What do you love most about backpacking?

What is your favorite aspect of a good backpacking trip? Is it setting up camp, lighting the fire, hiking in, etc.? What makes you feel most successful as a backpacker?

Very good questions - let me think about it a bit...

smmaddox,

For me it's the hiking. I'm very much in the camp to hike tribe.
I enjoy the food, and the second best moment is when I get my shelter and sleeping gear straightened out and put my head down, but I'm really out there to hike (or maybe I should properly say was).

best, jcp

Being and seeing where you can't from a car or your couch!
The quiet lack of human influences.
The night sky with little light interference.
Carrying home on my back.

Being outside .

For me, the best part is the lack of structure. I spend my working life on a very rigid schedule, in a fairly disciplined, organized profession. When I hike, there are no schedules: no set number of miles to cover, no specified procedure as to how I hike them, no specific meal times, and no record keeping.

Beyond that, I like the physical act of hiking. I don't mean that I have to challenge myself, or constantly push to get better. I simply enjoy the good, clean feeling of putting one foot in front of the other, until I decide to stop for awhile. It gives my mind a chance to turn completely off, if that's what I want, or I can think about something uninterrupted. I have the luxury of unstructured time.

Cooking is not a big priority, though I do enjoy my meals. Somehow, things taste better outdoors - even freeze-dried food, eaten from the bag. Oatmeal, which I really don't eat often at home, becomes an anticipated morning ritual, along with hot tea (which I almost never have at home - coffee, on the other hand, is something I always enjoy at home and never take camping.)

Another great part, as others have said, is sleeping out in the woods. That little tent becomes a beckoning haven, and snuggling into that warm down bag and pulling the hood around my head is soothing and restful.

The common thread in all of this is, I suppose, simplicity. It becomes an antidote to an otherwise complicated life, and refreshes my soul when it becomes stale.

An great answer, Glenn. Thank you for summarizing much of what I would say---if I had thought of it~!

I would also add the stunning scenery...and the chance for serious quality time with my wife for days on end.

Makes for a pretty great way to spend a few days...or weeks!

I was first attracted to the idea of BPing as a way to see more of the trail than I could in a day.

After the first time out the experience showed me how simple life could be and probably should be. It exposed me to just how many distractions in life we experience on a daily basis and how easily we accept this as the norm. Walking into the woods, even if for a few days and clearing all that out of my head with the sole purpose of reconnecting with a primal feeling of what it is to be ALIVE was as refreshing as splashing my face with water from a chilly mountain lake.

In my case the spirit is revived and focus shifts simply to every deep breath, every drop of thirst quenching water, every morsel of a life sustaining meal. In this process of returning to a more natural way of existence I feel an overwhelming thankfulness for the privilege to live another day and experience all the wonders of nature along the miles traveled on the trail.

Now if all that seems too sappy I do like all the cool gear, the great work out BPing offers and watching all the critters is certainly number one on the list for me. So much better than wasting away in front of the tube.

jimmyb

The moment. You ever noticed in the city life and your job life is going at a fast pace? Time is flying by you? I feel out in the backcountry you're living in every moment of the woods. Nothing is passing you by that you don't notice. Just feeling free and living in every single second of life. And the sheer beauty isn't too bad.

It is hard to separate out one aspect of backpacking I love most, so the easiest approach is to give as broad an answer as possible. I just like spending time in places that are inaccessible to people who are not on foot, but most especially I love to reach remote places more than one day from a trailhead. I love the silence, the pace, the beauty, the open air and the simplicity of it all.

When I go solo I just soak up the forest. The Japanese actually have a term for this, they call it “Shinrin-yoku ” or "Forest bathing". That's what I love most about going solo, I just immerse myself completely in the forest experience and I feel perfectly comfortable there. It does make me feel better too. I've made that connection since I was a little kid.

When backpacking with friends I still get to soak up the forest but that's not my main focus. I focus more on the companionship and adventure. Depending on who's all along this can be more stressful than day to day living but it can also be a lot of fun and result in great stories to tell, and I do sometimes really love those adventures.

I also love the idea of being self contained, completely free, and closer to the earth as it was intended to be experienced. I know none of that is entirely true, but there are bits of truth in it that are worth searching for and I find them most every time I go backpacking.

I really like this.

Thanks for this piece of knowledge!!

I just like to observe the theatre that is nature, the symphony of the wildlife, and the comedy of solitude (i.e., farting in my own tent).

I also like many of the things others have mentioned. But the thing I like the MOST, is mountain scenery - preference for granitic glacial terrain (sheer walls, lots of lakes, U-shaped valleys). I like sweeping vistas. Forests are fine for a while, but I quickly get a penned in feeling. I spent most of my life as a mountaineer and technical climber-that is where my heart is.

I also like route finding and exploring off trail. I do not think I would do a lot of backpacking if all I had available was trail backpacking. This is why I like the Sierra and Wind River Mountains - very suitable for off-trail travel.

Oh, forgot the last part of your question. I feel no compulsion to be "successful" while backpacking. I can get lost, bumble around, fall in a creek during crossing, burn dinner, fall flat on my face, and still have a fine trip. I do have goals, but if those are not met I do not feel unsuccessful-it simply means I may want to go back and try again to reach that specific lake, mountain etc.

