[unclebilly]

You may be able to rent gear at a local university or maybe REI. This way you can get your feet wet before you buy a $250 pack, $300 tent, $150 stove, $150 sleeping bag, etc.

Get good boots and break them in before you go. I used to like Raccle boots but only up to the Kootney 3 which are long out if production. Walking poles which I thought were poserish came in pretty handy on my last kite up to the Burgess Shale.

Ive done the West Coast Trail numerous times, The Klondike Trail, The Athabaska Trail, and many others in the Canadian Rockies. I'd like to do The Grand Canyon one spring.