My First Backpacking Trip. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...
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- čas přidán 12. 10. 2020
- I'd been waiting and preparing a long time for this, and I finally did my first overnight backpacking trip on Wednesday 10/7. I love the Suwannee section of the Florida trail, so I chose my favorite 6.4 mile stretch of it for this first trip. I parked at White Springs Tract trailhead in White Springs, behind the US 41 Wayside Park. From there, I hiked to Big Shoals and camped. The plan was to hike back to my car, the next day, but things didn't quite go according to plan...You'll have to watch the video to learn what happened.
Everything wasn't great, but some things were. I learned a lot, and my hunger to be out there is still strong. It was an...interesting start...to what I believe will be a great journey.
Since this trip, I've been making some changes. I'm overhauling my sleep system quite a bit. I'm treating my gear with permethrin and adding good bug spray and a head-net to my kit. I'm switching to a better electrolyte replacement, and I'll have a practice run with my stove before my next trip....Which is a 3-nighter this weekend by the way....Stay tuned for that!
Reminds me of my first trip. We all have that 'first trip' 🙂 I've found that I learn something from each one & they rarely go as planned. I just keep going! 🐻
You should proud. Great job. I'll be doing the same thing next summer. I'm 68 and in California. Last time I backpacked was in 1973. Getting all my gear ready. I can wait. Keep your videos coming.
Thanks so much! And that’s awesome! Best of luck with getting gear together and getting back on the trail. 😊
I'm really proud of you for getting out there and doing it, don't be discouraged. My experience is that backpacking is about dealing with occasional misery in exchange for truly wonderful moments. The feeling of accomplishment and independence has an amnesic effect, soon you will only recall the good parts :-)
Thanks so much. I was a little discouraged, but I believe in what you said. Tough moments will be inevitable, but worth it.
I’d love to go backpacking with you guys sometime and learn from you. I’ll come to NC! Lol
hahaha "occasional misery".... more like daily misery (mostly in the first couple miles in the morning)! :-P
Wonderful story well told. Sorry you got sick. Getting sick even in the comforts of home is rough. Im proud of you.
Ugh headache + mosquito bites has to be the worst! I learned a ton from watching your first trip, sorry you had to go through all that but it’s so inspirational that you did it on your own!
Yeah, it was the worst. 😬 I really think of my next trip as my “first backpacking trip”, but I still learned from this one...Thanks for checking it out!
Good first effort! As a Florida girl, rule one is never to go on any trail without bug spray! I wonder if it might have been more relaxing for you to have lit a fire in the pit and smoked those nasty bugs out of the area.
My first actual backpacking trip I had one of those old full external frame packs and must have had at least 50 Pounds in it, including 2 gallons of water in 2 jugs! I was wearing big clunky hiking boots and did a trail right off US 41. It wasn't that long of a hike, maybe only 6 miles or so, but had to do a little swamp wading, got all set up, and had the sub sandwich I'd carried in. My bear bag hanging was a triple bagged plastic grocery sack and some paracord! Settled in for the night and realized that the way the trail looped around I was only a few hundred yards from the road and right near the stoplight where all the semis were applying their air brakes for the curve. Didn't notice that part until well after dark. LOL
I stuck it out for three nights, including hiking back to my car with the water jugs to drive to town and refill them and then returning to camp the longer way around to avoid the swampy part and disturbed a bear and two wild hogs along the way. Obviously, this was many years ago and I was much younger and totally clueless. There was no such thing as cell phones or youtube for helpful videos.
What a great story! Thanks fir sharing. The little mistakes and goofs are part of the journey. You still made it happen! 💙
I will never leave the bug spray at home again! 😊
I so admire your authenticity here. Yep, nothing like a first experience to be full of ups and downs. ☺️. That’s what makes them memorable. But you are doing it! I hope to follow your example and take a solo trip into the mountains to a small lake I went to back in 2012. That time it was with others, and the one thing that stands out in my memory, was that it was ALL uphill. 😆. And very cold at night. I had my trusty, but ancient, external frame pack then, so it will be interesting to see the difference with my yet untried internal frame pack. And older knees. Yep, we’ll see if they still work for the three and a half miles to the lake. Oh, did I mention it was all uphill? And the lake sits at 11,000 feet. So there’s that. ☺️. Pray for me this June. Snow will be on the trail til then. 🙏😁
So calming, makes me excited for my first solo trip this year
Love it that you got out there... Marcy, that’s a win! 👏🌞💚
Beautiful scenery. This section is on my list as well. I saw it on "Following Redbeard's" channel.
Congratulations on a hike well done. You set out to have your first overnight camping experience and this adventure not only taught you a few valuable lessons, it gave you a memory for your lifetime. The next overnighter will be a completely new adventure. Thanks for taking us along.
Thank you so much for the encouraging words, and for following along on my journey. I have a three night trip planned for this weekend, and I couldn't be more excited!
Outstanding video with a wealth of information. I dealt with salt depletion called "hyponatremia". It took me several hikes to figure out what was going on. I look forward to watching another one of your hikes. Hopefully you are still hitting the trail.
What an awesome video!! I'm right where you were right now, getting ready for that first time out. Learned a little bit from your experience. Thanks for sharing
Gorgeous area. Can be rough place though, Isee. Born in Jacksonville I now live in Northern Utah.
You are very brave.
Well done! Just found your channel and hope to get caught up on all your videos today. So interesting to hear your thoughts through this, as I took my first ever overnight solo last September in the Shenandoah National Park and I had so many similar thoughts. I became obsessed with backpacking after finding and following Early Riser’s AT thru hike. Good on you for following your dreams and I can’t wait to ride along with you!
So cool! I love connecting to a fellow newbie-ish backpacker and hearing we have some thoughts in common. I’m a little jealous that you got to do your first trip in Shenandoah lol. Thanks so much for subbing and following along. 😊 Good luck to you as well, and happy trails!
Proud of you for not letting a bad experience keep you from doing what you love!
Thank you!
Spoiler alert!
Having to go in the middle of the night is so much harder for us girls than for the guys, one of my least favorite parts of hiking.
For a headache use cool on the forehead and heat on the feet 15 - 20 min....electrolytes are extremely important.....be sure to have more than you'll think you'll need on your thru hike..
Yeah MOM!!!! :)
Bear spray isn't a crutch...
Hyponatremia?