marcy is a pretty rough hike from duck hole, i'd recommend paying to park at the adk loj. boots are the most important thing. you can't just wear a good pair first thing, either. they take a month to break in. you'll want wool socks, too. merino is best.

synthetic clothing is important, especially in the adiraindacks. i'd stay out of the eastern high peaks because there is no fires and you need a bear canister there. you can't hang a bear bag. and there is a world famous bear up there that can open bear canisters so i'd avoid that. you should probably pass on that area and head into the black river wild forest just south of old forge. that's your best bet. i can get you a really nice itinerary if you need it. but seriously, the high peaks region is not a good idea for you to just start on. it is difficult in there, and you should have backcountry experience and experience with bears and raccoons. PM me and we can talk in more detail.

source: NYS wilderness guide, lifetime backpacker.

Ture words. Start with some car camping, learn what gear you like and what is a waste of space. Make your mistakes where you can just hop in the car and go home instead of out in the middle of nowhere. A note on hiking boots. If you go with a more rigid boot you'll need to beat them in and get them worn but the newer boots that are flexible don't need as much attention out of the gate. They aren't what I would recommend for heading up the summit of Pikes Peak or anything but they are what I wear on everything from week long trips to simple day hikes with the kids. These are a newer version of what I have. http://www.rei.com/product/748502/merre ... boots-mens I think mine are a bit more high end then these but they have gone literally thousands of miles and are still comfy and solid. I water proof them once a year after a good cleaning. Pat has more experience with bear boxes than me. I hang all my gear but then again I'm staying below treeline most of the time. I'm in the market for a bear box though because I'm going to use it as a resupplu point on my 40 miles trip next month.

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Yeah I can car camp at Southwick beach no problem. They have shower and restroom facilities too. A little weak, but nice.

Any recommendations on specific tents? Would most likely be camping with the gf so two person is ideal.

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if you are camping with two people, you'll want a 4 person tent. i have a 2 person with full fly for backpacking, and that is snug with me and my gear. look for a 4 person with sitting height, so if it rains, you can play cards or other board games.

as far as a fly goes, look for a full one that gives you use of a vestibule- they are incredibly handy. but if you do like camping, you'll end up buying a 2-3 hundred dollar tent eventually...so use something cheap for now. brands are hit and miss. i'd be more than happy to offer my opinion on some tents, if you want.

I have a Coleman 3 person tent that was pretty cheap. Surprisingly good rainfly for something as cheap as it was.

I second the idea to go one person over in size for the number of people sleeping in it. I'm in the same boat as Pat; there are some 2 person tents that I can barely fit in

That'd be cool, like I said, I've never been tent camping before.

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price range?

i'd recommend around 75 bucks, but you let me know.

Well I'm waiting until I have a job to start buying anything, just compiling info at the moment. I have no problem with spending a good amount of money. I don't think I know enough to really set a price range.

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understandable...but if you give me a total price you want to spend for your beginning camping experience, i can find stuff that will suit you best. i mean, you don't want to drop cash on really good stuff when you don't know if you'll like it.

i need a figure to stand by. and what equipment you have. i don't work well without constraints, because then i'll set you up like me, and i can be sure you don't want to drop that kind of cash on something you might not like.

I think I'd be content inside of $1,000. Like I said, I don't have a good feel for what this stuff costs so I don't know if I'm high or low with that number or what.

As far as gear, the only thing I can really think of that I have that would come in handy would be my 3 D-cell maglight.

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well, let me tell you, 1000 bucks can get you set up real well. i was figuring on you wanting to drop about 3-350 for the first go of it, cause 1000 can get you gear that's at least comparable to me. i'll tell you what- i'll do a list of what i would call a beginner set, and one of a pretty decent set.

Sounds good to me. Thanks.

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3 season tent:
beginner:http://www.backcountry.com/big-agnes-burn-ridge-outfitter-2-tent-2-person-3-season
veteran:http://www.backcountry.com/big-agnes-lynx-pass-tent-3-person-3-season

when i buy a tent, i look for ventilation (because we have a lot of rain in ny), set up height, size of fly, taped seams, freestanding, type of bottoms, etc. to be honest, your best bet is buying a tent from wal mart or something, like http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Max-6 ... t/13848689. what you'll want is something with a decent fly (coverage) taped seams (welded works, too) and a tub bottom, because then you won't need a footprint to protect your tent.

