Your First Overnight Trip

“Since I am new to hiking and backpacking I am looking forward to my 1st overnight trip. Even though it will be a while (hopefully spring) before I go I was thinking about all of the good,bad and ugly things could happen when I go.
I can only imagine what my 1st trip will be like. I know I will want to remember it forever and tell everyone what a great experinece it was. Of course I will probably leave out all of the stupid things I did while on the trip.
Does anyone remember their first overnight trip and care to tell about it. What went wrong or right, did you over or under pack,what time of yr did you go, had you even hiked before that 1st time you went out on a overnight trip.
Hopefully this hasn't been a thread before.”

“Help, it's a newbie. Aaaarrrghh!”

“My first trip as an adult was to the Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness here in Tennessee the winter of 1982.
I posted about my experience on the stupid newbies thread.
Ewker just have fun-and enjoy the experience--most of the time the tough stuff is overcome by the scenery & fellowship.”

“Everybody was a newbie @ 1 time. Make sure you have what you need, don't be afraid to ask questions, and go out and have fun. My first trip was full of mistakes (crappy pack, not enough clothes, I got my TP wet, not enough food), but it is still one of the most memorable.”

“I think a lot of us have posted our first and other experiences. Might I suggest you search for titties, stupid newbies or some other equally helpful key words.”

“Nevermind Birch. His bark is worse than his... well, ANYway... are we talking first overnight:

a) Ever, Within Living Memory or
b) In the Modern Era (since like '85)

?

Well, the Very First was at Athens Y Camp near Tahlulah Falls in northeast GA. All we had to carry were our sleeping bags (30% of our body weight, LOL).

Years later when I got back into it, a girl I was Getting to Know and I went up Cold Mountain in the dark. I had a 70 lb. pack, a bottle of Everclear and a big ol' knife, half as big as my arm. The 4 pairs of bluejeans weren't such a great idea either, LOL

And those steel propane cylinders???? dang. It's a wonder I have knees at all.”

“I did find a thread that was started back in Aug of 2000 called Stupid Newbie Tricks. This one is different than the one about having a newbie carry the beer in for you.”

“it wasn't my first overnighter, but it was one of the most memorable. We in the Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrons hiking the Batona Trail in NJ. through hike with my car at the end of the hike and my buddy and I drove to the start point and parked his car there, I said that I was going to leave my keys in his cup holder so I wouldn't forget them. We started the hike and found a camp site @ 6 miles in, made camp, had a great time. Woke up the next morning continued the hike we had hiked @ 5 miles of the remaining 7 miles, at this point my freind turned and asked me "where did you say you left the car keys?" At this moment I turned and with my telescopic vision and my mind traveled 11 miles and 24 hours back in time to zoom in on the car keys sitting in the cup holder in his car. I turned to him and said in his car. We were screwed with 2 miles left to hike we finished the hike and had to beg a ride from some freindly strangers and they drove us back to our starting point and then had to drive back to our ending point to get my car. We are all still craking up about that and every time we get together, and I'm driving, they always ask me where the car keys are....so the moral of this story is...don't forget the car keys.”

“Hey Tilt--Did you by chance,spend an evening in Hobbs Cabin with a large group from North Georgia-
Those propane cylinders and BIG bottles of liquor sound very familiar.
Hey Ewker-it was the beer thread.”

