Mindfulness Meditation for Backpacking

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..