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I believe survival skills are important. However, experience teaches me that it won't happen Unless the person has a motivation to put effort in, and a good ninety percent of backpacker just don't.


That's an interesting observation. Is this your experience because of the classes you lead or your SAR work (or both)?

Most of the backpackers I run into here are fairly well skilled and prepared. We don't have many SAR incidents here that I know of, at least not for backpackers. I could see how that might not be the case out West. I don't know about the East though, I suppose the AT gets their share like that.

I don't think there's anything special about Ozarker's backpacking, it's just not a "trendy" thing to do here, so most that do backpack here are involved in outdoor recreation and familiar with outdoor skills, and not many tourists actually come here to backpack like they do out West. In fact, I'd venture to guess that most those here with little experience and skill head out West to backpack (so you get to deal with them wink ).

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"You want to go where?"