“well I don't think I have ever posted a first time report so here goes - it wasn't that long ago so I still remember it fairly well - anyways I had been day hiking for a couple years by that time and I had been reading various forums so I didn't make a lot of mistakes - whatever - I had just got my hammock so I decided to give it a try out in Shen. NP using my somewhat large day pack and strapping an extra bag on for the food - fortunately I did not go all that far I just bushwhacked into Hensley Hollow to a place I had checked out that winter. Stopping at the entrance station to fill out the free backcountry permit was interesting - make sure you know ahead of time which mile post you are leaving your car at - that will be your "entry point" - I thought entry point was like which park entrance you came into (grin). OK the next humorous thing was getting the rope to hang my food over a branch (10 ft up and 4 ft from trunk) because I knew very well there were bears in the area. Because I had a hammock I was more interested in the right spacing of the trees than the slope of the land - it was funny getting out of the hammock - I was off balance due to my perception that the land was flat when it really was about a 20 degree slope. Anyways the next thing that surprised me was the coyotes - I had not realized that they had moved into that area already and this was the first I had ever heard them. With the new hammock I didn't really sleep very well cause I wasn't used to it yet and I had not tied it quite tight enough so in the middle of the night I had to get up and retie it to get my butt off of the rocks that were under me. I crawled back into the bag - yet another interesting experience if you have never tried getting into a sleeping bag in a hammock - great exercise - warms you right up (grin). A little later in the night some small animal walked right under the hammock - possibly a squirrel or a raccoon - that woke me right up and got the old heart agoing. Anyways the next delightful nighttime event was taking a crap by headlamp - nothing special but I should have dug a cat hole when I arrived at the site instead of waiting to dig it upon need. Altogether I don't think I got more than about half an hour or so of sleep the whole night. Next day was nice watching the dawn break feeding color into the world. I cooked a nice breakfast for myself - I think it was two packets of grits and two of maple flavored oats - a combo I often use when camping. The cooking was nothing special - I had gotten used to the zip ztove by that time so no big deal. I backed up and headed back to the car up on Skyline Drive. Anyways that was my first time - I am not sure if it would have been any better in a group but ... anyways I still am more likely to go solo than in a group.”

“Hey Tilt (and everybody else) that's not BIRCH, it's BlRCH. Different animal altogether.”

“My first trip was to Savage Gulf in Tennessee. Nothing went wrong on that one. My second trip was to Big South Fork (also in Tennessee). That one was the Hell trip. NO WATER, then NASTY WATER, before morning it started RAINING (and continued all the next day), BLISTERS from Cotton Socks, NO RAIN GEAR, ect.
It was a very painful but very learning experience. I learnd the hard way. Hope you don't have to but it sure makes you appreaciate good gear.
My advice to you is to listen to what people at this site tell you. Most of us have been at this for years and are glad to help. If at all possible, hook up with some of us on an ECT trip and you'll learn TONS.
What part of Tennessee do you live? I'm in Murfreesboro.”

“Ewker, my first trip was in 1967 with my oldest brother in North Florida (I do not remember exactly where however). My memory tells me it was a perfect time. My brother left for Vietnam a week later.

First trip I remember in adult stage (18+ years or older) was near Elkmont while I was in undergraduate school (at UT). It seems like we packed about 60 pounds each. Three of us went with a huge dome tent (we took turns carrying the thing,,I would guess it weighed about 12 pounds) and carried cans of food. LOL. It only took once to learn. Also, we did not have any water filters and did not carry any purification tablets (under the mistaken belief that mountain streams were pure). Huge mistake,,,,,Huge mistake. A couple of trips to the campus clinic and a class in micro biology made sure that never happened again. Trips after that continually improved. Although, as late as last November, I found my self on the trail having "forgot" something (the all essential TP).

Plan well, don't be afraid of making mistakes (they will happen from time to time), but learn as much as you can to avoid the big mistakes. Have fun. Maybe I will be able to join you on the first trip. Enjoy.”

“jeeeez, I need a magnifying glass!!! Still, fairly benign as imposters go.”

“Yeah, it's the totally out of character posts that make you take a closer look.”

“Ewker,
Don't be ashamed. It's no problem if you've never been on an overnighter before. Look at Liz. I think she has been on Trail Talk for roughly four or five years now and she hasn't taken her first overnight backpacking trip. LOL!”

“I posted my first overnight under the "idiot car campers" thread. Some other info is posted on the
"pottying in the woods" thread. I don't remember too many "first time" threads though, so this is a good idea.

I have learned way more from other people on the group trips than I learned reading dozens of books and reading this site. This site IS very informative, but there is nothing like actually seeing gear used and hearing other peoples' stories as to why they do or don't do this or that. Alot of mishaps have to do with forgetting something. Make a good packing list, and pack/repack several times to get fast at finding specific items. Try to save the rainy trip for your second or third trip out. I've only been out for a teeny first trip and three other trips, and I KNOW that I still don't have the ability to comfortably deal with a long running heavy rain. I think a sil-nylon tarp would be a good piece of rain protection, for tent set up and careful cooking.”

