How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

There and back—what every new backpacker needs to know

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single book. How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild bundles up everything you need to prep for your first-ever backpacking adventure—so you can explore the back country with confidence.

Start strong with an essential equipment guide geared toward beginners. Discover how to choose a campsite and follow along with camp setup and breakdown directions. Water treatment info, outdoor cooking basics, snacking suggestions, and a sample three-day backpacking food plan supply you with vital knowledge to survive in the wilderness.

This beginners’ backpacking handbook includes:

Expert tips: Learn how to “leave no trace,” navigate rough terrain, deal with wildlife, and other practical backpacking adviceGear checklists: Track down the right gear with guides to clothing, footwear, backpacks, and shelters—even on a budgetPlan ahead: Handy cheat sheets help you pick the best time of year and the perfect starter trail for backpacking in your state.

Start your backpacking experience now with How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild.

Critics Review

  • “Full of practical, to-the-point advice…Magnanti’s decades of field experience combined with an often humorous writing style, make this book not only a great resource for beginners, but also brings home the fact that as long as you are well prepared, heading out into the woods is an experience to be enjoyed, rather than simply endured.”

    Cam Honan, author of The Hiking Life
  • “Magnanti’s…approachable and unintimidating explanations make being outdoors seem simple and reasonable, as it should. Paul’s experience as a guide shines through as he anticipates what can go wrong that most wouldn’t think about. How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild is a modern handbook for life in the outdoors and is destined to bring the outdoors within reach of today’s ‘outdoor curious’ person.”

    Liz Thomas, author of Long Trails, winner of the 2017 National Outdoor Book Award
  • “You can learn to backpack in one of two ways: the hard way, through miserable and expensive trial and error, or from an expert like Paul, who has hiked tens of thousands of miles and has spent hundreds of days in the field. This book is full of honest, practical, and accurate advice that is ideally suited for first-time and beginner backpackers.”

    Andrew Skurka, guide, writer, and National Geographic "Adventurer of the Year"

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.