For me, it's just getting out there. I like seeing what's over the next hill. I enjoy sitting on top of a ridge or a pass and admiring the views, or finding a place near camp to watch the sunset. I love the night noises. I even enjoy crawling out of the tent in the middle of the night if it's a clear night--the moon and stars are awesome. (If it's raining, not so enjoyable )

Like W_D, for me there's no such thing as "success" or "failure." Even the trip on which my dog got sick the second day was a good trip, even though we had to turn around and go back. I set up camp in a lovely spot about 5 miles from the trailhead and we just relaxed for two days.

Success is when you are hiking the last mile to the car, and you are already thinking about your next trip.

I'm usually thinking about consuming Mexican food and beer at the local Mexican restaurant.

Pizza and a creamy root beer for me.

jimmyb

I usually start planning my next trip over that chimichanga or slices, though. Today was the first time I've ever yelled when I've opened an e-mail. We got the permits we wanted for the Grand Canyon in April. The thought of that trip will get me through winter. I love being in the wilderness, as it makes me feel close to a Creator I can't define and a connection I make nowhere else. The anticipation of a long planned trip is a huge plus for me, and the small trips in between are just gems in the crown. Man, am I glad I got those permits!

I forgot to address the success issue, too. Like Daisy and Mouse, I've had things go wrong or not pan out as planned - but I've NEVER had an unsuccessful trip that I remember.

It's not an adventure until something goes wrong. Then it's how you deal with it makes a person who they are.

Simply put, if you are still around to tell about it the trip at the very least had some degree of success.

jimmyb

I'm waiting to apply the Grand Canyon for May. We want to go from the South Rim to the North and back. Even if we don't get the complete trip, we'll take what we can get.

Good luck! We got to a fax machine 12/1, very shortly after midnight Az. time. We had our reply back within 4 days. It was a Sunday so that may have helped. If you can find a fax machine you can use New Year's morning, you should get what you want. They accept faxes at any time. It would give you a real leg up, just as it did for us having access to a fax on a Sun. Our trip actually included Bright Angel and Indian Garden Cmgds., on one of the most heavily requested weeks of the year, so I think it would help you to do the early as possible application.

from billstephenson on the previous page


This is pretty much my experience too. I love that feeling of simplicity and self sufficiency that backpacking (particularly solo cross-country) gives you. The added bonus is that (for me) backpacking strips life down to the real and essential aspects of life; none of this extra baggage we pile on in our modern life (except for that SPOT my wife has me carry...). I come back refreshed, refocused, and ready to deal with the man made environment we live in.

Bill! I see you've gone (Mr) Natural! Hope Lewis and Clark are still doing well, along with the rest of the family of course.

Yeah, me and that old guy go way back...

I was going through my Junior High School Yearbook and that drawing was done by a friend on the inside cover back in 1974. I thought I'd put it up there for grins. I was reminded of Mr. Natural and those olden days because my hair was getting pretty long again and I started hearing that local acquaintances were referring to me as "That old long haired Hippy guy".

I've never cut my hair very often, and it always grows long before I do, but this time I let it grow longer than it has been in a long time, about since that drawing was done. I suppose I was starting to resemble him

The hair was driving me pretty much nuts way before I had it cut this time because I wanted to try and stick it out long enough to donate it. I did, and I'm glad I did because even though my hair is always pretty shaggy the woman who chopped it off said the Locks of Love organization would be glad to have it. I wasn't at all sure they'd want it. It was well used with little care, that's for sure.

And Lewis and Clark are quite fat and happy. Thank you for asking.

Well, today they're not as happy as most. We've got about 10" of snow since yesterday and it's still snowing, so they're kind of hanging out in their stall waiting for me to come give them some grain at sundown.

I laid down a real thick layer of straw in their stall before the snowstorm, about 18 inches thick, and they're not lying in it, they're eating it. They've got an 800 lb round bale of hay a few feet away outside but the wheat straw is a treat they love to munch on, so they're not entirely bummed out.

I might be getting closer to bringing those two on a backpacking trip. One of my neighbors has a son in law who's parked a trailer at his place that'd be perfect for hauling the burros behind my Ranger pickup. I'm going to try and convince that guy that he needs to sell it to me. I don't have any super powers of persuasion so I'm going to rely on cash, and I don't have a lot of that so I'm also counting on some luck too, but sometimes these things have a way of working out if you just ask and get the ball rolling...

It looks like I will have to figure out the fax part. I don't have a land line and was hopping I could find a email fax program for a mac that works.
We were planning on the six day, hit most of the camps, pack our butts off trip, but I hear May is the most busy time of the year.

I love playing with and testing my new gear. Camp fires are a close second.

Well, I'm glad all is well for your clan back there Bill. It was cold enough to have ice on my windshield the other day here in San Diego; I can only imagine what it has been like in the midwest and back east.

IF you do get out with Lewis and Clark, that would be a TR I'd LOVE to see.

chris

Bill,
That is very well put. From now on I'll just tell people I'm "forest-bathing" It is definitely an utterly different and wonderful feeling to be there alone.

I just love getting out for a long hike. makes me feel great

Backpacking is an art to carry maximum of stuff for trekking or hiking. My backpacking experience is very good for my last 2-3 trips. I also have discussion with some other trekker and come to know very interesting factor for backpacking, like make your backpack as much as light you can, ventilated back, nice chest straps and many more.

I'd say more nearly a minimum (depending on conditions) rather than a maximum! This is, after all, a lightweight backpacking site.

It's the one thing I do that completely restores me mind soul and spirit, and it isn't important that anyone else understand why that is so.