Profile of a Hiker

No doubt this is a silly question, as "hiker" is so generic, and I know there isn't a profile (common attributes among a majority of hikers) that represents the majority of folks...but here me out and let me know what you think.

I'm "wanting" to get into hiking. However, my lifestyle makes it challenging. I'm 40, have a full time job, a family, and I'm also an avid cyclist. I've read, and watched movies, on climbs to Everest and K2, and 6 month long thru hikes of AT. My passion is fuelled, but I'm not sure how I can fit hiking into my lifestyle. I've read books on mountaineer's with families who are away weeks at a time...well that isn't happening for me (by choice).

I think what makes hiking/backpacking appealing is that you can explore some amazing geographies while getting closure to nature. I love these aspects, however, my lifestyle (work, family) clashes. As a cyclist, I can ride my bike out my front door, with lights so I can ride anytime of day (before my kid awakes), and I get a great workout in <2 hours. I sometimes hike before work, I use a headlamp and stick to local trails that I can drive to in less than 10 minutes. That's ok, but probably not what you're all after. On weekends we're busy with activities starting at around 10am, so I go for a 3-5 hour bike ride one of those days. So the best I can do with hiking is one "long" hike a week, starting when it's dark (all but the summer months), and getting in maybe 3-5 hours. Right now this is the best I can do. Of course I can plan a multi-day, using some vacation time (like I've done with cycling), but this would only be once a year and I would have to consider whether it's worth it to invest in the extra gear for such an infrequent part of hiking.

I took the day off yesterday because I wanted to go for a long hike. I tried my new pack and boots (both worked out great by the way ), I hiked somewhere new but not far from home. I had a great time. Loved it. Problem is I can't go on 4-5 hour hikes in a normal week. I had to take a vacation day to do so. Heck, all the other hikers I came across yesterday were retired!

While I can incorporate cycling into my weekly (almost daily) lifestyle, I don't see how one can do so with hiking (in my circumstances). Seems like a portion of the hiking lifestyle (the "profile"?) is about the big expedition...and while most folks could fit one or two of these in per year (I could with some begging), what are you all doing the other times of the year?

Thanks for reading my rant...really looking forward to your feedback so I can gain perspective

In my observation, most hikers aren't on a big expedition. They are just out hiking for a few hours.

It sounds like you enjoy bicycling. Why not direct your efforts to something that is possible and enjoy it?

I go out the front door for walks almost everyday in the same way you go bicycling.

As you are discovering, the hardest part about hiking or backpacking is not the hike itself, however grueling it may be, or the preparation, however detailed it may be, but making sure you set aside time for it.

We all know that adult life can sometimes get so busy that you scarcely have time to eat a meal, but that eventually hunger will drive you to make time for eating. For avid hikers, that hunger for getting out into nature is strong enough we feel urgently compelled to make the time for it, somehow or other, in the midst of all the competing priorities. Like the need for food, it just nags at us and insists on being met.

There were a few times in my life when I felt lucky to get two three days of hiking in the course of a year, but I never let go of the desire to hike or the knowledge that my life would change and eventually I would get back out more often. It was too much a part of who I am. I refused to give it up.

I am only a few years younger than you, with a family/job/kids. I try and plan at least a week every year. But, sometimes, it is just a Saturday afternoon here and there. I also work with scouts, so do a lot of my hiking with them.

You're watching the wrong shows. By way of analogy, if you got all your impressions of what cycling is all about by watching the Tour de France, you wouldn't get those great rides you describe.

Yes, getting away to backpack for a week at a time is wonderful. I had backpacked for about 15 years before I could do that. Why? Because I had young kids, work, etc. But I took a lot of one and two night trips - and took one or both kids along, as they got old enough. I also backpacked locally - state parks, national forests, etc., within a couple of hours of home. Some of my trips were "simulated" backpacks, in that I parked at the car campground, locked the car, put on my pack, hiked 8 or 10 miles, and ended up back at the campground, using backpack techniques to camp by my car - and not unlocking it until Sunday morning. This worked really well in the winter, when I usually had the campground all to myself. But, as author Harry Roberts put it, "backpacking is everywhere, and it's good everywhere. Don't sit home dreaming about the Wonderland Trail while missing the wonder of the land around you."

Was it spectacular? No. Was it fun? Did it meet my needs to hit a counterpoint to my structured life (work, kids' events, etc.)? Yes, to both. Did it take some creativity? Yes.

It also took an understanding with my wife and family. I explained that backpacking was important to me, that it was something I really needed as part of my life. I told them that they could come along, if they chose, but that I needed to do it whether they came or not. Once they realized it, we struck a compromise: I would limit myself to 6-10 weekends per year, with certain weekends excluded: major holidays, birthdays, Mother's and Father's day, etc. I would also be allowed to take up to 3 days of my 3 weeks of vacattion each year to extend a weekend trip to a long weekend. I had to admit that the AT or other months-long adventure would probably not be realistic at any point - but that, as the kids got older, the mortgage got paid, and I earned that 4th week of vacation, a week-long trip every few years would be do-able (that's when I went to Isle Royale for the first time.) It also meant that my wife got a few girlfriend weekends each year.

Eventually, my son did hike with me for a few years; he eventually moved on to kayaking. My daughter went out several times, too, but just never caught the fever.

And here I am, 35 years later, still getting out 8 or 12 times a year, one to three nights at a time, and still getting a real boost out of just walking all day in the woods, and sleeping outside for the night.

I do both. I cycle almost every day...but I also hike and backpack.

The cycling I do solo, and fit it in where I can. This year I'll do about 4,000 miles.

The hiking I do with my wife---so we take a weekend trip, or take vacation, and do the hikes.

Both are great. You don't have to choose. But it really helps if you take your family!

Thanks (all) for helping me see other perspectives. When my body is 100% I wii likely go back to riding a lot, but I'll do so more carefully than before. In the interim I will hike when I can, and you never know where that goes down the road. I think I'll end up liking both. I especially like the idea of hiking, snowshoeing and xc skiing in the winter, as it's more practical than riding.

THAT sounds like a plan! Be sure to stay in touch here from time to time - we'd all love to hear how it's going and, ideally, read some trip reports. Good luck!

Some rather tongue-in-cheek suggestions for increasing your backpacking time!

Those were great (some funny, others quite practical)...thanks