Unpacked: The Backpacking Tithe Project

Nice piece. I like your taking your own approach to backpacking. No need to ape what “everyone” else is doing. Wandering to see what’s out there sounds wonderful.

Refreshing to read something that does not involve some new latest piece of gear or how far or fast someone has gone. I started out many years ago backpacking just to get outdoors for a short time, then somewhere along the way got the idea in my head that a thru-hike was what I wanted to do. Well, after finally attempting to do the AT, I found that it was not what I wanted or enjoyed about backpacking, so I stopped and returned home. I am back to shorter section hikes and make it a point to get out at least once a month year round, staying closer to home most of the time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I enjoyed reading the article.

Nice article Mark, I love your metric! And your attitude!

Great philosophy and perspective.  Whimisical and a good read.

Thanks Mark!

This is exactly the type of backpacking I’ve been gravitating toward – shorter trips, closer to home, much more time exploring the nooks and crannies. With Big Sur and Los Padres National Forest practically in my back yard, there are endless secrets to (re)discover.

A very enjoyable read, thanks!

Right on. The predominant talk of distance and speed holds no appeal for me. Nature is what gets me out. Glad to see others are more into savor than stats.

(Photo taken Monday, August 2, 2021)
An article as refreshing as the trips it describes. Yes, in my experience the connection between nature and what we call the spiritual is very strong and the approach you describe moves the distraction of the ego stuff out of the way. Thank you for writing this piece.

Thanks for the kind words, glad you all enjoyed the piece! Hope you all are able to get out as much as you want this summer — I’m on track for 37 nights again this year but the smoke up here in Montana has meant it’s mostly been one-night trips when the forecast is favorable the last month or so rather than the 3-4 night trips I’d been looking forward to.