sleeping bag:
beginner: i'd recommend just a basic coleman or something from wal mart. the rating system is always flawed on a bag, so look for something around a 30 degree rating. that means you'll be comfortable around 45-60 degrees which is most common in NY at night.
veteran: http://www.backcountry.com/stoic-somnus ... egree-down

get something comfortable, because it takes a while to get used to a sleeping bag, especially staying on a pad.

sleeping pad:
beginner:http://www.rei.com/product/810386/therm-a-rest-ridgerest-solite-sleeping-pad
veteran:http://www.rei.com/product/778148/rei-trekker-175-self-inflating-pad

no two ways about it, you're going to fucking hate sleeping on a pad for the first while. the point of them is not to be comfortable, but to keep you warm (up off the ground). Cots are also an option. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Camp-Cot/14089868

stoves:
beginner: http://www.backcountry.com/coleman-perf ... rner-stove
veteran: http://www.backcountry.com/msr-whisperl ... fuel-stove

stoves are something else. you can cook over a fire too, but like we've talked about before, there are a ton of places and times of the year where fires aren't allowed. or it could be raining, in which case these burners will be your best friend. the whisperlite is my favorite stove, and you literally can cook anything on it, when you have enough practice. the coleman propane stove is nice because that's all it is- just a stovetop. and it's easy to get fuel and 1 bottle will last a weekend. with the MSR, you need white gas (unless you get the international model) and special fuel bottles.

water purification:
beginner:http://www.prepare-now.com/845.html
veteran:http://www.backcountry.com/msr-sweetwater-purifier-system

i use pure aqua sometimes. i always carry the iodine crystal bottle in my fishing gear and day packs. my sweetwater system is spectacular, lightweight, and field-strippable. i love them both. but it's good to have two when you backpack. you can always boil water, too..5-10 minutes at a rolling boil will kill everything. beaver fever (giardia) is not something to mess with. i had it, it sucks.

lighting:
beginner: http://www.backcountry.com/e-gear-weekender-lantern
veteran: http://www.backcountry.com/petzl-tikka-plus-2-headlamp

headlamps revolutionized the outdoors. lamps are a thing of the past for a real recreational camper. they're more for base camps. i have both a headlamp and a backpacking flashlight with me.

daypacks:
beginner: the thing you carried your books in during college or highschool.
veteran: http://www.backcountry.com/osprey-packs ... -1300cu-in

can't beat a good pack, and you'll be sorry if you don't have a decent one. i like a daypack with some sort of a rigid frame and shape so it fits better, then i can hike longer more comfortably. preferably, one that also is compatible with a camelback or something would be best.


food for car camping is easy. other things to consider are: medkit, rope, drybags (small and medium) a good knife/multitool, small box of tinder, clif bars, nalgene water bottles (i don't like siig), tent patch kit, and other things i'm forgetting without going through my pack.

I love backcountry.com.

I get all my North Face stuff from there cheap.

Just throwing that in there.

north face.

they used to be the best, then vogue bought them a while ago and they just turned into shit. i only have one piece of gear from them, and that's a backpack from pre-suck. they have recently started getting better, but they definitely milk their name. still more of a fashion statement than real gear.

the best bang for a buck in the gear world that i know of is Alps Mountaineering.

The current family tent I'm using is Alps and it's top notch.

The only caveat being I live in SoCal so I don't camp in "weather". Just sun and dust and shit.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

alps is a new company, still trying to get their name out there, and they're doing it by making great gear for really reasonable, and even low, costs. i'm trying to get a bunch of their stuff before they take off and can sell things for market value.


my only complaint with any of the several things i own from them is that their stuff sacks are too big.

I have to check, but now that I think about it my wife may have a sleeping bag from them too...
It is a good value.

There's got to be some middle ground between K-mart and patagonia right?

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Hold my beer and watch this...

that's the problem with rec gear. there really isn't. i mean, there are different levels...you have your patagonia/RAB/mountain hardwares, then you have your marmot/msr/big agnes stuff. they are two different levels but i consider them all top quality, with mountain hardware what i would call the best. then you have ALPS, which is currently on par with marmot and msr for tents and bags, but who knows how long...

but there really isn't a middle ground as far as for your average person. you can get cheap crap from your department store, really expensive stuff that will last forever, or fairly expensive stuff that lasts 10 years.

Do you guys have an REI near by? They started in Seattle then branched out but they may still be mostly west coast. REI.com though is their online front and they make some pretty good gear that sits between Coleman and the high end stuff. For a beginner who wants to get something better than the bottom shelf shit but doesn't want to commit to the top shelf gear I'd say they are a good place to look. They also make a wide range of products that range from a bargain to a mint.

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