I never thought I'd be carrying 25 pounds of gear on my back, dripping sweat and looking vaguely like a green sandworm - until I hiked through the Yellowstone backcountry this summer with eight of my friends. I’m no stranger to camping (especially now that Nikhil and I have a car), but I was still a backpacking virgin. All of our prior camping involved driving to a manicured campsite with working toilets, sinks, bear canisters and a fire pit. It’s a step below glamping but a far cry from true backpacking grittiness. Nikhil and I usually camp at the Upper Pines campground at Yosemite, where we’re spoiled by amenities, friendly staff and access to beautiful trails.

However, I had been longing for a more intense camping experience, something that would remove me from modernity and anxiety. I craved a few days where I could get dirty, self-reliant and strong and live amongst the elements like we used to. I think humans are happiest when we’re spending time outdoors, surrounded by towering trees, a light breeze and dotted sunlight. The challenge of surviving and pushing my body to the limit seemed appealing for some reason (I guess the granola vibes of San Francisco have brainwashed me. 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Every year, our friends go on a summer trip - past years have included an Alaska cruise, Costa Rica bungalow and a lake house near Olympic National Park. Lucky for me, my friends are the type of people who welcome and thrive on “type II fun,” the kind of fun that is painful in the moment but rewarding when it’s over. They ski down black diamonds during the winter, run marathons and deadlift 500 pounds. So when Nikhil and I floated the idea of a multi-day backpacking trip, the group was down and actually excited to be in the wild with us. We were thrilled but there was a whisper of apprehension in my head. Our friends are legit athletes, and I’ve always struggled to keep up with them physically - until now! Over the past few years, I’ve been honing my athletic ability by weightlifting 2-3 times a week, picking up running/tennis/skiing and practicing yoga. The transformation has been quiet but consistent and I can definitely tell that I’m fitter at 28 than I was at 18. Exercising often, sleeping 8.5 hours a night and eliminating late-night drinking will do that. 🙃

Planning a National Park backpacking trip for nine people is no small feat. The logistics required are insane, and I’m so blessed that my husband is an excellent planner. 🙏He did the heavy lifting, but I was involved enough in the coordination to write about it. See below for our process, itinerary and tips!

Step 1: Getting a Campsite

This was the most arduous step by far. Snagging a camping permit at a popular national park during a holiday weekend is hard enough, let alone for nine people (most permits are for 6-8 people). It’s extremely competitive, and you have to be savvy on how the reservation system works on www.recreation.gov.

  1. The first step is to enter the permit lottery, which allows the holder to book backcountry campsites at a later date if a permit is granted. Check recreation.gov and the national park website to see when permit lotteries open for the dates you’re looking to go.

    For example, since we were camping during Labor Day, we applied for the permit lottery that opened on March 15, 2025 for Glacier, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. Applying for a lottery costs between $6-$10, and there’s no refund if you don’t end up getting a permit.

    Note - we weren't aware of this, but apparently only one person in our group should've applied for the permits (we had everyone apply separately). Some of our group members got this testy email from Yosemite, and I'm still flummoxed to this day on how the janky recreation.gov website could track and cluster our IP addresses. A ranger at Yosemite even called our friend Rob directly and revoked everyone else's application. I thought the NPS didn't have any money??

    However, some of our friends didn't get this email (and we didn't get it from Glacier or Yellowstone), so I'm still bewildered. I guess Yosemite is running a tight ship.

  2. Once a permit is granted (our group got at least one for each park), check to see what your permit dates are for picking a campsite. These dates are staggered and everyone got a different, random date. For example, mine for Glacier was 4:20 pm MDT on April 20, 2025 but someone else got 2:00 PM MDT on April 30, 2025. On the appointed date and time, you can pick from the available campsites left. We ended up scooping campsites that could fit 10 people at Yosemite and Yellowstone and let the group decide what to pick (we love Google forms lol).

    And the winner was…the Heart Lake trail at Yellowstone (specifically campsites 8H4 and 8H6)! This "out and back" trail is about 15 miles in total and ends on the shores of Heart Lake, a large backcountry lake situated at the base of Mount Sheridan. The All Trails difficulty rating is "Moderate," but I was skeptical since nothing is moderate when carrying 20 pounds on your back. But I was stoked since we were flying into Jackson Hole, spending a day seeing the Grand Tetons and then starting our journey. With the campsite frenzy over, Nikhil and I could chill for a few weeks and refocus our efforts on the next big hurdle: gear.

Step 2: Figuring out the Gear Situation

Before backpacking, gear was an absolute mystery to me. When I hear the word “gear,” I think of neckbeards caressing circuit boards or biker men with tight shorts going off about Sausalito bike paths. I think of my dad with his thousands of small electrical parts, nails and shammy towels in the garage. Nikhil had already figured out our backpacking gear weeks before I got on board - but then I did and became completely gear-sniped. 😸

The gear setup was critical because of our group size and the importance of proper gear. For example, if you forget a water filter or headlamp, the consequences could be dire on the trail. This was also the first backpacking trip for about 80% of the group, so it was basically the blind leading the blind. We broke gear down into individual necessities and shared group items (see below for comprehensive lists we shared with everyone and links to products we used).

