Mindfulness Meditation for Backpacking

[Andrew Marshall]

Companion forum thread to: Mindfulness Meditation for Backpacking

Andrew Marshall explores an ancient life skill that is surprisingly applicable to backpacking – meditation.

[Paul Wagner]

My wife always meditates on our backpacking trips.

I fish.

[DWR D]

The whole of every backpack is a meditation for me… no sitting down, closing eyes, or techniques required…

 

[Andrew Marshall]

Paul and DRW D, thanks for reading. There’s a long tradition in meditation of utilizing peaceful, repetitive activities as mindfull practices. Thic Naht Hanh said “when washing dishes, just wash dishes.” But there’s also a lot of value to be had in formal practice, especially in beautiful locations while backpacking. I encourage you to give it a try, if only for the experience of trying something new.

[Paul Wagner]

Andrew–one of my favorite passages in Colin Fletcher’s “The Man Who Walked Through Time” is his explanation of the routine that gets established on a backpacking trip–each action is clear and requires very little thought, and allows the mind to wander while being completely focused.

[Mark Wetherington]

Excellent article, thanks Andrew for writing and thanks to BPL for publishing it. I found this to be one of the more interesting and thought-provoking pieces of backpacking media I’ve read in a while (Ben’s recent piece about exploration and imagination being another).

I have been maintaining a daily meditation practice (1o-20 minutes each morning, and emphasis on practice as there are some days I’m sadly not able to make it happen) for a few years and have found it to greatly enrich my backpacking experience.

I typically end up planning trips that leave me with plenty of time in camp or to take long breaks, and I have really enjoyed using that time to intentionally meditate. I’ll position myself where I am comfortable and having a pleasing view of some part of the landscape – then instead of focusing on the landscape feature I’ll just sort of let my eyes rest somewhere ( a tree limb, a rock, a hillside, etc.) and let myself absorb the scenery as I focus on my breath, or focus on nothing at all. I’ll do this for 10 minutes or so, then either continue on my hike or wander somewhere else and repeat the process. I’ve passed an hour in camp on certain evenings doing this and it has been absolutely wonderful to be able to fully appreciate just being alive and in nature with no distractions or need to be “productive”.

It’s gotten to the point where I look forward to having ample time to meditate as I get ready for a backpacking trip. On a winter trip to a hot springs I was almost giddy with anticipation thinking that I’d be able to just sit in the warm soothing water and meditate as much as I wanted for three days.

[AK Granola]

Great article! I practice yoga, which includes some sitting meditation (depending on how you practice). I find it very helpful, along with balance poses, for doing difficult things, like balancing on logs over creeks, or dealing with anxiety-inducing exposure, lightning, or potential threats from male humans. Also nice for relaxing to get to sleep, despite pain. Settling into being alone, out there, is so nice and calming.

I chuckled reading the part about meditating to deal with chatty humans. I love my usual hiking companions. On a 3 day trip, we do start out chatty, but chatter never is there to fill silence; we are communicating with each other. We also love silence and respect a member’s choice to hike ahead and get some solitude. There are always moments to be alone.

I’ve only done a few nights with groups of strangers, lots of day hikes. It’s usually fine, sometimes amusing (white denim capris?!), and I think the experience and interaction with those unlike us, in the end makes us better humans. We become more tolerant, more patient, more understanding. Not sure about long treks with strangers though… I’ve always wondered about “trail family” dynamics after weeks of hiking together. Someone ought to write a book about that, with lots of true story vignettes. Could be quite entertaining.

