My WORST Hiking Mistakes - Top Tips for Beginner Backpacking

[@DavidPMcEntee]

THANKS FOR WATCHING! I hope you enjoyed this video outlining my worst experiences & what I learned from them!! It was good fun reliving these memories and I hope that you'll be able to take something away from this into your own adventures too! If you're new here make sure you Subscribe and checkout my other hiking films - there is so many of them now! 😁🥾 MY 6th MISTAKE: Forgetting to bring a tripod to one of my Solo Hiking filming sessions..... I had just arrived in Shropshire - after about a four hour drive and finding this out was seriously crushing. BUT I decided to crack on anyway, I filmed everything by putting my camera on a rock or straight onto the ground! It did get a bit muddy but the results actually really surprised me - check out the video for yourself here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqu8haF5eLiJm6c And let me know if you'd had noticed the lack of Tripod if I didn't tell you! haha :) What was one of your worst hiking experiences?

[@leechafertravels]

And mistake number 7.......putting '5th mistake in your comment when it should be the 6th'! 😂

[@leechafertravels]

Also....I only started hiking at the beginning of the year, and I've made EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE that you mention in the video! 🤦🏻‍♂️😂

[@DavidPMcEntee]

@@leechafertravels I have no idea what you’re talking about 😉😂😂

[@leechafertravels]

@@DavidPMcEntee And neither will anybody else when they read my comment! 😂

[@notom]

I did my first 8 day hike and only packed my bag the night before. It was only then I realised I couldn't get everything to fit. So I left behind my waterproof, thick jumper, and trousers. It rained for 2 of the days and I just got wet. It wasn't too cold though, so bearable, but far from ideal.

[@ThisYellow]

Good video David, If you're really serious about hiking then you could invest in a tracker like SPOT - then If you do go off track (which is fun lets face it!) and get into trouble you can press 1 button and it sends a signal via satellite to call out the appropriate rescue services... no mobile signal required!

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thansk Ian! Yes I'm considering a lot of options for that right now, Garmin seem to do a lot of good work in the space too! :) Cheers for the support!

[@catherinebach5780]

You can go 0n easy and short hikes with the minimum of equipment. Check the weather beforehand and stay safe

[@paulrobinson8263]

You are quite right David, i’ve suffered from Raynaud’s disease which is very painful when cold, no known cure for it but I’ve learnt to live with it, it’s now affecting all my extremities and the toes have recently been added to the list, good tips about the correct gear it really is a necessity especially more so in the colder months, I’ve recently ditched my car and gone for a VW campervan which is awesome in all weathers, night heater the lot and puts paid to expensive B&B’s and if you leave no trace you can go almost anywhere in it 👍👌

[@CRixon13]

Had no issues with wild camping the length of the Ridgeway in the summer. Infact the wildcamping made it for me. However, my biggest mistake was taking WAY too much stuff. At least 20kg worth which made the walk feel like army training at points...a novice mistake! Thanks for the tips 🙂

[@DavidPMcEntee]

I can't wait to try wildcamping this summer! I'm not brave enough to do it this Winter though! Far far too cold for me hahaha! Yes ULTRA LIGHT hiking equipment is so important - check out my pal Matt Shafter for info on this, he is the WIZ - kzbin.info

[@andrewlloyd8988]

Taking way too much equipment is indeed a very common thing. Only when you go a few times goes that get thinned out. I’m with you all the way with wild camping or as I call it ‘camping’ lol

[@kbirtchnell]

Great video buddy!! Learning comes from experience…. Thanks for sharing.

[@caroleniven2360]

Great tips, David - paid attention for when I start hiking - ??🙃 Love your honesty.

[@valchapman527]

in the summer here in Canada always carry bug spray, mosquito netting and sunscreen . life is miserable with out it

[@debsmostexcellentadventure5353]

Hope you have a lovely weekend,and i really enjoyed this lovely video of yours fan debs xx...

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thanks Debs I’m glad your liking the video 😁

[@debsmostexcellentadventure5353]

@@DavidPMcEntee my pleasure you have a lovely channel debs xx

[@pierrecouronne3096]

Another good video with some great advise . I have a walking buddy friend in Berkhampstead who lost three fingers on mount McKinley he was the luck one some of his friend lost legs and noses. Dominic also knows him he has some amazing stories I will have to introduce him to you one day

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thank Pierre! Thats crazy mate! I definitely won't be heading up there hahaha, I'm sure he's got tons of stories!!!

