The Worst Backpacking Mistakes I've Made: DON'T DO THIS!
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
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I've made tons of mistakes as a backpacker over the years. Way more than just the simple mistakes a newbie makes when getting into backpacking when you don't know any better. These are mistakes I've made as an expert backpacker. From nearly starting a forest fire to needing to be rescued by my dog, learn from me so you don't have to repeat my failures.
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Your honesty and humility brings considerable legitimacy to your channel and demonstrates that, no matter our experience or skill level, we always need to "keep the basics" in mind. Thanks for that meaningful information!
Humble to say the least ! Eric has shown his true self and we see it , much respect 🙏
I sincerely appreciate you saying this! Thank you!
Thank you Ian!
I've always enjoyed hiking, but in the last 6 months have really gotten into backpacking.
I have struggled with sobriety for years and have found a great outlet in backpacking!
Now I'm addicted to backpacking. I get a great feeling being in nature and being clean.
Thanks for all the awesome advice, it's been super helpful!!!
Congrats man! Keep up the high energy
Awesome job! It’s been getting me outside a lot more lately and giving me something to focus on and learn about as well
Like the video. Good to know we all make mistakes. I went on my first canoe trip. Didn’t put anything in dry bags. Just my pack. Went over. Water got in the canoe getting everything nice and wet. Also had my phone in my pocket that turned into a nice paper weight. Was a nice life lesson. 👍
Ooh dang! That’s brutal!
Youll never make that mistake again. The other thing to never take canoeing , rafting or kayaking is car keys.
Good reminders Eric!
My biggest mistake was going for a canoe trip in Ontario's Algonquin park in early August with a light summer sleeping bag (probably 50 degree comfort rating) and the temp went down to about 40 degrees. Coldest night I've ever experienced. I ended up making a fire at 3 am, and just sat outside by the fire the rest of the night to keep warm. Despite the terrible sleep, I got to see a very lovely sunrise, so it wasn't all bad. I'll never use that sleeping bag again if there's even a remote chance of the temp falling below 60 degrees.
Have you ever done the Eastern Pines trail in Algonquin? I'm thinking that would be a good one to do for my very first backpacking trip.
Bags are rarely rated accurately. I always use a bag rated for colder weather than the projected weather forcast
@@mr.sinewave3955 I've done the Eastern Pines several times. I would be happy to answer any questions.
@@christianvachon2235 did my trip 2 weeks ago. Went very well, but thank you.
@@mr.sinewave3955 All good. Hope you had a great trip! High Falls is one of my favorite places in Algonquin.
First backpacking trip ever: Cowboy camping in Grand Canyon. What could go wrong there? I went with two friends that didn’t know much more than me. Borrowed a large man’s pack (I am a small lady). Borrowed hiking boots that did not fit. No pad to sleep on, just a giant heavy cotton sleeping bag on the rocks. A can of Corned beef and trail mix (I did think to bring a can opener and a spoon). I carried a couple of gallons of water. We hiked Grand view to Cave of The Domes instead of a more maintained trail. The backpack nearly pulled me down a few times when those gallon jugs of water got off center. I had bloody toes from them sliding forward and hitting end of boots all the way down. It was a great trip in spite of all the mistakes. The start of years of backpacking.
Ooof. What an intro to backpacking!
Wow and you are an expert backpacker…. I can imagine the trouble us noobs can get into. Thanks
Haha we all learn somehow! I’ve just learned the hard way many times!
Respect, Eric! Owning these mistakes is admirable. We’re all fallible and with years and miles under your belt it’s easy to get complacent. As you know, any number of these events could have been fatal … but so could driving across town. Choosing to put ourselves outside of the safety net of modern living is to get back to our core. This is a good thing. Simply recounting your mistakes as a pro could absolutely save lives and at the very least make for more enjoyment. Thank you for sharing this video. Props for using checklists and checking weather and local conditions. You also tend to explore in pretty seasoned company which is another great tip - bring along someone who has your back. One last suggestion I have is to always have a worst case rescue device. I won’t name brands/devices which would likely get my comment deleted but having a device that can alert search and rescue via satellite with your coordinates is something I encourage novices and pros alike to do. Thankfully, I’ve never had to use one but knowing I could gives peace of mind. Many thanks!
Your courage and humility in honestly discussing missteps that you've made is admirable. Thank you for passing on good lessons learned and for the rest of your content.
