Backpacking Tips For Beginners

Welcome to Travel Tuesday! This week’s is somewhat of a continuation of last week’s post, but I felt compelled to put this list of backpacking tips for beginners together so others could learn from our mistakes (hah…).

Backpacking Tips For Beginners

Check the weather forecast for the duration of the hike so that you’ll be amply prepared for heat/cold/rain/etc.  There are often micro-climates that can be very different from the weather forecast, so in general, it’s better to just be prepared for poor weather conditions.

Use an app that shows the difficulty/elevation change of the hike (e.g. AllTrails!). It’d probably help to read reviews (if any available) written during the month of the year you plan on doing the hike so you’ll know what to expect too.

Stick to the basics for clothing! You may be tempted to bring more, but you really don’t need thattt much clothing! Lightweight hiking pants, gloves, thick socks, long-sleeves/t-shirts with UPF, underwear, a puffy [synthetic] down jacket, swimsuit if there are lakes/rivers you can safely swim/go wading in.

Rule of thumb = ~2lb/day for food. If you’re doing an 8-9 day trek, you’ll probably want the base weight of your pack to be at no more than 20lb and your food can be another ~16-18lb. A loaded backpacking pack typically shouldn’t weight more than ~20% of your body weight though, so if you’re on the smaller side, this may be more difficult to achieve.

Each and every person in your party needs a water filter. Otherwise you will be making many, many stops and/or getting dehydrated. (Thankfully only the former happened to us.)

At least I had a beautiful view for filtering though! <3

Allow for at least one extra day on your schedule so that there’s room for error/time to chill if wanted/needed. (We definitely would’ve loved an additional day to play in the lakes on our Rae Lakes trip!)

A rain cover for your pack would be a great idea. These can get rather pricey, so a large trash bag would also suffice. I was a genius and forgot to do this so I alternated using my rain jacket for myself and for my pack. Would not recommend in the slightest.

Bring snacks. Bring a lot of snacks. Finding out that peanut butter came in squeeze packs = one of my favorite discoveries for this trip!

Electrolyte chews can be helpful (or Jolly Ranchers, gummy bears, or some kind of small candies, to keep your mouth from getting dry (+ the glucose will give you a burst of energy).

Make sure you follow the Leave No Trace principles too!

Wet wipes are lovely. If you’re going ultralight, it’s a luxury item, but if you’re not and you have the space/don’t mind a little extra weight, I’d say it’s definitely worth it to pack some.

Toothpaste/mouthwash tabs are clutch! (Review for them = here!) If you care about your teeth, flossing is a must along with brushing! I really appreciate how strong/flexible Cocofloss (link = for $10 for each of us!) was — it doesn’t fray/snap between your teeth/break like the Bite floss that I tried. No animal testing + they use safe ingredients with fun flavors. You can buy just the refills instead of a new plastic cartridge every single time!

I got the 4-spool Eco Set in Tropical Twist (Passionfruit, Fresh Coconut, Cara Cara Orange, + Pure Strawberry) — only 1 spool pictured in photo!

Sandwich bags are great for things you don’t want to get wet! Also good just to store any smaller items that could get lost in your pack (e.g. the aforementioned toothpaste tablets).  You can get reusable ones here!

A water bottle with a wide mouth rim is a nice idea (easier to fill and if you’re dumping things in it, e.g. the ka’chava powder, protein powder, etc., it would’ve been infinitely easier.

Ka’chava powder/instant oatmeal is great for easy morning meals + saves time so you won’t have to fire up the stove. Ka’chava is unfortunately quite expensive though so a cheaper option would be protein powder or instant oatmeal! (You can make your own here.) Tortillas are another easy packable option.

Bite valve cover! If your idea of a good time does not involve accidentally ingesting dirt/sand and/or accidental leaks/losing a lot of your water due to unfortunate placement of your pack on top of the bite valve…I’d highly recommend this. Twas a major quality of life improvement!

Trowel for poop! You could also look for sticks to dig, but it’d make life easier.

Sandals are a great “luxury” item! They are super nice after a long day in your hiking boots/shoes. (Don’t forget an extra bag to hold these!) My favorite brand = Sanuk! It feels like you’re walking on comfy squishy yoga mats (because that’s what the footbed is made of)! Those unfortunately don’t do too well when wet though so I’d recommend only for glamping/car camping.  For a more water-friendly option, I like Atika sandals!

• What’s your go-to choice for hiking/backpacking snacks?
• What other tips would you add to this?
• Check out  my recommended backpacking packing list!