I keep asking women what they are afraid of the most, thinking about going backpacking. (The men I ask what they are most concerned about - mentioning fear just makes them defensive.) Animals top the list, sleeping on the ground or getting cold comes in second, getting lost is a more remote third. Bugs I lump in with animals. These are the things that drive the initial purchases of the bomber tent, the heavy mattress, etc. - and the fact that they are cheap helps a lot too. Of course, the $15 blue poly tarp would keep the rain off and be even cheaper.... But it's not bug proof and has no walls, so isn't going to keep bears from looking at you.

I like to take mixed drinks or wine, bake bread, and fry eggs when folks who've never hiked go backpacking with me. It also is a tad mindblowing if I pull out a head of broccoli to munch on. The general perception is that you get everything at the sporting goods store, including freeze dried meals, because That's What Backpacking Is About(tm). The marketing doofs have done a great job. Last weekend I handed a new backpacker a sheet of painter's drop cloth to use as a footprint for the floorless tent I loaned. At the end of the trip, she was trying to clean it off to give back - she looked at me like I was silly for telling her to just toss it. I had to explain it was just cheap plastic... not worth all the work of scraping the mud off it, a couple bucks will get me several new tent floors.