Active Travel Adventures podcast I Inspiring Multi-Day Adventure Trips Around the World · Kit Parks

Learn How to Backpack

·27 min·1 clip

Kit Parks says Meetup led her to T-Hog, where Casey and Sherry helped her start hiking and backpacking.

1. Active Travel Adventures podcast's "Learn How to Backpack" follows Kit Parks from a library book to multi-day hiking trips. 2. Host Kit Parks matters because she says she went from not hiking in 2011 to traveling the world and training for Everest Base Camp. 3. The episode exists to show how a beginner can move from "totally 100% clueless" to a first backpacking trip. 4. Kit says a book on the Appalachian Trail led her to learn that the trail runs through North Carolina. 5. She says some people hike the "2,000 plus miles" of the Appalachian Trail all at one time. 6. She chose section hiking instead of a full thru-hike. 7. Meetup introduced her to T-Hog, the Triangle Hiking and Outdoor Club. 8. Casey encouraged her first section-hike goal and Sherry led backpack conditioning hikes. 9. She says those hiking friends saved her "hundreds of dollars" in bad gear purchases. 10. Her first backpacking weekend at Grayson Highlands covered about six miles before camp. 11. A later Linville Gorge trip taught her what a hard exposed climb feels like. 12. She says a two-week Appalachian Trail trip covered about 170 miles and made her feel like a real backpacker. 13. She recommends starting with an easy trip, then "plus one" by adding distance or days. 14. Her pack base weight is about 18 pounds, while her friend John gets his base weight down to about 10 pounds. 15. She says her fully loaded pack can reach 30 pounds and that she trains up to 35 or 36 pounds on flat ground. 16. She warns that pack weight is a trade-off between comfort during the day and comfort at night. 17. The tone is practical, personal, and instructional, with many repeated anecdotes from her own trips. 18. The format mixes a solo how-to guide with references to earlier episodes, friends, and affiliate resources. 19. People who want a beginner backpacking checklist and real examples will like this episode. 20. People looking for advanced ultralight gear debates may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Active Travel Adventures podcast I Inspiring Multi-Day Adventure Trips Around the World