Why Do You Want To Backpack Then?

[hikerduane]

I dont like leaving the mountains and traveling thru a big city (Sacramento) to camp/BP with friends. Kinda a reverse of people coming to the mountains or a area for recreation, my fears are from watching the news over another shooting, drunk driver etc.
Duane

[sekihiker]

I had my semiannual visit with my GP yesterday. We had finished talking about lab results and tests and then he brought up our ongoing discussion of what he considers my risky behavior - backpacking.
Dr - You hike with a partner, now, right?
Me - No. I still go solo most of the time.
Dr - But, you still take your GPS, right?
Me - Even better than that, I take a SPOT, a locator beacon.
Dr - What if you run into a big animal, like a mountain lion. You should carry a big knife.
Me - I don't carry a big knife because I don't have the training to use it against a big animal.
Dr - If a mountain lion attacked, you could protect yourself.
Me - If I had a big knife and a mountain lion attacked, he'd probably knock it out of my hand and like Crocodile Dundee, say, "You call that a knife? I have five of those on each paw."

[bobby49]

Let's face it, some physicians might be good at gerontology, but you might want to see a physician who is more into sports medicine. If the physician doesn't understand the reality of your sport, then find one who does. After a recent injury, a physical therapist treating me started asking questions about my sport until he finally understood.

[Timberline]

I don't have any answers for Lumbergh's original question as it pertains to others, I can only say after becoming introduced to hiking and backpacking in my youth by a very encouraging and supportive Scoutmaster, I had the great good fortune later to get paid - yep, that's right, they paid me! - to backpack in the wilderness for 2 summers working for USFS in the Sierra, almost all of it in the backcountry. Best job I ever had. Only encountered 2 bears, but a lot of other stuff happened, and the good far outweighted the bad. Maybe it's all about attitude?

[Gogd]

I hate backpacking, that act of performing like a beast of burden. But it is the price one pays to get out there, where I want to be.
I backpack, also to get away from people, but then invite some to join me. It's complicated...
Ed

[Silky Smooth]

Working in Yosemite and Glacier, I heard this quite often. Some people have a genuine fear but a lot of is driven by the disconnect folks and urbanites have with nature. Similar to how people ask we're does your water come from? where does your food come from? With more and more folks "discovering the outdoors & nature" (dont get me started) we will see more of this as people learn to co-exist with nature. It has been a growing problem the last 3 years.

[Wandering Daisy]

The discomfort (beast of burden thing) can be mitigated by scaling back, good pace and more rest stops. I really do not feel like a beast of burden the first 2-3 hours; but DO by the end of the day! I now plan on 4-6 hour days and have added fishing to keep busy at the end of the day. Of course, shorter trips mean less food weight. Other then getting a pack goat, looks like each year will be notched down a bit. I still want to be actually IN the mountains; not on some road that just goes through a small piece of the mountains. Now, if I were rich, I would hire a guide to be my sherpa!

[Gogd]

The discomfort (beast of burden thing) can be mitigated by scaling back, good pace and more rest stops.

Yes, good advise as always, WD.

Long long long ago I gave up the idea that big miles equated to big fun. Especially after two heart attacks and four stents. My V-8 is now a 4-banger. After the first hour, the inner whine commences, are we there yet, no matter the venue. I never liked packs and no longer am I willing to Spartan camp. So I endure hauling my kit. I recently took 11 days to do the North Lake/South Lake loop, including 3 zero days along the way. I use those zero days to send a XC walk up some peak or into back basins. It is still pretty easy to find solitude, if you know where to look.

Obviously I am in no rush! And I probably am the happiest camper out there. My daughter thinks Trail Dad is an alternate personality that only comes out in the backcountry. I take all day to hike, enjoy an extended midway break or longer, nice, mid day siesta. I stop to trail talk with all the strangers, even enjoy a hot picnic lunch cooked on the trail on occasion. My pack could be lighter, but much of the weight is due to hiking with folks who otherwise wouldn't go at all, unless I shouldered all of the community gear. That, and food weight - I eat like a pig!

I'd hire a hire packer to haul my gear, too, but have passed on the option for the same reasons you share with us. I'd still walk the trail, however, I like traveling by foot, just not with a pack.

Ed