5 Mistakes Beginner Backpackers Make

Hey y'all, Dixie here. Today I want to talk to you about five common mistakes that beginning backpackers often make. Now I'm not knocking the beginners, but any professional just wasn't born a professional, right? I mean Michael Jordan didn't pop out of the womb, start taking his first steps while perfectly dribbling a basketball. It takes time to learn things, and that's normal, but I'm hoping that maybe this video will help some of the beginners to learn from the mistakes of others, and I'm willing to bet even some of you experienced backpackers who are watching can admit to probably making one or more of these mistakes yourself. For this video, I took some input from my fellow backpackers, and I also considered my own mistakes, so let's get started. Mistake number one is packing everything but the kitchen sink. Before I started my AT3 hike, I did a lot of research about what gear is actually necessary, and you know, common mistakes, and probably the top one was packing way too much stuff. Now this might be like extra gear, or just like unnecessary items completely. There's nothing wrong with having luxury items. You know, I think that most backpackers, except maybe like the serious, serious ultralighters, and probably even them, have some kind of luxury item, but taking things like a hatchet, an axe, extra boots, several changes of clothes, like not just like a cold and you know warm outfit, but like literally almost a change of clothes for seven days or something, or a family photo album. Those things are a little excessive, but they are things that people have done. Maybe some things that seem like you might need them, but are still a little excessive are like extra batteries, and I'm not talking about like one set of extra batteries, but like several. Also extra headlamps, you know, things like that. Those are all things that you can get by if something happens to you for a few days. You know, even on a through hike on the AT and the PCT, you're not going to be out in the wilderness for probably more than seven days at most. I mean there might be a section that'll be a little bit longer, but most of the time though you're looking at like three to seven days. Some people take extra filters, you know, in case theirs fails, and again while it sounds like it makes sense, if you're cooking you can always boil your water as a backup. So you want to make sure that you only take the true things that are necessities, and you know, hopefully they have some kind of multi-purpose, and if you really put your mind to it and think about it, you can probably get by and improvise without a certain piece of gear for, you know, a three to seven day stretch. I think a lot of people have the idea that through hiking is like a survival situation, and obviously you're trying to survive, but what I mean is it's not like you're going out to set up, you know, a little bunker in the woods to survive the zombie apocalypse, you know. It's not like that at all. You're literally just carrying things that you need, like necessities for a three to seven day stretch between two towns, and that's it. And when you get to town, if you realize you need something else, you can always get it there. It's just important to really second guess yourself on every item, like do I absolutely need this, and if I had to go three days without it, could I make it? And if the answer is yes, then you probably don't need it. If your pack is extremely heavy, you're going to be uncomfortable, especially while you're breaking in your body and getting used to the idea of toting a heavy load for several days on end. I really suggest if you're new to backpacking, check out some of the people who have through hikes gear list, you know, I've got mine up on my website, and just look through, and if you have an item that's not on their list, I mean, of course, every person is different, but I'm just saying, you know, it's a good benchmark at least to look somebody else who has successfully done what you're aiming to do in the backpacking world. Mistake number two is foot abuse due to improper footwear. Yes, while you're backpacking, and especially while through hiking, you are going to be abusing your feet, so you definitely don't need to pour salt in the wounds by wearing the improper footwear, and what I mean by that is shoes that don't fit properly or that don't work well with your feet, and you're like, well, how do I know if it's going to work properly if it works well with my feet? The best thing that you can do is, you know, try them out before you get out on a backpacking trip, but still, you're not going to have all the same conditions, of course, in the normal world that you will out on the trail, so you want to make sure that the shoe is big enough because your feet are going to swell, and, you know, when you're walking downhill, you don't want the shoe so tight that your toes are hitting the front of your shoes unless you don't like keeping your toenails around. The two tests that I recommend doing is the thumb test, so just making sure that when you put your thumb down in front of your big toe that you have at least a thumb space between the tip of your big toe and the front of your shoe. Then