Welcome to the Backpacking Trip Planning Resources Trailhead
How to plan a backpacking trip? That’s the biggest question – more than “what gear to use” or “what trails to hike” – that beginning backpackers ask. Planning a backpacking trip, even a short one, can feel overwhelming. That’s because there’s a large variety of tools and skills to learn, and it’s hard to know where to start.
This article is one of Backpacking Light’s curated gateway pages (a trailhead, so to speak). Think of it as a starting point. Here, you’ll find information and resources about how to plan a backpacking trip. We’ve got lists of our favorite software, gear guides for navigation and trip planning, video and podcast embeds, and other trip-planning resources. You’ll learn how to spot potential water sources on a map, how to anticipate elevation gain, how to plan for longer trips, how to identify great backpacking trails, and more. You might be planning your first backpacking trip or your 50th, but either way, we think you’ll find something useful.
About this Trailhead:Â Curated and maintained by our staff, this Trailhead page includes an overview of the topic and links to information and resources at the Backpacking Light website. Those resources may consist of gear reviews, technology and testing, research, skills articles, online education (webinars, masterclasses, or other types of online courses), podcast episodes, forum threads, product recommendations, and other discovery tools, including our Gear Finder, Gear Shop, and Site Search engine.
Table of Contents • Note: some sections may only be available to Premium or Unlimited Members.
Backpacking Trip Planning Education at Backpacking Light
One of our preferred trip planning and navigational software tools at is Gaia GPS. The following material demonstrates how to use it, as well as other trip planning and navigational skills:
- Masterclass: How to Use Gaia GPS
- Masterclass: Trek Planning
- Masterclass: How to use the Garmin inReach
- Member Q&A: How to Manage Electronics and Batteries in the Backcountry
Backpacking trip planning software
There are many software tools that are useful for planning backpacking trips. The following are examples of some that our staff and authors use on a regular basis, as well as some of the features that set them apart:
- Gaia GPS Software – online mapping, beautiful map layers, premium version, very nice user interface, powerful route planning features, GPS import/export, desktop and mobile versions, and regular updates. In addition to route planning, we use this for real-time navigation on a smartphone as well.
- Caltopo – Powerful and feature-rich mapping software. Also has a mobile app.
- Fatmap -beautiful and user-friendly 3D maps that can download to your phone for offline functionality.
- FarOut (formally Guthook) – trail resources for popular long-distance trails. The go-to choice for thru-hikers.
- Orbit Satellite Tracking – a smartphone app used to monitor satellite positions, which can help optimize your use of a satellite communicator or GPS device.
- Windy and Meteoblue – wind and weather forecasting.
For more in-depth information on trip planning software and skills, check out the following pieces of content:
James Montavon compared his experience using Gaia GPS to other trip planning apps and websites for a trip through Colorado’s Rawah Wilderness:
Trip Planning
Our content library features several podcasts to help you plan your trip. If you are looking to supplement traditional route planning tools such as paper maps with modern digital tools to create a powerful and flexible route-planning system, check out:
- Skills: Resources, Tools, and Processes for Planning Nontechnical, Off-trail Backpacking Routes
- Skills: Planning Complex Backpacking Trips: Best Practices
- Skills: Case Studies: Using Google Earth to Plan Wilderness Trips
- Podcast: Episode 33 | Digital Route Planning
Whether you are using a GPS, map and compass, or an alternative navigational strategy when in the wilderness, know your gear and how to use it is very important:
- Skills: How to Use Turn-by-Turn Directions for Simple Backpacking Navigation
- Skills: Navigating Without a Compass, Map, or GPS
For more general navigation advice using Backpacking Light’s Wilderness Adventures treks as a case study, check out:
- Gear Shop: Take a look in our Gear Shop.
- Podcast: Episode 5 | Navigation
Electronics
The lightest and most reliable satellite messenger on the market is the Garmin inReach Mini 2. It integrates with the Garmin Fenix series of watches, allowing for fitness monitoring in addition to GPS and altimeter use.
- Gear Review: Garmin inReach Mini 2 Review.
- Gear Review / Interview: Garmin inReach Mini 2 Review, with Interview with Chip Noble
- Forums: New Garmin inReach Mini 2
What about using your phone to replace your Garmin inReach?
- News: Can Apple’s New iPhone 14 replace your Garmin inReach?
- Forums: iPhone vs Android for GPS?
- Forums: iPhone built-in compass not that good?
- Forums: Apple Watch vs IPhone for GPS
When using electronics in the backcountry, managing your battery life is an important skill. To learn more about managing your battery life, check out:
- Podcast: Episode 56 | Portable Battery Chargers for Backpacking
- Gear Testing & Research: BatteryBench: A Protocol for Testing Portable Battery Chargers and Electronic Devices for Backpacking
Are you curious about how Backpacking Light authors are using software, electronics, and their navigational skills to assist their adventures? Check out these articles from backpacking
Check out a story about planning a solo backpacking trip for the first time:
Navigation doesn’t just begin when you hit the trail, but when you have to get on the trail. Whether by bike or by bus, there are other ways to get to your trailhead.
- Places: Thinking Behind the Gate
- Places: Canyons and Contemplation
- Forums: Car-less Backpacking in NYC
Four stories that heavily feature off-trail navigation:
- Places: Blood Moon on the Border
- Places: Escape from Covid-19 at Corona Ridge
- Places: Packrafting Without a Good Map
- Places: Exploring Wyoming’s Medicine Bow Range
We have an entire forum topic dedicated to trip planning where you can solicit ideas and feedback about specific locations from other community members:
In addition, check out these other recent forum topics:
- Forums: Phones with built in satellite communication?
- Forums: Altimeter Watch Accuracy
- Forums: Anyone use ZOLEO satellite communicator device?
Search and Browse: More Discovery Tools
- Search for trip planning articles in our archives
- Browse the Navigation and Electronics category in our Category Browser to find more articles, Member Gear Swap listings (classified ads for used gear), Member Gear Reviews, and more.
- Search the Forums for all forum threads about backpacks.
- Browse our curated recommendations for navigation and electronics in the Backpacking Light Gear Shop. The Gear Shop is a product research & discovery tool to explore Member gear reviews, Gear Swap (used gear) listings, and more info about specific products recommended by our staff and members.
- Find navigation and route planning tools on sale using our Gear Finder search engine.
Help us Maintain this Page
If you found value in other related resources at Backpacking Light that you’d like to share with our community, please post them in the comments section below. No external links or resources, please – there are other places in our forums appropriate for that.
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