Backpacking Sport? Not A Sport?

“SI does a thing each week and I know that a week long trip along the AT would be and is a Sport...while not a team sport..it is as demanding. I'm sure the one's who have teamates and use a ball would disagree..but who gives a rat's ass...we would love to take a few on an up and down for a couple of day's and see if we could change their mind. BP SPORT? NOT A SPORT?”

“Backpacking is Recreation. It's not Adventure either.”

“Hockey is not a sport either. It is team golf on ice with fighting.”

“Hockey is quality intertainment!”

“Walkindude...you must really just stroll along at the mall then or Adventure in Tibet/”

“If you keep score when you backpack, then you are making it a sport. Almost any recreational activity could be made a sport, and vice versa, by adding or deleting the competitive aspect.

I don't hike competitively, but I've seen some who do, whether they realize it or not. That may be the danger of getting too obsessive about pack weight comparisons.

But almost every hike is a bit of an adventure for me, compared to life around the house or at work. Maybe that's just the benefit of living in bear country.”

“I've been backpacking for YEARS. Caving, Rock climbing, Mountain bicking, ect. Never considered none of it "adventure". I always thought that described the Extream trips. Everest, K2, ect. Something much more life threatening.
Walking down a man made path to a known destination is not exactly "risky".”

“Sport implies competition. And in that case I KNOW it is a sport for some people I've hiked with.

Ever have someone tell you you were slow breaking down yer tent...like they were racing you or something?”

“I'd be willing to bet I've done more "extream" things that most people that come to this site. And I still don't call it "Adventure" or "sport".
The Lewis & Clark Expedition was closer to "adventure".”

“WD, caving is not risky?

What about posting on the internet to a message board frequented by bacpac? Does that count as adventure, based on the risk factor?”

“LOL!
That's prolly the krazyiest thing I've ever done!”

“I don't think sport is competition...it's more the effort that one can do and what can be performed by themsleves and not be vaine about it..unlike others I might know...O Boy I have been hiking for years!”

“I hate to beat a dead horse, BUT;
Hike your own hike.”

“null”

“sport (spôrt, sprt) n. - Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

By definition, no. But I guess some would disagree. I'll look for the checkered flag next time I exit the trail.”

“This is an apparition of a previous thread. Was strange enough the first time. Must be a guy thing.”

“Check out this article I wrote a while back. It talks about this exact topic.”

“Matt......the man, the myth, the legend.”

“gee, I would say matt just ended this one, eveyone thank matt.”

“Why do we have to classify everything? What is sport? Sport is nothing. Sport is something idiots read about in the back of the newspaper.

I hear this comment applied to other activities. Like a sport is really something, a big deal. The phrase "It isn't a sport" is used to demean an activity. LIke Sport is something sacred.

Sport is sh!t.”

“Good article Matt.”

“Do I get any points because Matt and I think alike?

And what do I do with my BSA 50-Miler Award patch now? Dang those scouts, trying to turn my recreation into "sport."”

“I see bping as an adventure. You must follow the path less traveled. Essentially don't follow a path. Get out get lost and find your way back. That is the adventure. Also, if you are going somewhere for the first time, it is at least venturous. Anyhoo, have fun right?”

“Yup, it is a series of adventures and I love them. Think of all the tales you remember about bumming around in wild country. Good stuff.

If there is any competition it is with myself.”

“Backpacking is a;
Retreat
Exercise
Sport
Meditation
Challenge
Escape
Way of Life
Social time
Learning experience
Yours to create”

“!tibbgad ,trops a s'tI”

“!"tibbgangad" yas ot tnaem I”

“?naem I tahw wonK”

“I smell a rag...”

“In my opinion(remember the are like butts we all got one and they all stink)backpacking is not a sport it is a journey that must be taken not only from the physical but also the mental. Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself!!”

“My pocket dictionary says that a sport is a diversion. Picking your nose is a diversion, so I guess you can say picking your nose is a sport. All you need is a car, be a man, and be stuck in hwy traffic.”

“Since I like to hike my own hike, I don't consider it a sport - that is my opinion.

I base this on the normal accepted fact that people compete in sports.

But I have met the guys that do. The guys that brag about how heavy or how light their packs are and how many miles they can do. But there are those types in every endevour. I once worked with a guy that competed in EVERYTHIG with EVERYBODY. He was a nice guy, but could be annoying as heck when he bragged about how fast he could accomplish a certain task, and how he was faster than everybody else there. So to him, and others like him, I'm sure it is a sport, but typing would also be a sport to them.”

“This Winter I'm going to hike the North-South Trail at LBL in 3 days. That's averaging over 20 miles a day. It's not a contest and I'm not earning points so it's not a sport. A challange maybe but not a sport.”

“20 miles a day is deffinatly a challenge Dude even for a trail monkey like yourself.”

“The key is to not lollygag in camp in the morning. I figure to have 10 hours of Sun per day. that's about 8 hours of walking & 2 hours for breaks before dark.”

“I am not into sports therfore backpacking is a not a sport end of discussion. However I have not been on a trip yet that did not have some element of adventure. No it would not be extreme adventure like skydiving or bungee jumping, but it is still adventure. Think about Hiking this place you have never seen before with everything you need on your back. It is an adventure.”

“Is that what you do? Tell us what makes you trips "adventure".”

