Is it possible to become outdoorsy? I backpacked for a weekend to find out.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On a brisk October morning, with 20 pounds of gear on my back, I trekked up a steep, rocky trail. With each step, I felt my throat constrict and my lungs heave.
As a city person, my idea of an invigorating activity is walking up a broken escalator. Maybe strolling to the library. Now, I was spending my weekend hiking 10 miles in two days along the Appalachian Trail’s Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey.
Even more remarkable? I appeared to be enjoying myself. This was an experiment. Growing up, my family’s annual “hikes" in Illinois often left me weeping with exhaustion after only 2 miles.
Decades later, I wondered, at the ripe age of 26, could I learn to love the outdoors? I decided to start in the deep end with this backpacking expedition. Online searches had led me to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), an outdoors organization founded in 1876, which offers free beginner backpacking trips. I knew I’d need help.
I’d found my mentors. During our first phone call, Greg Fogarty, one of the group leaders, vetted my fitness. Asthma? Afraid so.
Never camped? Check. “You’ll be the newbiest of newbies," he said. Fitness, Fogarty emphasized, mattered more than cramming YouTube tutorials on wilderness skills.
“If you have the right gear, we can teach you how to use it." He recommended some beginner-level equipment (see “Gear Up" below) and prescribed 4 to 5 miles of walking a day. In the weeks leading up to my trip, I diligently walked 4 miles from Midtown to Chinatown after work—sometimes. All too soon, I found myself at the trailhead with my group near the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border.
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