“Birch is out under the stars tonight, left yesterday @1pm. You'd think if you were going to troll someone it'd be someone who's around to react!

Ewker, my first overnighter was horendous! It was the first night of an eight day trip to Isle Royale. We hiked in to Daisy farm camp, 7 miles. Not much mile wise but it's a rough hike. There's something to trip you every step. Once we got to the camp the water filter wouldn't work. There is no potable water after leaving the harbor and it was getting late. Birch considered hiking back to the harbor, 7 miles, buying an outragously expensive filter with a huge NPS mark up and spending $35 for a water taxi back to the camp. As he asked around to see if other campers had noticed any filters at the store he got help with our filter and figured out that if you clean it every quart or so it will filter water very slowly and only spray you in the face every other pump (sweetwaters don't like silty cold water). Next came dinner. The stove flooded and had flames shooting three feet in the air. Birch yelled "run it's gonna blow!" as he kicked dirt all over the inferno. HEhe. NOW it's funny. Then I was afraid I'd followed my man to a slow and painful demise. It was an adventure. I was grateful that there were experienced backpackers sharing the campgrounds with us. Birch hadn't been backpacking out of a led group or the Army and I'd never been. We learned so much that trip.”

“Well, I guess you could call it "backpacking". I was at Gulf Islands NS with some friends. We spent 5 days on a barrier island. Anyone ever have one of those green metal two burner Coleman stoves? Yeah, the ones that are really heavy. Well, we lugged that in along with gallons of water.

We hiked in about five miles and set up camp and proceeded to bumble the rest of the five days away in the sand. After a day or two we felt like National Geographic reporters on some desert excursion. I can still taste the grit.”

“Joy
That was funny! LMFAO!!
I actually did catch myself on fire with a white gas stove once.

Ewker
You've got a lot of wild, scary, & funny times in front of you as you gain experience. I wouldn't trade any of my times for anything. Good or bad.”

“About 1961 when I was trying to pass a 2nd Class Scout requirement: Old army pack with thin straps and old army sleeping bag that felt like steel wool. I spent the night with a sore throat on top of my other misery.

We hiked and camped at Rose Hills Memorial Park (Whittier, CA)...YES a cemetary!!

Things have improved a lot since then.”

“Ewker, still want to get out and hike with ya soon, since we live about an hour and a half away from each other.

(my first overnight was about 30 yrs ago.. so I don't remember much.)”

“My advice would be to not get overly ambitious. I don't remember having any problems with my first few trips but if you plan or attempt too many miles, or too difficult a trail things could get miserable. When I take someone on their first trip, I'll usually pick a camp area 3 or 4 miles from the trailhead, set up camp and explore from there.

That way you are relatively close if something goes wrong and you won't over-do it and have a bad first experience.

Something will eventually go wrong on one of your trips. The good thing about that is you'll learn to not let it happen again. Use rocks for toilet paper one time and you will never be caught without it.”

“First over night trip outdoors was on the Pacific Ocean in some ship. Went shark fishin with Dad and a friend. Frosty cold, but we caught one. It was pretty wee small. Lots of other fish guts and assorted innerds. Didn't get sea sick. Don't know why.

On land, it was in Austria near the Hochhoffner. While in the military, a group and I went on a dayhike and got lost. Found our way to a hut and slept underneath a stair well. I suppose that counts, sort of.”

“Hmmm...I caught fire to one of the sleeping benches in a shelter on the AT. It wasn't my first overnighter (far from it) and it wasn't the first time I'd used my dragonfly (again, far from it) so what was my excuse? It's cool that you guys remember your first overnight. I was just a little squirt and I don't remember it.”

“All I can tell you is this.....You will have a great time.....:)And you will want to go over and over again......:)

Crazy Mike”

“Skully thanks for pointing out my imposter...my names isnt in capital letters.”

“My first overnighter was a solo along Porter's Creek in the GSMNP. Didn't make many mistakes that trip.

