New to hiking and backpacking

[_nick]

Hi all,

i recently came back from an 8 day backpacking trip to San Francisco/Yosemite. I used an osprey farpoint 40 and while it lasted a great bag and I love it I do carry a lot of camera gear with me. I plan on going to Alberta, Canada and hike the mountains next year and I am prepping to make sure I have all the right gear as I am new to hiking and backpacking. I'm looking for a bigger bag that I can use to carry as a carry on and be able to hold all the gear and things I bring along. Any suggestions on maybe a 60l bag?

 

also would mid March be a good time to visit the mountains? It would be my first time seeing snow. I'm up for the challenge and any suggestions there is to offer gear wise too.

 

thank you!

Would like to note that I plan on backpacking for a year and would like to use this for that as well. Hopefully all works out.

[PaulGS]

Hi Nick, how much camera equipment do you plan on carrying? More then one lens? A tripod? I use an Osprey Volt 60 backpack and find it to be suitable for up to a 5 day backpacking trip but I am only carrying a point and shoot with me. You might well need something a little larger.

Backpacking in Alberta doesn't really get going until towards the middle of June. There are a few spots you can backpack to earlier but that depends largely on how much snow we get over the winter. Last year there wasn't much but there will likely be quite a bit more this year. In March, people are usually skiing or snowshoeing into some of the backcountry huts.

Which part of the mountains are you planning to visit? Banff? Lake Louise? Jasper? Hope you can stay a while as there is lots to see.

Edited November 8, 2015 by PaulGS

[_nick]

Hi thanks for the reply! I was looking at the osprey atmos ag 65 seemed like a good bag with enough space. I usually take my dslr and two lenses and a tripod. I'd be going to banff. Thought about going up the mountain would be a good challenge for myself if it's not impossible. It would be a 10 day trip. Probably 7-8 days in Alberta.

[toejam]

65l is a good size bag that most people can use for a week or so. Try on the Osprey pack loaded with gear and see how you like it - as popular as Osprey packs are, I haven't found on that fits me right.

Backpacking in snow can be either glorious or miserable. Don't hike in very far the first few times until you figure out how to do it. Experience is the only teacher in backpacking.

March is the month with the most snowfall in the high western mountains. April or May can be nicer, warmer conditions, but you can still have a blizzard. Places that have a lot of snow have a lot of mosquitoes for the first month or so after it melts.