[@JimmyBoogaloo]

very interesting vid. cheap poncho failed badly. also trying to take a pic under it of the 30-mile to Braunston stone, it acted like a funnel for the water, directly onto my phone. so i don't have that pic :o(

[@SPEEDSHOTZz]

Great video! A friend of mine once hiked from Watford to Berkhamsted late at night, but it was raining and he didn't bring a jacket. 😕

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thanks pal, Hahaha😂😂 Shout out to the Legend that is George 😂

[@NationalParkDiaries]

Worst hiking mistake was as a research tech in college. The nature of the work meant we did a lot of off trail hiking, but on this occasion we didn't prep our route well enough and ended up having to cross a power line cut with thorns, hornets, and sheer drops we couldn't really see. Then we tried to take a short cut on the way back to avoid that, but ended up getting lost. Needless to say, we were prepared after that 😅 Great video also, appreciate the honesty!

[@urbanmess1]

Hi David great video thanks for sharing. Anyone who’s done a decent amount of hiking has made mistakes. I certainly have. My worst was probably thinking I was pretty much immortal when I started hiking for many years, and not taking a first aid kit with me. That all changed when I decided to climb over a barbed wire fence in shorts and fell over backwards off it with inevitable messy results and nothing to deal with the not inconsiderable cuts and blood. A light weight first aid pack has lived permanently at the bottom of my rucksack ever since! Keep up the videos they’re really great.

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Jeeeez that does sound horrible Adam! I’m glad you managed to walk away from it though mate, I hope you got a tetanus jab!! A small first aid kit in the bottom of the bag is an absolute essential - I couldn’t agree with you more! Thank you for your kind words of support I really appreciate it 😁

[@daphne142]

first aid should be at top or on outside incase you need to access quickly

[@hikerhymes6231]

Great video. On the going off trail thing, I'd say it depends where you are. With experience, you get a good feel for where you can follow your nose and where you can't. If you're in mountainous country that you don't know so well, stick strictly to the trail, but one of the reasons I like having OpenAndroMaps on my phone as they show all the paths, so if I want to go somewhere I can see if there's a path there. For example on the Coast to Coast I was suddenly stuck in horrendous conditions and took the first road down to shelter (a pub!). Rather than retracing steps I planned a new route for a couple of miles to rejoin the usual C2C route- this shortcut was about as lovely as it gets! Biggest mistake I make is packing too much. It's taken me ages to work out that you don't need spare shoes, only flipflops, and that washing and drying stuff as you go it pretty easy with a bit of planning, especially if you're staying in hostels. Take plenty of food and water and everything else that keeps you safe, then stick to no more than 3 of any clothing item.

[@wohlhabendermanager]

Thank you for this insightful videos. I made 3 out of 5 mistakes myself. Mistake 1: Out hiking in Norway. It was very steep terrain and I was sitting down, looking for a place to put my foot in. I leaned over too far and I felt I started slipping down the mountain side. Lucky for me I found a spot for my foot after like 1 second, but it felt like I was slipping down a few meters (in reality I most likely only slipped a few cm, but it sure FELT like I slipped for longer). This could have ended a lot worse. Bottom line: If you are carrying a backpack, make sure to not lean over so far as you can easily lose your balance. And yes, this is my worst experience. I sometimes think back to what would have happened if I HADN'T found that holding spot. Would I have been able to lean back and slow down my descent? Would I have broken my legs after sliding down like 50 meters of mountain? Quite a scary thought. I feel like this could have gone terribly wrong. Mistake 2: I got drenched on Culloden Battlefield while I was there. I had a very sturdy rain jacket, but it only went down to my thighs, so I got very wet on my bottom half. And yes, it's really no fun at all. Planned on going around the field on the outer trail, but abandoned my attempt after like 10 minutes, because I was so cold. Luckily the visitor's center is dry and warm, so that helped drying my clothes a lot quicker. The bus ride back to the B&B still was a bit uncomfortable, lol. So yeah, I now always make sure to pack rain trousers as well. Mistake 3: ALMOST got overconfident on that trip to Norway as well, but luckily I bailed out beforehand. I was planning a trip that would have taken me over the border to Sweden and would have lasted 3 days. But the more I thought about it the worse my feeling got, so I "bailed out" so to speak and only had one night of wild camping. It was still a route that brought me well beyond my limits since I greatly underestimated the terrain (even though I have been to Norway a few times prior to this trip, so I KNOW what the countryside looks like and feels like...). When I got to my finishing point I booked a cabin (planned on camping there as well, but I was just too exhausted to sleep in a tent) and didn't leave it for 2 days, haha. Luckily didn't make the other 2 mistakes. I tend to pack too much clothing, but at least I propably won't run into problems of being too cold. Also I maticously research gear before buying it and I rather spent money on gear that I don't need in the end than to be a cheap-ass and not buy gear that I would have needed on my trip.

