Me and my wife are planing to do a lot of hiking and camping in 2025. Starting off with just the trails around Austin, TX and expanding as we go.
Got the basics:
- Hiking Boots
- light day pack w/ bladder
- simple first aid kit
- downloaded maps
I used to go all the time when I lived near a trail head, but I would never go much further than 4 miles in before turning around. We won’t be that far from civilization most of the time, nothing too intense.
Thanks y’all!
Edit: thank for the advice y’all!!
Can’t believe I forgot hats, definitely picking up some. Will also pack my leatherman too.
And I agree hiking boots are probably a little overkill for most the trails we’ll be doing at first. But we want to get used to them and break them in for longer and rougher hikes we’re planning later this year.
I'd recommend a beginner gets Alltrails and does popular routes at state parks and the like while paying attention to topo lines. As they learn and get used to it, they can choose to level up to different apps, making their own routes, going off trail, and even using paper maps and a compass.