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A thread for backpackers
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larryganz
·I miss the camping and hiking trips that my wife and I used to take, but since my health went south with my lung disease I had to stop.
Our honeymoon was a 12 day train and road trip from Denver to Seattle, Vancouver, Lac le June, Jasper and Banf national parks, Lake Louise, Waterton and Glacier national parks, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and back to Denver. We had many stops to hike into the wilderness and tent camp, throughout the Canadian and US Rockies.
I loved visiting the types of places that you posted in your photos, trying to pretend that maybe we were the first ones to see that particular spot (certainly in the condition it was in at the time), and we always sought out quiet and solitary places to go off the beaten path.
27 years ago we didn't have digital cameras, so our memories and photos buried in a shoebox are all we have to remind us of our adventures. The memories are enough.
Our honeymoon was a 12 day train and road trip from Denver to Seattle, Vancouver, Lac le June, Jasper and Banf national parks, Lake Louise, Waterton and Glacier national parks, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and back to Denver. We had many stops to hike into the wilderness and tent camp, throughout the Canadian and US Rockies.
I loved visiting the types of places that you posted in your photos, trying to pretend that maybe we were the first ones to see that particular spot (certainly in the condition it was in at the time), and we always sought out quiet and solitary places to go off the beaten path.
27 years ago we didn't have digital cameras, so our memories and photos buried in a shoebox are all we have to remind us of our adventures. The memories are enough.
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FreelanceWriter
·I consider spending a few nights in a hotel to be "camping," but it sounds like a good excuse to get one of these:
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Dan S
·I miss the camping and hiking trips that my wife and I used to take, but since my health went south with my lung disease I had to stop.
Our honeymoon was a 12 day train and road trip from Denver to Seattle, Vancouver, Lac le June, Jasper and Banf national parks, Lake Louise, Waterton and Glacier national parks, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and back to Denver. We had many stops to hike into the wilderness and tent camp, throughout the Canadian and US Rockies.
I loved visiting the types of places that you posted in your photos, trying to pretend that maybe we were the first ones to see that particular spot (certainly in the condition it was in at the time), and we always sought out quiet and solitary places to go off the beaten path.
27 years ago we didn't have digital cameras, so our memories and photos buried in a shoebox are all we have to remind us of our adventures. The memories are enough.
It sounds like those memories, especially of the honeymoon, will last a lifetime.
I have been through a number of health-related ups and downs, but fortunately I have always been able to keep going at some level, even if there were some times when I couldn't tolerate much. At the moment, I'm doing pretty well, and trying to preserve what I have for as long as I can. Still, as I drive to trailheads, I am making a mental list of amazingly beautiful and fairly isolated places that can be reached on four wheels, and someday the cycle to car camping will be complete.
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nurseford25
·Grew up in LA and Big Bear & Arrowhewd were monthly treks with my parents. Skiing in Aspen and Vail every winter (back then both towns were sawdust on bar floors and rustic cabin mountain towns- not Gucci and Prada store towns). When in college at Cal we would drive to Tahoe for skiing every other weekend during the winter and down to Big Sur for hiking in the spring/summer/fall- that part of the country is magical.
For any of our friends on the other side of the pond, if you ever make it to the US, bypass the tourist crap and head directly to the Pacific Northwest- you may not ever want to go back.
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KAP
·We started the back yard camping this year. We pack the day before and then we head to our local corner store for snacks and ice the day of. Anything not packed in the car when we leave for the store we go without for the evening, so as to teach him the importance of necessary items and responsibility. So far, he really likes it. We have a fire and cook over the coals/fire or use my Coleman stove. So far, so good 👍.
It's so important to make the environment and outdoor experiences enjoyable and relevant to the future generations. They are the ones that will keep these experiences possible and maintain functional ecosystems that benefit humans on multiple spatial scales. Looks like you're taking this in a much needed direction. And it's fun!
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KAP
·It sounds like those memories, especially of the honeymoon, will last a lifetime.
I have been through a number of health-related ups and downs, but fortunately I have always been able to keep going at some level, even if there were some times when I couldn't tolerate much. At the moment, I'm doing pretty well, and trying to preserve what I have for as long as I can. Still, as I drive to trailheads, I am making a mental list of amazingly beautiful and fairly isolated places that can be reached on four wheels, and someday the cycle to car camping will be complete.
I miss the camping and hiking trips that my wife and I used to take, but since my health went south with my lung disease I had to stop.
