Great advice, be aware when when you're coming to WY, it can snow in July. There are a few extra pieces of gear you will always want to have, even if you don't use it (but if you do need it, it will save your life). Bear Spray, Emergency Bivy, etc. Take all that advice mentioned and lower the ratings for colder weather (gloves, etc). Even more important if you're in the mountains. And be aware that their may not be water in certain areas, you're at a high altitude desert. Water you're heaviest item here.

Thanks Ghost! I spoke with a friend in Casper earlier, he said he had 6" of snow fall over the weekend. We will be living around Pinedale which is south of the Tetons. I know there are lots of great places in that area of packing. I look forward to the transition.

Also, while many people have recommended REI for advice and shopping, a word of caution about REI's store brand. They will push the REI store brand as a price saving alternative, but what you're missing with the REI brand is the warranty and the quality. If at all possible, avoid REI's store brand items, and spend the extra money to purchase from a reputable manufacturer. REI does a really good job of selling outdoor clothes, and a really crappy job of making them.

Once you've got the essentials, focus less on gadgetry and more on having good/enough clothing and food.

Backpacking is great, whether it be with friends or alone.

I do agree to some extent and I've seen some company brands that get horrible manufacturing.  I know REI use to have companies like Osprey manufacture their merchandise with their REI brand name, but I too would be leery about just REI brands.  The good news is you can do a lot of research instead of being brand-blind; try to stick with reputable companies, but do your home work as all companies make mistakes at times.  Just a little defense for REI, but I really like their thin Merino socks and soft-shell pants, but don't get sucked in to any brand just because of the name or sales pitch.

ROCK6

While I'm thinking about it, like with any new hobby it is easy to go buy the biggest and best equipment. Backpacking is no different and CAN easily empty your wallet with all the fancy stoves/tents/tarps/ropes/rope gadgets/water filters/stuff sacks/compression sacks/hammocks etc.

To begin with try and keep it simple. Get a good sleeping bag, tent, cookset and decent stove. It (the stove) doesnt have to be a 200 dollar MSR stove, even a 40 dollar walmart multifuel flavour will work (even if it is somewhat heavy).

And when it comes to food dont be afraid of meijer/wawa/walmart's premade uncle bens rice pouches, and OATMEAL. Hell 1 thing of oatmeal can keep a man alive for years! ;-)


Winter isn't always the best time to try and keep it simple, but you do what you can do!

I guess that's me. My first "real" tent was a blue and yellow 2-man REI dome that I bought through the mail, sight unseen, when I was in Okinawa.  I think I paid about $150 for it in 1992.  Took it out into the Northern Training Area and to the beach several times while I was there and 43 US states since I got back.  I "retired" it from front-line duty just a couple of years ago but the kids and I camp in the back yard with it sometimes.  

I started backpacking with a canvas "NATO" backpack and surplus shelter half I got at an Army-Navy store.  

Just like this, probably paid $19.99 for it:



My first backpacking trip, with that gear, was up Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks.  Then I moved "up" to the REI tent, a Coleman sleeping bag, and a Lowe backpack.  My gear is a little more sophisticated now but no-where near >$300 for a sleeping bag.  I know this is ARFCOM where everyone has a supermodel wife and drives an M-series B-mer, etc.  But you don't need $2000 worth of gear to go awesome places and have fun.  You won't DIE if you don't have a $500 Marmot Alpinist jacket.  I'm not ragging on good gear or trying to call anyone an elitist, I just hate to think someone is reading this thread and getting turned off by the"high" price of the hobby.

I do two 25-30 mile hikes a year on the Appalachian Trail with buddies. You've gotten good advice so not much more to add other than another endorsement for the Sawyer Sqeeze hydration. It's fast. I used the tablets on my first hike- big mistake.

Other than convenience, what is the advantage of the squeeze over the tabs?

Tabs require time and don't remove anything (you'll need a bandana or cravat for a pre-filter).  Plus, depending on if you're talking chorine dioxide or iodine tablets, some don't really like the taste.  

I have about a dozen Sawyer Mini filters and they are vastly more versatile (but I would always recommend a few tablets for backup).

- Use as a straw for drinking directly from water sources and the longer straw tube can access hard to reach crevices.
- Used with squeeze pouches (older Platypus, Evernew or most water bottles).
- Used with the larger squeeze pouches or the heavier duty water bags for gravity filtering (which I love in camp).
- Used to directly fill your hydration bladder in your pack (very convenient without having to unpack your pack)
- Can be used as an inline water filter with a hydration tube stet up.

Maintenance is very simple with the syringe and as long as you store it where it won't freeze it's rated to filter more water than you can filter in a lifetime of recreational or emergency use.

Oh, and it's about the same price as a couple dozen tablets which have a shelf life of only a few years...

ROCK6

Amazon lightning deal 3.5hr remaining... Kelt Cosmic 20F Down bag $99 shipped! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product//B009PRNUM4/ref=twister_dp_update?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While RC-1136 makes some good points recommending a synthetic bag for noobs, I wish I would've bought a down bag, and this one would have been a great 1st bag especially for only $99!

I work at an outdoor store, and while the Sawyer filters are seven different kinds of awesome (I also have several, and have one Camelbak with one spliced into the line so all I have to do to filter water is fill the bladder and drink) the bags Sawyer sends out with the filter suck. If you're actually squeeze filtering, the bag will probably blow up or pop a seam within a week.

 

I've read that so many times about the Sawyer bags that I just tossed mine to the side and use bottles instead.

Yeah, I don't know if the newer bags will last longer, but I've had much better luck with them.  I typically do a trip with two bags (one is a back up), but I've also heard the new Platypus threads don't work with Sawyer; however Evernew makes similar bags that are welded much better and they work like a charm.  Another option is to buy their two-liter gravity bag which is built much like the MSR Dromedary bags...very robust.  You can set them up to squeeze or just filter via gravity.

I warn everybody not to pack only one squeeze bag.  We've had two failures with the old ones; one was just a leaky seam, but another started to blow out at the opening.  They are definitely not long term!

ROCK6

There have been quite a few blanket dogmatic statements made.  Here.  For a starter getting rei gear a guy could do worse. For example the xt85 backpack is a good bag and for backpack hunters has been found capable of handling heavy loads.  The rei quarter dome tent I know a couple guys who take it sheep hunting every year, they have put out a few videos you can check them out at proving trail adventures.
Now I don't think rei is the best but I think their gear is better than alps.  
With down after a decade plus of hunting moose for weeks at a time on a river during the rainiest season of the year out of a standard tent and all kinds of other camping I could count exactly zero times that if I had down I would have been in trouble. 2 years ago I made the switch to down and haven't looked back.  
I am a sawyer squeeze guy too, I have a mini in line with my platy bladder, but I haven't had any issues with the bags the new blue bags are stronger for filling the bladder its the patty zip so no issues there. For filling the bags I cut the bottom off an old bag and use one of those as a scoop linked to a new bag with one of those tornado twisters that are used with 2 liter soda bottles for elementary school science projects.
I prefer boots with some kind of ankle support, rolling or twisting an ankle doesn't take much once you wind up off trail.

Sorry for my absence guys, I've been on the road! I appreciate all the tips and wisdom you guys have posted. It will keep me busy for quite a while.