Backpacking Clubs: are you in one?

[te_wa]

I have seen a rise of membership in my local Backpacking Club (a meetup.com group - http://www.meetup.com/Arizona-Backpacking/ ABC or Arizona Backpacking Club)
and im wondering if you are in a club, have ever had interest in joining a fun bunch of outdoors folks with the same interests as you.

I have had many great trips - hikes that i may have had on my list, or something i have been putting off waiting for the right weekend - and found that membership with the ABC has gotten me out more. I have done some of the hikes i have been wanting to do for a couple of years.. for instance I may have never gotten off my @r$e and hiked the Safford-Morenci trail, it was in the back of my mind for a few years but I finally did it this Spring.

I have found the club to be a great place for people of all skill levels to enjoy overnight camps in the wilds. SO, do you think its cool? (Being in a club, that is..)

I am organizing a few hikes and tagging along on a couple of others, Maxwell trail this month and next i'll be on the Chiricahua Crest and then leading a group on the Mt. Baldy loop in June.
I have such a great time hiking with the guys and gals from ABC that i recently just joined FRIENDS hiking club. Of course, there are members of HAZ that belong to both of these groups. One can never have too many options, ya know? ;)

[writelots]

Writelots that is a coooooool avatar.

Ja. i have wicked mad skilllz with photoshop. Heehee.

[te_wa]

hey, i like wendy so much i'll even give her the benefit of imitation/flattery. Cheers, Wendy!

[writelots]

awsome, evil avatar, squirrel. I'm flattered and humbled all at once!

[te_wa]

awsome, evil avatar, squirrel.

its a little red, yes.
(and the spots on my bandana are pictures of dead angels)

[BobP]

Sorry Mike, I like Writelots better. I already miss the squirrel. Now I have no one to bark at.

[te_wa]

well, here was the pg-13 alternative...

balls.jpg (2.85 KiB) Viewed 1043 times

[BobP]

Boxing squirrel was my favorite.

[Jeffshadows]

There are lots of tracks of endeavor that depart from basic day-hiking and few people who start out hiking ever follow them. Most mountaineers, canyoneers, and off-trail-devotees started out as plain old hikers. Some of us are plain old hikers depending on the mood and season. There are other outdoor endeavors that stem from hiking that can be considered, as well.

The truth is that backpacking isn't even the most "elite" of these if you consider skill and conditioning as the primary factors. I could go right now and backpack literally dozens of trails around here and barely break a sweat regardless of how heavy my pack was or how long I was out on that terrain. The opposite is also true. I'm pointing this out because I don't want people to harbor the false impression that backpackers are more advanced, dedicated, or experienced. I can cite a good example on HAZ of a person who has contributed more than any other five people that are as active as he and he never does anything more than brutal day-hikes.

What really counts is how the experience you undertake, whatever it is, influences you as a person. If you love taking short day-hikes, why ruin that for yourself by being bullied into an overnight trip or uphill climb that you will not enjoy just to feel like more of an "outdoor person?'

Just food for thought.

[BobP]

When I hear the word "elite", I think of Navy seals, Airborne Rangers, Green Berets, etc. and no one else. But thats just MY opinion.

[Jeffshadows]

When I hear the word "elite", I think of Navy seals, Airborne Rangers, Green Berets, etc. and no one else. But thats just MY opinion.

It's interesting that you draw that comparison; SEALs train as elite endurance athletes and consider themselves as such.

[writelots]

I'm pointing this out because I don't want people to harbor the false impression that backpackers are more advanced, dedicated, or experienced.

EEEk! I certainly didn't want to imply that at all with my comments - I don't remotely think that backpacking or backpackers are somehow "better" or more enlightened/stronger/sexier than dayhikers (well, okay, maybe the sexier thing). It's more that the folks who tend to be regularbackpackers tend to be good day hikers as well.

I'm certainly in awe of many of the hikers here, who can hike circles around me pack or no. I backpack beacuse I like sleeping outside and escaping the bustle for a few extra hours - not because I'm a stronger hiker who needs 30 extra lbs to make the trip worth while. Heck, if that was the case, I'd eat all the ice cream I wanted and pack the 30lbs on in a more compact, permanently attached manner!

[big_load]

I do think there's something to the idea that backpacking (or at least surviving it) requires a certain amount of logistical thinking that applies well to organized activities of any sort. On the other hand, it also attracts more crusty old hermits.

[Jeffshadows]

I'm just offering a different point of view for those who won't speak up for themselves. There are many who frequent this site.

[BobP]

Me last weekend: Backpackers are better.

Me 2 weekends ago: No their not.

me 3 weekends ago: Are too.

Okay that was lame. The opposite of this ---->

But I agree day hikers can make good backpackers and visa versa.

[azbackpackr]

Thanks for the link up the thread a ways. I started writing the following, without having noticed the extra page on the thread, so it may seem a bit of a non-sequiter:

I have solo backpacked, but not lately. I will almost certainly do it again sometime. However, I really do enjoy a little company in the evenings, whether sitting around a campfire or without one. I always bring a small paperback to read and a small notebook to write in, but that wears thin quickly if I am soloing.

I dayhike alone a lot, that has never been a problem. To me, dayhiking is not the same as backpacking at all. I can dayhike before work, after work, etc. It takes little or no planning and does not get me very excited. On the other hand, I get pretty excited when I step over the rim down a "new-to-me" trail in the Grand Canyon or into the Blue Primitive Area, etc. I love the feeling that I am not coming back to the car for a few days. That feeling, and a lot of other feelings that come up while backpacking are ones I just never do experience all that much while dayhiking.

[BobP]

7762PROFILEME.jpg (2.26 KiB) Viewed 883 times

Yeah the squirrel is back. WOOF.

[BobP]

Hey who was the wiseguy who changed my kopelli

[writelots]

Hey who was the wiseguy who changed my kopelli

Yeah, mine's different too... Someone's had some time on his hands

[big_load]

Yeah, mine's different too... Someone's had some time on his hands

So I see.

Too bad you can't zoom out on mine. I'm eating oatmeal out of a red plastic cup with a long-handled Ti spoon. I'm just trying to protect my food from the photographer, who has certain bear-like qualities.

[te_wa]

yeah, Alex your avatar does have that "come any closer and its a spork in the neck" like qualities