Hiking with Spouses

“Just curious if any of you hike with your spouse or girl or boy friend. My wife and kids thinks I am crazy for wanting to do this. Were you into hiking before you got married or was it something that came up at a later date and what kind of support/criticism did you receive from your family.”

“My wife does not hike.. nor does my son.. or my daughter.. yes.. they all think I am crazy.. thus the reason I joined TTA.

I hiked years ago.. back in the Scouting days.. stopped hiking all thru college, and 20 yrs of married life.

Started back up a couple years ago.. and so glad I did.”

“I am hap hap happy that my husband and son love backpacking. It is an awesome way to spend time together. OTHER people think we are crazy.”

“Yes, they're right; you're crazy. But then again, so are we, LOL! Actually, it was a former girlfriend who got me into this again. She's long gone, but I'm still at it, *G*.

I dated a girl last Summer who wouldn't even swim in the lake ("The water is all ickey.") I think I dodged a bullet there.”

“my wife got me into backpacking, before we were married. it was like she was turning me onto heroin. i don't think she could imagine what a backpacking junkie i'd be.

hell, i had no idea. i've forgotten what i used to do before i started backpacking.”

“I have never had a girfriend that ever wanted to go.....I think all the girls that I have been with were always like "too many bugz it's too hot it's too cold stuff like that.Thats why I said it before and I will say it again I will never be able to have the right girl for me.The ideal girl for me would be one that would almost be just like me.Wild outgoing big kid at heart AND HAVE TO LOVE HIKING AND BACKPACKING!!!!!!But I live in Indiana and all the girls around here or at least in the area I live in just care about money and clothes and things like that.So if anyone knows any girls that live in Indiana that fits that bill and are free oh ya and have to be in the ages of 25 to 33 hook it up......:)

Is there no hope for me......:)

Hahahaha LOL...:)”

“What part of Indiana”

“I live in Hammond...Right in the Northwest part of the state Chi town is 20 min's from my house.”

“I have in-laws who live in Lebanon In. It is about 20 miles northwest of Indianpolis. Two yrs ago we went up to the state park by Angola In. I forgot its name but I know we had to make reservations a yr in advance. Luckily the day after we left the area got 24" of snow.”

“Ya we get lots of snow some times becuase of the lake.Lebanon is about 1hr 15min's from me.”

“I got Sassafras into bping about 7 years ago. She loves it. She even got a new daypack, packable down coat and a set of zip together TNF bags (actually that was for us)For Christmas. By far she is my fav. hiking partner!”

“The key to getting a women to join you on a hike is to keep them warm and bring good food and wine. That they don't see it as roughing it. It can be alot of weigh but as long as they are happy so are you.”

“Good point.I've tryed that.Didn't work......:(”

“Our first trip was 8 days, nine of it were h@ll,LOL. It was rough, not because she whined (she didnt),but because 8 days is just a lot for a first time.She hauled about 55lbs that trip,definetly a trooper. She fell in love with the beauty and simplicity. Now the next "phase" is getting her to winter BP.”

“Birch sounds like you have it made.”

“My ex and I actually met and fell in love on a 'hike.'

Actually it was an ROTC outing. I figured if anyone could fall in love with me with no makeup, smelly MRE breath and not having had a shower in a week, it must be love...or maybe he was just impressed that I qualified at the M-16 range

too bad we never went hiking again after we got married”

“iluv, I do consider myself to be VERY fortunate. I doubt I would hike much if she didnt like it. I do some trips without her but really enjoy her company. Ironically we havent been on a "just us" trip in two years. Thats cause we go mainly on TT trips now.”

“my wife and i do at least one "just us" trip a year as well as several others with various combinations of our (four) children....this past summer we also began hiking with other tt afficionados....it is great hiking with a group, but it is also a blast hiking with "just the two of us"”

“Man all I can say is there has to be someone out there for me.”

