Pack, unload, throw out a few things, and pack again!

Forget about how your hair looks. If you are willing to forego modern conveniences for a little while and are able to endure a few aches and pains, then backpacking has rewards worth trying. For no other way can you experience nature in all its aspects!

Backpacking as we know is a relatively new recreational activity. Even though we have been carrying loads on our backs for thousands of years,

It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that backpacking began gaining popular as a recreational sport.

Many social movements in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, including the venerable hippies, further led to an increase in hiking and backpacking as people sought to commune with nature.

What’s backpacking all about?

Backpacking is a multiday trip where you carry everything you need to survive in a large backpack. Though, hiking and walking for pleasure is a timeless activity, these are the two components of backpacking.

If you walk for a day in the woods, you can say you went hiking.

If you bike or canoe to a campsite and sleep outdoors, you can say you went camping.

But only if you carry all your supplies into the wilderness and spend the night can you say you went backpacking.

Whether you spend one night or a hundred nights hiking and sleeping outside, you can consider yourself to be a backpacker.

Backpacking requires you to be totally self sufficient. In addition to the food supplies you carry, you need a good pair of hiking boots to support your ankles, good raingear, and a comfortable backpack to carry your essentials.

Why backpack?

We backpack for a number of reasons: for the love of outdoors, the pleasure of seeing a
beautiful place, the feeling of independence that increases with each trip, the confidence it
helps us gain in other aspects of our lives. Many people, including women embrace the challenge and adventure of backpacking and thrive on the opportunity for personal achievement.

Backpacking comes with tremendous health benefits. Backpacking will make you burn more calories, improve your heart, and strengthen your muscles and bones. But, backpacking should not be just viewed as a popular sport that’s good for your body. For some, the trails have led to a better understanding of their relationship with the land and its inhabitants.