Hiking Freedom: Jim's Backpacking and Camping Blog: Reason I like backpacking

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Reason I like backpacking

I like hiking. Once I get the blisters solved, it will be mostly fun for me. I also enjoy the views I see, the simplicity of life, and the beauty of the mountains and trees. But mostly, I enjoy the continuous process of hiking through the woods.

I don't really enjoy the process of setting up camp and sleeping outside. They just enable me to be able to hike.

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Backpacking and Camping

The first camping trip I went on was with the Cub Scouts. My troop took a Father & Son trip up in the mountains. My father borrowed or rented a tent, cots and sleeping bags. I don't remember much but a indian tribe was doing one of their ceremonies on the other side of the river until late in the night.

My second trip was a camping/fishing trip with one of my friends from church.

I didn't camp again until my ex-wife talked about them camping as a family when she was a kid. We lived in East TX at the time and it was hot and humid during the summer. We tried to camp but it wasn't that enjoyable. When we moved to Colorado, that all changed. We have camped a lot over the years as a family with a few backpacking trips (I have lots of pictures posted on FaceBook). Now I'm starting to backpack alone.

After having a significant back surgery in 2008, I have found that bearing even 14 lbs on my back while hiking long distances bothers my lower back. I now pack my light bulky items in a Gossamer Gear RikSak (2.1 oz and less than 3 lbs with all the bulky items) and the remaining 11 lbs in a MountainSmith Daylight lumbar pack. The combination of the RikSak and Daylight are less than a pound. I'm hoping to find a cuben fiber alternative to the Daylight and get it down closer to 4 oz.