Becoming A Backpacker

A Tail of One Mans Journey into the Wilderness

I'll start out by telling a little background of myself so you can understand where I came from and where I'm heading. I'm 24 years old and I live in Washington State due to being stationed here with the U.S. Navy. I'm in good relative physical condition weighing 130 lbs and standing 5' 6” tall. The military keeps me in good shape so I have had little trouble adapting to the type of challenges backpacking presents. I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana as a child. I lived on the west side of Indianapolis with my two parents Stuart and Laura Shedd. When I was child I went camping so I know how to pitch a tent easily and know how to build a fire and cook. I didn't do a lot of “wilderness” camping, we stuck to campsites mostly. I have little knowledge when it comes to starting a fire naturally and living off the land per say. Also, I've done a lot of fishing in pay lakes but never really gutted or cooked a fish naturally either. My experience level is relatively low to moderate. I'd like to think that I'm an adapter and that I have a high learning curve when it comes to what I put my mind to. I first thought about becoming a backpacker when I moved to Washington State. I arrived here and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The landscape with endless mountain ranges was beautiful for somebody who was used to flat lands and corn fields. When I first arrived here I had little time to explore the wilderness and I didn't have the money to buy all the proper gear that I thought I would need. I got sent on two deployments with the warship USS RODNEY M. DAVIS before I ever saw an inch of wilderness up close. After completing those deployments it was November 2010 when I finally got home to my family. I have a beautiful wife named Ashley who loves me and supports me and a daughter ,who is nearly two, named Elizabeth. When I got home from my second deployment I still didn't know when I would explore the wildernesses of Washington. It wasn't until my tax return of 2010 that I decided I wanted to invest it in the gear I'd need. My wife and I decided that each of us would get $500 out of the tax return to spend on ourselves. I spent a good two months decided what I wanted to get with the money and finally settled on backpacking gear. Never in my life had I ever stepped into a wilderness outfitters store to buy so much. I decided to check out multiple different stores within my area including REI, Big 5, and Sports Authority to name a few of the bigger ones. I decided to go with and become a member of REI. I chose them because I liked their return policy which was nice since I was novice gear selector. I was quite selective when I first started, doing my research on items here and there to make sure what I was getting was worth it and had good reviews. I only had $500 dollars, which you would think is good starting price but I had to sacrifice in certain areas. I decided not to sacrifice on my tent, sleeping bag, or backpack. I figured these three areas were vital to comfort and survival. I use the Marmot Limelight 2P 3 Season Tent, Marmot Trestles 15 15F Sleeping bag, and my backpack is the REI Flash 65. I got extremely lucky when I picked up my tent since I picked it up during an REI Garage Sale. I got it for only $99 since it had been returned. The only reason the consumer before me had returned it was because it only had one entrance. I set it up in store to ensure that that was the only reason, it was perfect with half of it still factory wrapped. I slowly picked up the rest of my gear over time while I planned my first trip. I probably spent more than fire hundred in the end but saved a lot of money not buying any backpacking clothes or pots. If you are considering entering backpacking the only advice I can give is research, research, research. Make sure you look into everything before you buy so you have an idea what your getting. I'll be adding some trip reports and gear reports in the coming days. I'll backlog some of my trips from when I started to get you all up to speed. I hope you enjoy what you read and my experiences help you discover your passion for the wilderness.