I think that to a large extent it depends on where we learned about backpacking. My initial experience was in the Michigan forests where I grew up and started backpacking. To me backpacking is wandering through the woods, by small streams and remote lakes. I have been in mountains and deserts but I still feel most at home in the woods. To me the thought of backpacking brings up visions of spending the day wandering through the woods and spending the night camped next to a remote lake with no other people withing sight or sound.