Our honeymoon was a 12 day train and road trip from Denver to Seattle, Vancouver, Lac le June, Jasper and Banf national parks, Lake Louise, Waterton and Glacier national parks, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and back to Denver. We had many stops to hike into the wilderness and tent camp, throughout the Canadian and US Rockies.
I loved visiting the types of places that you posted in your photos, trying to pretend that maybe we were the first ones to see that particular spot (certainly in the condition it was in at the time), and we always sought out quiet and solitary places to go off the beaten path.
27 years ago we didn't have digital cameras, so our memories and photos buried in a shoebox are all we have to remind us of our adventures. The memories are enough.
In my opinion, memories and experiences are what is important in my life. Like you and DanS write, age forces adaptation. Me too. Long ago I could carry a 60 lb backpack over trailess terrain for long miles and days at a time. But age and wear has forced me to adapt. Now I look to other means than just hiking to get to the distant places and wilderness areas. Beside incorporating packrafts to the hiking trips, I am also incorporating more sea kayaking with hiking trips. Overall, it's about any individual connecting with and experiencing our natural world and finding something special in that moment.
Our kayaking trip in Prince William Sound in south-central Alaska
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lillatroll
·Have done a quite few trips to the mountains and out in nature trips especially when I lived in Norway. Not a big fan really. I like the hustle and bustle of city life and all the convenience that is close by.
That said there is definitely a period after a few days when the calm and nothingness that kick in that becomes appealing.
Then taking a cold wash in a freezing river makes me want to get back to the city pretty sharpish.
That said there is definitely a period after a few days when the calm and nothingness that kick in that becomes appealing.
Then taking a cold wash in a freezing river makes me want to get back to the city pretty sharpish.
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mz_cle
·Beautiful!
With our kids, and my general enjoyment of a beer or cocktail after a day of hiking, we generally spend our hiking trips at a stationary campsite, but those back country views sure are better than most anything I can get to in a day's hiking time.
With our kids, and my general enjoyment of a beer or cocktail after a day of hiking, we generally spend our hiking trips at a stationary campsite, but those back country views sure are better than most anything I can get to in a day's hiking time.
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Dan S
·In my opinion, memories and experiences are what is important in my life. Like you and DanS write, age forces adaptation. Me too. Long ago I could carry a 60 lb backpack over trailess terrain for long miles and days at a time. But age and wear has forced me to adapt. Now I look to other means than just hiking to get to the distant places and wilderness areas. Beside incorporating packrafts to the hiking trips, I am also incorporating more sea kayaking with hiking trips. Overall, it's about any individual connecting with and experiencing our natural world and finding something special in that moment.
Our kayaking trip in Prince William Sound in south-central Alaska
Those views of glaciers are truly awesome.
There was a period of time when my back was so bad that I was seriously looking into getting one or two pack animals. It's still a possibility, but it would obviously mean a major lifestyle change.
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Muddlerminnow
·Lots of great trips in this thread. Like a lot of you, my bones and joints have aged--two new hips and a new knee--plus a paunch--so most of my hikes are day hikes that have at the end of a day a reward like a gin & tonic. Plus, I fish a lot, so I still spend a lot of time hanging out with rocks.
Back from the 70s through the 90s I mostly hiked the White Mountains in New Hampshire--especially in the late winter, when the snow was ideal for summiting. The peaks were largely 4,000-6,000 feet, but in the winter nothing is easy and you can't take anything for granted. This is on Carrigain in the Pemigewasst, with the Presidentials to the north:
In the spring of 1977 when I was in Europe I did a traverse of the West-Ost Weitwanderweg, from Wien to Bregenz (it's now called Österreichischer Weitwanderweg 01). The route was then fairly new (I was the 37th person to complete it)--and back then it was all maps and compass and luck at times--things are rather better organized today, and the equipment is better too. Because I was hiking early in the season when many huts were still snowed in, the Austrian Alpine club lent me a master key to the huts and winterrooms--which made the nights so much more fun. Nothing like arriving wet and cold and having a big cast iron stove at your disposal! Sometimes I'd use a tent; sometimes I'd bivouac. Once I spent a night on the porch of someone's chalet; another time in a woodcutter's shack. It took 57 days all told, with some bizarre weather and storms. I met some great people along the way too. That's the best thing about long-distance hiking--not just how it draws out character from the land, but people as well.
