People are mixing two different definitions of backpacking here.
Hiking/Backpacking: Hiking in the woods/hills/mountains with tent, sleeping bag, stove, and all your food. Going for overnight or multi-week trips with resupplies. This is what I like to do, going for up to 4 weeks at a time.
Tourist/Backpacking: Putting all your belongings in a pack and spending time in civilization but roughing it. Using buses, trains, hitchhiking, to get around, staying in hostels, camping at campgrounds or in fields near towns, seeing cities, countries, etc.
Both are fun, but they’re being mixed in this thread and it’s a little hard to keep them straight.
I was referring to wilderness backpacking, FWIW. (Uh, clearly since you don’t usually have coyotoes running amok downtown.)
We did drive but only between regions. We drove to Northwest Texas then did wilderness backpacking in the Guadalupe Mountains and Lincoln Forest. Then we went to Northwestern New Mexico for a few days. Then we went to southern Colorado for a few days.
It was actually supposed to be a bike tour and we were going to ride from area to area to do our hiking, but my girlfriend bashed her hand a few days before we left and can’t shift or brake with her right paw.
I’ve experienced both kinds of Backpacking,wilderness type only in England/Scotland/Wales/Thailand and Germany.
And it does chill me out getting away from it all,getting a bit knackered and then sleeping preferebly out in the open (if the weathers not too bad)so that I can see the sky.
At some stage I’d like to try it in Alaska and Yellowstone.
Tourist backpacking which I must admit was what my O.P. was about I’ve done quite alot,trips I’d like to make in the future are Japan,Vietnam,the middle bit of Canada(I’ve been to Newfoundland and B.C.)and S.Africa.
One of the great thing IMO about B.P.ing is the other B.Pers you meet.
They tend to be more imaginative,intelligent and adventurous then your average Joe,let alone your average package tourist.
Also in the countries you travel through you tend to meet up with the ordinary folk of those places,not the obsequious service industry employees that resorts tend to have.
(Dont get me wrong,on occassion I enjoy being waited on hand and foot myself but it gets a bit wearing after a while)
I backpacked alone last summer through central Europe. While the experience was great, I don’t want to do it again until I have a partner to do it with. I’m glad I had the chance by myself but I would like to share the experience with someone.
I did the Ap Trail when I was in college, and I loved every minute of it. Backpacking is definitely my crack. I enjoy it so much I took a job as exec.director of a environmental conservation company here in CT - just to stay as close to nature and the great out of doors as I can. We work close with a lot of conservation and nature conservancy types and I - luckily - get to go hiking and backpacking quite a lot.
Nothing better than the wind in the trees and the whole day in front of you when you’re on a good trail…This time of year it is peak leaf season and I’ve been hiking every day and camping whenever I can.
I have done it a lot. Mostly in India, which is a great country for backpacking - cheap, exiting and everyone (almost) speaks English. I have spent years there when all my trips are put together, and I never get tired of going back. The only downside is… all the other backpackers, who often seem to be of the “are you experienced”, dope-smoking, let’s-go-to-Goa-and-get-stoned variety. Best advice: Buy Lonely Planet India and stay clear of all places (not just hotels; towns, cities, sights) mentioned there (except for the Taj Mahal and Varanasi, of course).
My most exciting journey was from Istanbul to Varanasi overland through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India. This was in 2003-4, and I felt completely safe all the way. Would do it again tomorrow if I could afford it. Amazing countries.
Yes, the LP Effect. Anyplace mentioned in a LP book because of the wonderful atmosphere almost immediately becomes overrun and awful. We would go into towns in Nepal, find the place mentioned by LP, then walk to the other end of town to find a place to stay.
Just an aside here,when travelling I’ve used L.Ps as a second choice and they are pretty good but because of the P.C. element in their writing Idont think that they’re 100% accurate.
I preferto use the Rough Guides if I can.
When I’m alone in a dangerous part of a third world country I want the info thats going to keep me alive and unmugged no matter how un P.C. the information is.
By the way I dont know if anyone here has ever looked up their own hometown in either of these guides but I did once (cant for the life of me remember which one )and I would swear that the person who had written the entry had never in their lives been in my city,it wasn’t just a case of sinning by omission but that they’d actually described a well known part of the city incorrectly.
I went on a wilderness backpacking trip in Colorado earlier this year. It was incredible.
Myself and 2 friends from Denver did a 5 day trip in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. We saw elk, coyotes, mule deer, and many other animals. Went trout fishing 3 of those days and had a couple of excellent “trout on campfire coals” dinners too. The first day was tough because I was basically coming from sea level (only one day of acclimation in Snowmass) and we climbed from 8300 feet to over 11000 feet on that first day.
