Has Anyone Talked Anyone into Backpackin g?

“Successfully, that is -- meaning that the other person actually willingly likes to go out. In my general experience, it seems that the passion for hiking and/or camping has to come from within. No one that I've actually had to talk into coming out has ever expressed a desire to go out again.

That being said though, I have managed to realize trips for people (such as lending equipement, etc) who expressed a desire to try it. Some of those folks liked it and would go back, others wouldn't.

Has/Does anyone else feel this way, or do I just not talk to enough people?”

“I got talked into it.

I talked my brothers into it, but I supply all the gear and they only do it once a year.

They they still do it though.
last edited: 1/08/05 6:58:04 PM”

“I don't talk people into backpacking. Many co-workers have asked to go with me, but I generally make polite excuses. I like hiking alone. Sometime....I'll have to work on my socializing skills. I HAVE talked (& taken) my brother-in-law (formally of Hope-middle of nowhere-Falls but now in Queensbury) into night hiking. Very resistant, but ended up loving it.

He was scared of the critters, which really surprised me, since he spent most of his life in the wilderness. He goes hiking EVERY week for the last 35 years. He relaxed when I told him I had a .357 with me.”

“Amen. Solo hiking is the experience for me.

I can not tolerate waiting on people whose organizational skills are less than perfect. When I am ready, I am ready.

I only carry a stick for self support/defense.
last edited: 1/08/05 7:10:07 PM”

“the only person i ever talked into it, was my ex-wife.

nuff said, huh.”

“Trying to talk someone into it just is asking for trouble.”

“I go back & forth between carrying & not. My problem stems from I'm a peace officer with 24/7 statewide jurisdiction. However (off-duty)I do feel some moral obligation when things look like they're really going to turn to #&%!$. I try to avoid it, but will step in if somebody obviously needs/wants it.”

“I've invited and encouraged people, but I've never worked to talk someone into it. If you push someone to go, you're accepting a lot of responsibility for their experience - who needs that?”

“Solo is a cool experience, especially the calmness and peace it provides.

I also like the group trips that are organized on this site, as everyone going pretty much runs their own operation and no one is really dependent on anyone else. That allows for social company and you can still change your plans/route or whatever if that is what you decide you want.”

“I agree...for people to really enjoy it, they have to WANT to go on their own. Everyone i talk to about it is scared of the wild creatures, and i tell them the only creature which scares me out there is the humanoid kind. My cousin said she'd go with me sometime, but she is scared to death, and saying it to be kind...'cause i'm the only one in the family who goes, yet they all hate me going alone...(which i love! ) :~>”

“Funny how you mention this subject. I was just talking to my brother inlaw over Christmas holiday, about the time I took him to Sunfish Pond at DWG. He said he almost died doing the 4 miles or so up to Backpacker site #2. He said he would be willing to go again if we did something "easyer". So I guess I haven't had much luck with this subject. You either have it in you, or you don't.

*Try to explain Black Bears to a couch Potato.
last edited: 1/08/05 8:19:01 PM”

“PS, Sass never BPed before she met me. She had camped a few times and hiked at the grand canyon as a 15 year old but never BPing. Her first trip was 8 days on Isle Royale in 1995, she absolutley loves it.”

“LOL, Backslacker! Couch Potatoes think black bears and cougars AND bobcats are out there just waiting for some human to chase and eat!”

“i tried to talk my kids into it and that didn't work. then I tried to talk my friends into it, they thought I finally went completely insane.
THEN i tried to talk my sis into it...well and she puked all the way back to the car.

oh...and my neigbor, she goes with me once a year, after I bring her back home she doesn't call me anymore for a year. lol

Na, I don't think I have anyone successfully talked into it YET.”

“Have you ever talked someone into "it?"

lol... Warped mind here, but substitute the more common "it" that people, at least sometimes need (need?) to be talked into... and the responses take on a whole new humor.

Ho hum... it's either this or back to "Twister." :-)”

“My daughter and son in law came in from a backpacking trip one weekend, and I knew I wanted to do it....I subscribed and read Backpacker magazine for 2 years before I ever backpacked...and finally I met someone who actually did and that was all she wrote.........I fell in love....
I have folks ask about it every now and then, and some show some interest, but most don't want to do it!!....
My roomy has went with me a few times....and would like to hike some of the AT, so she can say she has done it, but she doesn't love it...
I used to make my two younger kids go....I hope maybe someday they will go back to it....”