My first real mistake on a b'packing trip was at the Savage Gulf ECT last Febrary. Carried too much in my pack, with the result that I sprained my ankle on the uphill portion to Hobbs Cabin. Pack was over 40 pounds easy, including a 7 lb. wool blanket (!) and a heavy bag and tent (5 lbs each).

Also a Savage Gulf I managed to set my hand on fire. Was done cooking and decided to throw the little bit of alcohol left in my stove into the fire. Well I threw it all over my hand and it lit, then acted like I was trying to signal a jetliner in for a landing before I stuffed my hand into my clothes to put it out.

Also made some painful mistakes at the recent Sipsey Wilderness trip this fall. First I didn't get more than an hour of bad sleep the night before (drove all night), with the result that I had a miserable headache all the next day and was so achey that I hardly got any sleep the following night either.

Also at Sipsey I didn't bring enough good food and left behind my new Pur Hiker, no doubt because my mind wasn't functioning well with lack of sleep.

Finally, if you bring along a camera in the winter be sure to insulate it from the cold. My camera froze up last month in the Olympic Mtns after a night of magnificent snowfall. The result was no mindblowing pics. Real bummer.”

“But Steve Hiker
Have you repeted any of those mistakes again?”

“Nope, and I hope I never do again. The most persistent problem is getting enough sleep before you start, at least for us who live a long way from any mountains. I'm thinking of flying for some future trips rather than making 12-hour drives.”

“Good idea.”

“He was acting like a jerk in your name and I didn't want you to get a bad reputation.”

“Thanks for watchin my back skully!”

“my first 'official' backpacking trip...

-early august
-18 miles
-solo
-A.T. approach trail
-65 pound pack
-combat boots
-athletic socks that started out white... ended up red

bad bad bad rad.”

“dam Rad ws it that bad?”

“Dec. 26 1996
16 yr's old
1st Pack
2 ft. maglight
60 lbs. of can goods!
NO TENT!
20 deg. bag

Dam!! Wheres the can opener!!
CCCCOOOLLD! Berrrrrr!
Awaken by 6-7in. of wet snow!!”

“Lesson Learned!”

“I would say so.......:0


Crazy Mike”

“Ewker, I've enjoyed reading some of your recent postings because I'm was right there with you a few months ago (acquiring necessary gear, planning first trip). Been a dayhiker for years, but recently did my first overnight in 10 years.

Covered my first trip a little on the Florida ECT thread...

-October
-Ocala National Forest
-Solo
-40 lb pack
-Rained on my way in
-7 miles in, 7 miles back
-Started late and ended up camping amongst palmetto bushes (not ideal)
-Got into some chiggers
-Full moon
-Beautiful stars
-Hooting owls
-Lovely night

It was not a graceful trip, but I felt great out there.”

“Thanks to everyone who posted. On some of them I laughed so hard and on others winced at the pain some of you had.
All of your stories have made me more determined to get out there and get it done. Then if I survive I will be back to tell you about it so you all can have a good laugh.”

“-October 1981 or 82
-Jansport large day pack, weight not balanced (sleeping bag on outside)
-In the snow, first time using snowshoes
-Carried my first slinglite chair for that trip, along with sleeping bag, thermarest, and clothes. The pack weighed a lot for the couch potato that I was at the time. (pre-workout days)
-Started at just below 10,000' (North Lake/Piute Pass) found out I was prone to altitude sickness. Two steps, lay down, head pounding, couldn't breathe, couldn't eat, couldn't drink, couldn't pee.
-Stashed the gear and went back to the trailhead for the night(to a motorhome)
-The next day dayhiked to get our gear, and slept overnight
-The Sierras in the snow was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. One thing I remember was drinking water straight from a waterfall.
-Continued for every year after (1-2 trips per year) and got sick every time. Never gave up.
-I go enough now that the altitude doesn't affect me (well, sometimes it does, but not like it used to)”

“Ahhh, I remember my first bping trip like it was yesterday. I was reading the travel section of the local paper and an article about a local boy who hiked the AT was before me. I had never heard of the AT but knew I had to do it. Went into work the next morning and submitted my two weeks resignation. Three weeks later I standing atop Springer with 5 months of hiking ahead of me. Didn't know a soul out there but by the time I finished I had many friends from around the world. Can't think of any mistakes either except for maybe asking the REI sales kid what kind of gear I needed. Dang! The little bastard sold me over $1000 in crap (read heavy) gear.