Individual Items

Group Items

  • Bathroom trowel 💩
  • Bug spray and/or mosquito net
  • Rope to hang food from + food bag
  • Lights/chargers
  • Firestarters >> not necessary for our trip because camp fires were banned :(
  • 2 Lighters
  • Medical kit / blister kit
  • Printed map of the trail
  • Paper towels
  • Tweezer/matches for ticks
  • Water tablets as backup
  • 2-3 sets of Cooking Gear
  • Camp chairs (it's a nuisance to carry them but they're a luxury after a long day of hiking)
  • Plastic bags for trash (pack in, pack out)

We both purchased and rented the items above, depending on what we envisioned using again and ease of travel (i.e. we all flew into Jackson Hole so we rented the bigger items like tents and cooking gear). Nikhil and I ended up buying a lot of new gear, such as our backpacks, sleeping bags/pads, hiking clothes, etc, but our friends rented most things from Teton Backcountry Rentals in Jackson Hole. The staff there was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and prices were reasonable. We’d definitely recommend using them if you’re in the area!

If I may, I'd like to pontificate on some of the gear I loved:

  • I'm obsessed with my REI Sahara sunshirt. The material is comfy and even though I was sweating buckets hiking up Mount Sheridan, the moisture-wicking properties left me feeling cool and protected. I didn't have to wear sunscreen once during the trip because of my clothes/hat - plus it's got an awesome hood that protected my ears and neck from sunlight. 10/10 would recommend.
  • This trip was the first time I've ever pooped outside. 🙈 The water bottle bidet attachment was a game changer because I hardly had to use any toilet paper (which you have to "pack out" yourself because you can't leave any trash behind). I felt so clean after "doing the deed". Our little poop shovel was terrible though because the ground was so hard. I couldn't dig the required 6 inch hole so apologies to the next people who stayed in our campsite. 🤷
  • The Camp Kitchen Clean-Up Kit was both cute and functional. We used it to clean dishes and wash our face/brush our teeth. The basin folds into a tiny circle so it's super portable.
  • A few weeks before the trip, I got a new pair of orthotics from The Orthotic Shop of San Francisco. Dr. Camp was amazing and outfitted me with a new pair that fit snugly in my new Hoka hiking shoes. I was afraid my feet would fail me on this hike, but the orthotics saved me.

Overall, I was initially annoyed by the gear conversation but now I’m totally converted. I often find myself browsing REI or Patagonia’s website or dreaming up what my ideal campsite would look like (we need those fairy string lights ASAP). The great thing about backpacking is that it forces you to bring the essentials, but the gear is so evolved/specialized that it feels like collecting unique gems. Plus our mosquito nets will double as Bene Gessert costumes (or beekeeper and sexy bee 🐝) this Halloween.

Step 3: What's for Dinner?

Food was supposed to be the easiest thing about this trip (you just go to a grocery store right?) - but I ended up buying a dehydrator and home-making 18 meals that took collectively about 40 hours of drying time. When in Rome!

I was initially going to recommend that everyone buy MREs (ready-made meals that just need hot water), but then I got sniped by the Reddit thread /trailmeals. Users were singing praises of dehydrating, so I did some research and decided the process, while laborious, would be fun and a good life skill to have. Thankfully, that turned out to be true and now I’m obsessed with my Nesco Gardenmaster Pro Food Dehydrator.

Note - I didn't think I was going to go through with this scheme because I had a similar passion for canning jam (remember my pre-jam papers?). I did all of that canning research and never ended up making jam, so I wondered if dehydrating was another half-baked delusion of mine. However, with the pressure of feeding 9 people on my shoulders, I buckled down and made sure we didn't have any hungry campers.

The main meal that I prepared was this turkey chili recipe from Backpacking Chef. I initially experimented with this recipe and this Spanish rice and beans recipe from Thruhikers, but the turkey chili was a clear winner (the rice turned out gummy and the group wanted meat-based dishes for more protein). The dehydrating process was simple but time-consuming since turning wet chili into brittle slabs takes about 10 hours per doubled batch. The cost was economical (even including the electricity) since MREs are about $13-$15 for one meal. My kitchen turned into a greenhouse for a week as I pottered about, slicing onions and sweating over my olive-green Dutch Oven. I felt like a homesteading housewife, singing old Taylor Swift songs to myself while the dehydrator hummed a steady chorus.

We even bought a vacuum sealer, but then Reddit said we didn't need one since we were backpacking the next weekend (vacuum sealing is for long-term storage). As long as all the moisture was removed via the dehydrating, plastic Ziploc bags are fine for 1-2 week storage. Rehydrating is as simple as adding in water (enough to cover the mixture), boiling for a few minutes and letting sit for about 10-15 minutes or until the chili is fully soft. We also brought small jars of salt, olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes for additional flavor.