“..actually most people think I am crazy for going...and when I talk about snakes, they all say "did you kill it?"”

“Only my wife :)
When we first met I figured I'd be damn lucky to get her to go camping much less BPing, now she gets mad if I go without her!!
Now if I could just get her to try kayaking.....”

“..actually most people think I am crazy for going...and when I talk about snakes, they all say "did you kill it?"”
divinity
8:45:31 PM
1/08/05

I get the same reaction when I try to talk women into having sex.

MoooooHaaaaaHaaaaaa
last edited: 1/08/05 8:49:48 PM”

“Thanks for all your replies. I was just trying to see if I was the only one who could never actually "sell" the pastime. Guess not.

Hey Birch, it seems like Sass has at least had some exposure to the outdoors though. Did she openly show interest before you asked her to come along, or did you "drag" her out, and she just happened to like it?

I think it also has a lot to do with how and where you grew up. My family, being from New York City and growing up in suburban New Jersey, was the classic weekend warrior types. We lived in the suburbs and had a house out in the country that we would try to spend as much time at as possible. In fact, growing up, we would spend entire summers out there.

I think this kind of thing also has a big impact on a person's outlook on spending time in the outdoors.”

“I've tried to talk people out of backpacking who would be a drag on the trip.”

“TomT, I apreciated the heads up.”

“I got my daughter into it. We started with many many day hikes and little people rock climbing and she loved it. When she was about 5 yrs old we got into a yellow jackets nest and I didn't think she would ever go back. The next weekend she wanted to know where we were going hiking.This past October she attended the Mt. Rogers trip with me and had a friggin blast and is mad that she can't go with me to the Blair Witch trip!

By the way she's 15 now.
last edited: 1/08/05 9:12:16 PM”

“Yeah, HPM talked me into it.”

“I took 11 guys on a trip last year. A couple had some experience, most were new.

It was very educational for me, and quite an experience for the guys. Lots of blisters! But, we all made it.

Made a website for them after the trip: http://www.rickallen.com/ I just noticed the map wasn't updated. We camped in the NW corner by the stream. Nice site!
last edited: 1/08/05 9:44:55 PM”

“I never went camping as a kid....but always wanted to....I used to go "camping" in my wagon when I was a kid...had a blanket in the bottom...and pretended like it was a camper...sometimes a covered wagon...and even a semi truck with a sleeper.....

Spam.....good for you!!......I wish my kids liked to go!!.....”

“I've talked my brother into it, he's a regular now, but we grew up in the woods...he had just never done the backpacking thing.

Took my younger sister and she loved it too, but has never been again

Talked my ex-wife into it, she said she had fun, but i could tell she was miserable.. said she loved it and wanted to go again...always had an excuse after that.lol

Talking my 17-year old brotehr in law into it, he may go on my next trip.

I'm trying :)”

“Yes...and they didnt live to see another day. MUHAHHAHAHA!


So...who wants to go backpackin with me next weekend?”

“I haven’t been able to talk anyone into going with me yet; they all think I have a screw loose. Who knows, maybe there right.”

“Does it matter if you have a screw loose?”

“It's an imperfect world, screws fall out all the time"”

“While living in NY, I asked my husband to go hiking with me on my first trip, so I introduced him and myself at the same time to hiking. I saw an article in a magazine about a trail not thinking that thousands of others saw that article too and might show up and they did.

I still liked the hike and thought how much more fun it would be to continue hiking on less populated trails in the future, and that's what we did.”

“NewgirlSMG is my prodigy...still teaching her all kind of stuff. she's been on two TT trips now and Ocala should be the third.”

“I think of backpacking like Amway. I talk everyone into it. It's like I sign them up underneath me.”

“I find the major complaints of most people I've talked to is the bugs, taking a dump in the forest and how far will they be traveling with this thing on their back.”

“Phantomsoul, I didnt drag her into it. She was open to the idea, she just had never done it. I have thought about trying to get others to go but decided I'd rather not have everyone I know be a hiker.”

“my brother, biner, talked me into hiking. He was always trying to get me to hike Mt. Washington with him and I'd never go. Finally we hiked up Mt. Mitchell and then did part of the Black Mountain Crest Trail and I was almost instantly hooked.”

“I convinced my parents to try it about 4 years ago. Mamabull only went the one time. But papabull has been every year since. Usually two trips: fall and spring. He loves it! He's met prolly 20+ TTers as a result.

