>>9648First thing to do is get a basic set of kit together, this will vary depending on your area but the foundations are generally
>Backpack (30-40l is the general size for daypacks) >Water Bottles>A packed lunch >Fire Making equipment (Just get a lot of lighters and secret them in various places on your person/in your bag)>A raincoat, and waterproof trousers if you're somewhere where it rains heavily>A warm hat and gloves>Outdoors trousers/Combat trousers>Good baselayer for the upper body (running tshirt is cheap and fine)>Sunscreen, small medical items (painkillers, plasters etc.) >Some warm kit for upper body>Good footwear and good socks>Some means of acquiring more water if necessary, such as purification tablets or if you have cookware with you you can boil water to make it potable <Last two are extremely important
You probably have most of this stuff lying around already in one shape or form, you don't need good stuff starting out, you can use what you have lying around for the most part (with the cavaet that you really, really do need good walking boots/ shoes)
<Good doesn't mean expensive, the boots in my pic in the OP are secondhand military issue boots with new insoles put into them for a quarter of the cost of the equivalent new items and they're absolutely fine, even on 20+ mile hikes in the mountains with a heavy bag
<Socks should be High wool content
Once you have basic kit assembled, assess your fitness level and be honest with yourself about it, then start looking for simple trails appropriate to your physical ability in the park and go do them, preferably with other people for more fun and safety but its perfectly fine on your own so long as you're careful and don't push your limits
The really important things to keep in mind when starting out are
>Don't push yourself too hard and always err on the side of caution>Keep your phone charged and bring it with you, in a waterproof bag>Tell someone where you are going before heading off and make sure they know what to do and the appropriate service to call if you don't come back, easiest way to do this is to simply send it in a text message with a pic of the route you're doing on your map or a pic of the trailhead map >Don't try and do trails or routes navigation other than following trail signs or walking along an obvious track off the bat, map reading is a skill that takes a while to really get and getting lost in the wilderness and breaking your leg is a good way to die <Most parks and wild spaces have well marked beginner trails that are easy to follow to facilitate this and they're still very fun
>Budget your time to make sure you're back in with plenty of light left so you have some extra hours of sunlight to work with if you find yourself going slower than you thought you would >Water proof everything, get big ziplock bags and use them to waterproof the contents of your bag, they're very cheap, they also help compress down items to make them fit into your bag Important
>Take a LOT of water and make sure you are pissing clear before heading out, this is the single biggest mistake new people make, and its a very serious one, how much water is enough depends on you, where you're going, and where you are, if in doubt ask experienced locals for their reccomendations but use your own judgement and again, err on the side of cautionA lot of the above sounds a bit scarey but it really isn't that hard a pursuit to get into, basic equipment is cheap and available everywhere, more intermediate stuff can be found for little money secondhand online (my bag is like £200 new but I got it off ebay for £50, previously I'd been using a cheap £30 basic bag without a problem) and you can pick up the skills and kit needed to do more demanding trips as you go at your own pace, beginner trails are usually packed in spring/summer and busy enough still in Autumn that there's very little real risk or danger unless you are a massive, massive idiot or too fat to survive outside of the ocean
A great way of starting is joining a local hillwalking club, there'll be plenty of experienced people in it that can help you get started and get into the swing of things safely