Why do you go Backpacking?

“To get the hell out of town.....so I can say,,,kiss my butt...see you later”

“To get away from nonsense. To be part of the real world.”

“Yea I do it too to forget my troubles and my worries, but I find that running or biking wind sprints does a better job. It's amazing how much clearer you think when your completely physically exhusted. It's also amazing how much you can push when you have some kind of anger or pain fueling you.”

“I usually hike/backpack for 1 of the following 3 reasons.

(1) To teach kids to enjoy the outdoors. (Big Rewards)

(2) To spend quality time with friends without the trappings of society. (This rules out car camping which serves other purposes.)

(3) Often as a form of stress relief from the rigors of work which occasionally get very demanding. I call it my "ReBoot Time".

Moz”

“This quote by a friend of mine sums it all up for me:
"Endurance is when the others have dropped out, and the only one left to race is yourself."”

“DM, good quote!

I backpack because it gets me back to the mountains. The serenity of an alpine meadow, the stark beauty of an exposed ridge and the spiritual fulfillment of peaceful co-existence with one's inner self and nature's heartbeat.”

“I get a kick out of other hikers that are looking for solitude, I guess, so they look past you like you are not there. I bet they would notice my presence if they needed emergency help.”

“I backpack 'cause I LOVE IT!!! I love the freedom, the solitude, the connection with whoever you chose.

I love to lay on the ground at night and hear the coyotes howl and the owls cry and the winds blow.”

“Stress release, to get away from the city. I need it once a week. I'm not under stress anymore, so I guess it works.

I'm headed for Onion Valley! Maybe even Mammoth!”

“It is an escape from, TT.”

“lol bacpac.

Snownymph - My stress level goes way down when I can get out!”

“>my stress level goes way down when I can get out

10 years ago I was a high stress person...totally different from "me" today...therapy for a few months wasn't working, so I kinda ran away one weekend, just drove and drove and drove, and something in the mountains made it all better. The problems were still there when I got back. I kept going on those long drives to clear my head(therapist said I had to take care of me first before working anything else out) and now its a big part of my life. And, I'm a lot better now at handling stress when its there!”

“Hey Snowy where are you headed this weekend?”

“1. to experience a visit to reality.
2. weight reduction.
3. to strengthen my leg muscles.
4. I love it.”

“Although I've done far more hiking than backpacking, the reasons for both are the same:
they serve as a reminder that there's a REAL world out there, not just the artificial one
I find myself living in on a daily basis...a world that's NOT clearcut, blacktopped, or otherwise scarred by our attempts to civilize it. And as long as there's unspoiled beauty
waiting to be discovered, I'll be out there looking for it.”

“There is something about the self sufficiency of knowing I have everything on back I need to live as a nomad for days on end that just charge my batteries. Plodding along for hours on end with no agenda but to think about life or to not even think at all if I choose. Tis a wonderful thing.”

“because I can.”

“Good one Splash.

I enjoy dealing with natue on it's terms plus all the stuff you other guys said.”

“I think about this most every time I head out. I have thought about the solitude,simplicity,self-reliance,quiet (unless i am yammering),smells,sounds...But I still cant quite put my finger on the specific "thing" that drives my desire to hike. I think part of it is the physical challenge of the trail,the sense of conquest and exploration. But I guess it ultimately just seems so natural to hike. I am still so amazed by my coworkers reactions to my love of bping.I have given up trying to explain why,I cant even explain it to myself. Writers write and hikers hike...”

“it beats the alternative”

“I actually have this deep paranoid fear that World War III will blow us all to smithereens and backpackers will be the only ones to survive. Because they have practiced. Can you imagine life without electricity. Cell phones. Cars. Stuff. ?”

“I BP because all he good stuff is where the houses and roads are not.”

“To put things back in proper priority!

The more selfish reason is to put myself in the middle of some awe-inspiring part of creation and for a little while experience the majesty of the place.”

“This is a really cool thread! I had fun reading through it all, and (of course) agree with all of the (serious) responses...

To pick the ones I identify the most (this list will vary from one day to the next):

The walking part: physical and mental challenge, exercise

The camping part:
solitude, quiet, beauty of nature

The social part:
real people, un-rushed conversations, no clothes horses, no gawdy overly-made-up beauty queens”

“hee, hee, guess what I'm going to do the next time I hike with Fritz? He'll wake up from a nap all dolled up with eyeliner, lipstick and face glitter! He'll be way more socially acceptable on the trail, what do you think?”

“Paint his toenails too! MOOOhahahaha!!!”

“Guess what I'm going to do next time I hike with Splash?

Um....well, I dunno what I'm gonna do but she'll be sorry she threatened me. (Bet she's really afraid now!)

And Sassy-fras, who asked you? ;-)”

“To get away from all of the bad noise and hear some of the good noise.”

“Fritz, when I hiked the Greenstone Trail on Isle Royale, one of the other thru-hikers out that week was a woman from suburban Detroit with long red-enameled fingernails. It was a high maintenance decoration, I'm sure. And what are you going to say to Lipstick Hiker?”

“Um..."nice ta meetcha"?”

“To enjoy life in a place where life is enjoyable.”

“I like to go live in the woods for a few days. The longer, the better.”

“broken --

if the noise is from loose parts in your head . . .you can't ever get away.

In the quiet, the noise just gets louder.”

“Someone at work asked me the same question. I mulled it over and realized that I go hiking to drop out of society and all it's materialism; to let the wind sweep through my soul brushing away the drek that has accumulated. The cleansing that results from days away from humanity lets me enter the world, once again cleansed.”

“It's something to do in between boyfriends?”

“Biz, I?m disappointed with ya. A better boyfriend is in call for.”

“hey Griz, you available? Ü”

“Here you go Prowler! But you are right, it was hard to find, from ages ago.”

“ya I searched with that title I thought!!

+ all the newbies here need to get cought up on WHY? so newbie new thread!”

“Why does anyone really need to know why other people do things? Obviously it's because they want to and like to!”

“beacuse its actually a thread that involves Bacpacking and seeing others post about training for trail challenges and all. Just want to see who here is competitive rather than doing it for one or two reasons of hiking, running, beating off, etc. get the idea!”

“it could be more or less than wanting to and like to!”

“Well....uh...Prowler, you might want to demonstrate.

But it might get you banned. :)”

“Oh that didn't quite sound like what I meant.

Just ignore that post, Prowler.”

“well its just a point I was getting across! That all and every one has a different reason....do they?”

“and its a thread that has meaning not just a topic about tits or even about Bush Sucks!

whats that got to do with anything!exp:”

“You are right, let the new people on here respond to the basic question if they like.”

“Sassafras, I agree with you. I enjoy it, I like meeting new people (like this past weekend)and I have fun doing it.
Last time I looked this isn't a competition to see who can out do another.”

“Or even about Bush Sucks Tits.

uh oh.



I still don't like concrete, <GRIN>.”

“Or Starbuck's coffee.”