This blog is about a different kind of backpacking, which very simply involves walking all day long, every day, in the wilderness, while carrying everything you need to survive on your back. To be considered Backpacking, rather than plain-old hiking, I would say it has to be at least a 3-day long trip. Long-distance Backpacking generally includes treks like the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail, which take about 6 months to complete. Somewhere in the middle, though, are the 200-500 mile long trails which take anywhere from three weeks to a couple months. THIS is short-distance long-distance backpacking, and THAT is the kind of backpacking I will be writing about! Here are some examples of trails in the US. So far I have hiked the Long Trail, and will be hiking the John Muir Trail this summer.
Hikes in the US!
Spending a month walking around in the wilderness is a fascinating activity, which may sound pointless, but I assure you is not. Over the course of this blog, I’ll recap a past 300 mile long hike, document the preparation and planning involved in an upcoming 250 mile long hike, and go over any random hiking-related topics I can think of. There will be a lot of photos, funny stories, comics, and useful info for anyone interested in planning a trip. For now, I will leave you with this: backpacking is an Awful lot of Fun. You never know what exciting plants you will find, or which friendly pig you will meet in the Swiss Alps.
It can leave you with a sense of fulfillment, joy, and excitement, over the ability of your body to conquer mountains and take in breathtaking views.
However, on cold rainy days when all of your socks are soaked, or on hot humid days when horseflies whir around your head like the spiralling blades of a helicopter, it can also make you feel like this:
Backpacking is not all sunshine and mountains. Sometimes it's planks and boggy bullshit:
By keeping a sense of wonder, though, it becomes possible to see past the boggy bullshit and appreciate the little dudes that live there. This is Tiny, and he's my newt (hah, hah...):
It takes a certain mental and physical strength to undertake a month of leaving modern convenience behind, and simply walking in the woods. Extreme highs come with extreme lows, and when your world is reduced to the trail ahead of you and the trail behind you, every moment becomes an acute experience that is truly felt. I imagine it is this same intense sense of living that draws people to travel to new places or take on challenge like running marathons. Each minor accomplishment is amplified by the novelty of every action, while every failure is just as prominent. No activity is approached with the nonchalance of everyday life, where routine dominates. I am lucky enough to have found a passion for wandering around in the wilderness, and am excited to write about the whole wonderful ordeal of planning and doing a short-distance long-distance hike.
