ABOUT THE BACKPACK
Investing in a good backpack is important to make sure it fits you and is suitable for whatever expedition you are going on. Once the backpack is purchased or rented, you can travel virtually anywhere. Besides having to pay for food and occasional transportation or hostels, backpacking is the cheapest way to get around. Depending on how you like to travel, a backpack can range in weight from as little as 12 lbs to 50 lbs.
Minimalist backpacking is difficult to do if you want to have a lot of extra clothes, food, or a pillow. Traveling with more weight is strenuous when hiking, but you can carry much more of your favorite things. You have to factor in equipment such as tarps, food, first aid kits, and other group gear that may take up space. Packing all depends on how long the expedition is and how many people are going with you. When there are more people, gear can be evenly divided and packs will weigh less.
Participating in a backpacking course through NOLS, Outward Bound or IWLS(International Wilderness Leadership School) may enhance your experience and skills learned. If you decide not to take one of those courses offered, make sure you are well prepared before going on your expedition. The values attained from attending outdoor expeditions are values that directly relate and can be intertwined to life in the frontcountry.
Overall, backpacking is an ideal, wholesome activity that has the ability to take a person to incredible, unknown places and change a person's perspective on things. The values learned will stick with you for life. What's not to love?
Minimalist backpacking is difficult to do if you want to have a lot of extra clothes, food, or a pillow. Traveling with more weight is strenuous when hiking, but you can carry much more of your favorite things. You have to factor in equipment such as tarps, food, first aid kits, and other group gear that may take up space. Packing all depends on how long the expedition is and how many people are going with you. When there are more people, gear can be evenly divided and packs will weigh less.
Participating in a backpacking course through NOLS, Outward Bound or IWLS(International Wilderness Leadership School) may enhance your experience and skills learned. If you decide not to take one of those courses offered, make sure you are well prepared before going on your expedition. The values attained from attending outdoor expeditions are values that directly relate and can be intertwined to life in the frontcountry.
Overall, backpacking is an ideal, wholesome activity that has the ability to take a person to incredible, unknown places and change a person's perspective on things. The values learned will stick with you for life. What's not to love?
Below is a poem that inspires people to concentrate more on the journey than the destination. "The journey is the joy."
THE STATION
ROBERT J. HASTINGS
Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision in which we see ourselves on a long journey that spans an entire continent. We’re traveling by train and, from the windows, we drink in the passing scenes of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at crossings, of cattle grazing in distant pastures, of smoke pouring from power plants, of row upon row upon row of cotton and corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination–for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.
“Yes, when we reach the Station, that will be it!” we promise ourselves. “When we’re eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!”
From that day on we will all live happily ever after.
Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion–it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday’s a memory, tomorrow’s a dream. Yesterday belongs to a history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday’s a fading sunset, tomorrow’s a faint sunrise. Only today is there light enough to love and live.
So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, but rather regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.
“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.
But uppermost in our conscious minds is our final destination–for at a certain hour and on a given day, our train will finally pull into the Station with bells ringing, flags waving, and bands playing. And once that day comes, so many wonderful dreams will come true. So restlessly, we pace the aisles and count the miles, peering ahead, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.
“Yes, when we reach the Station, that will be it!” we promise ourselves. “When we’re eighteen. . . win that promotion. . . put the last kid through college. . . buy that 450SL Mercedes-Benz. . . have a nest egg for retirement!”
From that day on we will all live happily ever after.
Sooner or later, however, we must realize there is no Station in this life, no one earthly place to arrive at once and for all. The journey is the joy. The Station is an illusion–it constantly outdistances us. Yesterday’s a memory, tomorrow’s a dream. Yesterday belongs to a history, tomorrow belongs to God. Yesterday’s a fading sunset, tomorrow’s a faint sunrise. Only today is there light enough to love and live.
So, gently close the door on yesterday and throw the key away. It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad, but rather regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.
“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, swim more rivers, climb more mountains, kiss more babies, count more stars. Laugh more and cry less. Go barefoot oftener. Eat more ice cream. Ride more merry-go-rounds. Watch more sunsets. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.
HELPFUL LINKS
Below are two videos that inspire people to get outside, explore, and travel by foot.
|
|
|
Citations!
http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/06spring/light_gear_list.pdf
http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Believe-Life-Is-About-The-Journey-Not-The-Destination/77479
http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/06spring/light_gear_list.pdf
http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Believe-Life-Is-About-The-Journey-Not-The-Destination/77479
Samantha Cook