LESSON LEARNED #1

Mileage can be Tough

Over time, we have slowly built up our daily mileage backpacking. But it’s official, we shouldn't be doing 12 miles of steep elevation gain in one day. By the end of the trek, we were bargaining with our feet that if they kept going step by step we’d award them with massages and warm bath soaks.

LESSON LEARNED #2

Taking beginners

The newcomer who tagged along experienced backpacking baptism by fire with the aggressive daily mileage and elevation gain. We would have started a backpacking newcomer off with some easier mileage but she was a last minute add since we had an extra permit available! Be sure to level expectations before hitting the trail and find a mileage everyone is comfortable with.

LESSON LEARNED #3

Dealing with ticks

Wow, ticks are a real b-i-t-c-h. Our poor friend had one attached to her head which led to a variety of funny moments of Kate trying to remove it. If you do have a tick, make sure to remove the entire tick (the head will sometimes dislodged from the body). One way of removing a tick is by lighting a match, blowing it out, and putting the hot match surface on the body of the tick. The heat will usually cause the tick to back out of the skin allowing you to remove it easily!

LESSON LEARNED #4

Portion control

Every trip we continue to learn the importance of portion control. Portion control is essentially breaking out your food to the exact amount you need prior to your trip. For us, this means removing some jambalaya rice from the packet so we’re not making an insane amount of leftovers that have nowhere to go.

LESSON LEARNED #5

Bring layers..even in the summer

Even if you are sweating your ass off during the day, nightfall in the mountains can bring in some pretty chilly weather. Always pack a lightweight down jacket just for the extra layer once the sun sets.

LESSON LEARNED #6

venturing out with dinner

You’ve probably heard us talk about jambalaya a few too many times. It’s time to branch out and try some other food on the trail - will jambalaya always be a fan favorite, yes. But it’s time to start experimenting. We’ll keep you up to date with any new recipes we try on our The Backpacking Menu post.

LESSON LEARNED #7

Don’t Spread far apart in bear country

We have a tendency to spread out on the trail allowing each of us to go at our own speeds. Be careful of this in bear country. Bears will stay away from loud sounds (like talking to your hiking partner) and if an encounter does happen, it’s better to deter to a bear together to appear bigger and louder.

LESSON LEARNED #8

Storing your packs at night

Kat and I’s go-to storage technique is tucking our packs under the rainfly of the tent. For extra protection from moisture, throw on your backpacks’ rain cover. Always remember to remove any food and scented items before storing your packs for the night.

LESSON LEARNED #9

Understanding campers etiquette

Ever encounter 30 sorority girls on the trail? Here’s a great REI article on ‘Backpacking Etiquette’ that will prevent you from making the same mistakes they did such as giving other campers proper space and watching your noise levels.

LESSON LEARNED #10

keep your phone battery alive

Cold weather kills batteries so cozy up with your cell phone and slip it in your sleeping bag before going to sleep. We suggest keeping a charge on a cell at all times, obviously for pics, but also in case anything goes bump in the night.

LESSON LEARNED #11

finding the right pack

Backpacks are no sisterhood of the traveling pants. They should be outfitted to fit your height and weight. Packs are more like a great pair of shoes, once you fit the right style and break them in, they are the best find ever. We recommend buying your packs in person at REI or Great Outdoor Provision. They will help you get the right fit and set your straps right. 

LESSON LEARNED #12

lost your wallet?

Check all your belongings before leaving the trailhead and ensure you have your valuables. There is nothing worse than driving back to the city and realizing your wallet is missing. 

LESSON LEARNED #13

lost your wallet? Part 2.

Be sure to keep your valuables in a consistent place. Remember when I said there was nothing worse than driving back to the city? Well, once you make the 3 hour round trip drive home and then back to the trailhead only to realize your wallet was in your pack the entire time, you’ll learn to keep track of your valuables at all times

LESSON LEARNED #14

car talk

Venturing out somewhere a little off the grid? Leave a note on your car dash with your names, dates you’ll be hiking, and anticipated trail route. This will be a red-flag (!!) for anyone who sees that you haven't returned safely back to your car by the respective date. Warning: This technique can alert burglars of your absence, so be sure to remove valuables from your car.

LESSON LEARNED #15

BE OBSERVANT OF TRAIL SIGNAGE

We get lost.. a lot. But it’s always on us. Being lost could be prevented if we were more diligent for looking for trail markers. Always keep a look out for trail signage and where your next turn is.

