Q: So me and my buddy love the movie "Into the Wild" and we really wanna leave Dallas Texas for a bit. We wanna explore nature, through mountains, woods, rivers, etc. We are willing to set up camp and eat our own made food. We were hoping the expedition could happen over the course of 4 days or so. Any ideas? Like stated before we live in Dallas Texas and were looking to take a bus or ride share with someone to near by states such as Colorado, New Mexico, or even somewhere else in Texas. Please give ANY idea you have. THANKS! Oh and I don't wanna spend money to join some tour, I just wanna take a bus to somewhere, hitch hike somewhere, then start walking!
A: Since you're not planning on dropping out like Christopher McCandless, but just want to go on a weekend backpacking trip, I see no problem with your plan. Everyone has a first time out in the wilderness, and while you could get hurt, I'm sure, with a buddy along, and some common sense, you'll have a great time. Hitch hiking these days is only for hikers, and once you get to a major city, approaching people obviously headed up to the National Park for a ride isn't the huge risk it would be doing it in any other situation. Heck, there's probably a shuttle bus that goes to the park! (Yeah, there is: http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/shuttle_bus_route.htm) Obviously if you're going to the Colorado Rockies (Rocky Mountain National Park), which would be awesome, you'll need backpacks, warm synthetic mummy-style sleeping bags, synthetic hiking clothes, rain gear, some sort of shelter, some sort of stove, backpacking food, and probably a bear canister or a few bucks to rent one. To save money you could make due, borrow, beg, or even make much of that gear yourself. A couple of large black garbage bags could be a poncho, a 10 x 10 sheet of 5mil plastic could be your shelter with the addition of some guy lines tied with sheet bends http://www.animatedknots.com/sheetbend/index.php and a couple of poles or sticks you find, you don't need hiking boots, athletic shoes with a little tread will do fine, you could make your own alcohol stove that runs off Yellow Heet out of pepsi cans http://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/catstoveinstrt.shtml, and what's a first aid kit but a few band-aids, tweezers, some aspirin, and a bandana? Used sleeping bags are available on eBay. You don't want to use your old rectangular bag nor try to rely on a fire for warmth because often fires aren't permitted. Something like a North Face, Kelty, or REI brand 20 degree mummy bag would be ideal. Here's a cheap one http://cgi.ebay.com/REI-Ploar-Pod-20F-Sleeping-Bag-Regular-left-8-Avail_W0QQitemZ330271696013QQihZ014QQcategoryZ36116QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Gather all your puffy jackets, fleece clothes, polyester shirts, nylon pants, windbreakers, polyester dress socks, and you'll probably find you already have enough synthetic clothing for backpacking. If not, a trip to the thrift store or discount store could score some bargains. Most people hike and spend most of their time in the three seasons wearing nothing more hiking than a t-shirt, shorts or pants, and a windbreaker. At night an in the mornings a puffy jacket is nice, but once your get hiking at anything above 50-60 degrees, you're going to be warm. Really you should stick to the National Parks, and stay on established trails, get a map and buy a compass and learn how to use them. In four days you could do a nice 30 mile loop if you're in reasonably good shape. I could go on and on with advice, but I think I've answered your question. You should've seen me on my first backpacking trip. I was absolutely clueless, but we were up there backpacking and stayed for four days, cooking on a fire with an old pot, sleeping in an orange Best tent, borrowed backpack, army boots, big ol' plastic survival knife.