Backpacking as “Sport”?

[Mike M]

hmmm- what does the dictionary say "An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others."

I'd say multi-day FKT attempts and multi-day adventure racing fits that bill pretty easy; I'd also go out on a limb and say a three day jaunt with the wife probably doesn't :)

[BlackHatGuy]

"I'd also go out on a limb and say a three day jaunt with the wife probably doesn't :)"

I'd say that depends on the wife…….

[Kattt]

'"I'd also go out on a limb and say a three day jaunt with the wife probably doesn't :)"

I'd say that depends on the wife……."

I can always count on you for a ( much needed) laugh :)

[Gary Dunckel]

OK, there have been several good comments/definitions on this thread. My personal take is that it is simply a walk in a splendid park, maybe with a sort of zoo thrown in, and a good time to hang in solitude in a stellar place by myself, or with a friend or two. Let's not overthink this–it's just us, hiking, being together, and everyone gathering water and wood, doing their part, and staring at stars and watching out for bears. This is not really rocket science, nor is it a sport. It's simply a joy. I call it recreation. And I'm glad to be part of a BPL group that likes to do it, however he/she chooses to pursue it, by any definition of just what it is.

[Nathan Hays]

When I ride a bike, I don't intend to ever compete, but is bike riding a sport? Is it sport if and only if I am in competition? Is it a sport if I am in training for competition?

What about jogging? Isn't that just slow running which is what you do when in a foot race? How fast do I have to jog/run before I am being sporty? Must I have a competitor or a record time to beat?

Since FKT backpacking (or call it unsupported multiday foot racing if you like) is a sport by the dictionary definition, at what level do I begin to call my hikes "sport"? I think it is when I start pushing my limits and become concerned with performance – speed, altitude/hour, etc..

What about the progression from hiking to class 5 climbing? There are plenty of climbing competitions so that is indeed a sport. At what point does a hike become difficult enough to be considered part of the sport?

And what about different leagues of ability? If I break my personal best, no matter the world record, is it a sport even if I have no intention of competing with the FKTs?

Is peak bagging a sport?

I think hiking can be a sport if you make it so.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hello Nathan,

"I think it is when I start pushing my limits and become concerned with performance – speed, altitude/hour, etc.."

I enjoy doing this on almost all of my hikes.
Even the slowest hikers complain about performance – speed, and altitude in their posts.

What's to say there's a difference between having 50 pounds on your back moving at a slow rate but still having your heart rate at 160 and having 10 pounds on your back moving very efficiently at triple the rate of speed while having a heart rate of 160.

I call it UL Hiking.

This is the whole reason to take the weight off for me.

I am willing to bet that my average heart rate is the same throughout the day as someone overly exerting themselves with a monster pack on.

Still, only hiking, definitely not a sport.

[Nathan Hays]

Hello Aaron,

I would've thought that with your dabbling in FKTs would see it as sport, at least when in pursuit of the records. I feel a distinct difference between hiking for performance and hiking for all the usual reasons.

Hope to be on a trail with you sometime!

Nate

[Harald Hope]

This was a nice thread to read. I like the notion of sport as competing against others, on a somewhat organized and official basis. I am hard pressed to think of any sport that doesn't do this, so it's a useful definition.

Keep in mind, prior to our car/horse buggy days, walking was pretty much it, and walking is what our bodies are designed to do. So backpacking is just doing what is most fundamentally natural for the human body. Now of course, there are some people who have to force totally natural activities into some more agro box so they can justify it to their hyper competitive personalities, so I like to leave adventure racing to them, and enjoy the trails and natural environment while they go elsewhere.

In a sense, ultralight backpacking at its best is actually returning us to the base weights that were used by travelers long ago in general, barring actual moves and so on, and that's what it feels like to me now walking with that weight, pretty natural, not weird, not a struggle, like a 50 pound pack felt.

If you think native americans, they had massive networks of trails, and they walked around on them, that was how you got around back then, and that's really all we are doing now when we backpack. Then, when they wanted to compete against each other, they had sports, just like we have today, and the difference was the organized competitive aspect, ie, there are winners and losers in sports, runners up, and so on.

