kjoyce4
Happy New Year! With the New Year, I’ve been thinking about some of my big goals for 2021, including plans to hike Vermont’s Long Trail in the summer. As I made my gear list, I realized that while I could go out and spend hundreds on a new sleeping bag or a better pack, I started reflecting on what I started with.
When I graduated college in 2018, I moved to Plattsburgh, NY. In case you aren’t familiar, it’s in the northeast corner of the state, about 20 minutes from the Canadian border. In the first few weeks I was there, I realized I was going to need to find a hobby that I could do alone. So I went on a hike with my sister, and ended up turning back half way up the mountain.
I hadn’t realized there was such thing as preparing for a hike beyond bringing a water bottle. So that week I bought a black Jansport backpack, the same one my sister had for her books in high school. That bag made it to the top of more than a dozen mountains (including two high peaks) by the end of the summer.
After doing a few hikes with my new bag, I decided to trade in my old gym sneakers for a real pair of hiking boots. So I went to the REI website, searching the used section for what I thought were proper hiking boots. I settled on a gently used pair of Merrell Moab 2’s.
Instead of breaking them in on a gentle hike, they made their maiden journey on my first high peak, Cascade Mountain. I threw on whatever socks I had, which happened to be one synthetic running sock and one cotton sock. By the time I reached the top of the mountain, I was limping from the blister on one foot.
So I discovered hiking socks. And when I slid down an icy climb with an injured knee I bought micro spikes. And when I ran out of water on a 4,000 footer in New Hampshire, I decided it was time to invest in a water filter. You don’t know what you need until you need it.
This story is all to say, with the new year, a lot of people are starting new hobbies, and if you’re reading this post, maybe it’s hiking. Don’t be afraid to mess up. There are so many people I’ve seen on the trails who seem like they have it all together and have the prefect gear setup. But that doesn’t happen without a lot of mishaps. Looking at perfect trail pictures on instagram, you’d think those people were born knowing what they were doing, or that you need to have the same gear to hike. The real answer is, you don’t. Please, please, please bring enough food and water, a reliable means of navigation and tell people where you’re going. Do your research, but don’t let your research scare you from doing something that really excites you.
What are your plans and goals for the year?
