Growing up as a backpacker – The Trek

The love of the outdoors was something Cody and I have always loved. After all, our first date was a hike at Hang Rock State Park. The honeymoon we chose was a road trip through the southern Appalachian Mountains. The first stop was the famous trail town of Hot Springs, North Carolina; although at the time we had no idea it was part of the AT until we saw the trail signs downtown. I spent the rest of the week in a small cabin in the woods near Townsend, Tennessee. We spent the week doing day hikes. However, our first official backpacking trip as The Norris Trio was in September 2024, when we explored the underrated gem of Panthertown Valley in Sapphire, North Carolina. Combining our love of camping and hiking seemed like a no-brainer to us. We just needed the equipment to get started.

Getting ready

Fortunately, working at the Nantahala Outdoor Center gave us access to a store that sold backpacking gear. And even better… We have a staff discount! We love it so much! Without much research and very little experience we bought what we thought would help us get started. And that’s exactly what he did. Fortunately, we’ve improved a few key elements since that first trip, but we’re so glad we went on that first trip even if we didn’t have all the «right» gear.

Trying new backpacking foods

Hit the trails

Since Cody worked as a travel nurse, we had the flexibility to decide where to spend the winter. California allowed us to continue hitting the trails and do more backpacking. Over the next 5 months we accumulated a number of trails including: Trans Catalina Trail (TCT), Kalalau Trail, The California Riding and Hiking Trail (Joshua Tree NP). We also took many smaller trips to the Sespe Wilderness, Los Padre National Forest, and Big Sur State Park. The places we saw and the memories we made on these trails cannot be understated. It’s a cliché, but some of these places were really impressive.

The good, the bad and… the ugly

These trips were also accompanied by their fair share of setbacks. These moments may not show up on Instagram highlights or be the first thing we share with friends, but as anyone who’s been to the backcountry knows, setbacks are an inevitable part of being in the backcountry. From phones and battery banks losing charge to stored water being hijacked by rodents in the desert, to covering ourselves in ticks and stripping naked in the first clearing… Cody, Turkenna and I are not immune to experiencing a few obstacles along the way.

Turk putting on his new gear on the Foothills Trail

Learn and grow

Despite the challenges, we have taken many of these experiences and turned them into learning opportunities. We’ve used them to improve our system and figure out what works (and what doesn’t) for us along the way. We know that we won’t have it all figured out in the OT. We will make mistakes, face unexpected challenges, and navigate less than optimal circumstances. But we will learn and grow and let the path teach us. We hope to find wisdom in other hikers. And although we have planned a lot, we know that there is nothing that can fully prepare us for the journey we are about to embark on.

See you on the road!

The Norris Trio (TNT)

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