Backpacking

(More blog entries from ryan)

Mmmmm...so much "fun."

My definition

Along with trail running, D and I do a healthy dose of backpacking during the summer. But I have a question: why?

In my dictionary: Backpacking is humping a heavy pack a long way, eating crappy food and sleeping uncomfortably, so you can get up and do it again the next day. Often, trails are rocky, steep, muddy or a combination of all three. Don't forget the bugs.

That doesn't sound like much fun.

Here's the thing: In 2005, D and I hiked about 1500 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Massachusetts. That was a lot of backpacking...everyday. Unfortunately, I injured my back, and we didn't complete the journey to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I injured it from all that backpacking. But still backpacking is really fun. Not in a let's have a birthday party kind of fun, but in a let's torture ourselves kind of fun. Good, clean...er, dirty...sweaty, tiring, challenging kind of fun. It's pretty cool putting everything you need to survive on your back and just walking.

We're working on "cleaning up" those remaining miles to connect the dots from Georgia to Maine. It's been a great journey, and we've met some amazing people and seen some beautiful places.

I guess my point and how this relates to this particular blog is get out there. Even if it's just a ten minute walk. Get out in the woods. Get out on the trails. Get off the couch. It's all worth it. Maybe that's a better definition.

Comments

Re: Backpacking
by sven on Aug 8th 2007, 9:29 am

well said.