LESSON LEARNED #16

CHECK YOUR PROPANE TAKE BEFORE EACH TRIP

Make sure you check your propane tank before each trip. We ran through ours pretty quickly because the wind was blowing so hard and we didn’t have much cover. Turns out Jambalaya is not great when it’s only half cooked.

LESSON LEARNED #17

speaking of jambalaya

If you are cooking from a box recipe and only have two people, half a box is sufficient. Nobody wants to carry back half a box of cooked jambalaya mix. This will also help with portion control and less weight in your pack.

LESSON LEARNED #18

don’t set up your tent on a hill

Yes we know this sounds obvious, but wait until it’s 11 PM and raining. You will have the rolling down a hill sensation the entire night. Try to find a level place to set up camp.

LESSON LEARNED #19

getting lost (in the rain)

Don’t get lost (in the rain). BUT if you do, have a plan with your backpacking pal prior to going on the trip. We recommended going back to the last known landmark and redirect from there. Stay calm during the process… letting fear creep in will only make your judgment calls harder to make.

LESSON LEARNED #20

PUT YOUR TRASH IN BEAR BAGS

Kat being the more cleanliness camper of our duo did not want her trash mingling with our clean food and therefore left it out of the bear bag. This lead to us yelling at a pesky (but beautiful) deer to get away from our food. And when a deer can find your food… then a bear can find your food.

LESSON LEARNED #21

only need 2 boxes of wine

Drink however much you want. Just consider the weight it adds to your pack. To help you sleep, we also recommended packing melatonin.

LESSON LEARNED #22

INSTANT COFFEE

 A “nice to have” in the morning (especially when it’s cold).. We are never patient enough to fully heat the water in the AM, but we talk about doing this every time we go backpacking.

LESSON LEARNED #23

THE SECRET OF SOCKS

ALWAYS bring more socks than what you think is needed. And then another pair on top of that. Nothing worse than cold or wet feet. 

LESSON LEARNED #24

ZIP-OFF HIKING PANTS ARE THE JAM

Zip-off hiking pants are the JAM. Especially when you slip in mud and get the bottoms all dirty. All you have to do is zip those babies off.

LESSON LEARNED #25

BEAR CANISTERS ARE FOR THE BIG LEAGUES (AND LITTLE LEAGUES)

Kat and I haven’t had to make the investment into bear canisters yet but like we said, we were with some serious trekkies. If you are going to a place where bears are common - it might be worth the purchase. These canisters are great for outsmarting a bear with their twist tops and smell protection. Be warned though, they do take up some serious pack space. 

LESSON LEARNED #26

WINE IN BLADDERS IS GENIUS

We are avid wine drinkers but never did we think to bring it on the trail for an evening wine down *pun intended*. These days, we fill our bladders with water and just pack the cardboard box wine from grocery stores.

LESSON LEARNED #27

OUR FIRST LOVE AFFAIR - JAMBALAYA

This is where the love started. On our very first trip, one of the women whipped up a mean jambalaya dinner and it’s the same jambalaya recipe that we have cooked up on almost every backpacking trip since because it’s that GOOD and easy. Check out the The Backpacking Menu for this classic recipe.

LESSON LEARNED #28

GIVE HAMMOCK SLEEPING A TRY

Sleeping in a hammock is WILDLY more comfortable than sleeping on the ground...assuming it’s a clear night, not too cold, and you are free from certain critters and crawlers. Prop your sleeping pad in your hammock for even more comfort and a little more structure. Disclaimer: We still always bring a tent with us - you never know when the rain might surprise you or mosquitos are on the prowl.

LESSON LEARNED #29

NOTHING LIKE CRISP, CREEK WATER

One of our first (and honestly favorite) backpacking purchases was a water filter. Our Packing List has our go to filter that we use on every trip. Just make sure your water source is coming from flowing water. Never use stagnant water (who knows what’s a brewin’ in still water).

LESSON LEARNED #30

DON’T EAT WHERE YOU SLEEP

You would think this would be intuitive but it was news to us on our first trip! A good way to think about it is like a triangle. Your tent, where you eat, and where you store your food should all be a couple hundred feet apart.

LESSON LEARNED #31

THE PUZZLE OF PACKING YOUR PACK

Boy, were we backwards the first time we tried packing. For packing, think heavy and bulky at the bottom and work your way to lighter things you may need to access more regularly during your hike.. Check out our article for Packing your Pack here.