[@sovereignjoe5730]

Saying all that, we have got it a lot easier though living, walking and camping in the United Kingdom? Sure, things can go wrong and get dangerous very quickly with weather changes and temperature drops or increases, .. but I think we must have it soo much easier in the United Kingdom than most other countries across the world?

[@davidwilliams3856]

Thanks for being so honest. Its very good to learn from your mistakes, but it is even better to learn from somebody else's.

[@beatbasher]

Cold hands means your body needs to divert warm blood to your extremities, in turn this cools the places where the blood is being diverted from. Good gloves are very important.

[@ModestasLukauskas]

I'm quite opposite. I love to go off the trail and also love wild camping. Wild camping gives me freedom. :D

[@DavidPMcEntee]

I do love to go off trail in the right circumstances, but often I follow set trails and try to get around them as soon as I possibly can! BUT in the future I am looking forward to big adventures in the wild! :)

[@OlgasBritishFells]

I agree. Most of the time I do go off the trail.

[@OlgasBritishFells]

There's nothing wrong about going off the trail!!!! As long as you have grippy shoes, have a map and are decent at navigation. Fellrunners rarely just stay on the path. My family and I go off the trail all the time, especially to avoid crowds.

[@scouterjamie]

Another great video David, and great lessons. On lesson 1... from my experience, you cover ground so much faster on established trails that any short cuts over rough terrain take far longer in time despite the shorter distance. Where can I get the “stay on trail” t-shirt?! 😁 My lesson is to always have enough water. I did an overnight hike and my pasta meal boiled dry before it cooked. So I was hungry and thirsty!

[@DavidPMcEntee]

'STAY ON TRAIL' T-SHIRT WILL BE A THING, CONFIRMED! EDIT: hahaha yes!! I can't BELIEVE I didn't say anythign about water, I always bring overkill man, I drink so so much I hate being dehydated! Thanks for the support and kind words my friend :)

[@DavidPMcEntee]

@@indi4091 So true!!

[@craigelliott4338]

So I'm just starting out civilian hiking, 10 years after leaving the army. Camping out will never leave me and it came back to me instinctively upon my 1st attempt. That was bad, because it gave me an over confidence when it came to my 1st hike. I took 27kgs to do the South downs way. I didn't train for it, I just booked it all, packed my bag and went for it. I made the first 22 miles in fair discomfort in under 8 hours, however, I damaged my foot in doing so and had to quit. I have since rethought my pack. I now have a 8kg base weight. I hike/ walk for at least an hour a day. I'm going back in February/March but before then, I'm doing brecon. If I can do brecon in my new kit, I'll be ready for almost anywhere.

[@tomford87]

My worst experience... Seasoned hiker/camper, was in Ibiza this summer and strolled off alone to climb to the top of a cliff. I just 'kept going', ended up off trail in the bush, certain that it would pick up again around the next corner. Spent the next 2 hours scrambling down near vertical cliffs in flip flops, adrenaline pumping, ripped clothes, no water, 35 degree heat... The whole time knowing that the town was nearby just not being able to get to it. Turned up filthy on the beach with no top a while later, my wife laughed her arse off.

[@pocketpunk333]

Chose the wrong path coming down off Scafell in October 2020 and ended up navigating a ravine which then took us miles off route in fading light. Torches....any kind of torch wouldve been nice. I have NEVER been so happy to see a road in my life!

[@jankarel6454]

This likely isn't an issue where you live, but I'm in another country, and some inattention on the trail brought me much closer to a large rattlesnake than I was comfortable with. I have no idea what the scenery was like after that encounter, because I wasn't looking at anything but the trail and the ground very close by. This is when you start thinking about needing something significantly better than a water bottle for defensive purposes.

[@ashropshirelad]

Good video chap, some good advice in there.

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thank you mate 👊

[@TheFrizz47]

Love it! Worst hiking story:? For me it has to be when I walked up Snowdon with Clare Muir and all the homies from the Swan, all good on the way up. On the way down a select group of us lead by this ex-police/military geez called Mike ran all the way down, I really channelled my inner mountain goat, sprinting, leaping from rock to rock, any misstep spelling disaster, what a rush! We got all the way down and I just sat my arse down and waited for the others. When I stood up my legs were boards! Completely ceased up, I was hobbling for days after. Worth it though! Keep up the good work. Real quality content

[@DavidPMcEntee]

Thanks Noah!! I'm glad you enjoyed it mate, I just skimmed through your Scotland video too - that looked brilliant!! Hahaha yes suddenly getting over confident with trail running has also knocked me out at the end of a hike! The exact same thing happened to me when I had to run 2/3 miles after hiking 14 down in the New Forest to escape the rain! Mental!!! Thanks for the support, its always cool seeing old faces pop up in the comments! 😁