His favorite hike is the spring one. We plan it around Morel season and I pack in some flour, butter and a skillet so he can fry up some battered mushrooms.”

“If my daughter would live here I think I could get her hooked. Already told her that if she comes over to visit I'll take her on a trip.

Hmm...maybe that's why she isn't coming to visit? Never thought about it that way. Na, I think she really would like it.”

“Didn't read all the responses, but when I go on patrol for the Forest Service I can see the couples where the guy has talked his wife (usually) into trying out backpacking. It is ususally a bad idea. Remember meeting one couple about 400 yards from the trailhead. She was already pooped and asked us if they were close to the campsite yet....we got out fast!”

“I always tried to talk m ex-girlfriend to go backpacking with me. She had done it before when she was a teenager. She would never go though. Then after we broke up, she started going with her new boyfirend. @#_$(%*_$(%$#_(^^*$%^#_”

“EarthNsky - The ultimate breakup insult, IMHO.”

“I took a newbie on two different occasions. Both people loved it and expressed interest in doing it again. The one is type A and can't seem to fit it into her schedule and the other has since gotten married and had a baby girl. The second tells me he still talks about our trip and wishes his wife were more like me in that way.... Now, if I could just convince him to send me his gear! heeheeee!”

“1. I talked my wife into going with me once several years ago. I took about half of her share of the weight so it wouldn't be an unpleasant experience for her. We camped for 2 nights. On the day in between, we went for a day hike. 100 yard from camp, she stepped into a spring and her leg went into the mud past her knee. It also disturbed a swarm of mosquitos that attacked us. Despite all that, she enjoyed it enough to agree to go once every decade. She loves hiking and the outdoors, just not the camping.

2. Talked BowlderSon into trying it when he was 3. He still loves to go, even in winter.

3. Brought my father-in-law, an avowed city slicker. He liked it OK, but said he was not that interested in ever going again.

4. Brought a friend of mine along for a trip once. He liked it so much he went out and bought a bunch of gear that he hasn't used since. I'll have to go on a trip with him again.

So I think it's a mixed bag. The guy in #4 would have never thought of going before I invited him along, nor would BowlderGal, yet they enjoyed it enough to want to go, if not often, at least occasionally.”

“I have had a good number of newbies come along on trips..some never come back, others like, Rainrunner become rabid backpackers. I figure one is good ;-)
My son goes with me all the time-and he doesn't have much of a say in it. He whines, but then asks when can we go next. My boyfriend is a hiker/backpacker so life is good....”

“I had just about the same experience as Earthnsky...tried to get my ex-boyfriend interested (and like many, he pretended an interest at first) in backpacking. It was exhausting...all the effort of trying to get him to go. So i just started going alone again. After we broke up, he called me up for advice on tents, backpacks, etc., because he was hanging out with a woman who CLAIMED to be into backpacking! (She makes sure she is in the local newspaper everytime she goes on a backpack trip)”

“Atleast I got her to climb up Mt. LeConte in the Smokies with me once. She still raced up the mountain like it was some kind of arobic exercise or race and didn't stop to look at any of the views along the way.

Then a few months later I was chatting with her and she tells me she's been doing a lot of hiking, including hiking in Yosemite. $#%$^$##@%%$#^$%$#^%$&%$^#W$^%%$&%$$$#@!&^”

“who I took on a day hike, she huffed and puffed the entire 12 miles, but did it. She has expressed and interest in backpacking and I believe that she'll do it, at least once. She looks at all my photos and reads all my trip reports and wants to experience the things that we all experience.”

“Iwould never talk a person into it if I thought they couldn't handle the hike or the camping. Who needs the headache of all the complaining during the hike or at the campsite if they didn't like it.”

“I talked to a friend of mine a few days ago....his daughter decided to backpack...she was ill-prepared and it rained......he said she was miserable......so.......I try to make it a nice experience for newbies....don't hike too far...make sure they are comfy...my roomy came with me twice....first time it was just her & I...we had so much fun...laughed until the tears came and rolling around holding hurting tummies.....second time wasn't fun for her...it was way too cold......20's and she was cold all night.....I wish she would have told me.....we weren't in very far, and we could have gotten her a blanket, or she could have went to her car.....she says she will go again......(but now she has a boyfriend, so we will see...)My goal is to take her somewhere very nice with some great overlooks......and to take her to camp above Fall Creek Falls in Sipsey this spring when the spring flowers are blooming!!!...I don't think she will take up backpacking....but I want her to experience the BEST of backpacking.....”