How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild: Backpacking for Beginners

by Paul Magnanti

There and back—what every new backpacker needs to know.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single book. How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild bundles up everything you need to prep for your first-ever backpacking adventure—so you can explore the backcountry with confidence.

Start strong with an essential equipment guide geared toward beginners. Discover how to choose a campsite and follow along with camp setup and breakdown directions. Water treatment info, outdoor cooking basics, snacking suggestions, and a sample three-day backpacking food plan supply you with vital knowledge to survive in the wilderness.

This beginners’ backpacking handbook includes:

Expert tips—Learn how to “Leave No Trace,” navigate rough terrain, deal with wildlife, and other practical backpacking advice. Gear checklists—Track down the right gear with guides to clothing, footwear, backpacks, and shelters—even on a budget. Plan ahead—Handy cheat sheets help you pick the best time of year and the perfect starter trail for backpacking in your state.

Start your backpacking experience now with How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Outdoors, Travel

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2019

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful starter read to help calm my nerves before my first backpacking trip next week!!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I picked this up hoping I could get some tips on how to survive a zombie apocalypse but this book is of little help in that department so I will continue to refer to the ever trusty CDC guidelines ( Zombie Preparedness). This book is hard core backpacking 101. Did I learn somethings? Yes, like how to find magnetic north, break in hiking shoes, poop in the woods, etc. The most important lesson though is that I have ZERO interest in taking up backpacking as a hobby. I figured out that while I did my share in my late 20s, my interests have gone elsewhere and backpacking is a hassle. Thus, rating this one is difficult because I zoned out repeatedly, again because I am decidedly not going to ever backpack, but for a novice it is a great start.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would prove invaluable reading for anyone who wants to experience backpacking and/or camping in the wild. "How To Survive Your First Trip In the Wild" packs a lot of easily digestible information and tips in it's well categorized subjects.

Covering all the basics, from how to plan the trip, the best destinations in the USA, how to navigate trails, how to set up and break camp, how to stay warm, dry, well-fed, and safe from wild animals. The reader will also find information on how to deal with the unexpected such as bad weather, getting lost, and injury. Many chapters include helpful checklists.

After reading this book, I definitely feel MUCH better prepared for a trip to enjoy Nature in it's natural and wild surroundings. The only thing that would have made it better is REAL photo's instead of sketches or drawings. For instance, in identifying poisonous plants (being able to see their true color and texture, or appropriate and/or different types of gear or supplies.) However, that is not enough to stop me from giving this book a 5 star rating. I highly recommended this book.

[Scott Wehner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent primer

A good base for beginners. I am not certain why the Catskills were preferred over the Adirondacks for beginners. I began hiking the Adirondacks as a twelve year old adolescent. I found them to be stunning.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that this book is small enough to throw in your backpack to take with you. Obviously you will need this book BEFORE you hit the trail, but that's because there are some great lists on what NOT to forget to pack. There is also a great section on planning your trip, from campsites, time of year, trails and more - there is some good info in there that may seem like common sense to the experience camper, but is very invaluable to the newbie. Other sections in this small little guide include:setting up camp, hitting the trail, basic first aid, checklists, resources, and even some trip recommendations for each state! Honestly, it's worth the price getting this bad boy. Don't make a mistake and end up dying in the woods. Take the book and be prepared!

[Walter Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book designed to get you safely through your first backpacking trip. It does exactly that. There are pointers to things you might do on your second or fourth or tenth trip, but the rest is for some other book.

All the advice is solid. I'd recommend chlorine dioxide tablets (Micropur) instead of water filters, but that is about it. Filters are expensive, hard to use right, never kept clean, and tend to break. Tablets just work and let you get back to being in the wilderness.

I like the idea to suggest a place in each state. Henry Coe State Park is an interesting choice for California. No waiting for a permit, but most of the park is steep and the summer and fall is hot and dry. Still, a lovely place that is worth discovering.

[Create With Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tiny book is full of practical tips for the first time backpacker.

Easy to read - nice illustrations - enjoyed!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very brief, I'm not sure how helpful it would actually be to a first-time backpacker. There aren't a lot of details, although I think the list of good first trails is probably nice.

[Aleisa Vanover]

Lots of great information for beginning hikers

[Daniel Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fine book and a very quick read under 100 pages. It's a 101 level intro to backpacking, as expected. -1 star for some conflicting or flat out harmful advice ("a travel sized bottle of sunscreen is enough for all weekend"- those bottles, 3 oz, contain two properly applied "doses" of sunscreen for the average sized human. "Use hand sanitizer after using the bathroom"- hand sanitizer should never be relied upon to prevent illness from fecal contamination - because it doesn't do a good job of destroying those germs.... "Do not use soap, even biodegradable soaps are not in line with leave no trace" yet later offers multi suggestions of soap use- including spitting toothpaste on the ground, provided it's not large amounts. )

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone just starting their journey (pun intended) of backpacking. I started backpacking in 2019, and thankfully, every time I have gone it has been with a group and 1 or more were experienced, backpackers. I enjoyed this book so much because not only did it put a heavy emphasis on things I've learned by watching other backpackers, but also can be used as a guide when I go out on my own and need a good reminder.

[Tyler Zentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for what it is. A beginner's guide. This will get you the basics on hiking, setting up camp, and other intro level options for camping hiking. I wish it had more resources or further reading examples, but otherwise a very good book for what it is meant to be.

[Phil Whittall · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short, simple and very basic introduction to going for a walk with some stuff on your back. If you were a complete novice this might be helpful (especially in the US). If you've ever been for a walk in the woods before then maybe not quite so much. Nothing bad here just very basic.

[Ratchet child · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative but lacking in depth (ex: instead of helping us understand how to find the right shoes, types of shoes, ect this book’s advice is to “buy good trail shoes that fit” ) this style of information is how the whole book is presented in.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely basic explanation of how to go on slightly longer hikes/backpacking trips. Some I knew, some I didn’t. A quick read.

[Rochelle Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would recommend

Almost too basic, I would like to see more graphics, charts, visual examples as well. However this was still a fun read.

[Kathy Poiry · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice and concise

This is a nice resource for a beginner. I hike with experienced hikers but we have never backpacked. Great tips for our first backcountry adventure.

[Ashley Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an easy and insightful read as I’m in the mental preparation phase of my first backpacking trip in the spring. This added to my excitement and helped subdue some apprehension.

[Sam Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely basic and most of it is common knowledge for anyone who has done any sort of outdoor activity. Not what I was looking for.

[Cora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice quick read with lots of helpful tips for first time hikers/backpackers.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ narrator. I would buy this book if I would be camping or backpacking. I am not an experienced outdoorsman, so I cannot say how an accurate the information is considered.

[JLA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can learn everything this book offers by watching videos or reading articles on the subject. Didn't care for the tone of the book. That being said, it might hold that one critical component that'll make you backpacking trip succeed rather then turn into a disaster. That'd make it worth the time to read and the money lost.