adminHello fellow wanderers!
My name is Travis and I am new to hiking and backpacking. I enjoy being in the outdoors and traveling to new destinations I’ve never seen before. I have camped in my younger days, I have taken a tourist-style cruise through the Caribbean, and I have hiked and explored some local trails from time to time. I have always had a sense of adventure to explore but I have never actually taken the steps to get out there and really immerse myself in nature.
But in a month’s time, I will be embarking on my first backpacking trip to the Four Pass Loop within the Maroon Bells of Aspen, Colorado.
I began planning this trip about 8 months ago when an entirely separate trip my friend and I were planning fell through. Our initial toe dip into the world of backpacking was supposed to consist of a 10 mile hike in Arizona to a majestic waterfall campsite, where we would camp for a couple days and head out. However, in recent years, this spot has become a popular tourist destination and we could not land a permit this year during registration. Just like that, 6 months of planning went down the drain. We were crushed. We had already started acquiring gear for the trip, we had studied the trail and conditions, and we were fully prepared. All we needed was a camp spot. But our dream of adventure would have to wait. Although we desperately wanted to experience the destination we had daydreamed about for months, we stayed positive and agreed that the world had much more to offer. We decided to start researching other trips we could take instead and within a week, we had found our new adventure. The Four Pass Loop. A 26 mike hike through the beautiful mountains of the Maroon Bells in Colorado. The pictures looked breathtaking. The hike looked doable, although certainly challenging. This was a totally different experience then we initially planned. This was going to be a much more challenging hike, in tougher conditions and in altitude we had never had to endure. However, we agreed that we were both up for the challenge and the planning began.
Now if you are like me and want to go on a backpacking adventure, it can be an overwhelming planning process, and can be difficult to even know where to start. But worry not! I have already taken the deep dive into researching backpacking basics, gear and tips from many more experienced travelers than myself. That being said, I am far from an expert backpacker at this point but that puts me in the unique position to share my experiences as I go, for those newbies like me that may be ready to start planning their next trip.
I have scoured the internet for gear recommendations, hiking and camping tips and studied my upcoming trail obsessively in anticipation on my first hike. I’ve since purchased all my backpacking gear and food other the past few months. I have been training my body to make sure I am in the shape required to haul a backpack for 4 days through the mountains. I am now a month away from setting out to tackle the Four Pass Loop and it occurred to me that maybe I could help fellow travelers by sharing my experiences as I go. Learn with me through my trials and error, and check out some of the gear I’m currently using for my upcoming trip.
While you can follow along with my current preparations for my upcoming trip, you can also check out some of my past adventures and travels. As I complete adventures, I will review my trips, gear choices and make general recommendations for you so you don’t have to go through the same tedious research process that I did.
So for those of us who can’t help but wander, come follow me as i embark on this new an exciting adventure.
