Hrmm... if You at least BMX'd/MTB'd as a kid?... (Pushed yourself to try Jumps, Downhill Jumps, Drop-offs, Drop-Ins, Railing Berms, Weaving thru single track "Goat-Trails" a bit, as they call 'em.) then I'd recommend instead looking at a decent level daulspot moto with regular dirt tire sizes. 21" F 18" Rear if you're Desert/Offroading most of the time... or sometimes MX'r models even go down to 20" F 19"R setups for tighter, like SuperCross kinda tracks. So they're more "flickable" for that kinda indoor track stuff.
A dualsport bike like... a KLX300(the dualsport one) or CRF300L. Would be a fine starting point for most people who've at least riden in the dirt before a few times.
Or if that beginner has at least some amount of time in the dirt before... look in the used markets for a cool mid-sized DirtBike setup for Enduro riding perhaps, Like a 200-300cc 2-Stroke, or in FourStroke engines maybe range of 200-350cc? Depending on rider weight/build, experience level. With a Rekkluse Clutch setup. And make sure to get/install BarkBusters if you're going to be on trials weaving thru trees and rocks. Which would be pretty much every ride for most I'd imagine. AND out here in SoCal anyway, make sure she had a nice skid plate and good Front Disc Brake Rotor cover! The BarkBusters also help protect your clutch/brake levers from gettin' snapped off if ya fall. Bad falls can still do it. but the lesser normal falls they work pretty darn good at protecting you and the levers.
Since you'll likely just be wearing Hunting boots.. don't "push it" when you're riding. MX and Enduro Boots have a full shank in the sole to distribute the shock of the pegs upon your boots, your Hunting boots may not have a shank like racing boots do. Don't skimp on upper body plastics. And always try to find gear which offers BioFoam or ClosedCell Foam padding protection down over your TailBone("Butt-Bone"), you'll be glad you did!
Get Gloves with hardshell kuckle cups on them, and a wrist-closure system that feels comfortable to YOU! Some gloves will have a weird or cheaper from of closure/tightening about the wrist and can bug you or irritate/rub your skin raw from certain protruding seams they might have in them. So definitely devote some rides before season working out which protective gear you like that should be sufficient protection for what you'll be riding in, at the speeds you'll be riding thru it, but that's still all-day comfortable. You may find your pack you currently own may hang down a little too low to ride with it on moto... so might be need to acquire a different pack size/style? Things to consider. And remember you'll need some bare minimum tools, and be able to change an inner tube and have another master-link for your chain with ya, and on the frame mount a spark plug holder and have an already gap measure plug stored in it. So plug-wrench / minimalistic socket-set too. Maybe 3-way Allen wrench of sizes you're likely to need for tightening things up on your bike while out there. And you must practice changing an inner tube with the smaller/lighter tire-changing spoons at home.. before you actually need to out in the field. You'll be glad you did. With the smaller spoons you'll have to take smaller bites with the spoons when pushing the bead over the rims edge. It's a lil trickier with smaller spoons. And they have quickfill air-pump fill-up kits that make use of CO2 cartridges, maybe test re-inflating with those to make sure you know how many C02 cartridges you'd need to bring. They keep weight down and make ya not have to pump those small MTB-style air hand-pumps a bazillion times.
Please make sure to come back and let us all know what you ended up picking!