LESSON LEARNED #32

KNOW YOUR GEAR AND HOW IT WORKS

We recommend setting up your tent in your living room before hitting the trail to understand how it is constructed and deconstructed.

LESSON LEARNED #33

CREATING TRADITIONS

We created the tradition of grabbing a beer on the way back from every trek. It’s great to have the time to rest the legs, laugh about the things that went wrong, and brainstorm what’s next! Plus, beer helps with the joint pain 😄

LESSON LEARNED #34

USE BEAR CABLES

Most National Parks will provide them when staying at a shelter and / or campsite. This hike will give you an opportunity to try out bear cables - USE the bear cables. Hang anything that smells (obviously food, but even dish soap, hand sanitizer, toothpaste) if you don't want your bag to be chewed through by mice or worse, bears.

LESSON LEARNED #35

STRANGER DANGER

We bring pepper spray on all our trips. Keep it local on your person and not stashed away in your bag. We found ourselves most vulnerable cocooned in a hammock and away from our pepper spray when suspicious strangers approached. 

Trust your inner gut instinct. If something feels off and you are uncomfortable, it’s okay to be rude. We recommend picking up The Gift of Fear, it is an important read.

LESSON LEARNED #36

CHECK FOR TRAIL MARKERS & SIGNAGE

Otherwise, you might end up doing the hike backwards (on accident, whoops!) which means going up switchbacks rather than down switchbacks (Kat somehow enjoys). Be careful getting ahead of yourself and starting on the first trail you see without checking the signage before embarking.. rookie mistake, we know!

LESSON LEARNED #37

FIND YOUR FAVORITE MEAL

As weird as it sounds, tuna with BBQ sauce and cheese wrapped in a tortilla is ours. Don’t knock it till you try it.

LESSON LEARNED #38

COLD WEATHER CAN MAKE FOR UNHAPPY CAMPERS

The right clothing and gear will make a world of difference. Make sure to pack extra layers and hand/feet warmers. Take it from Kat - after losing feeling in her fingertips while packing the next morning, she became a not so happy camper (and that’s us putting it nicely..)

LESSON LEARNED #39

SHELTERS WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE MICE

Be prepared to sleep with critters if you are committing to sleeping in a shelter. If you are able to brave the idea of little feet crawling over you while trying to sleep - more power to you. Kat slept with her headlamp on buried in her sleeping bag.

One tip we were given is to use Cat Food Cans to block mice from getting in your food or pack.

LESSON LEARNED #40

GAME-TIME DECISIONS WITH YOUR HIKING PARTNER

After Kat experienced a sleepless night due to the mice and cold weather, it was time for us to have a heart to heart if we really felt like we could do a second night. After a reasonable pro/con list and Kat’s persuasive personality, we opted to ditch spending a second night and double up our mileage to make it back in one day. Knowing your hiking partner and their limits are important before hitting the trail.

LESSON LEARNED #41

BLM CAMPING IS GREAT AND FREE

BLM=Bureau of Land Management. Due to our poor lack of planning, we didn't book shelter for the night before our Zion trek and due to the holiday weekend, every campground and hotel was booked solid. Thankfully a local filled us in on the wonders of BLM land. Essentially, BLM land is the public land that is open to everyone to stay, hang, and sleep. It’s a little odd at first taking a Sudan off-roading but it’s worth it for free and easy access camping!

LESSON LEARNED #42

SCARED OF THE DARK?

Be sure to hang your bear bag with your food (and other items with a scent) inside on a tree before it gets dark. No one likes to hear noises in the bushes and have to run back to camp in the dark of night.

LESSON LEARNED #43

PACK ENOUGH WATER & MORE

Zion taught us the scary lesson of having enough water. Here’s what we learned: 

• When the ranger tells you to bring a certain amount of water, listen to the ranger. 

• The ranger also suggested stashing a gallon of water on the trail for us split on the last few miles of the hike back to save us some of the carrying weight. 

LESSON LEARNED #44

KNOW YOUR TEAMS GAME PLAN

Miscommunication can cause tension before starting a hike. You can’t always guarantee cell service to help bridge the gap so be sure to over-communicate before kicking off your trek.

