Planning my lady’s introduction to backpacking

[Bob Gross]

What I found was important for any beginner's first backpack trip was a mixed social setting. That means that there was always somebody else of the same gender and also somebody else of the opposite gender. That means a minimum of three people and probably at least four.

–B.G.–

[Kimberly Wersal]

Thanks for that Katharina! We do love our men, but sometimes they need a little babying to get them through a long backpacking trip.

[Konrad .]

I agree with everyone else's comments. I didn't want to say anything at first, but I whole heartily feel that doing a trip in Nov for a first time outing is a bad idea. There's more wiggle room for errors in the warmer months. When you're dealing with such cold temps, an error in judgement in terms of selecting equipment will have a great potential of leaving her with a tainted experience.

I waited for late summer to take my gf out on her first backpacking trip. I did this so that we could avoid the black flies, mozzies, day time swelter and night time cold temps. I think it only hit the 50's on our first outing. From there, I pushed it more and more, with our most recent trip being around 35-40 degrees at night. You can never underestimate the power of a good sleeping pad/bag combo when it comes to keeping your partner warm. Mine slept on a prolite 4 and in a 15 degree bag. Also, those 2 items, and a bit of food was all I had her carry.

I only have a few additional tips, but I think they are pretty important. Remember that during these initial trips, she's out there because she wants to spend time with you, not because she wants to see the top of some peak or whatever it is that gets us out there. Keep that in mind. It may mean that your trip doesn't have any significant views, elevation gains, or anything that we would find exciting. Hell my first trip was 6 miles into a campsite, and then 6 miles back to the car the next morning. We had done plenty of day hikes with significant gains before that, and I knew she was capable of the physical hiking aspect, but I was unsure how she would cope with sleeping on the floor, with the potential of rain and worms and all that stuff. So for her first backpacking trip, I kept it very simple and easy. That being said, i would ditch the fast fly mode. Not worth the risk…keep the bug protection there.

And most importantly, have her involved in the planning or execution of the trip. I didn't find out about this until later, when my gf complained. She felt that she was oftentimes just tagging along on MY trip, and not OUR trip. Because I was the one always familiar with the equipment, and the packing, and the trail etc, she would always be more or less watching me as a I treated water, or set up the tent, or hung the food bag. The trip became much more enjoyable for the both of us once I got her involved in the planning and execution. That meant teaching her how to help setup the tent, explaining why things are packed a certain way, letting her plan our meals etc. It worked out great for us on our last trip. I left to go treat water for the night an when I got back, my double rainbow was setup and both mattresses were inflated :D

[James holden]

remember that the bag rating is usually for men … for women that 30F bag could feel like a 40F bag …

so bring extra layers if it gets cold … or just huddle ;)

[Joe Clement]

Remember that old saying, "you only get one chance to make a good first impression"? This is it, don't leave it to chance.

[Author]

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