously?! Do you men thing that all of us women are weak little waifs that need you to hold our hands??? Sheesh.

Plan the trip with her. She should know what her body can handle, and the type of hiking she wants to do.

Often she will NOT KNOW what her body can handle and it's sobering to find out under load on a 3,000 foot climb. It can turn a carefully planned trip into a nylon-lugging nightmare. Remember Clash 9 said his wife is a rank Newbie which in my book means untested which means a good possibility of her being a week little waif experience-wise and probably physically-wise. The thing is, if I were an experienced Woman backpacker and had a rank-greenhorn husband, I'd write up the same report with the same points. Except for using the words "she" and "he", it has nothing to do with Gender however much we think it does.

[NerdyJohn]

Hey clash, jsut curious. How'd you get that trail name?

[Ladytrekker]

Hey do not know the area but I do lead alot of women on hikes in Florida and my advice is slow down smell the roses and don't exhaust her until she decides this is something she really wants to do. I find that most new women hikers just like being in the woods getting use to hauling equipment and long hikes takes time. I would not hike more than 5 miles a day to start. Take a longer day hiking with frequent remove the packs rest breaks and when you get to site enjoy the setup and don't make it a rushed event and I think both of you will enjoy the outing much more. After a few trips she will probably get the bug to go further and hike longer days but really there are many enjoyable hikes that are not 12 to 15 miles a day. I hope she gets out of it what she needs and ya'll have fun.

[sbhikes]

Even if she is a total newbie and untested, some of the responses here are just way too patronizing. Treat her like a real person. Help her choose appropriate gear, have her read some stuff about packing light so she doesn't carry too much, lay out a few options for routes and let her make some decisions. If after all that she doesn't like backpacking, then carry all her gear. If after all that the 8 mile route she chose with the 4000ft elevation gain is too much, set up camp early and call it a day.

[Jersey Tim]

As mentioned above, the Batona Trail in south Jersey is a nice flat one. If you can spare three days/two nights, you can do the whole thing and claim your first "thru-hike", which is cool.

For her first time out, though, you might want to go easier on the distance. You can start at the Delaware Water Gap and head north; there's an official campsite (I believe it's staffed by a caretaker) about four miles up, and just a bit further is Sunfish Pond, which is beautiful to walk along. This choice is hillier but shorter, and you can cut the trip off after one night or stay longer depending on how she handles things. Here's the site for Worthington/Sunfish Pond:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandf...rthington.html