About this Guide

• This is a living guide and is added to and updated frequently
• We are open to feedback; if you have a suggestion or something you would like us to add please email us at info@destinationhikers.com
• This guide is based on experience–if we recommend a product it is because we use it ourselves

About Us

Katy and I love the outdoors! Our love of the outdoors brought us together and helps to keep us together. We can do things together we would not try alone, and we both have our best friend as a hiking and backpacking partner for life!

Many couples love the outdoors, but there are few resources online for backpacking couples. Katy and I put together this guide to help other couples get the information they need to explore the outdoors together.

Planning

Planning trips around family and work schedules can be difficult, so we make it a goal to go on a destination hike on average once per month. We budget for our monthly trips and we usually only get extended weekends due to work and family schedules. We know our situation, and what we can do. Each couples’ situation is going to be different, but we think it is best to push yourself to do just a little more than is entirely comfortable.

Budgeting

Budgeting for regular destination hikes is not too complex and is very helpful. As a financial priority, Katy and I set aside our monthly travel funds based on estimates of typical travel expenses. We like to keep costs low, getting the most value possible. We budget for all expenses including low-cost airfare, food, car rental, lodging, and gas. We regularly check our estimates versus our actual expenses and even look to cut costs, where possible.

The good news is that backpacking and hiking, once you have the gear, is not terribly expensive. If we have a month that we cannot travel due to budget constraints, we will typically just hike or backpack locally to avoid the higher costs of long-distance air travel.

Set a Goal!

One of the best things we ever did was set a goal to go on a destination hike once a month. This allows us to budget for the trips, pushes us to make plans, and gives us something to look forward to every month.

Others may need to plan differently based on circumstances, perhaps destination hiking once every few months or based on the seasons, or even staying closer to home. But in the end, having a goal will help you plan and budget and make your dreams a reality.

Couples Shared Gear

Being able to share gear is a great benefit to backpacking as a couple. While two-person tents, quilts, and sleeping pads are typically heavier than their one-person counterparts, the weight can be divided amongst two people, which ultimately lightens each individual load.

We share the load not just with our sleep system, but by also only taking a single bear canister, one satellite messenger, one pocket knife, one trowel, a single bathroom accessories bag, one stove, one water filtration system, one pressurized hydration bladder, one phone charging battery, and only one emergency kit. Being able to work as a team on the trail is helpful, just as in life.

Shared Weight

Typically, I carry a little more of the weight than Katy. We try to keep our total load to no more than around 20% of our own body weight when backpacking. This is harder to stay under with more petite body types. As I am close to 185 lbs and 5’11”, I typically carry between 25 and 30 lbs at the start of a trip, which is well under 20%. Katy is closer to 105 lbs and 5’4″, so 20% for her is closer to 20 lbs, though she will typically carry around 25 lbs when starting a trip or on longer or colder trips.

We distribute the weight based on our understanding of each other’s abilities and circumstances. As an example, Katy’s knees don’t handle going down steep grades as well as mine. During these situations, I offer to take a little of the burden as it often makes the difference between an enjoyable experience and a painful one.

Couples Shared Warmth

For us, when looking for gear we also wanted to ensure we could snuggle and share warmth when sleeping on the trail. We enjoy being close to each other and did not want to sleep on two different pads with our own quilts or sleeping bags.

It took many hours of researching reviews from many different locations, but we have found the best couples backpacking sleep system available. We have since trail-tested our couples’ sleep system in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Idaho’s notoriously cold Sawtooths, and Washington’s Glacier Peak Wilderness, along with many other destinations. We do make some adjustments for below-freezing temperatures, but those additions would be wise for any sleep system and they allow us to only add weight when it’s needed.

Individual Gear

While we can share many things, we do have personal preference for our individual gear. We obviously don’t share clothing, backpacks, hydration bladders, or sunglasses. Each couple will have a pretty good idea of what they feel comfortable sharing. As an example, one couple might be okay sharing a toothbrush or bathroom accessories, but another couple might not be. The choice is yours, but do plan accordingly.

Preparing

To prepare for our trips, we have a generic, all-weather, inclusive checklist (editable version) that I make a photocopy of before every trip. This is our template and checklist to ensure that we don’t forget anything for each trip. As we pack our gear we check each item off our list indicating we know it has been packed.

We will add or remove items as needed from the checklist based on expected conditions. For example, we will leave the ice axes and microspikes at home if we don’t expect snow or ice travel.

One final note on preparing is knowing your gear. It is always best to understand a nuance, or if something is not going to work well for you in your backyard versus 15+ miles in the backcountry.

Training

Training depends on what we are planning for, but we typically go on walks every day in our neighborhood and augment that with longer local hikes or workouts at the gym to train as frequently as possible. Katy is a huge fan of using the stairmaster to prepare for intense climbs.

If training for a specific hike, like the Grand Canyon, for instance, we will typically go for longer day hikes a week or two before and try to mimic the topography of the hike. In this case, we hiked from the top of the tallest local mountain (about 3800′) to the base and back up again to simulate and train for the Canyon.

Supplements

We take supplements to reduce inflammation and soreness from overexertion, give us energy, and provide us electrolytes. Some of our favorite and most effective supplements are found in our backpacker and hiker’s guide to supplements.

Nutrition

We do generally watch our nutrition intake by eating healthy, nutrient-dense food. For breakfast and snacks on the trail, we like to balance nutrient-dense protein bars, dried fruit, and salty snacks. Katy portions out the snacks by day into separate quart-sized Ziploc bags. An example of a typical bag would be:

• 2-3 Vega or Garden of Life Sport Protein bars
• a baggie of mixed dried fruit (we like dried baby bananas, raisins, prunes, and blueberries)
• a baggie of salty snacks (we like a mix of pretzels, crackers, seasoned almonds, and broad beans, and Somersaults… sometimes we add extra RealSalt!)
• We are also fans of pre-made trail mix and freeze-dried fruit.

We usually stock up at Trader Joe’s before we leave, as the prices and variety cannot be beat!

We really only crave one hot meal per day, so we bring a 2 serving size freeze-dried meal for dinner, and sometimes a freeze-dried dessert. Our favorite dinner is the Three Sisters Stew by Backpacker’s Pantry.

Remembering to take photos and videos

While this may not be true for everyone, we need reminders to take photos and videos. It may be because we are so happy outside, or because I had shunned all social media accounts prior to this website, but early on we would forget to take pictures to remind us of our journey. We would always take some photos, but memories sometimes fade and having a photo or a video during a destination hike helps us remember. Plus, our kids and extended family love seeing our adventures through our photo albums.

As an idea, we also started taking videos of us together during our hikes. We check-in and address them to our “future selves”. It is really neat to go back and look at these videos and share the memories of our adventures together in this way.

Conclusion

We understand that adventuring is not for every couple, but for those that do enjoy the outdoors, backpacking and hiking together can be the keystone to a happy and successful relationship. It brings you together, forming lifelong memories, a sense of accomplishment, and physical and mental strength.

Getting out and into the wilderness takes time, planning, lots of gear, and working together. If the idea of being outside adventuring with your partner sounds appealing, backpacking as a couple is an experience you should not miss.