I suspect that you are referring to backpacking as a low-budget way of traveling the world. Here, backpacking is trail hiking and wilderness exploration.

My son backpacked in Europe the summer after he graduated from high school. His parents were not quite ready to see their 18-year-old do this but he had planned it for over a year. Got to let go sometime, right?

While he went alone, he seldom traveled alone. He met and traveled with young people from Norway, Australia, Canada and Chile. He was fluent in Spanish which helped a little.

He spent three months touring the continent and living out of his pack in hostels and cheap hotels. Other than a case of bedbugs in Greece, the trip was memorable; I guess the bedbugs were also memorable if put in perspective.

What was really interesting was that people he met in Europe visited my wife and me when they were backpacking North America in later years. We hosted a lot of lively young people who visited us from many parts of the world.

I really miss those days!