I've done sports, bike racing, and so on, those are totally different, I'm competing against others there, and the point of the training is to compete successfully, or as successfully as I could. Training for backpacking has some of the same elements to me, but it's just taking walks in the end, albeit a bit more vigorous and focused than I'd normally do.

I really like the feeling of walking all day, but that's because that's so natural for the body, it's what it's built for. Driving and all that is the weird unnatural activity.

[Alex H]

Thanks Harald,

Like most through hikers I know say, in the end it is just walking.

[M B]

No.

Sports, are broadly categorized as athletic based competition whereby you compete against others, with a defined winner.

Backpacking is an outdoor pursuit.

There are "sports" which encompass some of the same skill set as backpacking. Ultramarathons, adventure racing teams, etc.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

It's a "sport" in the sense that the better you condition yourself for it the more you will enjoy it, just like skiing.

And like recreational skiing, it's not (usually) competitive.

Good backpackers are good athletes. You backpack like you train.

[Tyler Johnson]

That's the beauty of backpacking for me; it is what you make of it. Perhaps that's a bit of a cop out to the question, but if you're searching for an FKT or a personal best daily mileage, I think you've made it a sport for yourself. Otherwise, it's just a nice little non-competitive romp in the woods. It's a user-defined experience.

I do think that all the sport-like aspects of backpacking which the user can define are inherently speed based though.

Actually, I just remembered, I chuckled to myself about participating in the first backpacker's triathlon a few weekends ago, on a trip in Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA:
1) Swimming – avoid drowning in a severe rainstorm through the night,
2) Running – wake up late, tear down camp as quickly as possible, then run down the mountain to the trailhead, preferably toppling down a particularly steep section of the trail for expedience,
3) Biking – frantically search through the woods trying to remember where you stashed your bike near the trailhead, then pedal like a bat out of hell to the bus stop 10 miles away.

(Carless in Seattle, I had thrown my bike on a bus two afternoons earlier and ridden out to North Bend, WA then biked 10 miles to a trailhead for adventures. I was in such a hurry that morning because the last bus out of North Bend back to Seattle until later in the day left at 7:30 AM)

[Eugene Smith]

That's hilarious Tyler. No doubt your adventure required some degree of athleticism. I suppose then that Alaska Wilderness Classic participants could be considered backcountry quadrathletes (bike, hike, packraft, swim)? ;-)

I think Harold makes some excellent points and I agree with his personal assessment, it is more in line with my thoughts on the matter. I do disagree slightly with the notion that those who take it to a different level (FKT'ers, adventure racers, etc.) are in some way entertaining some "agro" urges. For some people, pushing the body to its physical limit by means of competition is as natural as getting out for a stroll to smell the flowers- no ego required.

[Mitch Chesney]

So a sport to me is a recreational physical activity in which all participants compete for a common goal.

Such that, backpacking is a sport if and only if everyone is competing for a goal. Now 'everyone' can be a subset of the whole backpacking community, much like the Olympic Rowers are a subset of all rowers – competitive or casual. Rowing by itself is a recreational activity. But a group of rowers in a designated competition is a sport.

Some people argue chess is a sport. It's nationalized and winners are awarded titles. But it's not exactly a physical activity. Korea nationalizes their Starcraft online game competitions as a sport. Popular 'players' can make a lot of money. But chess and Starcraft competitions are gaming competitions. The act of participation in one of these in a casual sense is to 'play a game'. Whereas to casually kick the soccer call around is still a recreational activity.

So if NOLS or Sierra Club began an Ironman competition of sorts along stretches of the PCT, JMT, CDT, or AT and the first backpacker reaching the end would win a prize… would that be a sport? It's not officially recognized but by my definition it would be (albeit an informal one). I know a bunch of people compete for the fastest time through the JMT. There are unwritten rules and regulations – you can't take shuttles or bypass loops using shortcuts, and there is still some debate if the start/end is at Whitney Portal or Whitney Summit. Nevertheless, it's a recreational physical activity among a group of competitive individuals who work towards a common goal.

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