also, I recommend when you tie your shoe up, tap your toe on the ground, and if your foot is hitting the front of your shoe, it's probably going to do that while you're descending mountains, and you're probably going to lose toenails and not feel good while hiking. Also, for those of you who think that you absolutely need to have boots while through hiking or section hiking, you don't. I mean, I can't say that you don't, but a lot of people don't need big, sturdy, bulky, clunky boots to successfully backpack. I thought that I needed ankle support when I started the AT, so I started with boots because I thought that's what you do when you go hiking. You wear hiking boots, right? Well, the boots ended up drumming on my Achilles, even though they were properly sized. They caused me tendinitis in the Achilles, and it did not feel very good, so I ended up swapping to trail runners, and I have never looked back. They're very lightweight. They dry out a lot faster, but I'm not going to go into a whole video preaching why I prefer trail runners over boots. You do have to find out what works for you, but I'm just saying, unless you, you know, know that you need the ankle support, you might not. But just figure out what works for you when it comes to shoes and insoles and all of that stuff before you get out on the trail, because if you mess your feet up real bad, it could be a trip ender. And on this one, I can say that I didn't practice what I preach. When I started the PCT, I just started with the same size shoes that I finished with on the AT, thinking, oh yeah, my feet are the same size. Well, I didn't do the toe test, and I didn't do the thumb width test, and I ended up having to swap shoes while on the PCT and go up a size, and I did lose both of my big toenails. So take my advice and just make sure your shoes are big enough. Mistake number three is overly ambitious mileage plan. All right, so you're starting your through hike, and you hear that everybody who starts out goes 15 to 20 miles their first day, and you're like, I can't let anyone think that I'm weak, so I am going to go 15 to 20 miles if it kills me. Yeah, I made that mistake on the PCT. I was determined, you know, everyone does more miles on the PCT, so I can't do what I did starting out on the AT. I have to do more. Well, I did three 15-mile days, like 13 to 15 miles actually, and I ended up having to take two zeroes because I had T-Rex knees. My knees were so swollen that it felt like if I extended my leg that just flew was going to bust out the back of it, so I had to walk around on little bent knees, and it did not feel good, and I already knew not to make this mistake because I had read about it, and I had, you know, known from the AT that it takes a while for your body to get acclimated to backpacking. So, you know, you just have to take it slow. You have to listen to your body. When your body's tired, you stop. When something hurts, you take a break, you know, so luckily I was smart enough to not continue to push myself and ruin my PCT through hike, but, you know, I should have never been in the position where in the first week I had to take two zeroes because I had overexerted my body. So when you get out there and you start off, you've got to hike your own hike, and I normally hate that overuse saying, but literally you have got to listen to your body. If that means losing the people that you've been around for a couple of days, you'll probably catch up with them eventually. Don't worry about that. You're out there for your experience, and you don't want that to be cut short because you got overly ambitious on your mileage point. Mistake number four, too much food. Everyone hears about, oh, hiker hunger. Oh, I was so hungry I could eat like five hamburgers in town. Yes, but that doesn't happen right away. That happens, well, I don't know. It's different for everybody, but it happens later on. It's not, you know, your first week of backpacking or anything like that. So for those of y'all who section and, you know, you do weekend or week-long trips, you may not ever really experience the full-on hiker hunger. I mean, I'm sure, you know, once you get back to town, you're pretty hungry and, you know, food tastes amazing. You do go through that, I'm sure, but as far as like the true hiker hunger where you could, you know, literally down like everything McDonald's has in stock, that takes a while to kick in. So when you're planning your first stretch, just know that you might not be as hungry as you think you will. In fact, you might not be hungry at all and you might have to make yourself eat. When I left out on my AT Thru hike, you know, I had never been backpacking before and I didn't really have any idea what to expect. So I packed, you know, what I thought I would need if I was hungry for six days, which I'm not exactly sure why I packed six days of food for less than 40 miles, but that doesn't matter. I just didn't want to be out in the woods and hungry. Turns out I wasn't really hungry at all when I first started and I had a lot of extra weight and food. I'm just saying you might not need, you know, as much as you think you would if you were like starving while you're out there. They do recommend that you have about two