Alright H&F board....you've almost never steered me wrong.....

A coworker and myself want to do a backpacking hiking trip this summer. Neither of us are expert hikers, but we're both in shape (workout regularly, we ran the Houston 1/2 marathon together the last two years, etc.) and we have both hiked before, just never the backpacking/overnight variety.

We're in Houston, thinking probably Colorado. Likely just 1 or 2 nights, though we could do more. But I assume that would require more advance gear, see comments below.

Obviously would need to be something that doesn't require permits as we aren't the most prepared or forward looking...

Also looking for something that's relatively "easy." As we're both new to this, we want to test it out and see if it's something we like before going all in, so to speak. We know we'll be required to buy gear, but trying to keep it reasonable, if that makes sense.

Any ideas on hikes to look at and suggestions for gear, etc.?

What time of year?

Probably summer/early fall

Definitely up in the mountains then. Plenty of trails and forest service and BLM land. You can even get a drive in camp and then sort of "simulate" hiking by taking day hikes from there on local trails with a full pack and camping with your pack gear, without being totally off on the trail the first time out.

I would recommend looking at doing a section or two of the Tahoe Rim Trail, specifically the Big Meadow to Echo Lakes section. It's not a difficult route, and there is an alpine lake (Star Lake) that makes for a great overnight campsite. Plus there are plenty of day hiking trails to explore in the South Lake Tahoe area (such as Mount Tallac) if you wanted to get a few more days hiking in but not backpacking.

https://tahoerimtrail.org/maps-trail-info/

One thing to consider is understanding how to manage your campsite for bears and other wildlife if you are in the Sierras or Rockies. Don't want a fuzzy visitor getting into your tent in the middle of the night. Gear wise, you kind of need the same amount of gear for one day as you would for a week.

Mnt Blanca out of Alamosa is a good option. It'd be an out and back but I've done it. Backpack to lake Como, camp, summit the peak of you want, then break camp and head back down.
(It's possible to drive to the lake but you need a solid rock crawler to get there)

I would recommend starting at valecito reservoir and either going up valecito creek or los pinos. Both can be done with limited elevation gain relatively speaking but get you up in the good mountains. I've linked a trip report below for a trip where I went up valecito and then up to sunlight lake. This could be done pretty comfortable as a 5 day 4 night trip. You can do the whole thing as a loop too which is real nice.
As a beginner I think the best advise is to pack light…you don't have to spend a fortune on nice gear, just make really good decisions as you are thinking through what to bring and what to leave behind. Weigh all your stuff and make decisions from there…don't pack a hatchet for example.


https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2340990/1

Weminuche is great. It can get pretty remote depending on how far in you get. I tried to figure out a 2-3 day loop in there for this past September for my wife and I that wouldn't generate 40+miles. It was hard to find that without needing a shuttle service. We didn't want to do an out and back. I would caution a beginner/first timer on understanding the weather in the San Juan's / Weminuche. It can be really rainy in late July/early Aug and then September becomes a mixed bag quickly. I've spent a few wet / cold, very rainy days in there.

Anyways, I happened upon this loop in the Cimarrons. We went late September. Missed snow a few days before we went in. Probably the one of the prettiest places I've been in CO.

https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7042885/middle-fork-227-and-east-fork-228-loop

If interested, etc, I can send gpx. files.

Carefully consider the elevation of where you'll be hiking. Rapid travel from Houston (50 feet above sea level) to the Colorado Rockies (at least the parts that are >11,000 feet above sea levels) may result in altitude sickness. I'd suggest taking a few days to get acclimated and being well hydrated.