I'm used to Scandinavian climate and find it hard to go really ultralight even when hiking in the much gentler climate in much of the US (which certainly can have other challenges).
Lots of type 3 fun here. Good lessons. Thank you for being open and honest about your failures and helping others not make the same mistakes.
It’s always good to learn from other’s mistakes. Thankfully you survived.
Thanks for the honesty, your message resonates. The overconfidence bias affects most of us at some point in life. Checklists can help (as pilots do) to cover the fundamentals during the prep process. As you show, backpacking can turn real quick into a bad experience with a few mistakes. Great content!
Excellent vid bro! Thank you
Your honesty is refreshing, not many would admit they made mistakes let alone mistakes that could have harmed yourself and others,
Thank you for your honesty and for explaining what you could have done to avoid these mistakes.
Thank you for sharing and for all your hard work and time you put into this channel 😀
KEEP ADVENTURING
GOD BLESS YOU
🤗HUGS🤗
Thanks for sharing so that others may learn those important lessons. I really appreciate your integrity and humility!
Glad to hear it! Just tryin to keep people safe out there.
Thanks for your humility and sharing. Very useful.
Glad it's helpful!
Wow! Great information. Thanks.
Always appreciate your expertise and honesty. For me, it has been underestimating day hikes. For kit lists, the ten essentials in Freedom of the Hills or the kit list in Hillwalking (UK) plus training in how to use what's on the list is essential. Had I not been trained in navigation, I would for sure have been killed on a couple of trips.
Thanks Kirsten! Yeah underestimating day hikes is pretty easy actually! Glad to hear you’ve avoided major trouble!
Love that your real!! I am such an over planner. My husband is kinda like you. He is a little over confident and gets him in trouble more. I may need to relax a bit but not too much! I like being prepared!! I have lists and I triple check them. Especially for a backpacking trip. I don’t want to need something I don’t have. That would freak me out!!!! I am mostly over prepared!! Maybe I need to chill a bit more lol.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, they are very useful for others :)
Mad props for the honesty here. Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome!
Outstanding presentation Amen to the Hyponatremia I dealt with that and just thought it was an electrolyte problem and kept drinking more and more water with just Nunn in it. I didn't learn it was actually Hyponatremia until I took an Wilderness First Aide Course, now salty peanuts are a staple in my food bag. Thanks again.
You’re welcome! And yeah without wilderness first aid or first responders training I wouldn’t have known that either!
Hyponatremia can be very dangerous and I too have experienced it. People have died from this and it is easily prevented. Its completely due to a salt imbalance, lack of salt. Because of this I do take salt tablets with me as a backup if I run out of food/salty snaks/ etc.
Wow that was a lot of good advice thank you very much Mr Eric Hansen
Even after testing my water filter at home, it completely failed in the field. Luckily, I'd brought the cleaning syringe and was able to "MacGyver" a solution. I reverse engineered the setup by using the syringe to pull water through the filter. With each fill of the syringe, I emptied the filtered water into a clean bottle. Took a little time and muscle to get a couple liters to last me a full day.
Thanks for the reminder.
I’m definitely that guy that gets over confident and feels like I can handle any situation that comes up. The worst part about it is that it’s not just me I’m putting at risk sometimes it’s friends or family. Still trying to work on this. So your video is a great reminder.
Thanks again
Once we accumulate some experience it’s pretty natural to start having that confidence. The hard part is figuring out when it turns to overconfidence.
Full respect for being human. Honesty is a sign of a brilliant mentor.
Great tips! Thanks 🙂🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
Test, test, test equipment - as you said. It could be in the local area, but at least then it's easy to put things right. Plus testing gives familiarity with the gear.
Thanks for another great video, Eric, full of ideas and inspiration.
Familiarity with the gear is so important!
Anyone who's been on a few longer hiking trails has made one mistake or the other - or he/she is lying ;). It's important to acknowledge those mistakes and learn from them. But even better is learning from other people's mistakes. So that was a really great video, Eric and fantastic tips!
If you spend enough time outside you're bound to make a few mistakes! Hopefully none of them are particularly dangerous of course!
