High Sierra Topix

I noticed this and have discussed it with my BP companions at the time (on trips). After much discussion on this subject. I agree with balzaccom. It, for me, is just idle speculation because I have no real education (Sociology) for this. One thing's for sure. I have a knack to know beforehand whether someone will like the trip (BP) or not. I was rarely mistaken and I don't really know why but I almost always knew. Because I played so much sports my friends were very cross ethnic. I never had a friend of color (apart from 2 or 3 latinos) that I asked to go with me and believe me, the criterion for me was rarely anything more than me estimating as to whether or not someone would like the trip.

Way I see it…..white folks are the only group of humans stupid enough to want to go sweat your rear off carrying a 30lb load, up some mosquito infested slope, just to sleep on the cold, wet, bumpy ground, just to wake up with 6’’ of snow on your bed or wet from last night’s rain…..For what? A view of something? A photo? A fish? What’s the purpose? I don’t have to do all that for the view, I’ve got myself a 52’’ flat screen and I can watch Blue Planet Yo ! Also, I can roll down to Costco for a nice filet of salmon anytime!

That's funny BMFB.
I hear that all the time, that we white folks are thrill seekers, and have no fear, and
then when we died doing some insane activity, we say "but at least they died while doing
what they loved going."

Interesting question Mav. I've notice the same thing even with local day hiking trails.

As others have said, I think it's partly socioeconomic with a residual factor even for those minorities who "got over." The idea of going out of your way and spending precious time and money specifically in order to subject yourself to hardship probably seems a bit peculiar to groups who have had to struggle just to make it.

The loner issue is interesting too. Although I certainly meet that description, part of the problem for me is finding people who like more adventurous, off-trail travel. When I go with groups, the trips are usually a bit unsatisfying, except when I can squeeze in some side-trips on my own. Too bad your attempts at a HST get-together were unsuccessful.

The public land agencies have noted the same thing. Every few years they launch another initiative to get more ethnic minorities into the backcountry, with little success.

Some studies have indicated not only whites, but primarily northern and western European ancestries. Southern and eastern European ancestries are underrepresented compared to the general population. No one has come up with a satisfactory explanation. It's not just cultural, because the trend remains after several generations in this country, when one would assume they would be fully acculturated.

I've seen several Asian families backpacking. Funny thing is, there's always one in the group packing in an infant. I never understood that. Regarding Mexican Americans, I can only speculate from what I've observed. Whenever I see MA's camping or spending time at the ocean, it is a family affair with many participants and a whole kitchen. All other flavors, I'm clueless.

Lots of good, thoughtful responses to this question in this thread, and I agree with all of them. Yes, it's partly cultural. Yes, it's partly socioeconomic. Yes, most of us who spend a lot of time in the mountains/outdoors were introduced by people close to us, so if people of color don't have family or friends to take them backpacking, it follows that there aren't going to be many backpackers of color.

I think one big factor is the fact that wilderness as a romanticized ideal is a distinctly Western (and even American) theme. This has been alluded to in the discussions of the cultural factor, and it is reasonable to suggest that even after minorities have become fully assimilated into American culture, it is hard to fully adopt as inherently good the idea that exploring, often individually, has merit as an end to itself.

Granted, it's not only people of color who reject the idea that spending time and money to put yourself in a situation where you exert a large amount of energy, forsake creature comforts, disconnect yourself from your social connections and information network is a good idea for a vacation. Most of my acquaintances, Caucasians or otherwise, view backpacking with varying degrees of incomprehension/disdain/disbelief. I think it's just a very small percentage of the population as a whole who truly embrace backpacking and the outdoors, and so the percentage of minorities within this category is even smaller.

Most of my acquaintances, Caucasians or otherwise, view backpacking with varying degrees of incomprehension/disdain/disbelief. I think it's just a very small percentage of the population as a whole who truly embrace backpacking and the outdoors, and so the percentage of minorities within this category is even smaller.

Excellent observation. In the industialized world, most people do not deal with the outdoors and nature except to worry about the weather and when the weather is good to maybe take a walk somewhere. My wife and I don't know anyone besides us, regardless of racial or ethnic origin, who wants to go into the backcountry. A small few of them will car camp where there is a modern bathroom in the campground. Most modern "civilized" humans no longer want to experience wild nature. I could go on for pages and pages on why I think this is a major issue in terms of human evolution and the future of our planet.

Most minorities in the United States live in urban areas. Check the Census figures if you need confirmation. How many people, regardless of race, who live in urban areas visit the backcountry?

As to the other excellent point raised regarding backpacking as a social experience. I don't go into the backcountry to socialize. I go to see and absorb the timeless wisdom of wilderness. I can do that best when I go with my wife (who has her own version of the same thing and who I can be completely myself with at all times) or I go solo. While I understand those who go with a group since I did it that way for many years in my teens, I'm now at an age where I want to hear that wisdom as clearly and unobstructed as possible. It's a conversation with the wild, though I won't call it a dialogue since it's mainly nature doing the talking,

LMBSGV wrote:Most minorities in the United States live in urban areas. Check the Census figures if you need confirmation. How many people, regardless of race, who live in urban areas visit the backcountry?

This is a very salient point. I think we can all agree that exposure to any particular activity - in our case, hiking and backpacking - is one of the keys to inspiring a person's interest in that activity. Most minorities in the U.S. do live in urban areas, and how many people in truly urban areas are exposed to outdoor activities? Even institutions like the Boy Scouts which introduce thousands of kids to the mountains every year tend to be populated by suburban types, the same kids whose families are more likely to take them on family camping trips than their urban counterparts.