Why Backpacking?

[Patricia Combee]

Hmm, there is something I like about going "out There" with everything I need to be safe and comfortable and the definition of comfort is totally up to me.
No matter how hard old Ma Nature has worked me over, I can't wait to go back and do it again. Sounds kinda crazy, but I think people who don't backpack and experience the totally awesome beauty of this country are the crazy ones. 90% of the people in this country do not go more than a 1/4 of a mile from their car: Now that is crazy! As for Ultralight backpacking; for me it is a necessity not a luxury. I am not that big, and have no desire to be a beast of burden. It is amazing how quiet this very noisy world can be. You just had to ge me started, didn't you!

[Justin Chaussee]

I backpack to get back in touch with nature. I know that sounds like a real hippie thing to say, but I don't care, it's the truth. I like being outdoors more than I like being indoors. I like knowing that I can carry every single thing I need to survive in my pack. If I don't get a chance to get out into the outdoors I start feeling depressed and spiritually drained. Backpacking kind of "recharges" me and gets me back to my normal self. I guess I backpack to both spiratually recharge myself and to prove to myself that I can survive with very minimal acoutrements. Truthfully, I feel more at home in nature than I do in suburbia. It's not really so much "survival" for me because the word "survival" implicates a hardship or struggle (maybe that's just me), but while backpacking I don't feel any hardship or struggle at all. In fact, the only hardship or struggle I feel is trying to survive in suburbia! i.e. mortgages, car payments, bills, work, commuting, etc… Anyway, that's why I go… If that made sence at all… ;-) Good topic Stephen!

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Because real life is happening out on the trail. Right now, while I'm watching another boring day in the city to end and dreading going to my job tomorrow, Real Life is going on out on the trail and I'm missing all of it!

I also like the minimalism. Really, we don't need all this stuff to be happy. In fact, all this stuff gets in the way of happiness. It's when I have almost nothing–the freedom of being completely self-contained with all that is needed on my back–that I feel fulfilled and free like a bird.

[Brett Tucker]

The difference is that you, Stephen, like so many here, see backpacking as a means to a rewarding end. That end may vary, but backpacking is simply the unique process through which it is achievable.

By constrast, all they see are the trivialities, technicalities, and difficulties of the process. They can't see beyond that because they've never sought it out, or were repelled by the process before getting there. But these are the same ones who get up each day, suffer the automobile commute to sit at work all day, enduring the process most of their lives for the sake of a paycheck.

Any genuine reward requires a certain amount of effort; some folks just seem unable to tolerate much of this beyond the routine that's forced upon them for the sake of employment.

Stephen Nelson (stephenn6289) wrote:
>>They see it as a torturous practice in which you experience physical exhaustion, uncleanliness, and discomfort. I, however, see the beauty of carrying everything that I need to survive on my back.

[Jared Cook]

Why backpacking? hmmm… Now that is a question. It's not the only activity or sport that I do in the outdoors, I actually do a lot of different activities. Overall I got introduced into the actual backpacking aspect by the Marine Corp. It eventually became an escape, not neccesarily from reality, but a relaxing disconnection from the hustle and bustle of life in general. I know that if I can strap my pack on and go for a walk, and spend a night, when I must return to the not so real world, I am more relaxed. The views, whether wooded forest, a scenic ridge, a lake or stream all set me to peace. The mileage, the planning, the solitude, the comradery, the scenery and the drive to push myself really fuels my drive to go backpacking. It's an escape. I don't belong in the city, but I am forced to live here for the moment. None of my friends may understand why I do it, which is why i generally do it alone or with my girlfriend.

[Ashley Brown]

Why Backpacking?… Isn't it obvious? If we didn't go backpacking now and then how could we justify our gear hobby?

[Kendall Clement]

I am very new to this hobby. I've always gone for several mile long day hikes with my dogs and I've found myself not wanting to go home as the sun's going down.

Why backpacking?

LOL I have found myself becoming addicted to buying gear. That's very funny, but also very real. I live in Los Angeles. And, for the last decade or longer I've been feeling very crowded. In the last couple f years the hustle and bustle, the 9 million personalities with their 9 million tempers has just been a bit much most of the time. And, you're right, people are nicer on the trail. I just love it.

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