Over the Totes Gebirge:
From Hochkönig:
Lower altitudes:
Hut stamps:
OAC acknowledgement (I scrambled my last name with photoshop):
Back from the 70s through the 90s I mostly hiked the White Mountains in New Hampshire--especially in the late winter, when the snow was ideal for summiting. The peaks were largely 4,000-6,000 feet, but in the winter nothing is easy and you can't take anything for granted. This is on Carrigain in the Pemigewasst, with the Presidentials to the north:
In the spring of 1977 when I was in Europe I did a traverse of the West-Ost Weitwanderweg, from Wien to Bregenz (it's now called Österreichischer Weitwanderweg 01). The route was then fairly new (I was the 37th person to complete it)--and back then it was all maps and compass and luck at times--things are rather better organized today, and the equipment is better too. Because I was hiking early in the season when many huts were still snowed in, the Austrian Alpine club lent me a master key to the huts and winterrooms--which made the nights so much more fun. Nothing like arriving wet and cold and having a big cast iron stove at your disposal! Sometimes I'd use a tent; sometimes I'd bivouac. Once I spent a night on the porch of someone's chalet; another time in a woodcutter's shack. It took 57 days all told, with some bizarre weather and storms. I met some great people along the way too. That's the best thing about long-distance hiking--not just how it draws out character from the land, but people as well.
Over the Totes Gebirge:
From Hochkönig:
Lower altitudes:
Hut stamps:
OAC acknowledgement (I scrambled my last name with photoshop):
Edited:
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Dan S
·Lots of great trips in this thread. Like a lot of you, my bones and joints have aged--two new hips and a new knee--plus a paunch--so most of my hikes are day hikes that have at the end of a day a reward like a gin & tonic. Plus, I fish a lot, so I still spend a lot of time hanging out with rocks.
Back from the 70s through the 90s I mostly hiked the White Mountains in New Hampshire--especially in the late winter, when the snow was ideal for summiting. The peaks were largely 4,000-6,000 feet, but in the winter nothing is easy and you can't take anything for granted. This is on Carrigain in the Pemigewasst, with the Presidentials to the north:
In the spring of 1977 when I was in Europe I did a traverse of the West-Ost Weitwanderweg, from Wien to Bregenz (it's now called Österreichischer Weitwanderweg 01). The route was then fairly new (I was the 37th person to complete it)--and back then it was all maps and compass and luck at times--things are rather better organized today, and the equipment is better too. Because I was hiking early in the season when many huts were still snowed in, the Austrian Alpine club lent me a master key to the huts and winterrooms--which made the nights so much more fun. Nothing like arriving wet and cold and having a big cast iron stove at your disposal! Sometimes I'd use a tent; sometimes I'd bivouac. Once I spent a night on the porch of someone's chalet; another time in a woodcutter's shack. It took 57 days all told, with some bizarre weather and storms. I met some great people along the way too. That's the best thing about long-distance hiking--not just how it draws out character from the land, but people as well.
Over the Totes Gebirge:
From Hochkönig:
Lower altitudes:
Hut stamps:
OAC acknowledgement (I scrambled my last name with photoshop):
What amazing photos and incredible facial hair!
There is some fantastic hiking in the White Mountains, I had some opportunities to explore them when I lived in the Boston area in my twenties, but nothing like your winter summits. A 57 day trip sounds like an incredible adventure. Was that a solo trip, or did you have a partner? A through-hike sounds like a lot of fun, but obviously requires some planning. Still possibly on my bucket list.
Winter mountaineering is possible here in Colorado, but depending on the year, it can be incredibly foolhardy because of avalanche danger. This past winter was just unbelievable for that.
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AveConscientia
·The hiking is season just ramping up here in Oregon. Hike the South Sister every couple years and last time I went(late last August) it was packed like I have never seen. Still amazingly beautiful though
Gotta fit a watch picture somewhere
The highest point of the South Sister grants an amazing view after trekking up so much loose rock.
Gotta fit a watch picture somewhere
The highest point of the South Sister grants an amazing view after trekking up so much loose rock.
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Dan S
·The hiking is season just ramping up here in Oregon. Hike the South Sister every couple years and last time I went(late last August) it was packed like I have never seen. Still amazingly beautiful though
Gotta fit a watch picture somewhere
The highest point of the South Sister grants an amazing view after trekking up so much loose rock.
Those volcanic landscapes are so dramatic.
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Muddlerminnow
·A 57 day trip sounds like an incredible adventure. Was that a solo trip, or did you have a partner? .