LESSON LEARNED #45

VARMINT BAGS – A real investment

Our backpacking buddy, Paige, brought Varmint Bags which are a real step up from our bear bags. Though they don't protect from smell, they will stop the smaller critters from breaking open the bags and stealing everything inside. For double trouble protection, put your bear bag inside your varmint bag. Note: Varmint bag is not pictured.

LESSON LEARNED #46

Expanding our dinner menu

We finally ventured out from jambalaya and tried something new - Banza Chicken Pesto Pasta. It was delicious 😛 Check out our recipe in The Backpacking Menu.

LESSON LEARNED #47

Late afternoon showers in high elevation

Since we didn’t set up camp until mid-afternoon, we cut out our hike to the top of the Continental Divide. The weather can get iffy at that high of elevation and we did not want to get stuck in a rainstorm.

LESSON LEARNED #48

Handling bear spray

This is bear country folks! This was the first time I had to carry bear spray. There is always a chance you will encounter a bear in the Smoky Mountains, but there is a higher chance in CO. It is highly recommended to carry bear spray along with other precautions. Bear spray is no joke! We had to look up a YouTube video on how to use bear spray properly - check it out if you are looking for a detailed video and a good laugh.

LESSON LEARNED #49

build community

Chat with folks along the trail. When we were hiking back, we ran into multiple people just starting their hike and let them know what was ahead, where we camped, and how the hike was.

LESSON LEARNED #50

warm beer?

If beer is your vice and you don’t like drinking it warm (because who does?), try placing it in a river or stream to cool it off before drinking.

LESSON LEARNED #51

Make do with what you have

Since we didn’t have any bear cables to hang our packs and food, we put our food in a sleeping bag stuff sack and used a rope to throw it over a branch to store for the night. You won’t always have every single piece of gear. Get creative and make do with what you have at hand.

LESSON LEARNED #52

keeping track of time

Hanging food at night sucks and can be scary. By the time we finished dinner and put all of our food/trash in our stuff sack, it was dark out. We hiked back to where we ate dinner and hung our bag over a branch. It looked like a scene from the Blair Witch Project.

LESSON LEARNED #53

Play it safe when setting up camp

Sometimes you have to compromise waking up to beautiful views to stay warm at night. We decided it would be better to set up camp under the treeline at a lower elevation so it wouldn’t be as cold or windy at night.

LESSON LEARNED #54

Use a stick if you lost a tent stake

I lost Garrett’s stake to his tent a long time ago and an easy fix is to just use a stick.

LESSON LEARNED #55

Map showing surrounding areas

I relied heavily on the article I highlighted above. I was super prepared and I printed out the mileage breakdown and the map. Well, it didn’t do us any good because we started at a different trailhead and our map and mileage breakdown were useless at that point. Invest in buying a park map to show the surrounding areas.

LESSON LEARNED #56

Bringing extra gear

If you are only backpacking for one or two-nights splurge on bringing some extra gear. I told Garrett the hammock was probably not worth the extra weight and good thing he didn’t listen. Sitting in the hammock looking at the views ended up being our favorite part of the trip.

LESSON LEARNED #57

How to set up your tent

A lot of tents are aerodynamically designed to face the wind in a certain direction to minimize air resistance. We were able to set our tent up in a way that limited the wind’s effect on it and let us sleep just a little bit better.

LESSON LEARNED #58

Blocking wind when you are cooking

Since we were camping on a bald, there weren’t many trees around to block the wind. Almost every campsite had a fire pit with rocks around it. We created a mini rock wall and cooked dinner behind it to block the wind. @Kate where was this idea in Roan Mountain 👀

LESSON LEARNED #59

Always wear contacts

 I have terrible vision and cannot see far away. I typically wear glasses or contacts, but when I am backpacking it is such a pain to take them out at night so I never wear anything. This trip I regretted it so much, I missed out on some pretty cool views of the stars and both Saturn and Jupiter at night.

LESSON LEARNED #60

Bringing an extra lighter or sparker

The lighter ran out of fluid 5 seconds into us trying to light the propane tank. This Ferro Rod saved us from having to eat cliff bars and trail mix for dinner.

LESSON LEARNED #62

Gotta Pee?

Make sure it's 100 ft. from any creeks or water sources. A classic lunch or dinner spot is usually by some form of water to be able to cook and clean. With that being said, make sure you back up before ‘relieving’ yourself. No tainting water sources, ya hear? 

LESSON LEARNED #63

Don’t try to zip lock BBQ sauce.

