Is every UL backpacker rich?

Chad: One of the most pixelated series on TV, “Naked and Afraid” is a Discovery Channel program which places a man and a woman in some “remote” setting, with a camera crew nearby, a crude map, a requirement to eventually travel a few miles to their pick-up location, and two items of their choosing.  Typically they pick a knife and an axe or a tomahawk and a pot.  They meet, apparently for the first time ever, disrobe, and head into some undeveloped part of Georgia, Africa, or Hawaii.  Then they spend 3(?) weeks eating grubs, trying to stab snakes with a stick, start a fire, and cuddling together at night for warmth.  Typically, the guy is some prep’er / NOLS instructor who doesn’t shave, could stand to lose a few pounds and she’s married (to someone else), buff, and a marathon runner.  They each lose 20 pounds, yell at each other, and she tends to be more emotionally stable while he gets frustrated that he can’t start a fire for days and days.

Actually Naked and Afraid is the least staged of all the survival shows. Sure, the couple is given a map and told about the available water sources in the area. They’re also monitored for health hazards and can receive some medical attention when symptoms are dire . Nevertheless, no other help is given to the participants and that’s why they lose so much weight.

I’ve often wondered which 2 items I’d pick. If I was in heavy mosquito country I think a bug net might be one of them. Water purification might be another. How about a tarp or bivy? Most couples pick either a knife, fire starter of cooking pot.

I’ve always been surprised that more participants don’t eat roasted insects though.

It does seem less contrived and less staged than most.  Except for the whole naked thing.  When have you ever just found yourself in the bush completely naked?  With my pale, Celtic, Alaskan skin the first thing I’d do is weave a grass skirt and broad hat.

There was an African one that must of been at some elevation because they were getting really hot days and cold nights.  I would have dug a “north-facing” (by which I mean “towards the nearest pole”) hole with lots of shade towards the equator so that ground would get cooler and cooler each night and be a comfortable place to spend the days.  Passive radiant and convective cooling.

And a rising tunnel, covered with a lot of soil, with the opening low and facing the sun to trap heat each day and be a warmer place to spend each night.  Passive solar heating.

Yeah, if you could channel your inner Bear Grylls, and get over the socialized *ick* factor, grubs and insects are very “low-hanging fruit” (“very shallowly buried fruit”?).

What’s the fastest germinating food crop that could pass your GI tract?  Alfalfa and bean sprouts grow fast enough that I know people who’ve raised a few crops of them during a long rafting trip.  If your last meal including the right seeds, could you farm your first poop into a crop?

After a blade of some sort, hmmm: Pot, bug net, tarp, or fire steel?  Do they not allow Bic Lighters or is everyone (by which I mean the guys) too proud ask for one?  It seems there’s always several days of challenges and conflicts around bow-drills, etc that the dude thought he was SO good at before actually doing it without ideal materials and a para-cord bracelet.  Which makes for good TV.

I haven’t read all the posts on this subject so this may have been mentioned but you really can save quite a bit of money with a little persistence and cleverness.  I spent about $1000 on gear to thru-hike the Colorado Trail.  That got my pack weight down to between 22-28 lbs over the course of the 486 miles.  Then I spent far too much on food and a splurge lodging at Princeton Hot Springs because the bed sounded really nice at the time.  You could hike that trail for a few hundred dollars if you wanted to.  I’m a high school teacher so not wealthy but I do have a job and summers off.  I bought the most expensive quilt at the time (Katabatic Gear 30) because it had great reviews and I liked that their building was right by where I work.  The point is, my reasons for spending more money than I needed to are:

I wanted to save time rather than money, I didn’t know much about gear and relied on forums and advice from others, I wanted to eat good tasting food and have a light pack, I was really excited about the hike and motivated to spend money on it, I was inexperienced.

I’m not that type of consumer in most other areas of my life.  I researched the crap out of the last mountain bike I bought.  This is just how it worked out.  I will say that after completing the CT I’ve learned a TON about gear and my own comfort thresholds.  No way will I spend that way for my next big backpacking trip.

I agree with the person who said for every expensive piece of gear there is an inexpensive alternative.  Sometimes they are just as good, sometimes you get what you pay for.

Yup, ive seen Naked and Afraid. Good show, I agree.  However, the few episodes I’ve seen have participants that already claim to have survivalist type skills and were given a rating by the show on how likely they were to succeed. I kind of see it as a build a shelter and survive scenario. Not at all a backpacking show. Anyway, I saw Patagonia  had an end of season sale and picked up a Nano Air on the cheap lol. I wanted one for a few years ago and now I have one coming my way.  Again, I do like gear and thats why im here:).  And I enjoyed your story David Gleason, as I did with all the others. Some good inward thought and advice from many many backpackers. Thank you all again. I did notice that there weren’t many people taking the UL kit for 100 bucks challenge. That IS a tough challenge.

What was the name of that 80’s movie with Kevin Bacon and Sean Austin where they take a hike??  

White Water Summer

It raked in a cool $300,000, which is almost enough to outfit a UL hike for two.

Best film ever made……ever. Thank ya Jim C.  You are a film guru of the highest level.

“As others have noted, TIME is the ultimate luxury and, believe me, it helps to be an ORG (Old Retired Guy) and to not complain too much about the honey-do list when home.”

I tend to think of you older retired dudes as ORC’s; Old Retired Chaps, slightly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings…  (and I can’t tell if Roger or Nick is the King of the ORC’s).

(edit to add–I hope folks understand that I’m not being serious in the above–just joking and a little ribbing.  I like both Nick and Roger, and don’t think of either, nor others here as LOTR Orcs.)

Please!
NAZGUL!
Now A Zen Guy Ultra Light

Cheers

Justin, that’s another thing that comes with age; I find it more and more difficult to be offended.

