Life lessons in backpacking: 4 things I've learned from the trail

I've come a long long way in my "trail smarts" from the first bushwhacking, backpacking trip (if you can call it that) my brother and I took to the Land Between the Lakes in southwestern Kentucky.  Sitting on the banks of Kentucky Lake with our campfire two feet from my brother's Walmart tent, we thought it didn't get much better than that.  We were hikers, no better than that, we were backpackers.  Along the way I've learned just how clueless I was then and I've picked up some valuable life lessons and morsels of advice since.  Here are four things I've learned from the trail.    

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My brother preps to start a hike in Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 2007.  We hiked the Big Creek Loop in the western portion of the park.  Some of the steep trail has since been abandoned due to erosion and mud slides from heavy rainfall. 

1. Take it one step at a time: It might sound cliche' and predictable but it's one of the most important things I've learned from the trail.  In our lives often times we make a habit of looking way up the road, squinting, even straining to see what's around the bend when really what we should be focusing on is that root right in front of us that we're about to trip over.  I've been on several trips where you get so exhausted you can't do anything but think about putting one foot in front of the other.  Twenty one miles, in one day, on the Buffalo River Trail in Northern Arkansas was excruciating but I had to take it just one step at a time, because each step got me closer to camp that night.    

2. Say hello to every hiker you come in contact with: You never know when you might call upon that fellow hiker to save your butt way out in the backcountry.  I can remember doing a 22 mile loop in the western part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  My brother and I, still green horns in the backpacking scene, each one of us carrying about 50 pounds of gear on that overnight trek... to a shelter.  Almost none of the gear essential and we had the grand idea that we were going to boil our water over an open camp fire... it had rained hard the night before and everything was doused.  If it hadn't been for the kindness of a small group of hikers we had met earlier that day we would have been very thirsty or sick.  Instead they let us filter water with their pump and even offered us some amazing dinner they cooked up that night at camp.  Hiking and backpacking is a community and we're all at different stages of the journey.  I only hope I can return the favor to some newbie one day.

3.  Get up to watch the sunrise: It's a must do for me on every trip.  It doesn't matter if I'm in the densely wooded mountains or the wide open desert I want to be up to greet the sun and enjoy the awe inspiring view.  Too often in our lives we don't stop to take in the little things, the formalities that occur around us everyday.  We're too plugged in, too unaware to realize that we're just a small cog in this big blue spaceship orbiting the sun.  

4. Don't shower while on the trail: There are few better pleasures in life than that first shower after five days and four nights hiking in the hot desert.  Endure the smell, disregard the stickiness and dirt caked in your hair until you hit the hotel room and it's all worth the wait.  In addition, few things taste better than that first big, greasy burger once getting off the trail.  It's the small things... 

What are some things you've learned from your backpacking and hiking experiences?   

Virtual hiking: let Google take the trip for you!

Google is an amazing thing.  I’m fairly certain they are going to map the entire world.  It’s all part of an elaborate scheme to take over the world... well the virtual world that is.  As someone who follows the trends in social media and search engine marketing there is a lot to be said about Google and their arsenal of web based products.  Gmail, maps, plus, drive, etc really are revolutionizing the way we search and think. 

So about this point you’re thinking “What on Google Earth does this have to do with hiking... or backpacking or traveling?”  That would be an excellent question.  As we run to the search engine that knows everything including where we are, where we are going and probably even where Jimmy Hoffa’s body is buried, it leads me to wonder if actually backpacking or traveling is even necessary?  About a year ago, the search giant announced plans to start adding street view to various trails and national parks.  We can  now walk down the streets of London (England & Kentucky) and hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, at the simple swipe of a screen or click of a mousepad and all without ever leaving the comfort of my extremely comfortable chair... although it doesn’t recline nor does it have a built in mini-fridge.  So are we a Google society?  Have we come to terms with the idea that who really needs to travel when I can see it in 360 degree views on my computer screen?

I’m of the mind set that some places are better left wild... the WILDerness is probably one of those places.  We’re a too plugged in society and we need areas that are still of the grid, away from all the dinging cell phones and sirens and distractions of living amongst the well... living.  People need to get off their backsides and get outside... and maybe walk off the Big Mac (without cheese) that we ate for lunch.  The Goog does a lot of ridiculously cool things that make my life a lot easier.  Virtually hiking trails probably doesn’t need to be one of them.    

If you feel different, please share.    

It takes a special person

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With every adventure... we're adding to our wall.  She looks happy in all our pictures (I think she's actually enjoying the crazy things we do).

When I met my wife, I will admit, one of the things I thought pretty soon after we started dating was ‘awesome, now I have a climbing partner’ - I didn’t tell her that... but that’s what I was thinking.  We dated and did a good deal of climbing. Even now, most of the time when I bring up the idea of taking yet another trip to go climbing her response is almost always positive.  Occasionally, she’ll even bring up the idea of taking a weekend trip, which makes me think she may actually enjoy our not-so-normal hobbies.

So what exactly does true love look like?  In my case, it looks like a woman who puts up with my crazy antics and ideas.  It’s a person who stands by and rolls her eyes when I suggest we take a five day hike as a way to celebrate our anniversary.  I’ve met some women who shutter at the thought of even standing outside for extended periods of time.  My wife didn’t shower for five days while we hiked in the 95 degree heat and slept on the ground... and we didn’t get a divorce after that trip was over, to me that’s true love.  

It takes a special person to hang off the side of a cliff and still smile at the end of the day and say ‘I had a good time’.  It takes a special person to sleep outside, get up at 6:00 a.m. and walk all day, on a Saturday, when she could be sleeping in until 10:00 in a climate controlled room.  I’m 100% sure I’ve found that special person.    

We have a wall in our house with photos from our big adventures.  It’s small now... but growing.  I often times find myself standing in front of it, as a I brush my teeth at night, looking at the pictures and smiling.  We’re happy in each one of them.  I think I’ve found a keeper. What’s true love look like to you?  It’s completely different for each person.

Is backpacking a sport?

So we all know there are a lot of weird sports included in the Olympics that never see the light of prime-time television.  I mean c’mon, do we really need a sport that involves horses dancing to choreographed music or speed walking... really?  A sport is defined, by Sir Webster, as physical activity engaged in for pleasure.  That leaves the door wide open for a lot of things we just won’t go into on here.  

That definition leads me to this question: Can backpacking or hiking be considered a sport?  Is Andrew Skurka our Michael Phelps or Bear Grylls our Tom Brady?  Equipment is getting lighter and the price tag heavier and the outdoor market is flooded with brand names.  Just as the Nike swoosh means something to a basketball player so does the Patagonia mountain range at sunset to many hikers who sport the latest in down insulation or quick drying pants.  

But what about competition?  Isn’t sport about competition?  I would say that is an element.  The thrill of competing against someone else to see who is superior is very much an element of any good sporting match.  Whether you’re fighting to the death or fighting the elements competition and the excitement when the adrenaline starts pumping plays a big role.  

I know I asked more questions than I answered.  I would say yes, backpacking and hiking can be considered sport.  You are competing with yourself... challenging yourself and pushing yourself to, in some cases, your limit.  We’ll likely never see Bob Costas giving us the highlights on who won the gold for backpacking but that’s okay.  It will hopefully continue to be a sport that one competes at on their own stage... a stage deep in the backcountry of some of the wildest places on our planet.  

What are your thoughts?  Sport or not a sport?