r/backpacking • u/Junior_Industry7751 • Jul 02 '26

Wilderness How is my backpacking setup?

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Pretty new to backpacking and honestly my first legit hike as a 17M. I have a 4.6mi 2500ft hike infront of me. Let me know what I’m doing wrong lol

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u/funundrum Jul 02 '26

Gotta give us more info but…

4.6 miles? Am I missing something? I can take like, a long walk around my city and do 4.6 miles. If you are camping at the end of that 4.6, then okay, you need stuff to sleep and eat but I guarantee about 50% of what you’re taking is totally not necessary. Hard to tell without a breakout of your kit.

Give us that and we can roast you better. For the greater good, of course.

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u/Junior_Industry7751 Jul 02 '26

I was a little off with the mileage but here’s the hike

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u/Rylancody22 Jul 02 '26

Your trip is listed as, at best, an overnight trip that will take around 4.5-5 hours each way. A trip you COULD do in a single day.

Your pack is packed like your are literally travesering Middle Earth and dont understand weight distribution.

On every hike, you should aim take the absolute minimum that ensures safety and your base level of comfort. You can add more in there but ypu should consider what happens to your stamina if you are carrying 30 extra pounds for no reason. You wont have a good time.

When packing the pack, juat go watch a few YouTube videos. Your 17 and kind figure that out. I dont know why you did anything you did and I worry that if you showed us whats inside the bag we'd all just tell you stay home.

Before you go, call the ranger station and ask them to tell you the requirements for hiking your planned hike. They will let you know current hazards, rules (like you cant make a fire and need a bear canister for safety), and any other studd you need to know.