The other group food we prepared was breakfast! We are oatmeal aficionados, so Nikhil developed a special camping blend that was durable and hearty:

  • Quick oats
  • Raisins
  • Walnuts
  • Vanilla protein powder
  • Dark chocolate

Mixed with water over a cooking stove, this oatmeal slaps and is ready within 5-10 minutes. The nuts and raisins add a healthy chewiness and necessary sugar rush. For lunch, the group was OYO (on-your-own), but the options were plentiful in the Jackson Hole & Driggs supermarkets. Most folks brought the following staples:

  • Trail mix
  • Tinned fish
  • PB&J sandwiches
  • Chips
  • Fresh fruit (for the first day)
  • Tortillas and tuna packets

There's nothing better than gorging on the trail after hours of backpacking, sweating and being on high alert for bears (spoiler - we didn't see a single bear and the only wildlife I did glimpse was a snake that I almost stepped on).

Step 4: Let the Trip Begin!

The hilarious part was that it took so long to start the backpacking trip (not including the few days before when we were hanging out in Driggs, seeing the Grand Tetons, testing out the bear spray, etc). The morning of the first day, we first had to drive from Driggs to Jackson Hole to get our gear from Teton Backcountry Rentals, pack it up, and then drive through the Teton National Park to enter Yellowstone. From there, we had to stop at a ranger station to pick up our permits, watch a 20 minute safety video (the graphics were so 2001), attempt to poop in a hole toilet and then drive another 20 minutes to the trailhead. By the time we strapped on our packs, it was 11:00 am and the sun was high in the sky. ☀️

The hike to Heart Lake was toasty but rewarding and mostly uneventful. We saw a handful of other hikers and encountered a few geyser holes filled with bubbling, iridescent water. Bears were nowhere to be seen, probably because our group of nine was yapping and clanking around, but we did see a deer (woohoo!). My back was straining and feeling the 20 pound load in my lumbar region, but after a few hours, the backpack melded into me and it became an extension of my body. The backpack was me. I let myself enjoy my ugly hair and the hood on my sunshirt that erases any semblance of femininity. I was just a human walking under sporadic trees and over crunchy sand. The sun was beating down.

Hiking through the trail
Views along the way to Heart Lake

We arrived at our campsite after about 5 hours, huffing and puffing and throwing our packs down on the hard earth. We were right on the shoreline of Heart Lake, with our own private beach and massive campsite in the trees. We technically booked two campsites but 8H4 was big enough to accommodate everyone. The major drawback was that there was no firepit and fires were banned by the rangers anyway - campfires are one of the true delights of camping, so I was sad. :( What do you mean, no smores that coat my fingers in fake white fluff?! But the silver lining was that everyone slept by 9 pm so we woke up feeling refreshed (as refreshed as possible considering the wolves howling during the night).

On the second day, we hiked another 3.5 miles up Mount Sheridan, scaling approximately 2,800 to 2,900 feet. It was a straight shot up and down with meager shade - but since we didn't have our backpacks, we flew up to the summit (lol actually it was difficult and my knee started groaning near the top, but we all made it!). The views at the top were breathtaking and Heart Lake revealed itself to us, in addition to Yellowstone Lake and Shoshone Lake. Several cans of tin fish were consumed and I probably scarfed down an entire bag of trail mix myself. My body was vibrating from exhaustion and exhilaration. We couldn't see another sign of life for miles. 🌿 The hike down was bliss, especially since my hiking poles did most of the work. And afterwards, we submersed ourselves in the icy cold waters of Heart Lake, our faces turned towards the waning sunlight. We were so alive.

On the third day, we hiked back out the way we came, our thighs on fire from the day before. There was one difficult part - there's an uphill section that climbs about 1,100 feet from the lakeshore - but after that, it was smooth sailing. The backpack melted into my back again and my knee was cooperating. Our packs were noticeably lighter without most of the food & water, and there was a feeling of celebration in the air. At one point, the girls were hiking ahead of the boys and we heard a growl coming from within the forest. Bear sprays out and eyes narrowed, we were on high alert. But alas, no bears appeared and instead we all peed together in the woods one last time. There's truly nothing better than peeing by a trail outside.

When we reached the trailhead parking lot, we were like savage dogs stumbling upon a lair of fresh kibble. We crushed several cans of beer that we left in the car and devoured the rest of our snacks. We cast aside our backpacks and I stripped down to my shorts and a tanktop (my arms and legs hadn't been exposed for almost three days). The sense of accomplishment and comradery was intoxicating - or maybe that was the 7% juicy IPA talking.

I used to think I was a weak girl, but after planning and completing this trip with no serious injuries or setbacks, I'm rethinking the internal dialogue. Besides the minor knee inflammation, my body was sturdy and reliable. I could keep up with the group (and lead it at times) and I didn't have to recover much when we got home (after one intense sauna session at the gym, I felt renewed). This journey opened the doors to another mode of travel, one whose cost to satisfaction ratio is unparalleled. It's not a question of if, but how many backpacking trips are in my future.

My dehydrator is ready to go for the next adventure. 🧑‍🍳

Additional Resources

  • The best bear safety video on the internet (my friends joked that I had a mild case of "bear autism" because of how much I researched and talked about bears)
  • Leeches are prevalent in Heart Lake, so here’s how to remove them:

Happy camping!