“As many people have mentioned before, people hike for different reasons. Many of these reasons are personal goals: like completing a certain hike, bagging a certain peak, or forgetting about your job for a while. These goals can include the mental types (stress relief) or the physical types (hiking so many miles per day). Neither is bad, because hiking is about discovering yourself and completing goals helps this process.”

“It's all a matter of semantics, of course. But this is my take on it:

If you place emphasis on the number of miles you hike, or the physical challenge of a tough piece of trail, you are in the sporting catagory. Nothing wrong with that.

If you place emphasis on hiking your own hike and don't care how many miles you cover, you're in the recreation catagory. Nothing wrong with that either.

Either way, it still comes down to hiking your own hike.”

“I would say seeing new palaces is adventure. Making food on this dumb little stove or on an open fire is adventure. Staring up at the sky and not havin to worry about a single thing is adventure. Being free from the tangles of everyday life is adventure. But to some that is recreation. To me it is adventure. I have almost froze to death, gotten severly burned and have fallen into a freezing cold river. I consider all of that stupidity but maybe thats adventure for ya. I dont know its perception thing if you ask me and I percieve backpacking as an adventure. And one of the best kinds too. Because It lasts a while. There are so may adventure things that we do that are short lived, backpacking can be as long as you want it to be.”

“I still think your confused. If cooking on a BPing stove is "adventure" then what do you call Climbing Everest? Looking at the sky & not thinking about the daily routine is far from being an epic.

The defination is:
An undertaking that involves risk or danger.
Falling in a frozen River or being burned is at least a hazard.”

“When you fell in the water, Were you at least miles from the car and had to build a fire using wet matches to thaw the ice off yourself? Now that may classify as an adventure.”

“null”

“adventuregirl did not have much to say in reply, W'dude...”

“I think that a lot of what is passed off as "adventure" these days is simply thrill seeking. Bungee jumping is not adventure. You may be testing your nerve, but not much else.

Adventure: n. 1. an undertaking involving risk, unforseeable danger, or unexpected excitement. -- The Random House Dictionary of the English Language-College Editon (c) 1969

Bungee jumping is a clearly forseeable danger -- that's why people do it, it's a "safe" risk, all calculated and measured. Those motorized raft trips in the Grand Canyon are thrilling for the passengers, but it isn't an adventure -- the outfitters don't want a real adventure, with "unforseen" dangers.

Backpacking, because no amount of planning and preparation can gain control of the elements into which you insert yourself, becomes adventurous, especially as adventuregirl noted when the time is extended, because of all the unforseeable variables and surprises. No one has posted a trip report here that consists of "Everything went exactly as planned." The more isolated and rugged the territory and the more time spent in it, the more adventurous it is likely to be. And you get to create it yourself.

Since we each have our own idea of what is a danger in the backcountry and what risks we are capable of facing, based on experience, skills and fortitude, I can see one backpacker calling a trip "same old same old" (nothing unforseen) while another calls the trip "a real adventure" (very exciting surprises) and a third calls it a "descent into hell (not exciting, just plain frightening).”

“Pekka
I understand your point about what may be a run-of-the-mill trip for one may be totally INSANE for someone else. And your correct about the rafting trips. No Company is going to take a buncha rookies out on a trip that would be dangerous. Insurance would be through the roof!
I just think of true "adventure" as pushing way past what your normally capable of, Facing danger and making it through it by the skin of your teeth. And at least comming out with some at least minor injuries.

Example: Your out on a camping trip and your a good distance from help. A bear rips through your tent and starts chewing your leg. You have to fend him off with what ever your can. After some mortal combat you crawl down the trail. A mile before reashing the truck, you must swim a raging frozen river. You make it to the other side only to find the bear waiting on you. You must fight the bear again with a fashioned pointed stick. As the sun is starting to rise, you make it to the truck dragging your war tatterd body. Get in the safty of the truck only to realize the battery is dead from where you left the lights on. It's 6 miles of dirt & gravel road to the Ranger Station. So you now head off hobbeling with the stick you just killed the bear with as a crutch..............

Now that would be ADVENTURE!
Not cooking Mac-n-Cheese on the Whisperlite, Drinking from the Nalgene, & looking at the stars.”

“No that would just be insane. I think I would go into a mental institution after a trip like that. Despite it all I still call backpacking an adventure. You can call it a mere walk, but for me it is an adventure. And in my mind that is all that matters.”

“I deal with closer calls driving to work in the morning than ever on the trail.
Going 70 - 80 mph on the Interstate, Weaving down twisting back roads, trying not to slam into some idiot that drives with his foot on the break, Passing some old man in his pick-up that can remember when a tank of gas only cost a nickle, Ect. Now that gets the blood pumping!
Walking down a man made trail with supplies on my back to last the durration of my stay is not exactly an adreanalin rush. It's just a walk in the woods. I've never feared for my life while backpacking, Caving, or Rock Climbing.”

“when have you feared for your life?”

“Adventure girl
After you've been on a few years worth of trips and see that backpacking is just a fun hobby, you'll see what I mean.
Don't get me wrong, I love backpacking. It is my favorite thing in the world to do but it's only recreation. Rather it's a weekend trip or a AT thru-hike.
I hope we never have to experience "True Adventure". That would be scary!”