Backpacking Sucks: How To Keep Going

Рет қаралды 3,871

Күн бұрын

I was feeling a little uninspired the other day and in search of video ideas. My internet friend @enviromac suggested a video on why backpacking sucks, as a sort of reality check that often gets overlooked in the outdoor “content” space. It really resonated with me because, yeah, backpacking does suck sometimes. And while the challenges of backpacking are an integral part of what make it so rewarding, I think it’s refreshing to look at it this way - backpacking objectively sucks. It sucks so much actually, that this is going to be a series, because I couldn’t fit all the suckiness into one video.
Now, before you think this video is going to be completely doomsday and turn you off from backpacking forever, have no fear! While I agree that backpacking sucks, I also think that suckiness has taught me…a lot. So the goal of this series is to commiserate with fellow backpackers who get it, prep newcomers for the days that will make them want to quit, and share insights of how, over the years, I’ve found ways to make the sucky parts of backpacking suck a little bit less.
If you have sucky backpacking experiences to share, tips for making them suck less, or questions, please leave them in the comments!
I hope rather than deterring you, this objective look at the suckiness of backpacking will inspire you to keep going, even on the suckiest of days.
Shoutout to everyone who helped with this video with suggestions (IG handles)!
@ll_kool_jones, @brontebee, @katieb3th, @unapologeticallywild, @snowboardin1, @kellyhiking, @k80.trail, @kellyhiking, @enviromac)
Leave no trace principles: lnt.org/why/7-principles/
Blog version: www.eliseott.com/backpacking-...
Backpacking gear mentioned in this series that makes things suck less:
*These links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission when you use them to purchase, at no cost to you! Thank you for your support!
Sawyer Squeeze w/backflush: app.rockporch.com/prd/2kCWevRuRx
Sawyer Squeeze coupler for quick backflushing in town: amzn.to/3PxwfGl
Aquatabs | 0.16 oz. “consumable” bit.ly/42PnQUe
Sawyer Premethrin: app.rockporch.com/prd/2kCWevRuRx
Sawyer Picaridin: app.rockporch.com/prd/KlwmwTOpIW
Sea to Summit Bug Net | 0.7 oz. amzn.to/3wzMtbe
Benadryl: amzn.to/3PyavdE
Melatonin: amzn.to/3Tpktza
Baby Wipes: amzn.to/3Pw9Ed8

Пікірлер: 62

@Muffin1280 2 ай бұрын

I often think "I'd rather be hiking" but while hiking my wishes to do something else are no where as strong.

@HostileTakeover2 2 ай бұрын

It's a lot like fitness/running/working out. In the moment, "this sucks, this sucks..." but our brains somehow turn it into a positive memory. Those rose tinted glasses sure are pretty :D

@CastawayHikes 2 ай бұрын

Honestly I hate most direct aspects of the hike itself. I hike for catharsis; I am addicted to the headspace that I get in when hiking myself to exhaustion all day every day. I hate hiker food but I love how no meal is ever as absolutely delicious town food is on resupply days. I hate being filthy, sweaty and grimy but I love how bathing in a river or the first shower in town feels after days on trail. I hate missing people and feeling lonely but I love how close everyone on trail gets so quickly. I often hate hiking in the moment but afterward it immediately becomes an amazing experience and I gotta do it again 😂

@katiek2095 2 ай бұрын

Agreed! The richness of life lies in the contrasting experience. Abraham-Hicks helped me so much in understanding just how critical perspective is. 🙌🏼 Perspective shapes what happens next! So empowering!

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

I agree with so much of this!! Beautifully said

@CastawayHikes 2 ай бұрын

@eliseott Sauce if you want to use any of that, paraphrase or expand on that in the series I don't mind at all. I think thru-hiking is glamorized too much by well intentioned creators showing the highlights of their trip in hindsight and too many buy into that and jump into a thru-hike seeking a fun time without realistic expectations. In short, when people ask me how my hike was, my standard answer is, "Well, it isn't necessarily a fun experience, but it is an extremely profound one"

@Andy-Mesa 2 ай бұрын

I can remember, with astonishing emotionally crushing detail, more miles just before camp than 99% of the other miles I've done.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

It's the aching feet seared into our memories.

@heathervecchio6774 2 ай бұрын

Great video! Love the “this is temporary” mantra. Just starting your day and realizing your pack is uneven, something’s rolling in your bear can or something is bulging sucks!

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

OMG the starting your day with something poking you in the back!! It's the WORST! And always seems to take me a few tries before I get it put back right.

@swirlytwirl1089 2 ай бұрын

The thing that gets to me the most is indecision... and decision fatigue... or even just sticking to a decision...

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

This is so valid. As someone who also very much struggles with decision making, I hear you!

@SuperdutyExplorer 2 ай бұрын

First I'm a newbie backpacker not a Thur hiker* I haven't had to filter water yet, just melted snow or boiled stream water so far... I've slept good every night so far but one... I forgot my ear plugs and the tarp wall was so loud during a bad storm 😂 My favorite quote for hiking "embrace the suck"

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

All backpackers are welcome here!! Sounds like a rough night, those are the ones that teach us the most! Totally gotta embrace the suck if you wanna have fun!

