As a backpacker/mountaineer for over 50 years I feel pretty confident in saying I've made almost every mistake you can make in the high country. Here are my TOP 5 mistakes to avoid.
So your buddies are planning a multi-day backpack and plan to put in 20 miles a day climbing an average of 5000' a day crossing multiple passes. You on the other hand have never done a multi-day backpack and have been sitting on the couch all year. It's clear you're not ready and going will only mean a miserable time for you and probably for your buddies as well since they'll be spending their time looking after you. This trip is clearly outside of your limits and ability and unless you get serious about preparing you should pass. I'd also argue that unless you're an extremely patient hiker the opposite is also true. If you've been hiking all summer and are accustomed to trekking long 20 mile+ days you might be frustrated with a "camping" style trip where everyone wants to hike 5 miles and camp all afternoon. Bottom line, make sure the trip and the abilities of you and those in your group are similar.
Every year before the Spring/Summer/Fall season really kicks in I take my set up out for a weekend "test run". This way I can assess how well my equipment is functioning. It was this process that led me to realize my old Wilderness Experience hollowfill sleeping back was over. It was maybe 25 degrees that night but I froze. Thankfully it was a quick weekend trip and I was able to correct it. I can't imagine what the outcome would have been if I'd just hopped into a longer trip ... most likely I'd have quit after day one.
The key here is make sure you have functioning equipment before you get into a long multi-day trip. Also make sure the equipment you do have is adequate for the conditions you plan to experience. If you're hiking in the southern California desert in the summer you probably don't want or need a zero degree bag, on the other hand your 20 degree down quilt probably isn't going to cut it in October at 11,000' in the Sierra. Same for your tent. I have a number of multi-season tents including the ZPacks Duplex. As great as the Duplex is, it's not a 3+ season tent. Sorry all you ZPacks lovers. In a early Spring/late Fall Sierra snow/sleet storm I'll take my free standing REI Quarterdome or Big Agnes Tiger Wall hands down. That said, if I'm on a well traveled trail with ample camping the spaciousness of the Duplex is awesome to have. Bottom line, know where you're hiking and make sure you have the right tools for the job.
This should go without saying but so often I see people walking through camp, trying to ford a stream, or jumping in feet first into a lake barefoot. Look, you can do damage to a lot of parts of your body while backpacking but your feet are your transportation. Without them you go no where and thus you have to protect your feet at all costs. This means having the right footwear for backpacking in. I'm not here to tell you what that is as it's a personal choice. A lot of hiker have moved from hiking boots to trail runners. I've made this move myself and found that the trail runners are super comfortable and make hiking more enjoyable. More importantly I've found that I'm less susceptable to hot spots and blisters in trail runners.
In addition to your hiking footwear consider what you'll wear around camp. The nice thing about trail runners is they're equally comfortable in camp as they are on the trail but if you do choose to bring other footwear for camp (or for stream crossings) make sure they protect your feet. In my opinion that rules our thongs or other open toed footwear. These are recipes for disaster. Sticks, rocks, or other obstacles could impact your feet/toes and all it takes is one bad impact and you'll be camp bound for days.
Bottom Line - NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROTECTING YOUR FEET!
OK, so I shouldn't be the one to talk about this one. I'm as bad as many are when it comes to fueling my body. Just take look at my SEKI hike where I decided to hike 20 miles while eating only a single RXBar. Look, this one is simple, if you're backpacking you should plan on at least 2500 calories a day. It's likely you'll burn more than that meaning even at 2500 calories you'll be in caloric deficit. If you have questions about meal planning check this page out for an assist.
OK, this is a hard one. Back 30 or 40 years ago there were far fewer manufacturers of backpacking gear and far fewer choices. Effectively backpackers would buy their kit and not change it, sometimes for a decade or more. Those days are gone. Today we have dozens of manufacturers or high quality backpacking gear, many of which is similar in many ways, all vying for a slice of this growing market. This means you go on a trip and you get exposed to a number of cool new things your friends have recently purchased and you realize you might be able to save an ounce here or there or maybe even add weight with new items like a nice backpacking chair, or that cool new JetBoil stove. it's hard to avoid the temptation but unless you're super wealthy you just might find you'll quickly own 3 or 4 tents (maybe more) a similar number of stoves, a few quilts/sleeping bags, and maybe 3 or 4 backpacks. If you hike more than 40 or 50 days a year in a variety of conditions this might all make sense but if you're a weekend warrior this can get expensive.
My suggestion (for weekend warriors) is to find your sweet spot. Before adding a new item to your kit rent or borrow it. You might find that new JetBoil takes too much space or is too heavy and that your MSR Pocket Rocket or BRS works just fine. You may find the Trail Designs Caldera alcohol stove takes a lot more space so the weight trade off isn't worth losing the space. The point is, new equipment always sounds great but unless you have a lot of money and are willing to get it wrong multiple times, rent or borrow first!
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