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Anybody like to go backpacking?

oCaveman

oCaveman

Just curious if there are many others that enjoy backpacking.  Being in Texas, our options are somewhat limited, but I can drive just a few hours and be in Arkansas, and there are some really nice trails up there.  My favorite trail is probably Eagle Rock Loop, but that could be because I go solo on a lot of my trips and it's nice to end up back at the car.  Anyway, post up your favorite trail if you want... and maybe some pics?
 
Here's a pic from the Buffalo River Trail (the rain on that trip made for some really nice water features...awesome trip)
 
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I love backpacking and hiking! We have wonderful spots here in Tennessee. My favorite is Virgin falls it's a four mile hike to the main falls but half way there is the best camping spot at Big Laurel Falls. You can set up deep into this huge overhang. It's awesome. Of course we have places like Fall Creek Falls and Burgess Falls which are the more popular ones. But with the beautiful overlooks and falls I'd take virgin falls over them any day!

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Virgin falls


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Big Laurel Falls


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From inside the overhang at Big Laurel. Doesn't do it justice!
 
Beautiful stuff.  I live just a hop and a skip from the Buffalo, but do most of my hiking/backpacking on private land here (340 acres) or in Wyoming.  I love the raw wildness of it out there.  This is the Wind River Range from last year.  My camp was just to the right of the sandbar visible in the far middle ground.
 
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Sawer, that is where I am from. Where do you access the mountains? Pinedale from the West? Dubois in the north? Or Thermopolis from the east? We had a cabin north of Pinedale in Cora. Gypsum Creek Rd. I spent most of my time up there on horseback, it's also where I learned to drive :) but have been all over those mountains. Never to the top of Gannett peak tho.
 
Hiking, yes. Love it. I've been as far west as the Black Hills and as far east as the AT. North to Mackinac Michigan and south to gatlinburg TN. 
 
Backpacking, NO. I'm not carrying everything on my back and staying in a tent every night. Been there done that and bought an RV cause that got real old.
 
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I was informed by the wife that this one is too small now and we need a 5th wheel.....<sigh>
 
oCaveman said:
Being in Texas, our options are somewhat limited...
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I am sorry, but you are nuts! I grew up in TX, and we camped all the time - all over the state. No, camping isn't necessarily the same as hiking, but I can tell you - if you think your options are limited in that massive state, you need to look harder!
 
geeme said:
 
I am sorry, but you are nuts! I grew up in TX, and we camped all the time - all over the state. No, camping isn't necessarily the same as hiking, but I can tell you - if you think your options are limited in that massive state, you need to look harder!
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Fair enough... There are plenty of places to hike/backpack as long as you don't want any elevation changes.  I like hills. :)  I haven't been out west, but I've been south and east and it's all pretty flat.  Pretty country, just kinda flat (from my experience anyway).
 
I'm one lucky backpacker, living about 8 miles by foot to Damascus, VA a hub on the Appalachian Trail.
Also being a trailrunner (though out shape from injury repair at the moment), I tend to get out a lot.
May walk across the mountain to a hammock hangout/get together weekend after next if it's not rainy.
Haven't been out in a while.
 
Yup. Love it. Up here in Ontario, portaging and canoe trips are pretty popular. I live about an hours drive from Algonquin park and usually spend a week up there in the summer every year. Great fishing and lots of wildlife to see.

Longest trip I did was up in the North West Territories. Took a pontoon plane north from Yellowknife to drop us on the Thelon River. Had to land on an unexpected lake because the one we were supposed to start on was still iced over so we had quite a hike with our gear to where the canoes were staged! On the ice no less.

In and out of the tree line, big game everywhere, sun hardly setting, feasted on fresh fish most nights, shooting rapids, epic portages. Grizzlies.

Took us 40 days to get pretty close to Hudson's Bay, we were picked up on a large lake nearby and flown back to Yellowknife, had to stop on a deserted lake along the way to refuel.

Was an unfreakinbelievable experience.

As for backpacking in the US - there is a park by Lake Placid where you can hike in the Aderondacks that is spectacular. We went for a week long trip and did quite a few peaks including Mt Marcy the highest in the state.