[David Gardner]

Andrew, I’m looking forward stoically to your meditations on Marcus Aurelius

[James Montavon]

Great article. I started a mindfulness practice because I wanted my wife to do it (classic)- she didn’t, but I found it useful enough to continue myself. It has proved useful in many ways, but I’ll share two backpacking and two life examples.
First, I find mindfulness to be invaluable in appreciating a place, being present, not simply peak bagging or getting focused on the perfect picture. I just allow myself to experience the view, the moss, the feeling on my skin, the sounds, and try and stay in that space a little longer than is comfortable. I’m always happy I experienced more and did less.
Second, as this piece describes, mindfulness is simply noting the thoughts that come up; when I’m hiking, it is amazing how repetitive thoughts can be. I simply note the thought, and when I find myself noting the same thought pattern over and over again, it’s often a sign that I’m struggling with it- I can take it as a clue to lean in past the initial, surface-level thought and get interested in what’s behind it, what is unresolved, that I can spend some trail time working around in my mind.

On the non-backpacking side, mindfulness has helped me get through some painful experiences, like your blisters. I had abdominal surgery a year ago, which was not pleasant, but simply not resisting the pain- accepting it, getting interested in it- made the experience significantly less unpleasant, more bearable, and I needed fewer pain meds to dull the experience.
The best practical, tangible effect of my mindfulness has been in my relationship with my wife. I have found that I can let go of anger so, so much faster than before- I can recognize the thought patterns that keep me angry, and simply choose whether or not to keep thinking those thoughts, to keep identifying as the one wronged, the one who should be righteously angry. Sam Harris talks about the half-life of anger being incredibly short, and that you have to keep making yourself angry- mindfulness gives you a choice in an otherwise unconscious loop.

My favorite apps are Waking Up by Sam Harris and Ten Percent Happier by Dan Harris (no relation). I also recommend the books by the same Sam and Dan (particularly Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics), as well as Altered Traits for a deep dive into what the science says and doesn’t say about mindfulness.

[James Montavon]

Also looking forward to stoicism thoughts! I often think of Seneca’s advice as a strength of the backpacking community:
“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest of fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself all the while: ‘Is this the condition I so feared?'”

[Victor Hoyt]

This is such an important subject in my life. I too have had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and ADD.

In the last 54 years of hiking, I’ve traveled thousands of miles, including two thru hike attempts. But the vast percentage of those miles have been day hikes. I prefer hiking alone, and have no fear of camping alone. What I do fear is camping alone in the woods with myself. The affliction of a mind that will not stop, combined with anxious rumination, is poison. At home, I can distract myself, and feel safe. Out in the woods, I have no safety net.

I have tried mindfulness meditation many times over the years. At 64, I still struggle with making it work. But I can say without reservation that it helps.

To add a bit to your resources, I’ve learned some things from a book called “Rewire Your Anxious Brain”, by Catherine Pittman. I also use an app called Insight Timer.

Thank you for the concise and excellent article.

[Bill in Roswell]

Very good article. I’ve done many week long and dozens of weekend medtitation retreats. On one week retreat, Zen teacher Joan Halifax led us on hikes in New Mexico to teach us how to combine mindfullness-awareness while hiking. Thing is my consciousness experiences in wilderness (after a few days mt mind would slow down a lot, with big gaps of mental silence between thoughts)  led me to formally learn meditation and develop a lifelong practice. Awareness of what your mind is doing means you can control where you place your attention. The mind’s job is to think and that can’t be turned off other than short periods on an irregular basis. Like James said above, the same thoughts come up over and over. But you don’t have to pay attention to them – you can focus your mindfulness on the land around you, a flower, a rock formation, the clouds, a sunset. Increasing one’s awareness is a great safety factor in the wilderness too!

[HkNewman]

Was about to comment I focus more and more on the trail (like not stepping on the rattlesnake in arid/desert zones or not falling off hidden crumbly ledges in mountainous ones), and it’s kinda making my hikes no longer enjoyable. The biofeedback as described by the OP makes sense to me.  We did something like that meditating in martial arts (before I became more versed in the BBQ arts).   I may need to check out that meditation teacher in New Mexico Bill referenced as my hikes have become a little too rigid .. after almost stepping on a baby rattler and a couple bad falls.  Course that could be more about practicing physical balance, getting total weight lighter for an easier touch on [summerlike] trail, etc..

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