So I had a whoopsies moment. I really wanted to bring BBQ sauce to put on my BBQ Tuna Tacos (see the menu for the recipe) but instead of a chick-fil-a packet or a grocery packet of BBQ sauce, I bought a whole bottle and just put some inside a zip lock to bring along on the trail. Well next thing I know, I have BBQ sauce ALL OVER my bear canister. My poor breakfast bagels were soaked in sauce.

LESSON LEARNED #64

Bear Canisters – Pros & Cons and the Verdict. 

Pros:

• Invincible when it comes to bear, there is no better way to stop a bear from getting your food.  

• Acts as a place to sit! So basically you always have a chair which can be sweet tush relief when trying to cook or rest at the campsite. 

Cons:

• HEAVY MAN! They take up a lot of space and add a lot of extra weight. Compared to a bear bag which weighs next to nothing. 

• Hard to open (especially if you have cold hands!). It takes some practice to open a bear canister. Paige had to open it the first 5 or 6 times for me before I got the hang of it.

The Verdict:

• I would stick to no bear canister on basic backpacking trips and just do the regular ‘throw a bear bag over a branch’ technique. However, if you’re in bear country, I would go the heavy, fool proof way of using a bear canister. 

LESSON LEARNED #65

Saw a Bull Moose, now what?

Ah! There were two bull moose just a stone’s throw from our tent. Man, those guys really stared me down and gave me some suspicious looks. But like what do you do in a bull moose situation, I don’t know?! Well now you can follow this link and find out before you have an encounter like I did. 

LESSON LEARNED #66

Mosquitos are the WORST and Mosquito nets are the BEST.

There are very few things that get me down when I’m outdoors but mosquitos broke me. I’ve never seen mosquitos like this before – they were swarming by the 20’s and all up in your face! Thankfully, as unfashionable as they look, the mosquito nets were a lifesaver for making sure our faces weren’t eaten alive by the ‘qitos. Amazon’s got them on the cheap (link).

LESSON LEARNED #67

Hail Storms in July.

YUP that’s right, it hailed on us in the middle of the afternoon on our hike. Nothing dangerous, just make sure you have your rainfly at the ready and can jump under the tree line to avoid injuring yourself or your gear. 

LESSON LEARNED #68

Dirty Socks?

This was a genius idea from Lauren. Stinky socks should not go in the tent but also can’t be left out otherwise they’ll get wet by the next morning. Try hanging them from the outside tent poles that are under the rainfly. It will help them air out since they are hanging but will also keep them dry in case of rain or dew. 

LESSON LEARNED #69

Going Backpacking Solo: Bring a Portable Charger.

I didn’t sleep a wink at night so what did I do instead? I spent bundles of time on my phone; writing notes in my phone, playing music out loud and eventually when I knew I was up for the night, I watched a movie I had downloaded previously from Netflix (Perks of Being A Wallflower, anyone??). Anyways, all this phone activity killed my phone’s battery pretty quickly. Since I was using the Hiking Project as the guide and navigation for my hike, this was no bueno. Thankfully, since the trail was pretty easy to follow I had no issue making it back without the app’s help.

LESSON LEARNED #70

Going BACKPACKING Solo: Make the Little Moments Count.

Going solo means not having the companionship that you usually would have on a backpacking trip. This means you have to be your own form of entertainment. I found myself laughing out loud when I was yelling out to bears around “Hey bears, it’s Kate. This is just a friendly reminder to please stay the f* away from me. Thank you!” or the moments of making dinner and just having that feeling of ‘yes I did that’ today while admiring a great view. You’re solo, take time to reflect on how much of a badass you are!

LESSON LEARNED #71

Going Backpacking Solo: Water goes quicker is it’s only one of you.

I don’t know why but this came as a shock to me. I assumed that I would be fine on water with my bladder and Nalgene, but come dinnertime I had used the last of my water and wasn’t by a readily available water source. Usually with two people, there is enough collective water to get through the night but with only one it was definitely tight. Does anyone else get thirstier when they know that they are out of water??

LESSON LEARNED #72

Going Backpacking Solo: Don’t be lazy!

I felt pretty tired after the last scramble to get to the peak where I was setting up camp for the night. With that being said, I didn’t cook and store my food as far from the tent as I know I should have. This left me feeling paranoid all night that a bear found my food and is that much closer to me!