10 Backpacking Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

By Kieran Dunch

As a newcomer to any sport, you might be enthusiastic to get out there and enjoy your first backpacking trip. It’s easy for a new hiker to get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, and end up making typical mistakes in preparing and doing your first few multi-day journeys. Here are 10 mistakes that new backpackers make, and how to avoid them:

An image of a backpacker heading towards the horizon

1. Overpacking

One of the most common first-timer mistakes when it comes to backpacking is overpacking their bag. This can happen for a number of reasons:

You prepare for every possible worst-case scenario and emergency, packing everything you might need and then some, just to be safe.
You are bringing too many changes of clothes and accessories with you, decreasing the amount of room you have in your pack for the other things that count.
Packing more food than you will ever eat over the course of the hike (even beyond emergency rations)!

The reason first-timers overpack in this way is totally valid, but beware. In trying to account for every possible outcome, you end up creating another hazard: an overpacked, overweight bag.

The Solution:

Overpacking for emergencies: Take a look at everything you have, and narrow it down. Use a list of lightweight first aid materials that will cover the vast majority of injuries.
Overpacking clothing: This is a very common issue for car campers attempting their first trip. Packing too much clothing can lead you to run out of room in your pack for the other essentials. Don’t overthink it; Make sure you have a good pair of hiking clothes, and enough changes for the weather, but don’t let yourself get carried away.
Overpacking food: My go-to solution for this problem is planning, planning, planning. On my first big trek on my own, I packed as much as I thought I would need, but I panicked and threw in a bunch of stuff last minute. At the end of the trip, I was loaded up with protein bars I never would have needed, even if I ended up lost! The rule of thumb for short trips is to pack enough food for every day on the trail, plus an extra day. Packing enough food is important, but don’t overdo it.

2. Overestimating your own ability (or your hiking partners')

Another common problem for hikers is biting off more than you can chew when it comes to first hikes. This problem is common in a lot of people who are choosing their hikes for the first time without an understanding of their limits. This can also happen to athletic people from other outdoor sports, venturing into backpacking for the first time. Backpacking is its own activity with unique challenges and struggles that deserve a fresh perspective of caution for anyone trying it for the first time! The same goes for new hiking partners. People who you might be totally confident in might also surprise you on the trail. You do not want to be caught unawares by a sudden bout of altitude sickness, or fatigue from a partner that isn’t within your experience level.

Overestimating looks like:

Choosing a hike that is too long, steep, or difficult for a new hiker or your partner.
Not testing your hiking boots or a fully packed bag before the trip to gauge how it feels on you.
Ignoring regular exercise or physical preparation for the given trip, and using the argument “I’ve done other sports before” to stop you from properly training.

The Solution:

Overestimation is a hard problem to be conscious of because it relies on the hiker not believing these types of warnings anyway. If you are a person who frequently ends up over their head in life by overexertion or intense ambition, beware!
Always ease yourself into new challenges as they arise in your backpacking journey by starting off slow, especially in your first few trips.

3. Under-planning your trip

Under-planning is another common pitfall for people who are new to backpacking. It’s easy to become overexcited about the trip and miss pieces of preparation, especially if you are a newcomer! Under-planning can leave you just as miserable as overpacking can be. Over-eagerness can lead to a lot of little mistakes, and even some dangerous ones. There are some critical checklist items in preparation that never should be missed, and if you ignore them, it could leave you in a bad position. Remember to double-check what you are bringing, and always make sure you have done the following basic prep for your trip:

Make a trip itinerary and send it to a friend or family member
Make sure your first aid kit is up-to-date
Double-check your planned route, your campsite permits, and your basic supplies before starting the trip

4. Picking the wrong campsite

When you’re out in the bush, not every campsite is made equal. Even in a designated backcountry campground, there are elements of picking a campsite that are important to keep in mind. It could mean the difference between waking up dry and happy or ending up with your gear drenched for no reason other than picking the wrong place to pitch your tent.

Here are some telltale spots to avoid when pitching your tent:

A dip in the geography, or a low point in the land: This might look like a tempting spot because of how flat these bits of terrain usually are, but beware! Pitching your tent in a dip means that if it rains, it will run down and collect in that spot, soaking your tent in the process.
Under dead tree limbs: Be sure to look up before you choose a place to settle in for the night. Make your shelter a reasonable distance from any dead trees, which could be unstable in a storm, or dead branches that could fall and crush your tent!
On an exposed bluff: Try as much as you can to put your tent out of the way of winds and the other elements. This will help keep you sheltered from the wind as well as prolonging the life of your tent.