Same here with the tent... i checked the weather forecast but ... on the kungsleden I took the duplex with me ... it was a 80-90km/h so Iot was a experience ( the night before two tent were blown away with one man inside ) ... I’ll finish the all trail but spend some night in mountain cabin for safety
I’ll go back this summer with a less lighter tent but I hope more peace in my mind
So thank you for all your stories !!
Where is that Sweden footage? 😂 I had a 'near death' experience at Assateague State Park too. It was by the beach and it was severe thunderstorm warning. My husband and i stayed in the tent despite the horrific severe thunderstorm. We layed at the edge of the tent to keep the tent from blowing off. It was the most memorable birthday of his. It was stupid tho..
Haha sounds epic! And unfortunately only a lost phone clip exists. It was so severe up there the cameras stayed packed up.
I've been camping , Canoeing and hiking since the middle 50's. Last 30 years I've arranged trips , was responsible for the trips , accompanied trips and sometimes just laid back and enjoyed being out there solo. I always was volunteered ( by others ) to plan and arrange everything. There is not a single trip where I can say something never went wrong , minor of major but wrong nevertheless. From forgetting the Salt & Pepper to camping in a Hurricane ( actually 3 of them , not at the same time ) or even a Tornado. Doesn't matter if you are a Expert , Every day Joe or Beginner , you are human and no matter how well planed something will eventually go wrong.Mr.Murphy and his Law loves to tag along.
One fishing ( Canoeing ) trip my buddy drove ( all day ) to get to the area and later on the water he realized he had everything , even his tackle box but no rod...... lol
One thing to always do , File a trip plan with a family member or rangers station , or both depending on the location.
Well said Chuck! Stuff just goes wrong sometimes, hopefully it's just little stuff like forgotten salt and pepper.
Thank you for your information 🙏 😊
You’re welcome!
Thank You for the video. Could You please share what us that grey hoodie that You wear soooo often but never mentioned on the list of the favorites?) I mean the one which has a pocket on front ;)
This is a really great vid.
It's refreshing to hear the voice of serious experience.
It's so easy to drink salt water. Not seawater-salty, but a third to a half teaspoon per liter prevents over-hydration. Fancy electrolytes are fine, but you'll get 90% of what you need from table salt. Even better if you mix in some "Lite Salt" or other blends of sodium choloride and potassium chloride.
Actually, that's the cheap way to make your own fancy electrolyte drink: One quarter tsp table salt plus one quarter tsp Lite Salt per liter of water.
(Or 3/8 tsp table salt + 1/8 tsp No Salt -- which is pure potassium chloride).
One mistake I definitely made early on is not practicing how to pitch my tent. I figured it would be something I can just figure later. Come the first night (after an exhaustive day) of my backpacking trip I'm having a hard time figuring it out and spent about a solid 20 min setting it up while my friends were already getting their food ready.
Definitely an inconvenience I could've done without if I just took 10 minutes before my trip to watch RUclips videos on it
Using gear for the first time in the field when you really need it is definitely worth avoiding, but yes I’ve done that myself too!
I've never ever used a mattress camping. Now everything lightweight my new tent is 1.5kg and apparently storm proof. I do have a storm shelter not sure of the weight. Haven't had to use it yet....
I take precaution seriously as well, I tend to ask a guide for information, and I usually get an egotistical response from them saying something that would pass off the danger as not serious or that I should not do the hike or the outdoor activity because I raised a question of concern. Thank you for the video.
Yep, ego can be the source of so many problems!
Wow a couple of biggies that could have ended in disaster! Tx for your honesty though. Take away is; be prepared, know your limits and never ever be over confident as things can go south really quick!
We all make mistakes but what’s important is being able to admit it and share them with others so they can learn first. Thanks for the knowledge! It’s reassuring to know that people who are really experienced and good at what they do, still make mistakes.
Even the best out there make loads of mistakes! Hopefully talking through them is helpful.
Great humble and informative video. Wondering what elevation you live at.
I live at 7000 feet.
@@BackpackingTV oh wow - despite that, you can still get altitude sickness at 11, 12, 14k feet. I thought it would help some at these elevations. Obviously not on top of Mt Everest but still, I'm surprised.
Appreciate this video so much!! I was expecting another stock standard beginner's mistake video like too much weight or going too far, etc. Instead you highlight some of the more realistic things to consider and how close to being dead on multiple occasions you've come!
Glad to hear it! There are so many ways to bungle it up out there. And if you’ve been out there a while you’re bound to stack up some stories!