pounds per day of food. Honestly, I'm not sure if that's like when you're first out there or after the hiker hunger hits, but regardless, you'll learn real quick and you'll probably make this mistake, but, you know, it's not the worst thing in the world. You can't always barter with food on trails, so it's not terrible to have a little bit too much of it. I can't tell you exactly, you know, how much is right for you, but I'm just saying keep in mind while you're planning your first stretch of food that folks do generally pack too much. Mistake number five is micromanager level over planning. So you decided you're going on this trip and you're sitting down there and you know exactly where you're going to stay every night and where you're going to eat lunch and where you're going to use the bathroom and how much food you're going to eat and you've already sent yourself resupply boxes. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. One of the greatest things about a backpacking trip is just allowing yourself the freedom to do what you want when you feel like doing it. Sure, if you're going on a section hike and it's only for a weekend, then, you know, you need to get from point A to point B over that weekend and, yeah, you might estimate a certain mileage per day in your mind. And for a through hike, you know that you need to get from Mexico to Canada or Georgia to Maine or whatever in a certain amount of time. However, just allow yourself the freedom to do what you want and to eat what you want and enjoy yourself along the way. I know people who have started their through hike and they already have tickets for their flight home once they finish. And so the whole time they're going on their trip, they've got this date in their mind, like I must be on plane on this date. And it's like, why do that to yourself? You know, even if you know that you have to be done at a certain time and, you know, you've got a wedding or whatever, you might end up finishing a week before that with some of the best friends you will have for the rest of your life that you made while you're on trail. And they just happen to be road tripping the way you're going to go. And you could have had the best road tripping experience with a week as a grand finale to your through hike. Instead, you're going to be sitting there waiting in town for a week, you know, at a campground or at a hotel for a flight that you planned six months ago when you don't even know who that person is six months ago that planned that flight for you because you will have changed so much and, you know, what you thought you wanted for the end of your journey might not be what you want anymore. Backpacking is not a job. It does not have to be a wake up at 7 a.m. or 5 a.m. or whatever and go to bed before, you know, the sun sets or as it's setting. It can be whatever you want it to be. So, you know, if you really do enjoy a set schedule, then that's fine. But I challenge you to try to just go with the flow. I challenge you to say yes and take side adventures and and to let it be what it becomes. Because when else in life are you allowed that freedom? So don't rob it from yourself as soon as you get it. When it comes to planning for food, a lot of folks, you know, want to send themselves packages the whole way and already have their food sitting there at a post office and the towns they've decided they're going to stop in along the way. But that's robbing yourself the luxury of deciding what you want to eat. Let me ask you, do you know what you want to eat for dinner three weeks and two nights from now? Probably not. I mean, I don't even know what I want to eat for dinner like three days from now yet. So just don't limit yourself. I mean, sure, if you have some type of dietary restriction, you know, where you you have to do that, then I understand. But otherwise, you know, you might not make it to town before the post office closes on Friday and now you're stuck there till Monday. So just allow yourself the experience of freedom during your backpacking trip because you have made it happen. You've earned it and you have taken the opportunity to experience it. So just enjoy it. Those are probably the five most common mistakes made by beginning backpackers, but there are certainly plenty that can be made. And I think the important thing to remember is that the way that you learn is by getting out there and making mistakes. And I would much rather folks be getting out there and making mistakes and laughing at themselves than to be sitting on the couch, you know, not experiencing nature at all. If you've made one of the five mistakes that I mentioned today, or any mistake during your beginning stages of backpacking, please feel free to share that in the comments below because I think we can all learn from each other here. And I want this channel to be a place where we can share knowledge and experience and things like that. Remember, if you like this channel and you want to support the work I do here, the easiest way to do so at no additional cost to you is to go to DixieAZ.com before doing your Amazon shopping. It goes through my affiliate link, doesn't cost you anything extra, and helps support what I do. And with that, we will see y'all next time.