I almost never became a backpacker.

For an entire year, I ket talking myself out of going on my first backpacking trip.

I convinced myself I needed expensive ultralight gear. I thought I needed to get into better shape. I figured I needed someone to go with me and I kept telling myself I should learn more before heading out into the wilderness.

Looking back now, none of those things were really stopping me.

Fear was.

The funny thing about fear is that it rarely introduces itself as fear. Instead, it disguises itself as practical excuses that sound completely reasonable.

If you’ve been dreaming about going on your first backpacking trip but keep finding reasons to wait and not go, this post is for you!

After nearly ten years of backpacking, including several solo trips, long-distance hikes and leading group backpacking trips for women in my online backpacking program, here are seven things I wish someone had told me before I started.

You Don’t Need Expensive Backpacking Gear Before You Go

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is believing they need to have all the gear and a perfect setup before they can go backpacking.

I made the same mistake.

I thought once I bought the “right” backpack, tent and sleeping bag, I’d finally feel ready to go.

Here’s what I eventually realized:

Buying backpacking gear doesn’t make you feel ready. Going backpacking does.

If you spend enough time watching YouTube videos, it’s easy to think you need the same ultralight gear as someone thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

But your first backpacking trip is very different from a five-month thru-hike.

Many thru-hikers hike long days, spend less time in camp and optimize every ounce in their pack. Your priorities as a beginner backpacker are different.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars right away on gear you’re not sure you’ll need:

  • Borrow gear from friends
  • Rent gear
  • Buy used gear
  • Visit gear consignment shops
  • Check Facebook Marketplace

Every backpacking trip will teach you something new about what works for you. Your gear will continue to evolve for years throughout your backpacking journey.

Don’t wait until your gear setup is perfect because it never will be.

You Don’t Need to Get in Shape Before Backpacking

One of the most common things I hear is: “I’ll start backpacking once I get into better shape.”

The truth?

The best way to train for backpacking is to do things that look like backpacking.

Start by:

  • Walking around your neighborhood with a loaded pack
  • Hiking local trails
  • Practice setting up your tent
  • Filtering water
  • Boiling water using your backpacking stove
  • Testing your backpacking meals and snacks

Rather than trying to reach some imaginary level of fitness first, choose a backpacking trip that matches your current fitness level and abilities.

Pick a trail with shorter mileage
Less elevation gain
An easier trail

Confidence grows from successful experiences, not from waiting until you’re “fit enough.”

You Don’t Need Someone Else to Go With You

For years I believed I’d start backpacking once I found the perfect hiking partner.

The problem?

My schedule wasn’t lining up with anyone else’s
People canceled
People weren’t interested
Life happened

Eventually I realized something.

If I kept waiting for someone else to make my backpacking dreams happen, I might be waiting forever.

That doesn’t mean everyone should immediately go backpacking alone. If you have someone who wants to go backpacking with you, that’s fantastic! Go together.

But don’t let the lack of having a hiking partner become the reason you never start.

The thing that builds confidence isn’t another person. It’s having a plan.

When you know where you’re going, what to pack, what to expect and how to prepare, you become far more confident, whether you’re hiking alone or with someone else.

You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Go

After almost ten years of backpacking, I’m still learning. Every single trip I go on teaches me something.

Sometimes I discover a better way to organize my pack. Sometimes I replace a piece of gear. Sometimes I learn a lesson because something went wrong.

That’s part of what makes backpacking so much fun.

After every trip I go on, I ask myself three questions:

  • What worked?
  • What didn’t work?
  • What would I do differently next time?

That’s how confidence in built. Not by becoming an expert before going on your first trip, but by continuing to learn every time you go.

Your First Backpacking Trip Should Be Boring

This surprises a lot of people.

I actually think your first backpacking trip should be…boring!

Not because backpacking is boring, but because your first trip isn’t about having an epic adventure. It’s about building confidence.

You don’t need:

  • A famous trail
  • A difficult permit
  • Twenty-mile hiking days
  • A five-month thru-hike

Instead, choose:

  • A trail close to home
  • Short mileage
  • Less elevation gain
  • An established campsite
  • Plenty of bailout points

Easy wins build confidence must faster than epic challenges.

You’ll Never Feel 100% Ready

This was probably the hardest lesson for me to learn. I kept waiting for the day I’d finally feel confident enough to go.

That day never came.

Because confidence doesn’t come before you do something hard. It comes after you do the hard thing.

Even today, there are still backpacking trips I go on that make me nervous. The difference isn’t that fear has disappeared. It’s that I don’t let fear make my decisions anymore.

If you’re waiting until you feel 100% ready to go, you’ll probably be waiting forever.

The Hardest Part Isn’t Backpacking

People assume the hardest part of backpacking is carrying a heavy pack. Or hiking uphill. Or sleeping outside. For me, it’s almost never any of these things.

The hardest part is:

Leaving the house
Driving to the trailhead
Opening the car door
Putting on my pack
Taking those first steps down the trail

That’s when fear speaks the loudest.

Something I’ve learned after years of backpacking is that fear is almost always the loudest right before you do the thing you’re afraid of doing.

Once I start hiking, everything changes. I get settled into a rhythm and I remember why I came.

And I’ve never finished a backpacking trip wishing I hadn’t gone.

Looking back, I wasn’t waiting for better gear, better fitness, more knowledge or a hiking partner. I was waiting to become someone who wasn’t afraid to go backpacking anymore. But that’s not who becomes a backpacker.

The person who becomes a backpacker is the one who decides to go anyway.

Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s deciding that what you want is more important than what you’re afraid of.

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to go on your first backpacking trip, consider this your sign to stop waiting.

Start small.
Borrow some gear.
Choose an easy trail.
Make your first trip boring.
Then go.

You might discover, just like I did, that the only thing standing between you and your first backpacking trip wasn’t your gear, your fitness or even your lack of experience.

It was simply believing you were ready enough to begin.

Download My FREE Backpacking Gear Packing List. Planning your first backpacking trip? Download my FREE Backpacking Gear Packing List to learn exactly what to pack, how to organize your gear using simple systems and feel more confident before you get out on trail.