Why Backpack?
Your legs throb. Your heels are covered in blisters. You have to hide your food from bears. Going to the bathroom involves using a shovel and swatting at swarms of flies.
Why Backpack?
It sounds awful, sometimes we feel awful when we are doing it. But we love it.
I went to Tahoe over the weekend with a bunch of friends. We were at about mile number 8 when my friend Greg asked the all important question: Why do we do this? It hurts, it is boring, we could see almost all of the same things with a car but not have to work so hard - so why do we like hiking.
The first response we came up with was, of course, FOOD! We hike so that we can eat more and so that the food tastes better. There was some argument over this reason. You can eat more while hiking, but it isn’t usually quality food, and my favorite Thai restaurant certainly makes better pad thai than Mountain House.
The next response was escaping daily life and getting away from it all. Everyone agreed with this. Hiking and being in nature is a great way to forget about the office, the obligations of daily life and the faster pace of the city.
Our final answer to Greg’s question was: Hot tubes. Our final stop before heading back to San Francisco
For me, I love hiking more than anything. I love it so much that I’ve never even bothered to question myself why I love it…I just do. I never feel bored while hiking and I love being reminded of how small and temporary I am compared with the huge mountains and 1,000-year-old sequoias. For me there is something magical about being immersed in nature.
What are your reasons for backpacking & hiking?
