Every year, I hear the same thing: “This is the year I’m finally going to go on my first solo backpacking trip.”
I LOVE this type of energy.
You’ve got a list of trails you want to hike saved in your Notes app. Your Pinterest boards are full of dreamy alpine lakes. You’ve bookmarked hikes and saved Instagram posts. There’s no doubt about it. You WANT to go.
Then July rolls around and you’re still at home not going on that backpacking trip.
Not because you’re lazy. Not because you don’t want to go, but because backpacking, especially solo backpacking feels big. It feels complicated. It feels like there are a hundred things to figure out first before you can go. It feels like you should “know more” before you start. I mean if backpacking were easy, EVERYBODY would be doing it.
So you wait. You wait until you feel more confident. You wait until you have more time. You wait until you feel more ready and then before you know it, summer is over. Another backpacking season missed again.
Here’s the Truth (You Might Not Want to Hear)
If you want to go on your first solo backpacking trip this year, like actually be out on trail, sleeping in a tent and carrying your own pack, you can’t wait until you feel ready. You have to start preparing for it NOW.
Why? Because confidence doesn’t show up first. Taking action does. Every single time. That means you have to do something in order for that dreamy backpacking trip to happen and come to life.
You’re Not the Only One Stuck Here
I see this happen every single year. I lot of women I talk to about my online backpacking program tell me: “This is the summer I’m finally going to go on my first solo backpacking trip.”
Then suddenly it’s June.
- Permits are gone
- Gear still feels confusing
- Confidence isn’t there yet
- The trip never actually got planned
And just like that, the backpacking dream quietly gets tabled for next year. AGAIN. This isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a timing problem.
What Do You Actually Want?
Let’s stop and really think about this for a second. What do you actually want? You’re not just saying “I want to go backpacking.”
You’re saying:
- I want to hike a quiet trail with no crowds
- I want to camp somewhere beautiful
- I want to do something I never thought I could do alone
- I want to feel capable, strong and independent
This type of experience doesn’t come from waiting though, but a lot of beginner backpackers treat this like something they’ll “figure out later” and that’s where things start to fall apart.
Why Most Beginner Backpackers Get Stuck
So where do a lot of beginner backpackers get stuck and not ever follow through with planning and going on that dream backpacking trip?
It’s when they keep telling themselves things like:
- I’ll train for this later.
- I’ll buy gear later.
- I’ll figure out where I want to go and a route later.
- Maybe I’ll find someone to go with me later.
But when does later really come? Summer is going to show up whether you’re ready or not and then once it does, everything all of a sudden feels rushed and impossible.
Permits are gone. Campgrounds are booked. You’re overwhelmed and the thing that once felt exciting? Now it feels stressful and even impossible because you kept waiting for later.
I Learned This the Hard Way
When I first started backpacking, I thought I could just decide in June and go.
Pick a trail. Buy some gear. Throw food in a bag. Head out to the trailhead and figure it all out as I go, right? Not exactly.
Every backpacking trip I’ve ever done, especially any of my solo section hikes along the Pacific Crest Trail, have required planning long before I stepped onto the trail.
I had to think about things like: the time of year I was going, what they snow levels were and if I’d be hiking over snow, water crossings, current trail conditions, daily mileage and total trip mileage, where I was going to camp and how I was going to get to and from the trailhead.
Then I had to think about how much food I’d bring, what gear I’d need to pack and how I was going to train my body to be able to hike all of those miles while wearing a loaded pack.
None of this was complicated, but it would all take time to figure out and plan.
That’s when it clicked: Backpacking itself isn’t the hard part. It’s how prepared you are that determines what kind of trip you’re going to have and even if you really go.
Why Starting Now Changes Everything
Confidence Comes From Practice
Confidence doesn’t magically show up.
It comes from doing things like:
- Going on short hikes with a loaded pack
- Practicing using your gear like setting up your tent, filtering water and boiling water in your stove
- Testing backpacking meals and snacks
- Practicing packing and unpacking your pack
Confidence doesn’t come from watching more YouTube videos. At some point, you just have to get started and that means planning and preparing for the trip..
Planning Takes Longer Than You Think
Even experienced backpackers need time to plan trips.
As a beginner, you’ll need to figure out:
- Do I need a permit?
- What route am I taking?
- How do I get to and from the trailhead?
- What’s the weather forecast for the area I’m heading to?
Sometimes this isn’t something you can just figure out in one week.
You Can’t “Cram” Fitness
You can’t throw 30 pounds in a pack the night before and expect your body to be okay with it.
Your body needs time to adapt to carrying the weight. Even simple walks around your neighborhood with a loaded pack count as training for a backpacking trip. Do your body a favor and start now. Your future self will thank you.
Fear Shrinks Slowly
This is the part no one talks about.
Fear doesn’t disappear overnight. You don’t wake up one day suddenly fearless and ready to go solo backpacking. But every small step makes the fear feel smaller.
Small steps can include things like practicing setting up your tent, packing and unpacking your pack with all of your gear and food, walking with your loaded pack and practicing filtering water.
I remember when I went on my first solo overnight in Montana last year and had a bear try to come into my camp after dinner. This had been my biggest fear and heading out there solo and here I was having to face this fear head-on.
After scaring the bear off, I thought about packing up my camp and heading back to my car at the trailhead, but instead I decided to stay the night…alone in my tent, close to my bear spray.
The next morning, I woke up and realized I was fine. I had made it through the night safely and by myself. And although my fear of encountering bears didn’t disappear, I realized that I not only was able to face one of my biggest fears, but that my confidence grew because of the experience and that fear got a little smaller.
Your Month-by-Month Plan to Get on Trail This Year
You don’t need to figure everything out at once.
Here’s how to break it down:
Start Now
- Start learning
- Start walking with weight in your pack
- Research destinations
- Practice using navigation apps
- Start acting like someone who backpacks
April-May
- Get your gear together
- Practice using all of your gear
- Go on short hikes with your pack
- Go on a short overnight trip close to home (car camping counts!)
- Test everything including the snacks and meals you plan on bringing
- Then come home and adjust based on what you learned
This way, by the time summer comes around, you’ll be ready. Instead of sitting at home wondering if you can do this, you’ll think to yourself: “I’ve practiced this. I’ve got this.”
That’s the difference.
What Finally Gets You Out There
I had a woman in my program who dreamed about going on a backpacking trip for 10 years. TEN YEARS!!
What finally changed? She stopped waiting to feel ready and started planning her trip.
A couple months later when we were out on trail together, she confessed to me saying, “I can’t believe I almost talked myself out of this.”
That’s what starting does.
Start Now (Even If It’s Small)
If this has been sitting in the back of your mind, consider this your sign to stop saying “later” and to get started now.
Start now. Start small. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
The women who take small steps now are the ones who actually get out on trail this summer.
Your Next Step(s)
If you want help figuring out exactly where you are and what to do next, here are some resources for you to check out:
Download the Solo Backpacking Readiness Check, a free guide for women who want to backpack along but don’t feel “ready” to go yet.
Download the First Solo Backpacking Trip Roadmap, a free guide with everything you need to plan your first overnight backpacking trip with confidence, even if you’ve never done it before and don’t feel ready yet.
Book a free call to learn more about my program, The Confident Solo Female Backpacker System, an online backpacking program for women that helps women go from feeling scared and intimidated by backpacking to feeling comfortable planning their trips so they feel confident getting out on trail.
Either way, consider this your sign. Stop waiting. Start planning.
The trail is waiting for you and it’s not going to hike itself!