I've had the same issue with too much water. We have good breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. It is just hard for me to snack on the fly with tracking poles and a leashed dog. Thanks for sharing.
That makes for tough hands-free hiking!
I hope everyone listens to your tale of almost starting a forest fire. One of the big ones in northern CA last year was started by inexperienced hikers lighting a campfire, when there was a complete back country fire ban in place for the state.
Tho not life threatening, one of the worst things i forgot on a backpacking trip was my morning black tea. Sort of the equivalent of sleeping badly. I once forgot my eating utensil, but i did have a pocket knife and made chopsticks out of alder twigs, and found a clamshell on the beach i used as a spoon
Highly recommend LMNT electrolytes to carry with you! They come in convenient small sachets for you to pour into water and drink! Has potassium, sodium and magnesium to keep you going without dehydrating! ❤
where can I find the Sweden trip video? I am planning on hiking the Kungsleden trail this summer and would love to see Eric's take on hiking in cold and windy Nordic environments
My over confidence has humbled me. I have had a couple of mistakes, reminding me that experience doesn't save you if you don't use common sense. I was on a solo hike and ended up with first stages of hypothermia. I had to hike out. Luckily I did. I didn't realize just how wet I was.
Water been there, happens to most of us once....never again. lol then the next trip we take too much, this was me last week
It’s always a fine line to walk! I usually carry a little extra now .
Very good and informative video! It remind us all to #stayhumble
Take care
Thanks for the honesty, Eric. Wanted to ask--and think it's worth pointing out for all the "tough guys" out there--you live in Flagstaff area, correct? Just so folks know, Flagstaff itself is almost 7000 ft in elevation--so Eric already had much more thin air acclimatization than most of us before he got to Peru. That kind of thing is no joke.
Some of those sounds super scary. One of my fears is being caught up in water. As a newbie packer I have been learning things like how to make a hot water bottle to take to bed. Something so simple but useful
I been in Peru they have awesome trails 😊
@BackpackingTV - have a backpacking trip planned to spirit lake, Stewart lake, and Katherine lake soon (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Can't wait for your upcoming Giveaway! you should check out that area sometime
My gear room
Looks exactly the same!!
Hi, would someone from the states be willing to tell me what the things in the 'my favorite...' list in the description are? The site wont open from Europe and i am quite curious about sleeping mat and tent mainly.
Hi! Big Agnes Q Core SLX sleeping mat and Big Agnes Copper Spur
I lost my car keys somewhere on my last trip. My friend and I actually stripped down our packs (we both had waistpack-lids) and marched back to the campsite to look, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Fortunately we'd only parked about 3 miles from a town with a train station, but it could have been really bad.
We went camping and it was clear ski day and night.(I live in South Africa, it happened in the Eastern cape at a place called Groendal),We woke at 2am and it was pouring. Friends insisted on taking light tents that was hardly call tent. It look like one off those pop up beach day tents. Anyway woke the next morning everyone else was flooded and me and my roomy was fine and dry. We then were told by the one friend who is also a mountain rescuer we should try to get out. Before the river is to high. It was a fun experience. I always get laughed at, at being overly prepared and it paid off.
Better to be over prepared than underprepared!
Sycamore canyon is my favorite hike in Arizona. Grew up doing it, such good times. Side note- I've had 4 or 5 people tell me that they have seen bigfoot there.
It’s possible that was just me after I haven’t shaved for a while.
@@BackpackingTV 🤣
Quite a collection of near disasters,.you must have an almost full stamp book. 😁 I appreciate your candour in sharing those moments of ill-judgement. We all take some wrong turns but by paying attention to other's experiences we can certainly reduce their frequency and severity. Also glad to see excessive water consumption included, which doesn't get nearly enough attention in my opinion. Simplistic promotion of frequent hydration for clubbers was essentially the cause of a teenager's death here in the UK, Leah Betts, with all the subsequent publicity revolving around illicit drug use instead, as she'd taken MDMA and so this was reflexively blamed.
Did that NY state lake to lake for h20
What is the videos name with the Sweden tent disaster
Sadly, the only video clip that exists is lost on an old phone of mine. It was so desperate the cameras stayed packed away.
Thanks for sharing your list of mistakes ... I have to say ... It's quite the list ... ;)
Haha thank you? JK yeah I’ve accumulated a few tales!
