looking for a trail

hi, i'm looking for an appx. 1 week trail, and know next to nothign about hiking/backpacking. i'll be going with a very experienced person, and am looking for any suggestions in new england area that will suffice for the both of us. thanks so much!.

Hi evnangelsfal. Welcome to the boards! Well, what has the "very experienced person" proposed? I think a one week trip for a total hiking newbie will probably only turn you off from backpacking, more than anything. I would suggest by starting with dayhikes, and then an overnighter or two (perhaps basecamping). You'll need to work your way up to multi-night backpacking trips. Is this your friend's idea?

hey! thanks for replying. it's actually my idea to do this - he's one of my good friends, and loves the outdoors- i thought it would be a nice surprise for us to do something like this together, because this is defintely not what i usually do. he's done kiraminjalo, raneir, and the tetons... he's crazy into it. so what do you think i should do to get ready for it? it would be this summer sometime. and i want to get into shape now. thanks so much! -emily.

Emily,

Unfortunately, the only way to get in shape for backpacking is to walk around uneven ground, uphill and downhill, with a heavy pack on. A weeklong backpack could mean as much as 50-60lbs in your pack, depending on gear and type of food. That's a lot if your body isn't used it (heck, even if it is!)

In the meantime, though, a solid gym workout will help: start with a solid cardio set. Then, keeping them balanced, lower back and abs, which will be stressed by the pack. Do various leg exercises for the strength of carrying the extra weight and the uphill and downhill stepping that will torture your quads. Then finish up with some arm work to help with balancing yourself when using hiking poles.

But what you really have to do is get out there. Go on day hikes or even local walks with your big backpack, working up the amount of weight in it. This will use your body like all the gym work has not. Especially on any kind of wet or muddy (which means slippery) conditions, where you fully tense up your body.

A week is a *very* ambitious trip for a first-timer. I'd really suggest that by the time this trip comes up you have done a one or two-nighter at least, so that you know the mechanics, are familiar with setting up a backcountry campsite, and have some idea of your limits as well. It can take practice to know how much food you need to eat, how much water you need to drink. It's easy for a new hiker to dehydrate themself and get quite sick.

For that matter, a week is an ambitious trip even for experienced hikers. That's a *lot* of food to have to carry, even if it's just prepackaged dehydrated or freeze-dried, and a lot of stove fuel as well. I'll admit, at the end of my longest trip (4 days) I wanted to keep going ... I didn't want to stop. But if I'd had another couple days of food weight in my pack at the beginning I would have been extraordinarily miserable.

That said, if you want a week, I think my strongest recommendation would be a stretch of the Long Trail in Vermont. You could also do any week's segment of the AT, but I'd recommend against someone inexperienced doing the AT in New Hampshire for a week: it would be very difficult and very discouraging. Perhaps the AT through Maine - the Hundred-Mile Wilderness - but be careful because there's no way to bail out of there in the middle.

Crud, I'm late for work ... gotta run.

What Michael said. I would reiterate that no amount of gym training will totally prepare you for the trail. You really need to get out there and do it. Start small. Do some short dayhikes (not necessarily starting up a peak). They can initially be walks on flat terrain but you'll need to work your way up to more elevation gain. Hiking is simply not for everyone and you may find it's not your thing, or you may find that you love it. You'll know pretty quickly.

Aside from all that there's the camping aspect. It really takes many trips out to determine what you need, what you don't, and like Michael said how much food/water you need. It will also take some time to learn some techniques including setting up camp, cooking, etc. Even "doing your business" in the woods can be challenging for someone that has never done it. You'll also need to acquire a fair amount of equipment which your friend may or may not be able to help with.

Don't feel you need to perform at your friend's level right away. Hopefully, he's experienced enough to know it's not a good idea to overwhelm a hiking newbie. All that may do is drive you away from what really could become a passionate hobby. Invite him to visit these boards as well.