“My wife and I just got married this summer after dating for 4 years. She has hiked/backpacked with me from the beggining. I think it really helped us develop a relationship in the beggining because you become relaxed while outdoors and I think there is more communication there. We always seem to have our best times outdoors. We were lucky to spend two weeks in the Canadian Rockies for our honeymoon. I don't think I could ever have been with her if she didn't in some way like spending time outdoors with me. I spent three years with one girl and I think the time I took her on a 3 day backpacking trip in the Adirondacks killed it for us.”

“I backpacked most of my life. When I met my wife, although the outdoorsy type, she thought backpacking seemed a bit, well, different. But she tried it and we still pack to this day. My daughter didn't take to it much but my son is my number one hiking partner.”

“iluv - Must be an Indiana thing. My wife is from Lafayette, Indiana (We met in the student union at Purdue). She walks for about an hour 4-5 days a week, but has no interest in backpacking or hiking.

Fortunately, she doesn't mind that I go backpacking about 20 days a year or drag home TTers before and after trips.

I had hiked as a Boy Scout myself, but really got into it when my son joined Scouting (including Philmont in 1993).

I took two of my daughters backpacking once. They enjoyed it, but never asked to go again. My son likes to go, but we haven't gone together in a while.

My youngest daughter loves to camp and hike. She is 15 and has Down Syndrome. At this point she is a slow hiker and I don't think she would do well without facilities available.”

“Susan has been twice. She'd rather chew off her own foot than go hiking. It's OK for me to go though.”

“Hey Phil maby you are right I need to get out of this state...”

“It's great to see so many relationship situations that can accomodate a backpacker. Since we met my wife has enjoyed shorter dayhikes, particularly to scenic destinations, but she is less interested in the fairly recent rekindling of my passion for backpacking. I can always head out alone or go with TT folks, but one thing I am concerned about is limited vacation time combined with my desire for weeklong treks in the future.

Also, we are expecting our first child in May, a baby daughter. A little part of my brain is worried that all of Daddy's (me) outdoor adventures will come to a screeching halt soon.

I'll let the psychologists in the group put the "recent rekindling of backpacking" and "expecting our first child" together...”

“Kodiakman, you may be on to something. I enjoy a little challenge on my dayhikes - a hot day, a cold day, a rainy day, lightweight food, bugs, water crossing etc. When She Coop comes along, perhaps I should select a shorter, more scenic trail and add a little extra weight to my pack for a bottle of wine and a tasty lunch? Hmm.”

“We have day-hiked, x-c skied, kayaked, canoed, and mtn. biked together (snowshoeing is next), and we have canoe-camped on the wild & scenic Namakagon River, but backpacking does not intrigue my wife. We do find b&b's to be wonderful couples' campsites after the above activities.”

“Fortunately there is no shortage of guys who like backpacking ¦ ) .”

“...I enjoy a little challenge on my dayhikes...
Big Coop
07:18:54 AM
12/26/01

Me too. And I think that's why nobody ever dayhikes with me a second time.”

“Now that I have a girlfriend that has been hiking as long as i have, things are looking up...I have never had a mate who would backpack with me before now....I love it.”

“If you have a spouse that will hike with you, you are truly THE luckest person in the world. I wish my wife did, maybe sometime in the future. I would just like to have her around to experiance the beauty of the backcountry with me.”

“When I do weekend patrol in the wilderness with the Forest Service I see dozens of day hike and backbacking groups every time. Very few are husband and wife backpacking couples (lots of day-hike couples). Lots of young adult groups, father/son, and just guys. Sometimes a group of women will backpack together, but not often. Some solo guys, but few solo women.

This isn't a sexist comment, but I think some women just don't think the lack of privacy or facilities is outweighed by the nice scenery and "gourmet" cooking. Our family used to camp and my wife seemed to enjoy it at first. Then, once we camped at a place that was sandy and the wind kept coming up. She hasn't camped since.”

