Backpack Planning Pain – Local Hikes vs Exotic Destinations

Two ways to think about:

1) Epic trips make a cheap vacation (backpacking) expensive.

2) Backpacking in epic places make an expensive trip more affordable.

If you are feeling number 1, stay home and get your alone time in the woods close by. Once you start dreaming about epic places, think about it in terms of #2.

Out west

I’d go to epic and exotic.  The same trails are nice but after awhile I just don’t find them interesting unless there’s a little time away.

Out west I’d say low desert (Phoenix), SoCal desert, or the California coast in winter to early spring and high desert late spring basically.  The Sierra and Cascades for summer once the snow gets to your liking, then the post-monsoon Rockies usually late summer/early fall.

Now however fire and smoke season can complicate the west coast, plus the mountain west; 2021 had a “nonsoon” a.k.a. abnormally dryness and then this year, many New Mexico forests closed due to early summer wildfire, only to reopen due to the first monsoon rains.

May pay to keep a refundable ticket.

Also with more burnt areas out west, the ability to hike out of them is more important.  Nothing worse than setting up in a burnt area, then listen to the wind crash trees all around camp.

I’m an INTJ and love to analyze and systematize things but when it comes to vacation and time off my shadow side comes out. I hardly want to plan at all. Just wandering around in the woods and figuring out how the trails all fit together by repeatedly hiking the same forests is my go to.

This is me on my local hiking trails in the mountain preserves in Phoenix. I like wandering and understanding the connections between different trailheads. I’m starting to spatially connect Sabrina Basin, Piute Pass, and Humphreys Basin in a similar way, I’m recognizing peaks from other sides and realizing where the trails are in relation to each other.

If I’m being honest I’d like to just do the wandering around thing that I just described but in  different areas out west. But that doesn’t seem safe or realistic in terms of $ or the stress of planning.

Permits are a minor pain and obviously you have considerable distance to travel to get to the Sierras but there are definitely opportunities to wander out there and you can do it in an unplanned manner. You mentioned the moon… Some areas in the Sierras are so much like the moon it is hard for me to even believe they are real. It’s like being on the moon.

Disclaimer: I’m not a level 17 Sierra Wizard but feel free to PM or email me (matthew @ you know where dot com) and I can share some ideas with you.

Like me, you think too much. Just pick a beautiful spot and make it happen. Local is good, but good to break it up once a year or so with something different. I am a man of the west… The American west is amazing….

I mostly use travel to extend the short Alaskan hiking / backpacking season.  January in Arizona, April in California (or France), etc.  As the seasons move through the latitudes, use it to seek out your preferred climate, hiking temps, etc.

Jeffery, you sound like me.  Didn’t have the kids but did have a business to run that kept me closer to home for many years with mostly only 3 day trips in the Southern Appalachians but I did have an excellent hiking partner who was up for most anything local.

Now I spend quick time thoroughly exploring a new local park, on trail and off, mapping it as I go when I can’t get out to the mountains.

Finally in my late 40’s I had more time and money to do the western trips I had been missing since I lived out there.  The first time flying to backpack is always a pain with great unknowns but they get easier with time and experience.  While I do go to different places out west, I have also immersed myself in Big Bend National park with almost annual December trips and it scratches my itch for really understanding a place and with regular trips it makes the travel from home to hike much easier as I know exactly what to expect, where to stay, how the permits work, etc.

Here is a piece I wrote about flying to backpack that may help you organize your efforts to go west.

I think you’ve asked some great questions—and as you will see, none of them have easy answers.  I am with David, in that I use my travel vacations to avoid the snow season in the Sierra–the Southwest is a great place to do this,  (although the Gila Wilderness is wonderful, it’s a bit too high for winter!).

I also use travel for work as a way to get places I wouldn’t normally see on my own budget.  If I can extend a work trip for a few days, I can often get in some great hiking in those wildly exotic destinations. But then, I don’t travel to Detroit or Omaha for work.

As others have noted, travel out West can be complicated, between snow for eight months of the year, and mosquitoes, fire and smoke the other four. I’m lucky that I live close enough to take advantage easily, and I’m retired, so I can reschedule easily as well.

But those local destinations can be really rewarding–especially with your son! I keep finding little corners of the world that are close to my house and offer real solitude. They may not be epic, but the joy they give is epic.  And there is no comparison–if you’re looking to Leave No Trace, then reducing your travel and its impact on the environment is a major consideration.

I have always loved the western states and Alaska, especially after my growing up years in the flat (but still often beautiful) midwest. I hear you on the wide open spaces, and fascinating landscapes – deserts, mountains, geology, etc. They will be here for you later in life too, when you have more time (and maybe money?). Or when your kids are more ready to go. A few contributors here have taken kids on the JMT. That would be amazing! Gotta have the right kids though, not mine!

I don’t mind the logistics of trip planning; I enjoy that part. Some hikes out west are logistically easy, but cost-wise will always be more economical if you’re spending longer out there, rather than just a few days. Lately I’ve been doing more trips Outside (I live in Alaska) and they are never less than 10 days. It’s expensive to fly from here.

To keep costs down, I take buses instead of renting cars, stay in hostels pre and post hike, use rideshares (aka dude with a car), etc. I rarely rent a car, unless I’m splitting with others. I avoid restaurants and shops, and do pretty well on minimizing expenses. I also don’t buy a lot of crap for the home, clothing, or go to movies or restaurants in my own city; pretty much all of my husband’s and my fun money goes to outdoor recreation or travel. Can you figure out what really makes you content and put all your efforts and finances there?

Although my kids are grown, I still have to really watch cost, in order to be able to keep doing this. I simply could not do it when my kids were young, nor did I want to; I wanted to spend every minute possible with them. I urge you to take them all camping/hiking as much as you can. Those memories are priceless. And maybe they’ll want to do a long explore with you some day.

I love the planning; it is part of my winter entertainment. There are fewer than 4 daylight hours to be had, during which I’m working in a windowless office, and by the time I get home, it’s completely dark. So visiting websites of fabulous places is part of the fun for me. My friends actually love it when I do most of the planning; they just go along! Maybe I should start a business for busy parents…