So again, I would start with a walk in the woods for a few hours. Then perhaps a few dayhikes which have a fair amount of elevation gain. After a few outings there, you can try an overnighter. Then work up to a couple 2-3 night outings. How much you get out in the spring and early summer will really determine if you're ready for a full week backpack. Where do you live? Perhaps we can give some recommendations for dayhikes and overnighters. Hope this helps!

thanks so much!

hey guys, (michael & greg), thank you so much for the advice, i live in the berkshires- about 20 minutes west of Greenfield, MA. So I have plenty of places to practice hiking. Though would it be alright to go in the winter? I know you said that I should work on the slippery terrain, though I'm just trying to learn as mucha s I can! I'd really like to ge tstarted on this,a nd if I can start now, awesome, if I have to wait a few months, that's fine too. Also, would you be able to give me a rough outline of things I would need to bring? (especially food/cooking, my stepmother would always make awesome gourmet meals whenever we were camping- what would you suggest? ) So Thanks again! Have an awesome day guys!

Winter is an entirely different story in the Whites, but if you stay near home there are plenty of opportunities to get out there and start small and learn your way up. The drawback, however, is that winter hiking requires the right gear and clothing. You need the proper layers (typically synthetic) to wick away moisture while keeping you warm. You need crampons or snowshoes depending on the trail conditions. You need to eat and drink differently, because of both the cold/dry air on your body as well as dealing with food/water that freeze.

I would say that you ought to be a summer hiker, self-aware of your abilities and limits, before treading out in the winter. That said, if you get out with someone who is well-experienced in the winter and is willing to watch out for you, that would be fine. But you'll still need the gear.

As for food, that's a topic entirely unto itself. You can find discussions all over the 'net about cooking on the trail. Much of it comes down to how much weight you're willing to carry. For example, I've had lamb kebobs cooked over an open fire at a backcountry campsite. But it meant carrying them in marinade, the rice, and dealing with a lot of cleanup. I often go with freeze-dried foods because you just add boiling water into their packages and there's virtually no cleaning involved (the pot stays clean for water).

There are also entire cookbooks about cooking on the trail, either backpacking or car-camping. It depends on you, really.

Rough outline of things to bring? Ikes. I can't enumerate them all right now (at work).

Ditto what MichealJ and Greg said. You certainly need to start off small to be able to handle a week out in the woods.

I too live in Mass and can suggest some hikes to help you train on.
1. Mt. Tom in Holyoke
2. Mt. Toby in Sunderland
3. Mt. Holyoke in South Hadley

After you've got a couple notches in your belt I would move up to Hiking Mt. Greylock. There are several loops that you could do on that mountain and you could basecamp yourself at the campground they have there. (the name escapes me at the moment).

Start slowly and have fun with it but listen to your body or you won't get any enjoyment out of it.

There's also plenty of areas in SW Mass to hike and backpack. The Riga Plateau (NY/MA/CT tri-state area) is a wonderful place:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Riga+Plateau

Your timing is a little off as I feel a new hiker should start in the spring/summer, but if the temps warm back up and there is still no snowpack you can still get out. Be careful though, sections of trails can still be very icey especially after this cold snap. Until then, hit the gym and do some cardio stuff, or take a couple mile walk around the neighborhood, or in a park. Getting out at any level will help. You are definitely not going to want to do any camping until the spring. Even with the right gear, your lack of experience will probably make for a not so enjoyable time.

Please don't take all this as me being pessimistic, but you need to take it step by step. Hiking is a wonderful thing to do, but you don't want to get in over your head, and get discouraged.

Hi
I just joined today. All the advice I just read is good. However I've taken people before that had not gone before for 3 to 5 days & they've come back w/ a new found passion & went on to many trips. It depends on who takes you, the weather, the bugs, (I took a guy once that nearly lost it, BLACK FLIES! King Ravine in June, & never went again) It also depends on you, your attitude & yes mental state. It is a 50/50 mix w/ physical condition. Start conditioning yourself now, but nothing trains you like doing it. You will come home with many muscle discoveries, (they'll hurt!).
On multiple day hikes, the pain will show up on the 1st nite & second day, but the best remedy is to keep moving.
I wish you the best.
p.s. I am refering to NON WINTER CLIMBING! If it's a winter trip, you definately better start w/ a day hike. Short trip if your not used to the cold!

You will come home with many muscle discoveries

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Just to tag onto this ... I skipped the gym for two weeks because of the busy holidays, then 4 days spent up in NH hiking and skiing. I got a huge workout while I was up there, but in spite of that, when I came back to the gym my first workout was pathetic and left me incredibly sore. The muscles are completely different - you really do need to hike to get in shape for hiking.

This, however, is not the week to start. Stay in and keep cozy!