That’s partially offset by becoming disgusted more quickly, but that is easily remedied by walking away or tuning out.

Is that some kind of weird Haiku Roger?

I hear yah Bob. I figure that someday, I too will be an ORC/ORG.  Hopefully both will become lowered.  Maybe if I ever get around to actually meditating everyday (rolls eyes at self).

that is sort of Hiaku like

To save weight hiking,

I replace heavy books with

Haikus in my pack.

Nothing to do with Haikus at all. Just extended TLAs.

Justin: “I tend to think of you older retired dudes as ORC’s; Old Retired Chaps, slightly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings… (and I can’t tell if Roger or Nick is the King of the ORC’s).”

Roger: “NAZGUL Now A Zen Guy Ultra Light”

Cheers

Roger’s comment on the dangerous snowboarder reminds me of a joke:

Q.What is the most common greeting from a snowboarder to a skier?

Q. “Sorry Dude!”

BTW, I just remembered, I’ve been knocked off my skis 3 times by boarders.

1. Eldora, CO (both skis)
2. Heavenly, CA (one ski)
3. Lee Canyon, NV (both skis)

Jus’ saying’…

“As others have noted, TIME is the ultimate luxury and, believe me, it helps to be an ORG (Old Retired Guy) and to not complain too much about the honey-do list when home.”

I tend to think of you older retired dudes as ORC’s; Old Retired Chaps, slightly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings…  (and I can’t tell if Roger or Nick is the King of the ORC’s).

I’ve only been retired a little over a year, and actually I backpacked and camped less the past year than probably any year since in the 60’s.

This was because my Household Task Hour Glass Time Bank was filled at the bottom… I had put off so many of the Household CEO’s planned home improvement projects over the past 15 years, that when she turned the Household Task Hour Glass Time Bank over and the sand started running through that little opening, I had to pay back the backpacking/camping time gods.

Good news is the CEO’s Time Bank and the backpacking/camping gods Time Bank are reaching cosmic equilibrium. Getting close to a re-entry point where I can spilt my time 50/50 between house stuff and outdoor stuff.

“Roger’s comment on the dangerous snowboarder reminds me of a joke:”

Me, too, sort of an aspirational one.

Q.  What are a snowboarder’s last words?

A:  Dude, watch this…….

There are a few things to consider. First, BPL is over-represented by people in their 50s and above. They generally have had more time to accumulate wealth than people in their 20s. Many have budgeted for their retirement, living frugally when they were younger so they can afford to live well when they are older. While some are quite well off, most of us are not the people who buy high end designer clothes or eat at the fanciest restaurants routinely.

Secondly, for most people, backpacking is their primary hobby. What you see on here is selection bias. Hobbies tend to be expensive. For example woodworking, skiing, riding ATVs, playing music (pianos are expensive, and serious amateur musicians tend to have high end gear), dancing (lessons, $10 weekly cover charges really add up) etc. If you have disposable income and funnel most of it towards your hobby, you tend to spend a lot of money unless your hobby is something like reading or crocheting.

But let’s be realistic here. Backpacking is a sport for the privileged and generally wealthy. Most of us have white collar jobs, and are paid pretty well for the area that we live in. In contrast, a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. A large number of people have no savings. Generally, they are not the people on this board. For the most part, we all have decent health insurance and paid vacation. Most of us can afford to take planes or drive our cars (often one of two in our household) to our backpacking spots. We can afford the admission and camping fees. We can afford a membership to BPL.

For younger people on thru hikes, their parents generally are supporting them. If they have no student loans, it’s often because their parents helped them, and if they do, their parents are helping pay them off. It’s a rare person these days who graduates without student loans because working through college. This is why it annoys me that younger thru hikers think they don’t need to obey the rules when society handed them a thru hike on a silver platter. For the thru hikers who have been working for a while, they are also well off. Taking a month or 6 months off would be impossible for most households due to financial constraints.

Backpacking is a sport for rich people. Many of us have a lot of disposable income because we are rich. If you were lucky to be born privileged, you will likely have an easier lot in life and more money to spend. If have a decent job and live frugally when you are younger, you too can afford all sorts of expensive gear if you splurge every once in a while. For example, $20 a month for 1 year is the cost of a cuben fiber tent. I got mine as a wedding gift from about 10 really good friends who each pitched in $50.

Adam, I’d disagree with the point about younger thru-hikers being generally parentally-supported. Although I wasn’t in that group when I set off on the PCT in 2015 (I’m old), I encountered many, many people who were. By and large, the people in that age bracket were using funds saved up from a year or two of squirreling away cash over summers ($4-5000 was the usual anecdotal amount), and it’s not really all that unreasonable to put that kind of scratch away when you’re young if you keep your spending in check and are willing to work for it. Not everybody can do it, certainly, but it’s not like America’s trails are riddled with Rockefeller spawn either. I had plenty of friends who did a semester abroad in college, and the usual amounts saved were somewhere in the $3-5,000 range, so it’s not impossible.

These hikers often, not surprisingly, had cheaper gear, and were much more inclined to find cheap/free places to sleep in town (or split a room 10 ways), but tended to make it work. I also hiked with a guy for a while (22 years old) who was mostly outfitted with older, cheaper gear, but managed to easily hit UL baseweights due to an almost preternatural understanding of what he did and didn’t need. (His PCT thru was his second-ever backpacking trip, his first being a few days five years prior. He wound up in Canada.)

Also, plenty of the hikers I hiked with did indeed have student loans (hell, I was 29 when I hiked and I’m still working on mine)- it actually comes up a fair amount in trip budgeting discussions that I’ve been a part of, both on-trail and online. For me, that added about $1,400 to my trip budget, which was a bit of a headache, but again, was certainly something that could be squirreled away.