What I learned on my first solo backpacking trip

Until last week, I had never backpacked alone. Then I did a NOBO hike on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway trail. I’m planning on hiking the Northville-Placid Trail alone later this year, so I thought it would be a good idea to first spend some time alone in the woods on a shorter trail. Well, I did… and I didn’t die! The truth is that I had a great time.

The trail was impeccable and firstly I would like to thank the MSG trail club and all the volunteers who make it such a special place. I think I only saw two purges on the official 48.7 miles of trail that make up the MSG, and I only missed one fold.

The weather was beautiful during the four days of my hike. The week before my start date, rain was forecast for most of my days on the trail, but by the time I started hiking, everything had cleared up. I had partly cloudy days, highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s, which brings me to my first point:

I sleep cold

I slept in a hammock with a 30 degree quilt and a 10 degree quilt. I wore merino wool sleep pants, heavy-duty boot socks, a heavy merino base layer, a Patagonia R1 half-zip fleece, a Patagonia nano-puff jacket, a merino wool beanie, and fleece-lined gloves for sleeping. I was still pretty cold the first night. I found myself wishing my jacket had a hood. My hiking socks were still dry, so I put them on over my sleeping socks.

On my second night, since my rain gear was still dry, I also wore it to bed: a Patagonia Torentshell jacket and a pair of Mammut rain pants. That was enough to keep me nice and warm.

I was lucky: I stayed dry the entire hike. There was no rain or mud, but all the water sources were flowing.

When I was packing for the hike, I decided not to bring an extra pair of leggings to wear under my sleep pants. I should have brought them.

On the Northville-Placid Trail this September, I expect highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. I’ll probably still pack my 10-degree quilt and sleep in the same layers I wore on this hike, but I’ll expect my rain gear to be wet. If I ever backpack again in the low 30s, I’ll pack warmer sleeping clothes; that pair of tights and a hooded insulated jacket is probably what I needed.

Gear

I didn’t have any major gear failures on this hike, but I saw room for improvement in some areas.

First of all, the carabiner that comes with the Garmin inReach Mini 2 is fake. I had the inReach clipped to my shoulder strap and it fell out of my backpack on multiple occasions while I was putting it on and taking it off. I finally put it in my electronics bag and put it away. I’ll have to get a locking carabiner to replace the one that comes with the inReach.

I borrowed my wife’s sitting pad for this hike and it was so helpful that I’m going to buy one. Having a comfortable place to sit during breaks was more enjoyable than I could have imagined. I also put it under my backpack when I slept at Fox Brook Tentsite; Since there was no shelter to hang my backpack, at night I slept under my hammock. If the ground had been wet, it would have kept my backpack from getting wet. I had a compactor bag inside my backpack, but still.

My battery bank, the Nitecore 10000, was enough for a four-day backpacking trip. I kept my phone on airplane mode most of the time and charged it during breaks and at camp, and the battery bank and my phone still had power when I got to my car. I should mention that I charged my phone when I stopped for breakfast at the Washington General Store on the third day, but I didn’t have the patience to linger after breakfast to also charge my battery bank, and I had only brought a charging cable and a plug. I’ll probably upgrade to the Nitecore 20000 for my Northville-Placid Trail hike later this year and get a charging plug with two outlets.

As I mentioned above, I stayed dry on this hike. I was “hoping” to get some practice setting up my hammock in the rain, but it didn’t happen. I have a Kammok Mantis UL hammock – the rain fly stores in the same bag that the hammock unfolds from and the stakes slide into a set of small pockets on the outside of that bag. In rainy conditions, I would like to store the rain fly and stakes in the outside mesh pocket of my backpack for easy access instead of storing them inside my backpack with the hammock. This way, I could easily install the rain fly and stake it out in the rain without having to open my backpack. I’ll probably buy a small bag to store the stakes.

Speaking of bags, I had my quilt stored in the bag it came in. I’ll need to get a compression bag to pack it smaller.

Sun protection

I didn’t bring sunscreen on this hike, that was a mistake. I didn’t burn badly, but when I looked at myself at the end of the hike I realized that my face and neck (even though I wore a mask the entire hike) could have used sunscreen. Despite the cold and partly cloudy sky, I was out all day. It was a bit of a stupid oversight, because I’m a postman and I know that UV levels are independent of temperature and cloudiness; I use sunscreen all the time at work. I just wasn’t thinking.

Also, I need to pack lipstick. My lips were extremely chapped and bleeding by the second day of my hike and I couldn’t wait to get to the Washington General Store to buy lipstick. I had Vaseline in my first aid kit, so I used it, but Vaseline doesn’t moisturize, it just seals in existing moisture; It is not the best for already chapped lips.

Physical preparation

I felt physically well prepared for this hike. I detailed my training in a previous post, but I’ll quickly reiterate it here: I’m a mail carrier: I walk 8-10 miles a day at work, carrying loads; I lift weights three times a week; and I hike on my days off.

One of my biggest concerns for this hike was whether or not I would be able to hike a 20 mile day, which was my plan for the second day. The third day (17 miles) ended up being even more difficult due to the elevation gain, but I felt strong on both days. I felt tired towards the end of those days and took more frequent breaks, but there was never any doubt that I would finish. I didn’t have any major pain or discomfort during this hike – I bruised a couple of my toenails and had a little irritation under my left shoulder strap, but that’s about it.

The Northville-Placid trail will be a much longer hike (9 days), but will have about half the elevation gain per mile as the MSG. I’m thinking about keeping my training the same.

Mental/emotional preparation

My other big fear on my first solo backpacking trip was feeling extremely alone or just going crazy once the sun went down. I was pleasantly surprised that none of these things happened. My initial plan was to send logs to my wife on my inReach when I arrived at camp each night, but I had cell service the entire hike. I was able to text and request breaks, long road hikes, and while making dinner at camp. I probably won’t have as much luck with the NPT, but I’ll probably see more people out there too. On this hike, I didn’t see any other hikers until the third day. On the second day, I saw two people, including the man who worked at Pitcher Mountain Fire Tower. I also camped alone for my first two nights. The TNP will be more remote, but I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to be alone during this trip.

Make art and write on the road

I carried a small zigzag sketchbook, a small set of watercolors, two pens, and a water brush on this hike. My intention was to make some sketches and maybe fill my entire sketchbook with details of my trip. I did a couple of sketches at camp the first day and that was it. My first day was short (eight miles) and I arrived at camp at 3pm after a late start. There was no way I was going to stop and draw on a 20 mile day; By the time I got to camp, set up my hammock, made dinner, and hung up my bear bag, the sun was already setting. On my third night, I probably would have done some sketches if I was alone, but I was sharing the campsite with two couples and socializing was my priority.

I also brought a pocket notebook to write in and used it every night. I took notes on my phone during the day and wrote in my notebook at night when I was curled up in my hammock. I found this to be a really helpful habit; Slowly going over the day by hand became a kind of meditation and helped me fall asleep.

For the NPT, I’m going to adjust my expectations of making art along the way. I’ll probably still bring art supplies, but they’ll be even more minimal (at least an even smaller sketchbook) and if I do sketch at all, I’ll count that as a plus. I will definitely bring a pocket notebook to write again; Writing in bed at the end of the day might even make its way into my life off the slopes.