I went into Desolation Wilderness this past weekend with some friends with whom I help teach Sierra Club backpacking class offered by Loma Prieta chapter. I love backpacking and this time was no different. This was one of the longer trips I have done while backpacking: 4 days and 3 nights.

I find backpacking attractive for several reasons. First of all, it forces me to focus on bare essentials: what I need for the trip and really take only those things. I can take more, but I pay for it in tiredness every step of the way. It is very unlike buying things from store without needing them and having no repercussions for it.

Second, backpacking helps me feel grateful for the comforts of life that we take for granted in the civilized world. Hot showers anybody? A sit down meal in a restaurant without needing to do anything for it (sure you pay money for it, but that is also a convenience and tool devised by the society). Without needing to go on an ordeal just to poop (yes, I know, too much information). 🙂

And lastly, I love the long walks, and camaraderie that forms in small groups by being undistracted by the wonders of the modern world, like cellphones and other gadgets. There is a depth of connection that comes from kind-of-forced-to-be-with-one-another with people you want to hang out with anyway. I can think of one another way for that to happen: road trips. (But that is a topic of another post.)

For me, what comes with the territory of backpacking is the desire and opportunity to learn about surviving and thriving with minimal possessions. You want to carry necessities with you on the trip, but not so many that you come back with a broken back from a heavy backpack. In the words of an instructor: “Knowledge is the lightest gear you will ever have”. If you are resourceful about things, that is the most useful skills in backpacking in my opinion.

I recorded a small video about “rules of 4” that talks more about hiking than backpacking, but it helps to talk about to focus on while packing. Some things are counter-intuitive here. For example, we tend to worry about snacks and food a lot while packing, but clothing and water are much more important to consider.

Oh, and before I bring this post to a close, let me tell you where we went. We did the backpacking in Desolation Wilderness, just west of Lake Tahoe, part of Eldorado National Forest.

We started from Meek’s Bay Trailhead, hiked to Stony Ridge Lake for the first night. Second day, we hiked to Lower Velma lake, and hiked Phipps Peak on the way. Third day, we hiked to Half Moon lake. And we ended up on the fourth day Glen Alpine trailhead next to Lily Lake. (I would love to include a map of this trip, but I am trying to figure out how to.) This was one the first backpacking trip where weather was generously warm enough that I dipped in lakes or waterfalls every day. The waterfall next to Lower Velma Lake was the second best I have ever been under, after Hanakāpī‘ai Falls in Kauai.

Have you done backpacking? Do you like backpacking? Do you like any of the interesting features that come from doing backpacking? What keeps you from doing it?