I also do day trips pretty extensively in my local area. I am keeping an eye on the weather for this weekend because I am thinking about taking three days and hiking a 45-50 mile segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which is pretty much in my backyard.
It sounds odd, but to me there is nothing more relaxing than throwing 30-40 pounds on your back and walking into the woods. Your focus completely changes and even after just 3-4 days the world does too. Anyone that has gotten into their car to drive after being in the woods for a while realizes this, driving at 25 miles per hour is suddenly terrifyingly fast!
As far as N.Africa is concerned I’ve only been to Morocco(but that was working) and Egypt.
I’ve travelled round the U.S. several times(was gob smacked going over the Rockies) and on one of those trips managed to get down to Mexico,but not the Yucatan P.
I do fancy seeing more of Central/S.America so hopefully if I do another wander around the U.S. I might see a bit more of Mexico.
The problem with that though is I’ve always wandered off in unplanned directions,every single time I’ve gone to the States I’ve always meant to visit N.England,a place I’ve always wanted to see,but Ialways seem to end up going to the deep south ,the west coast,Canada’anywhere but where I’ve planned to.
Nearly had a contract to work in the Falkland Islands a little while ago and was going to forgo my flight home at the end of the job and fly to the S.American mainland and travel around a bit before making my own way home.
Unfortunately the job fell through but it maywell crop up again in the future.
Second hand info, but I reckon you’d like Buenos Aires. I totally get your earlier musings on guide books though. It’s an odd thing to read a tourist guide for a place that you actually live in- the reaction is occasionally “fair comment”, but more often it’s like “Ha! I guess the proprietor paid you to say this!”.
I went backpack traveling for 15 months about 5 years ago, plus the usual post-college European tour. As far as I’m concerned, backpacking is the only way to go. It was all by myself, but I kind of like it that way. At my age, it’s damned hard to get someone to take 3 months off and travel around. The best thing about going by yourself is you just do whatever you damn well please. I’ve been to 68 countries do far. What I’d really like to do is a journey from Russia down through the former Soviet bloc and hit whatever -stans I can (and hence be able to identify them on that damn geography quiz that someone posted a thread on. Through the middle east and then across North and West Africa. I’ve been to 68 countries, and if I plan it right, I could probably make if close to a 100. I’ve really got to make it to India some day, and would love to try Panurge’s trip from Istanbul to India. I wonder how safe it is for an American to travel through Iran these days, though.
Oh yeah, I’ve done the Sierra backpacking thing also, but my knees aren’t really up for it anymore. My friend wanted to do the Yosemite to Mammoth Lakes trip this summer, but I chickened out as he would probably make it a death march.
Personally I don’t think there is much of a risk travelling in Iran - even nowadays. You might get a bit more hassle at the border or pay a few small bribes to the police along the way, but in general the Iranians couldn’t care less where you come from. That is my experience anyway, and it goes for Pakistan as well - these two countries has the friendliest people I have ever met anywhere in the world.
And great idea about the -stans. Went to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan with my girlfriend a few years ago - amazing. Especially living with local Kyrgyz farmers in the yurts on the summer pastures was incredible. You do get tired of all the boiled mutton after a while, but at least you can wash it down with their horrible home-made vodka. If Turkmenbashi’s death has made Turkmenistan more accessible, I would love to go there. Perhaps a trip around the Caspian Sea?
It was a strange experience to travel in Iran - I never really found the living Islamic culture I expected; nor did I find many remnants of Persian culture. Many elements of Persian culture have been banned since the revolution, and most people seemed sick of the government-imposed “Islamic”* laws. As far as I could see everybody were trying to be as western as possible within the limits of tolerance of the Islamic police. But people were genuinely friendly, helpful and hospitable; we were often invited to people’s home for dinner or to spend the night. I honestly think that if you travel in Iran with your family, you won’t spend a single night in a hotel for as long as you are there.
Apart from the hospitality the overall feeling of the country (IMO) was desparation and - quite depressing - apathy. Everybody feels suppressed, especially in the Kurdic parts of the country bordering Iran, and many want to leave for the west. Nobody has the courage to get organized. The only person I met who was sympathetic towards the regime was a student of Islamic theology in Isfahan. In spite of this image of a fatigued people, good times are still to be had. You can find parties with young men and women in the same room, drinkinggasp Life goes on etc.
Have you ever read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi? - it shows Iran from the inside in a way that matches my experience of the country very well.
Openness goes a long way, so depending on your temper YMMV
*meant in the sense that the Sharia seems to be imposed under the strictest possible interpretation of the letter of the law.
I’ve been backpacking in Europe, India, Central America and West Africa. I’m currently living in beautiful Cameroon. I agree that India is definately a bit of a backpacker paradise. It’s hard to go wrong there. Living and working in a foreign country is quite a different thing than backpacking, but I do sometimes miss being on the move.