5. Letting your sleeping gear get damp!

A more common problem than you’d think (depending on where you are), a wet sleeping pad and bag can make your entire trip miserable. Having to sleep in wet gear is at best uncomfortable, and at worst hypothermic. If your sleeping bag ends up wet, you will likely be forced to layer up in your sleeping bag, ending up with damp clothes in the morning and not a good night’s rest. The best trick to solving this problem (like many) is prevention. If it starts to rain while you are hiking, make sure to take special care of your sleeping gear. There are many ways to avoid this awful situation, here are some of the easiest:

Store your sleeping equipment in a waterproof layer (as simple as a garbage bag) to help protect it from sudden showers.
Keep a waterproof pack cover (an essential in the Pacific Northwest) easily accessible to put over your bag in a downpour.
Put your sleeping bag in a protected location in your bag (not necessarily in the top spot) to give it an extra buffer from the elements.

6. Wearing cotton clothing

Cotton is the worst material to wear on a hike! When cotton gets wet or sweaty, it holds on to moisture for a lot longer than other materials. Do a scan of the tag of the stuff you have packed for the trip, and dodge cotton when you can. Even polyester is a better material, but anything wool is a safe bet (wool socks are a must-have). You don’t even need to have the money to invest in the most expensive hiking materials, some of the best clothing for hiking doesn’t come with a huge price tag. Just avoid majority cotton shirts and socks. It’s worth the investment to find some cheap wool layers, and if you want to splurge, look for marino wool gear.

Double-check the materials of clothing you bring on the trip (especially undergarments).
Avoid majority cotton items of clothing if you can.

7. Storing your food improperly!

Overpacking food is one critical food-related component of prepping well for a trip, but the second critical component is treating your food poorly on the trip. Being disorganized and putting food in different places in your bag can make it hard to recover miscellaneous bits of food when you’re setting up camp. In bear country, it is especially important to keep your food organized because you will have to store it elsewhere during the night; either in a locker or suspended properly. If at the end of a day’s hike you are spending an extra 30 minutes trying to find where you put all your food, it’s gonna suck. There are a few easy ways to make sure that your rations stay organized in your bag. Ensure your food is taken care of by following these rules:

Only take out the food you need a day at a time: Keep your lunch in your pocket on the road and keep everything else in the same place. This ensures you won’t be scrambling to find bits of food and storing them before bed.
Keep your food all in one place: Ideally, one storage bag carrying all of your vittles should do the trick, making it easy to remove when you need to.
Never (ever) eat inside your tent: Animals! Crumbs! Stains! Don’t do it!

8. Hitting the trail with brand-new (untested) gear

One of the most frequent mistakes I make when I embark on a trip is not breaking in new equipment or testing my gear. I am embarrassed to admit this, but once when I was on a trip, I forgot to test my camp stove before leaving. I ended up having to resort to cold food and borrowing the stoves of others when I could! All of those miserable mornings with cold oats in water could have been avoided with just a little foresight. Another common mistake to avoid is neglecting to break in new hiking shoes or boots before you put them through a real hike.

New rubber and leather can be really stiff, and wearing it over long distances it can cause bruising or blisters. The more your wear a new hiking boot, the more it forms itself to your foot, fitting better and more comfortably. New boots usually take a week of wear and tear to start feeling more comfortable. Before that time, it’s recommended to go on short walks until they are ‘broken in’, and avoid long hikes before then.

Make sure to test the essential items in your kit before embarking: Stove, tent, sleeping bag, and rain gear are all a part of these essentials.
Take time to ‘break-in’ new shoes and boots before going on a long trip: It could save you a blister or two!

9. Not staying hydrated (you need more than you think)

Drink your water! Finding the way to stay hydrated properly is a careful balance between proper planning and weighing your pack down with extra water. On the one hand, you want to always ensure you have enough water with you to avoid dehydration. On the other hand, water and any liquid adds a lot of unnecessary weight to your pack. Pack a single large, durable plastic bottle (I recommend a good Nalgene, like this one from Amazon ) or a large Camelbak, and make sure to take frequent stops to drink, especially on sunny days!

Make sure you mark spots in advance along the trail with flowing water for refills.
Avoid standing water pools when refilling your water containers: Bacteria and organic matter are more likely to fester in standing pools.
Pack a few spare purification tabs: You’ll never know when you might need them.

10. Not having an emergency plan!

The final big and fundamental mistake that new hikers make is not having a proper emergency plan in place. This mistake is also the most critical to avoid. If you’re reading this article, you are probably not planning any excursion that is too insane for you to handle, which is a good start. Most popular short backpacking routes are well-populated, and so in most cases you are not in as much danger as in other scenarios. That being said, you should always prepare at least a first aid kit for your trip, and write a proper trip itinerary to send to a friend. You should always look at your route beforehand, marking all campsites and potential exit routes in case the weather turns, or some other emergency.

Your trip itinerary should always include how you plan to exit the hike in case of an emergency.
Make sure you pack the Ten Essentials , and have a method of contacting somebody if you become injured on the trail.
Research your area for particular dangers (bears, sudden storms, etc.), and be prepared for those dangers!

A crackling campfire

Backpacking is an excellent sport. Make sure to make all the best preparations you can to make your first few forays into the backcountry as fruitful as possible!