What Do I Do When I Backpack?

Thoughtful. A lot of people I talk to about my travels all seem to have the same impression of my backpacking trips: I hike and hike and hike for miles until the sun sets and I pitch my tent where I stand. Fortunately for me, it's not quite like that. There has only been one overnight where we hiked until the sun went down and set up in the dark (sorry, Torrey!) and that was only because we had to wait for thunderstorms to clear off before we set out, and it was close to sunset when we started anyway.

The reality is, I've usually got a lot of down-time. On my backpacking adventure at South Llano River State Park, for example, yes Callie and I hiked for a few hours before heading to our campsite, but we still had several hours before sunset once we got there. What to do with that time? I always bring something to read, no matter where I go. It could be a magazine, or a novel, or a guide book, or maybe even a publication about the particular park I happen to be at. It could be anything.

I also always bring something to write in. I journal about all of my travels, so my journal is always in a pocket of my pack. I also tend to write my blog posts while on a trip, so I bring a notebook and at least two pens as well. This post is being hand written while sitting at a backcountry site in Copper Breaks State Park, and when I  go home I'll type it out (obviously) and post later. I used to write a lot of fiction as well, but I've focused more on my journaling lately. Occasionally I'll write a few lines of a story or poetry, but that doesn't happen often.

Of course, there's the simple fact that I'm out in nature and love photography, so I always take a ton of pictures. I'll come back from a weekend trip with a couple hundred photos to sort through. If Callie went with me, the majority of the pictures feature her. If not, you'll probably see mostly landscape vistas with a few selections of the local wildlife thrown in. If I have a human companion, they feature heavily in pictures too!

With the risk of sounding like a hipster hippy I have to admit that I really like just watching and listening to what is going on around me. Even while writing I catch myself looking up at a rustle of grass or the sway of a branch and just get lost in what my senses are telling me. I especially love the noises right as the sun dies, when the coyotes start to yip and howl and the night birds wake up to sing their songs. Crickets lull me to sleep, as does the breeze whispering through the trees. If I'm on the beach, I match my breathing to the rhythmic beat of the waves. The further removed from other people, the deeper I am in the backcountry, the louder the noises of nature become and the more I hear them.

I love watching the little birds flit between brances as they twitter away at each other. Following the squirrels as they bounce among the trees is a favorite pasttime. Tracking movements in the grasses as something scurries around always intrigues me, though I know if I were to get close enough to investigate, whatever was rustling around would be long gone. I got lucky at South Llano River State Park and observed an armadillo rooting around in the vegetation not far beyond my campsite, as I sat there watching the world go by, and a little hummingbird hovered in front of me, checking to see if I was a tasty treat before moving on.

Unless I stay up to see the stars, I go to bed with the sun and sleep soundly through the night. Night noises don't bother me, and I only sleep fitfully if there's a chance of rain and my fly is off. I wake up as the sky begins to brighten, enjoying the stillness that comes with dawn. Really though, dawn is still. Not quite silent, night birds are bedding down and day birds are waking up, but things just seem more muted at dawn. Even the sea breeze slows, though never goes away.

So what do I do when I backpack? I read, I write. I'll talk to my companion if I have one of course, but the people I travel with inherently know we're out there to enjoy just being present. Photography is a must, and so is watching the world around us. Taking it all in and just being there is what it's all about.