Yup I like my trippin'!
 
I recently thought about it a lot. Being from Wisconsin and growing up in between Milwaukee and Chicago there wasnt much untouched wilderness. Now just moving to Tennessee I would really love to go hiking or backpacking. Now just to find somewhere to go and someone to go with! I always dreamed about the Appalachian trail. A good show to watch if you have Netflix is Appalachian Trail. Shows some pretty cool stuff about it.
 
Jamison said:
I recently thought about it a lot. Being from Wisconsin and growing up in between Milwaukee and Chicago there wasnt much untouched wilderness. Now just moving to Tennessee I would really love to go hiking or backpacking. Now just to find somewhere to go and someone to go with! I always dreamed about the Appalachian trail. A good show to watch if you have Netflix is Appalachian Trail. Shows some pretty cool stuff about it.
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You'll love it.
 
And, for me, I love going out with a group, or my girl, but there is something about being out there on your own that's just incredibly peaceful. You really get a chance to get a sense of self when it's just you and the wild.
 
Speaking of the wild and backpacking and netflix, I should also mention that one of my favourite movies of all-time is Into The Wild, definite must-see. IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
 
No doubt Jamison. I've seen that program and fell in love the the whole "Appalachian trail experience" ever since. Folks make their rent on hikers. Wow. I would be penniless by the end of that trip and I wouldn't make it 20 miles. Those folks seem so friggen down to earth, I would just want to stay and help/hang out. Waaaaaaay different than the Pacific Coast Trail over here on the West coast.... Nobody for miles. Not because they don't want to, but because there are no towns at those elevations. You only hike the PCT to seriously get in with your mom. Mother nature.
 
oCaveman said:
Fair enough... There are plenty of places to hike/backpack as long as you don't want any elevation changes.  I like hills. :)  I haven't been out west, but I've been south and east and it's all pretty flat.  Pretty country, just kinda flat (from my experience anyway).
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Yes, south and east is flat. But TX has almost every type of terrain somewhere in it, and yes, there are hills in the west.
AaronRiot said:
And, for me, I love going out with a group, or my girl, but there is something about being out there on your own that's just incredibly peaceful. You really get a chance to get a sense of self when it's just you and the wild.
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I love solo trips, too, but won't hike without a partner any more. I found out after arriving in Colorado one year that a solo hiker had been killed by a mountain lion. I am pretty sure I don't ever want to find myself in the same situation.
 
Everybody that lives on the left coast talks about doing the entire PCT but few actually do it. Like me, most just do parts. Still awesome but to do the whole trip would be incredible.
 
geeme said:
 
I love solo trips, too, but won't hike without a partner any more. I found out after arriving in Colorado one year that a solo hiker had been killed by a mountain lion. I am pretty sure I don't ever want to find myself in the same situation.
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Scary stuff. Yeah, in my area we have black bears and moose. The bears don't worry me much, they're more scared of me than I am of them, and the moose are pretty easy to steer clear of. I worry more about making a stupid mistake and falling or drowning or the like. It's like any activity that involves risk -- you have to mitigate each risk as best as possible if you plan to go ahead with it. It's like solo scuba diving in a way.
 
I definitely would think twice before heading into an area with a known mountain lion or grizzly population. Polar bears even more so. Even then, if one of these guys decides they want to get you, your chances really aren't that great -- they'll likely hunt you and surprise you, so even if you're carrying a weapon, be it spray or a gun, someone's going to be in serious trouble.
 
 
Scoville DeVille said:
Chile Addict (THP member) did the entire PCT last year from Canada to Mexico.
Here are some pics of the PCT in WA I stole from the web. I just felt like posting them for the hellofit.
 
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Thanks for posting these pics! I would love to take this one on start to finish too. Man, what an adventure.
 
 
Scoville DeVille said:
Everybody that lives on the left coast talks about doing the entire PCT but few actually do it. Like me, most just do parts. Still awesome but to do the whole trip would be incredible.
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Awesome indeed. Finding the time would be tough for a trek like that. Would be a crowning life experience though.
 
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