The trail winds as you walk onward. It is already noon and your work is shown by the sweat on your brow. You have already walked five miles and your adventure just started. However, there are many more miles between you and your next camping spot. You are on a backpacking trip. Before the car drives away, what will you need to bring, and how will your journey start?

1. Gather the Necessities

You need quite a bit of equipment compared to normal camping, and is also more expensive. The basic equipment is just a backpack and a good pair of hiking shoes. The backpack is not what you normally bring to school as they are built specifically for traveling many miles and days. These specially built backpacks can be found at outdoor stores like Bass Pro Shop, Gander Mountain and REI. But that is not what you only need. Something to sleep in and under is also an important part of your trip. Tents are the most common in terms of sleeping, and are the most efficient because they are able to be easily carried underneath whatever backpack you choose. Other materials for a safe in successful trip include clothes, food, cooking utensils, hygiene products and basic camping equipment.

2. Location, Location, Location.

There are many places to backpack. Whether it be a quick trip in one of Illinois’s many forest preserves, or on the long, legendary trail through the Appalachian Mountains, each trip should be decided with your skill level in mind. If you are just starting out, choosing a trail spanning thousands of miles would not be the best choice. Good places for beginners are trails with only a handful of miles, including Wisconsin’s Starved Rock State Park trail, Swallow Cliff Forest preserve, and the White River State Trail. For more experienced people, the Porcupine Mountains in northern Wisconsin, Isle Royale located in Lake Superior and the Ice Age Trail that crosses all of Wisconsin will provide the perfect challenge.

3. First Steps

If you plan on backpacking any long distance, being in a great physical condition is a must. If it is a 100 or 1,000 miles, you need to be able to get up every morning ready to complete 40 miles or more. What many backpackers bring with them consists of two hiking sticks, to help propel them along the way. Accompanied with a nice, broken in pair of hiking shoes, your trip should be comfortable, fast, and fun.

A backpacking trip is like normal camping, except this one spans many miles up hills, across fields, over mountains and through valleys. It is a trip to see all the beauty of nature that the trail holds and it is better with company. Backpacking is not for everyone, but it gives you and experience that is not attained anywhere else.