Newbies, don't let these so called veterans scare ya. Grab a blankey, pillow case, credit card, and get.”

“Hey Ewker. I'm here in Ga, so if you are interested in trips in N GA or Western N Carolina let me know. You are more than welcome.”

“First real backpacking trip was on the Pinhoti in Alabama with my brother. Mistakes: didn't have good enough maps, packed WAY too much stuff. I had a propane burner and TWO of those disposable propane cylinders. First night, got there late because my truck broke down on the way, we hiked to the ridgetop in the dark and camped at the first flat spot we found. Got up the next morning, and promptly got lost. Decided to get more water from a store and carry it because we hadn't seen any water sources all day. On the way to the second night's destination, passed umpteen water sources I could have filtered. Next morning, it rained on us, but fortunately we only had to hike out two miles. But other than the utter exhaustion, it was a fun trip.”

“My first trip was 1983/84. One week in the Porcupine Mtns. My pack was a green boyscout deal that sucked. It hurt and I hated it. I was convinced I would be eaten by a bear. I been goin ever since.”

“I gotta say, I thought my mistakes were funny, but I have been laughin my tail off reading all your stories...its nice to know that poop happens to everyone.”

“Hey Ewker - I forgot to mention, If you're going solo then bring a headlamp (the Petzl Tikka comes highly recommended here on TT). The night gets lonely when the batteries run low on the mini-mag and you're still not sleepy. It's also irritating to try to hold up a light in your teeth.

That or save the weight and take a flask of Dewars.”

“1973, four high school seniors

Gary, the preachers kid

Mark, who always posed with flexed muscles-alway

Tom-Mr. Army, headed for West Point

and me. I don't know what they said behind my back.

Spring break, 5 days on and around the AT in Shenandoah National Park. Mice in shelters, rain, cold, warm spring days, arguments, more rain, leaky tents, great time, lots of mac and cheese, freeze dried eggs and oatmeal. Terrible freeze dried dinners circa 1973. Hooked for life. Don't have a clue where Gary, Mark or Tom are.”

“In the summer of 1993 I was 32. I had two little kids I adored and a wife I resented. I had a great job I hated. My soul and free time were spent with local rock band that was becoming less relevant by the day. My achilles tendons were injured and I couldn’t run or jump. I was changing my mind about God, the world and myself. My parents had just moved to Colorado Springs and I took off on a solo road trip to see them and the mountains.

I’d been car-camping dozens of times including as a little kid and with my own family. But this time I set out on my own to see what I wanted to see and do what I wanted to do (you just gotta be selfish enough to do that sometime). I picked up the cheapest external frame pack I could find and a foot-long Subway sandwich and drove into the mountains. I did a little hiking and rock-scrambling. I saw beaver dams. I found a gorgeous valley with a campground and backpacked 100 yards to a lonely site at the base of a cliff. The foot-long sandwich was really good as the sun went down. It was a really relaxing night being alone in such a beautiful place. But I wasn’t sure whether to leave my pack & food out where it was vulnerable to squirrels & ‘coons or in the tent where I was vulnerable to bears!

In the morning I had no warm food or coffee so I got some Nutri-grain bars and hiked up the mountainside to warm up. I was amazed at how I could do this since the achilles tendons usually gave me so much trouble. I found a big pile of rocks to climb up on top of in time to see the sun rise. Most of that day was spent driving around in the mountains. I picked up some maps from the forest rangers.

That trip didn’t change my life, but my life changed after that trip. Since then, spending time in the mountains has been what I do to align my priorities and restore my soul. I quit the rock band and started going to a different church. My outlook on my job and marriage got a lot better and they turned out to be just fine. I started planning trips and collecting gear and maps. I started exercising; now I run and play basketball.

By the next year I’d climbed the highest peaks in 3 states and slept in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Cheer, Ewker!”

“I am not sure which trip was my first. We hiked the train tracks from ?? (can't think) to Durango early on. Borrowed equipment. Heavy packs but easy walkin. I was with the boyfriend and three other guy friends. That was about 1975.”