“Even during some of the worst & lowest points in Belowzero and I's relationship, going for a little dayhike or a camping trip was a huge help. We could be more at ease and let our guard down about whatever issues we were having and then we could communicate much better. We haven't actually backpacked together yet, just w/ other friends. Now that we are giving it another try, we are both eager to get out "there" together. It really facilitates the open communication process. We are also excited to take Newergirl out, she has been camping in Yellowstone once (when I was about 5-6 months pregnant w/ her).”

“It seems like I am aquainted with several women that would love to go backpacking/hiking with me but none are my wife.My brothers wife wants to go with me because he has absolutely no interest in it, I've tried to get him to go for years.My First Cousins old girlfriend wanted to go with me. The pianist at my church wanted to go with me because her ol man wouldn't even take her to the movies.

I talked my wife into a dayhike once upon a time.Half way up the trail she stepped directly on top of the largest Copperhead that I have ever seen.Her reply? "I want to go home and I want to go RIGHT NOW!"

She still loves the kind of camping that has a shower 30 feet from the tent though so I can't whine too much.”

“My younger brother took me on my first backpacking trip, with my husband and my aunt. Since then, my mom, dad, and the same aunt have backpacked with me, my brother and husband. I find it to be a lot of fun to backpack with all of them. I was amazed at how tough my parents and aunt were! Backpacking with my brother and husband is so much fun. I've never been just with my husband though.”

“My wife loves the outdoors and camping but is still getting used to backpacking. I love the week long total immersion trips but those are way too aggressive to her right now.”

“My wife and I backpacked together,long ago, but she lost interest in sleeping on the ground and no toilet. We still hike together whenever we can.”

“Skully,

You said it woman! I think the odds are definitely in our favor (luckily) that more men like BP-ing than women.

I have been backpacking since highschool but was "forced" to put it aside when marriage and the kids came along.

I rekindled the passion for BP-ing over a year ago when my marriage broke up.

I realize now that your spouses don't have to SHARE your interests but they do have to SUPPORT them. He was so jealous of the time I spent BP-ing, he would actually say things like "Well, when you come back, I'm going away for 3 days too, just to see how you like it"

That was my first clue that things were not right in river city!

So, for those of you that have significant others that share your passion for BP-ing or at least tolerate your need for a fix now and then, I applaud you! You're truly blessed!

iluv (in Indiana) keep looking, you will find one! I have not given up hope yet!

TexWW”

“If I ever get dumped, I won't ever have another serious relationship with anyone again unless she's a dedicated backpacker.”

“WD, make sure you get references and check her gear closet”

“and, WD, remember people change. Health and interests.”

“amen, pathman.”

“I'm not up to get the "boot" or anything. I'm just speaking hypathatheticly.”

“hold on, susan is calling me, on the phone...”

“Tell her I said to Please come back home.”

“I am doomed.......:(”

“the sleep is still in my eyes
the dream is still in my head
I heave a sigh, and sadly smile
and lie awhile in bed
I wish that it might come to pass
not fade like all my dreams...”

“I'm one of the lucky ones. My wife and I got into bpacking together after we were married for a few years. She doesn't care for some of the exposure to heights, river crossings, and snowfield crossings, but she likes the rewards. She's really big into the gear and new gadgets; it's really hard to keep her out of REI. We're both really excited about taking our son who will be 13 months old when he experiences his first mountain adventure next June. He's currently a big dayhiker(or is that day passenger?) and loves every minute of it.”

“Like I said I am doomed...:(”

“I love my wife -she is my soul mate- but when I go backpacking I am happy she won't go. We need the time apart to appreciate our time together.My girls are too young as yet to go,but they will. Give about 20 years and they are gonna the best looking things ever to hit the trail. I have a feeling they are both gonna love hiking-rock climbing-kayaking all the outdoor sports. They are both fearless and love animals &bugs.
Oh yeah- they love gear too.”