That video of the flash flood was so intense.
Crazy crazy stuff!
All good points! Moral of the story: Don’t take anything for granted. We are all fallible.
Hi, im getting older, 58 and trying to down size in gear weight. I simply cant afford to buy light gear thats comfy and affordable.
What should i do, second hand, there is nothing out there here in Australia. I bought a mointain design mat yesterday reduced from $200 to $100 off the shelf only to find out today that there may be a problem of it losing air.
I still need a 2 man tent to get out the door.
Man oh man, do you have any older gear i could purchase from you. It seems that you have ever so much that you may not be utilising. Im hete in Australia and lack affordable and ok quality stuff due to covid and under supplies in stores and online. ) :
Love this guy. He got a lot of shoes.
I have accumulated way too many!
I had altitude sickness many years ago and it's no joke! Young, fit, and stupidly overconfident me thought I could drive from the flatlands of Sacramento to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and IMMEDIATELY start our 3 night backpacking trip. Let's just say that wasn't even type 2 fun! Lesson learned and I now give myself (and my family) several days to acclimate beforehand. Thing is, I have been hiking and backpacking in the Sierras most of my life, so I should have known better all those years ago too. Overconfidence happens to all of us. Mother Nature has a cruel way of giving us a good reality check.
Altitude is a funny thing too. It can knock you out one trip and not affect you at all on another. It's very unpredictable!
I found a NASTY bout with Altitude sickness on the Continental Divide in Colorado. Being young and dumb I thought I could fight it long enough to come out the other side..... After one of the longest and most miserable nights of my life, I was in such bad shape by the morning, one of the guys in our group had to carry me all the way back down one his back. We had to literally tie me to him because I didn't even have enough strength to hold on.
What are the best underwear
Great video, thank you. There is an interesting book you might like to read: "Deep Survival - Who lives, who dies, and why" by Laurence Gonzales.
That's a classic!
@@BackpackingTV I should have known you would have already read it!
First mistake I made is watching Dan's videos LOL JK also it'd be really cool what you have for a checklist what's on your list
Zing! Heyo. I can put a list together! ✌️
@BackpackingTV that would be cool maybe even like a pdf and we can donate a few bucks for it idk lol you have back packed probably more than. All of us so a packing list by a pro would be awesome headstart
Any AT lessons learned?🙂🙏
I actually haven’t hiked the AT (outside of a five mile day hike once). Sorry!
What a wild story
I live in UT and you must obey the rain.
Never mess with mother nature. Thankfully you and ur buds survived to tell the tale.
I would have called this: "My Coolest Stories"
Haha yeah that’s one way to put it!
#5. Lesson here: make a proper fire ring or don't have a fire
Definitely. And preferably in a previously impacted spot. I choose to have a fire way less frequently now than when I was a young chap!
another big mistake is to not abort a trip when conditions change, I just returned from a trip on the Olympic Coast Trail. The weather forecast was wrong and and was in a major storm.,. If I did not abort the trip I might not have survived the trip. Aborting a trip is a hard decision, especially when the trip was planed 2 years in advance.
Been doing Kalalau in Kauai since I was a teenager and that's 100% the case. If you live in Kauai it's easy to cancel the trip because you can go back when weathers better. I was a part of Kalalau's largest rescue ever winter solstice of 2014 where nearly 200 people had to get flown out, and a lot of the battle was convincing people to wait out the flooded river we were now stuck behind despite missing their flights home
Grabbing that almost empty canister
Grabbing the mostly dead battery bank
Leaving the GPS on and the nsa draining my battery
So... did you buy a Hilleberg while you were in Sweden?
Oh ye great god Hubris, you have brought low countless.
One lesson learnt: check the weather forecast and be aware of the margin of error that every forecast has.
When everything goes well nobody notices.
very true!
I don't want to laugh at mistakes that might have had serious consequences. If this vid proves anything, it is that we can all make mistakes and that we always need to prepare thoroughly for our trips.
Just take dehydrated water! problem solved! lol
Dude went to Sweden and almost ended up in a mrballen story.
Pretty much!
I mean, how are you still alive ? jajaja
...WOW !! You really did all this ?? ...
.. Who gave you your " Expert" merit badge ?? ..
Haha yep! I guess the guiding company I used to work for?