Who bushwhacks? Why?

[Greg F]

I avoid bushehacking but as soon as I am above the treeline I like to roam and ridge walk. There is no feeling more free than off trail hiking above the tree line in alpine meadows. Most of the major trails here are in and outs and by going off trali you turn them into circuits. All you need to do is find a scrambleable pass.

[RA Amundsen]

I bushwhack above the treeline – not sure if that counts.

Mostly it is in order to shortcut modern, "scenic" trails or get from one trail system to another. Always nice to go somewhere nobody else has ever been – then I stumble across a couple of fire rings that could be from the last Ice age…

A bit more picky if in the woods. Far more terrain there that will slow me down or steer me off course.

Haven't used light packs while bushwhacking yet, but far as I know, what gets eaten fast are pants and anything hanging on the sides of the pack.

[Nico .]

A lot of my hiking in my local backcountry involves some amount of bushwhacking… sometimes the entire trip.

I live in an area dominated by chaparral. We've got lots of tough, scratchy, thorny brush and it grows in thick in our Mediterranean climate. Our mountains are made of gritty sandstone and sharp edged shales. Bashing through this brush and scrambling along these rocks tears up pack fabrics, clothes, skin, etc.

Why do I do it? Well, several reasons… the simplest being the FS can't keep up with basic trail maintenance on many of our trails, in the wilderness areas or otherwise. There's too little money and too much growth.

There's lots of interesting places out there that don't have trails going to them or no longer have trails going to them. It's still worth a visit to some of these amazing places but you've got to earn it with bashing your way through miles of brush. Native American rock art sites come to mind as one good example. I spend a fair bit of time exploring remote canyons, caves, and crags for signs of old encampments, etc.

[Rick Reno]

Mostly to get to out-of-the-way mountains that don't have trails.

Why? Ummm- because it's fun?

Of course it seems like I also do a lot of winter bush whacking, because I lose track of the trail!

[BPLwiia]

I've hiked for many decades but am new to bushwhacking. For me it offers both a challenge to get someplace solely on my own and an opportunity to be completely alone with nature. Most of the bushwhacking I do is to secluded ponds or other points of interest.

Bushwhacking alone does allow me to test and hone my wilderness navigation skills. It also dramatically heightens my attentiveness to surroundings much more so than when I hike on trails. I watch where I place my steps, sometimes very carefully, and in certain instances even step count. That never happens with me on on trails.

There is also a sense of accomplishment going to a place that few have gone. Most hikers cruise up and down maintained trails like cars on a freeway and that describes 98% of the hiking I've done. Bushwhacking is more akin to driving an SUV off road.

[joseph peterson]

If I need to get from point A to point B and there's some bushes in the way then I go through them. It is all a part of off trail travel. If you are into it…cool, if not, that's cool too. Yeah it can get wild, but I like that kind of stuff. I get out for the adventure of it all.

If you are the type of person that gets frustrated easily, or are just looking for a pleasure cruise, bushwacking isnt for you

[David Chenault]

"Other than that I try to avoid bushwhacking like the plague. Why? I am going long-distances so my main goal is making progress. In order to reach a certain goal within a given time frame I have to make a certain amount of progress every day. Bushwhacking is unpredictable and will slow me down tremendously – which is why I try to avoid it. "

If you define progress in a way which doesn't equate to miles than hiking on trails makes little sense.

[Jim Milstein]

A great deal of my walking in the foothills zone of the San Juans is done off trail, necessarily, because there are very few trails. It's principally ponderosa, juniper, and gambel oak country with some other species in moister areas. I go for months, sometimes years, without seeing other people or their traces on my excursions. In winter, if there's sufficient snow, I ski. I see a lot of wildlife. By being quiet and non-threatening, sometimes they tolerate my presence. I have hiked with a flock of turkeys for a quarter mile. I have watched a doe nurse her twins up close. I have come face to face with a mountain lion and a bobcat, but not at the same time.

It is decidedly bushwhacking country due to the oak brush, which is frequently impenetrable. Sometimes I carry a carbon fiber pole, and I use it to whack away dead brush. So far, so good. (It's a ski pole)

I also ski the backcountry up higher in the Wolf Creek Pass region. Lots of people in the woods there. When I want solitude and a wilder experience I stay down lower where few go. No issues with damage to gear, of which I carry very little, but my skin takes a beating. When I return home scratched and bloody, I know I've had a good time.

[Josh Leavitt]

Until you have seen what lies on the other side of the slide alder, gamble oak, micro-chicken-headed, limestone bluffs, and rotten granite chasms, then yes, why "bushwhack"? ;-)

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