What is the hardest part about planning a backpacking trip?

California Paul, the season is all year!

One can hike in the Northeast year ’round—just adapt gear and attitude for the season!

This year I’ve focused on embracing the cold and wet, and one thing is for sure: If you go backpacking in those conditions it is very likely you’ll have very little company. Anything short of a hurricane or a huge Nor’easter and I’m going.

I’m in Bob’s camp. My favorite places in West Virginia have become seriously over used.
So I look for bad weather as a form of crowd control.
Getting people to agree on when to leave and for how long is a perennial problem. I’ve gotten accustomed to leaving a few days early and meeting people whenever they can show up. I also struggle with food. I’ve tried many, if not most of the available freeze dried “foods” and just can’t stomach it. Gonna have to go back to the good old days of boil in bag meals and hot dogs. Guess I’ll have to lose a few beers to keep the weight manageable.

Leaving pets behind, and trusting their care to someone else. Our latest pup shredded the carpet in three places and ate a Bean boot in our absence a few years ago. The house sitter was distraught and won’t sit for us again. The carpet was due for destruction anyway, but the boot was a tough loss. It did keep the dog busy for a while, shredding the leather upper into more than 30 pieces.

I’ve suggested this one be our last, so that we can get out more often once there are no more but that suggestion was not well received. I love my pets, don’t get me wrong, but they do come with strings (leashes anyway).

Getting the time.

If other people are involved, then coordinating everyone. (I’m always the leader because I’m a little bit of a control freak.)

If I’m by myself, then either (a) finding a place to go that’s not to far, not too crowded, not too boring, not too hard to get permits for, right trail length, etc. — or (b) finding time the week before to do all the chores I would normally be doing that weekend.

Totally understand Karen. We are on our last one. Be nice to be able to come and go as you please.

The day-to-day enjoyment of having my pets makes any inconveniences worth it to me. I have one high maintenance dog that I don’t really trust other people to watch her so my plan is to just take her with me this summer when I backpack. I want to do some solo trips this year anyway, so having a dog would make it less eerie at night I think.

The hardest part is the drive. I’ve done a few 14 hour drives recently and I’m really starting to dread the driving. Most of the time driving to the sierras involves the extremely boring central valley. If I am in a new and beautiful place during the day then driving can be fun but I often find myself driving through the night.

The other hard part is choosing the location and route when you have a lot of options and then stressing out about your choice.

> I want to do some solo trips this year anyway, so having a dog would make it less eerie at night I think.

I’ve mostly backpacked by myself, and it’s spooky at night… I’m always wondering what’s out there in the darkness. But generally it’s pretty quiet and I only have my imagination to contend with.

It was another story backpacking with my friend and her dog. As soon as darkness fell, every 20 minutes the dog would stare into the black and start growling or barking. She woke us up in the middle of the night a few times. On my own I could only imagine there *might* be things out there…

Getting permits where permits are needed and dealing with the flying cattle cars is getting old. All the rest of it is really half the fun for me. Yeah it can get a little frustrating sometimes but I’ve been on enough really nice trips that I know there is a wonderful payoff on the other side of all the planning and packing.

How fortunate my wife and I are that we can even travel and enjoy BPing. So many will never have the time, money or opportunity. Wealthy as kings in comparison to the worlds poverty stricken I try more and more not to sweat the small stuff.

Like others, clearing the calendar is the hardest part for me. Also, balancing the time I devote to a hobby vs. my family, chores, career, etc. I have two boys, ages 6 and 2, and like to take them out too, but obviously those trips are much different than when it’s just me, or me plus other adults. Ironically, the unplanned last minute trips seem to work best for me. Say there’s a lull at work, the kids are heading to the grandparents’ house for a sleepover, and the wife is meeting up with some old friends this weekend – jackpot! Grab my gear, some food, and head for the mountains! It helps that I’m in CA with prime backpacking only 1.5 hours away.

the waiting!  ;-)

“…clearing the calendar is the hardest part for me.”

Heh,heh, Well Sonny, when yer retired ya do 6 months of vacation then ya have to turn around an do another 6 months of it.

Yeah, it’s a tough life but we retirees just take off any d@mn time we want. “Clearing the calendar” my butt!

Eric,

I could not have said it better.