I started out from Vienna with a classmate of mine, but by 1/3 of the way his feet gave out and he retreated back to the UK, where we went to school together; I proceeded the rest of the way solo. It got tricky at times, especially on Dachstein (crevices) and Hochkönig (ice storm)--but I was young and stubborn, and determined to go all the way. I learned a lot from people I met--on the route--especially the hutkeeper at Simony Hut on Dachstein, who noticed in my gait I was stepping a bit too far--and showed me how to shorten my stride--making it safer and quicker at the same time. We had plenty of time--there were only four people up there: me, him, and a young German couple on their honeymoon climbing in the area. I'll have to see if I can find images of the Dachstein ascent to post here. I have them...somewhere....
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river rat
·Looks like a lot of us like backpacking. I started backing in the late 1980's started backpacking with a good friend and we still get together once in a while and I still do it solo some times. Here is a few photo's from 2017 we normally go to crab tree trail in the immigrant wilderness in the sierras but with a late snow melt the ranger station said it was closed and told us to go to Disaster creek loop trail we saw a lake on the map so that were we backpacked to for a week. Started clear the higher we hiked snow was still on the ground then some parts the snow covered the trail now navigating when you cant see the trail a pain. Well had GPS and the compass and a topographic maps the trail followed the stream and that stream went to the lake and with that topographic map it showed the easy way were it was more level so you don't kill your self.
The way it started no snow
Then this think it was June or July
Now the trail is under that.
The lake we camped at the frogs crocked all night ear plugs worked great. The lake the water plugged up the water purifier so were the snow melt was going into the lake we made a small hole and got are water there were it did not plug up the water filter.
Me I remember seeing older backpackers when I was young and wondering would I be able to do it in old age.
Here is a few from Crab tree trail from another trip.
Since moving to MT I don't get to the sierra's much any more one thing I liked about crab tree trail Yosemite was on the other side the bears went there never saw a bear there yet and you could hike to a different lake each day. Now in MT another story.
The way it started no snow
Then this think it was June or July
Now the trail is under that.
The lake we camped at the frogs crocked all night ear plugs worked great. The lake the water plugged up the water purifier so were the snow melt was going into the lake we made a small hole and got are water there were it did not plug up the water filter.
Me I remember seeing older backpackers when I was young and wondering would I be able to do it in old age.
Here is a few from Crab tree trail from another trip.
Since moving to MT I don't get to the sierra's much any more one thing I liked about crab tree trail Yosemite was on the other side the bears went there never saw a bear there yet and you could hike to a different lake each day. Now in MT another story.
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Taddyangle
·I am not a backpacker, but 5 years ago I went on a 75 mile 10 day trek with my youngest son and his Boy Scout troop. It was by far one of the most difficult things I have every completed. It was a blast and I enjoyed it despite the rain (several days at a time) and it was great to see these boys work together and get us through our trek. It is a boy led troop, so the other adult and myself followed and let them do their thing. Trek was in New Mexico, USA.
Wore this watch.
Wore this watch.
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Dan S
·Looks like a lot of us like backpacking. I started backing in the late 1980's started backpacking with a good friend and we still get together once in a while and I still do it solo some times. Here is a few photo's from 2017 we normally go to crab tree trail in the immigrant wilderness in the sierras but with a late snow melt the ranger station said it was closed and told us to go to Disaster creek loop trail we saw a lake on the map so that were we backpacked to for a week. Started clear the higher we hiked snow was still on the ground then some parts the snow covered the trail now navigating when you cant see the trail a pain. Well had GPS and the compass and a topographic maps the trail followed the stream and that stream went to the lake and with that topographic map it showed the easy way were it was more level so you don't kill your self.
Looks like a really great destination, and worth the wet slog to get there. That's exactly the type of year we're having in Colorado this year. The snowpack was way above normal this winter, and many places I can usually go in June are still inaccessible now.
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Dan S
·I am not a backpacker, but 5 years ago I went on a 75 mile 10 day trek with my youngest son and his Boy Scout troop. It was by far one of the most difficult things I have every completed. It was a blast and I enjoyed it despite the rain (several days at a time) and it was great to see these boys work together and get us through our trek. It is a boy led troop, so the other adult and myself followed and let them do their thing. Trek was in New Mexico, USA.
Wore this watch.
Looks tremendous ... much greener than I would have expected for New Mexico. The challenge and adventure is a big part of the fun, including dealing with adverse conditions, improvising when things go wrong, etc. It really makes you aware of how easy we have things on a daily basis, and how much support we receive from our civilized infrastructure. Not that there's anything wrong with civilization, but it's good to be reminded of it, and also reminded that we don't necessarily need it so much.
