How should I prepare for lengthy backpacking trips?

where in Texas? If you think all of Texas is boring either you're in Lubbock or you haven't done enough research. I'm in Austin and currently training for a multi-day trip in Big Bend where the total elevation change over several days will be ~10K feet. The park is easily big enough for a week-long excursion, although it's not exactly close to anything even by Texas standards. I'm training in the small, flatter, but very scenic parks that can be reached within a few hours drive of Austin: Colorado Bend, Lost Maples, Pedernales Falls, etc. If you're in Dallas or Houston, the Davy Crockett and Sabine National Forests are a couple hours away and have miles of trail. If you are in the panhandle, New Mexico is probably closer than Big Bend or anything interesting in Texas. The hard part around here is water and heat - there is no treatable water to be had half the year, you have to carry it, and it really does get dangerously hot in the summer so your water needs will be double whatever you think you need. step 0 - get a baseline level of fitness via weight-bearing walking and running around your town, stairclimber at the gym, etc. get your basic gear; pack, tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad. don't go too cheap on those because every extra dollar you spend gets you something lighter and more durable, and you don't want to find out on the trail that your crappy tent isn't quite waterproof. But also don't buy too much more than that until you're more experienced (don't spring for the $200 Jetboil kit yet) step 1 - weekend overnight in whatever small state park looks best close to you. hike 5-10 miles, sleep, go home. decide what about your gear and shoes needs to change for next time to make it more comfortable. mess around with the adjustments on your pack to get the weight in the place that feels easiest. practice with a map and compass step 2 - Big Bend, at least 4 days, up to a week. more difficult terrain, more elevation change, will require you to be more careful about food and water, very scenic. step 3 - PCT, et al.

> [bear canisters] are all but required in many areas I should have written that sentence that way. > No one has mentioned "The Complete Walker," by Colin Fletcher. He was sort of the godfather of long distance backpacking. His book will impart a lot of wisdom about what to carry and what to think about for long hikes. x2! I can't recommend "The Complete Walker" highly enough as a general text, and would have mentioned it myself, except that I read it 25 years ago and didn't want to presume that it was still relevant. But it covers all of this material very well and very conversationally, even if the gear specifics have evolved since it was last revised. For that matter, I'd recommend everything Colin Fletcher wrote. I will always have a special place in my heart for his first book, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+thousand+mile+summer&keywords=the+thousand+mile+summer&ie=UTF8&qid=1390614340&rnid=2941120011, but most folks seem to prefer http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+man+who+walked+through+time&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+man+who+walked+through+time, which is also quite good.

Go on a couple guided group trips, like with Outward Bound or similar. All my friends who've done long backpacking trips say the hardest thing at first is not the physical but the organizational. Go with people who know what they're doing and learn from them.

I'd do some shakedown hikes with a local hiking group. Your local REI should have a group or two that does big hikes and also does intro overnight hikes for newbies, around Austin, say.

Unless you're going to be aggressive about miles, the terrain/physicality might not be the hardest part. It can be a little mentally challenging. Have you done any single overnights yet? If not, start with that. See how you like being bored and kind of worn out all day and sleeping out there by yourself. And find out what you're going to need physically and mentally in terms of food. If you're the type who can eat nothing but clif bars without killing yourself, there you go, if you need 3 hot meals a day, then you can plan for that too. I would also find out how little shoe you can get away with. If you can go out with trail running shoes you're going to be a lot lighter on your feet than in hiking boots, but if you need the hiking boots, you need the hiking boots. Also, use a single or double overnight to figure out what you want to do about water. There's different ways to treat depending on your tolerance for risk, effort, bulk, and chemical taste. If you're in typical shape, what you're going to need most in terms of preparation is just figuring out what's going to work for you so you don't get caught 20 miles from nowhere with a blister and the raging shits and no food and a snakebite. This is more about miles than time. Oh, and take a read of "A Walk In The Woods" if you haven't. He takes some license but also covers some things well as far as being a guy that isn't Edmund Hillary but just a guy who wants to hike the AT. I'm not a pro but I've done a couple 80-100 mile thru hikes and that's my $0.02.

Before anyone can give you a decent answer, we should probably know how old you are, how fit you are, and how ambitious you plan on making these trips (total distance planned for a given trip, how far you intend to push yourself each day, if you plan on going ultralight vs. "regular light", etc.) The specifics of where you intend to go as well as the time of year are also big factors to consider. The PCT is ~2650 miles from end to end, but traveling in the desert is very different than traveling above 12,000 feet. So, I hear you want to go backpacking? Tell us about yourself and your backpacking goals, and please be specific. ;-)

I've done a lot of backpacking along the PCT/JMT and in Yosemite, and I don't know that much preparation was really necessary beyond making sure I was in good enough shape and knew what gear to pack. It would certainly help to know how to read a topo map, but that's pretty easy to pick up. I'd also recommend taking a first aid class, especially if there's one near you focused on wilderness first aid. You could also practice hiking at elevation to see how you're going to react. As you mentioned, Texas is flat and these mountain ranges are not. I probably wouldn't start with a full week long trip my first time out, or if I did, make sure you're on a trail where you can leave early if you must. That's definitely not possible on sections of the PCT. Anyway, have fun! Backpacking is awesome.

Ah yes, details. I'm a 35YO male, in relatively decent shape. I'm not a total couch potato, and probably do a moderate amount of cardio and weight training. I don't typically find it difficult to ramp up my activity to meet a fitness goal if i really want or need to. I am a critical care nurse and spend 12+ hours on my feet lifting and turning sedated patients at least 3 days a week. As far as ambition...I'm more interested in the amount of time I can spend out in the woods rather than hiking a ton of miles. I think I know my physical limitations pretty well and don't feel like I need to clock X number of miles per day or anything like that. I plan on making all the rookie mistakes of packing too many things I won't need, and so I feel like by the time I undertake any of these ambitious hikes (especially the PCT), my goal is to have my gear pared down to at least "regular light." I don't plan on doing any winter hiking, as the gear is just way too intense and expensive for me at this early stage. I have an extremely flexible schedule, and so I'd like to do most of my hiking in the spring and fall to avoid crowds or what passes for crowds. As far as the PCT goes, my initial interest is in Section G of the Oregon part of the trail. It passes through the Columbia River Gorge, which is really one of my biggest goals. The other two I mentioned are wide open, as it all looks good to me.

Spring will be early for the Olympic Peninsula if you're looking at elevation over, say, 3500'. Although we haven't had much snow this year. You don't mention anything about your camping skills. There's a lot more to backpacking than walking with stuff on your back.