I have two 20 something daughters and they, and their girlfriends, do go hiking, camping, floating, atving, 4wheeling etc. They even go rock climbing, rappelling and hunting. Those young women are a blast to go hiking with. I've taken them bushwhacking with me many times and they're tough as can be. They go camping together themselves quite a bit now, and from what I've heard they have a pretty good time of it too. I'd pity the guy who walked up and said something stupid to them

As far as condescension in backpackers, I don't run into that much here. There just aren't many backpackers here, and I don't use trails much so I rarely run into others. When I do, I'm pretty much dressed like a hobo, and scruffy as can be, and unless they're a real hillbilly they generally don't stop to chat much.

Real hillbilly backpackers are rarely condescending. I've never run into one that was. Now your city backpackers who come here with shiny new gear generally kind of freak out when they see a local backpacking. You can hear the banjo music playing in their heads and see the fear in their eyes. It's so obvious, they think your out there cooking meth and murdering intruders with an axe and it really makes for a very uncomfortable encounter. I suppose in a way that could be considered pretty darn condescending, but I never take it that way. First I try and calm their fears, never succeed, then I just head off bushwhacking into the forest and let them sleep on the fact that I'm out there too