@Get_Some_Nature 2 ай бұрын

Incense sticks are amazing at keeping biting insects away from you at camp. I carry lavender incense in the purple box from Walmart $1 !!! I use a Ziploc to keep them dry. Lighter and cheaper than any bug spray!!! Wave it inside your tent to get all the bugs out.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

Ooh interesting 🧐 I’d be a little nervous to have it lit in my tent but could be useful at camp for sure.

@josiebones1 2 ай бұрын

It's great to have a mantra to get you through hard times! Such a good reminder.

@eliseott Ай бұрын

wouldn't make it through without!

@HostileTakeover2 2 ай бұрын

I can work through the pain, can talk myself through the last mile, deal with the stink, suck up the cold and wet (usually). But skeeters are my bane; they love me too much. In the Ozarks I can get away with a mix of oils (citronella, lemongrass, cedar, etc.), but Canada's skeeters just consider it seasoning.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

I definitely see that they pick on some folks more than others!! And I have witnessed these Canadian skeeters you speak of and can attest to their visciousness. I still think rain gear / head net / picaridin / premethrin is a decent match for even Canadian skeeters though.

@danielsingh9415 2 ай бұрын

Use a full-on mesh bug shirt & pants, permethrin-treated clothing (tho not available in 🇨🇦), and Picardin repellant as long as ur not bushwhacking. When I took my city-girl wife camping, I picked up the Eureka! No-Bug-Zone CT-13 screened tarp, and it became our gear MVP, the one safe haven where we could take off our bug shirts to eat, cook & hang out. Our Canadian mosquitos were the worst I've ever experienced on that trip. Probably good that we didn't make it to our backcountry hike thru marshy areas to bury some of my Mom's ashes. Else I'd probably been killed by my wife LoLz 😂

@Get_Some_Nature 2 ай бұрын

If your foam earplugs hurt your ears by morning, cut a thin wedge length ways (long ways) out of the plug to reduce the diameter of the plug. Start with a small wedge and test if you wake without painful ears. You can always remove more foam until you don't have any pain but the earplugs still block noise.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

Great tip!!

@Josephhikes 2 ай бұрын

That’s so true , about the last mile of the day ! On the AT my Tramily would get one of our group that is a really good cook to talk about some of his favorite things to cook and the recipe . It would make the mile go by fast and we’d all be starving by the time we got to camp. Catch 22 was then you had to eat your ramen bomb or whatever. 😁

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

hahahah I don't know if I could handle that. I'd just be craving that meal the rest of the stretch.

@bbpablo11 2 ай бұрын

Love it. Enjoyed this segment!

@peterjohnson6273 2 ай бұрын

Entertaining video. Thanks. About feeling dried sweat on your back and not bringing soap, try bringing a plastic shower loofa. Tie cords to each 'end' so as to make scrubbing your back easy.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

oooh interesting! definitely would be useful in town!

@michaellundphotography 2 ай бұрын

Some thought =) Don’t filter water like everyone else… just put your sawyer filter on your dirty water bottle and just drink out of the filter directly. The only downside to this is you can’t gulp water quickly, but it’s fine lol. Some benefits of this are: your “clean” water bottles are never actually clean, it’s 99% clean but the longer that water sits before you drink it, is time for bacteria to grow. I saw someone drink out of her clean water bottle after a few days at a hotel… she instantly got sick… pretty sure that was because that minuscule amount of bacteria grew into a more serious problem. So when you drink it right out of the filter, there’s only like 1 second before it hits your stomach. Also there’s never the debate I hear on trail…”should we filter this water?” This causes a comical amount of mental anguish for some people lol. 100% of your water gets filtered this way so you don’t even have to think about that question. I’ve tried to convert people to this technique but most don’t take to it… they want to drink their water freely. They do look jealous when I get 4L of water from a creek in about 1 minute and just leave though LOL.

@dedgar6161 2 ай бұрын

Wait how big is ur dirty water container then 4L? If I'm thru hiking in the desert portion of the PCT i gotta have water for multiple miles and if I'm using a 1L smart water and attaching my sawyer i only have 1L of water for many miles... or u saying to make all water bottle "dirty water" lol

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

I think he's saying to just put the sawyer on to every bottle he drinks from

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

I do this occasionally but yeahhhhh I like to have free flowing water haha. I usually drink that within the same day so haven't had any problems (and I do try to wash my bottles out with soapy water in towns too). And I appreciate the break sometimes while filtering. But when I'm sick of squeezing (which I certainly get there) I will treat my water instead!

@JasonSnailer 2 ай бұрын

I always try and have a good attitude while hiking. I know this sounds elementary but my attitude is the only thing I can control, while hiking and in daily life. Can’t help the weather or the bugs or the tough climb but when I have the right attitude I can do it.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

no this is HUGE! Absolutely makes a WORLD of difference for me and I appreciate this perspective. Learning to laugh at the discomfort/embracing the suck as they say, has made many a trip much more fun.

@alexhart7125 2 ай бұрын

On point! 100%

@dajo2824 2 ай бұрын

Well this is honest. Great video.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

thank you!

@tamiboelter5491 2 ай бұрын

I need to hear the part about soap again...Biodegradable soap cannot be used in the backcountry?

@teddyhcuts 2 ай бұрын

do no use biodegradable soap in water sources and use them at least 200 ft away from water sources

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

You can, it just needs to be 200ft away from any water sources: lnt.org/the-skinny-on-soap/

@watch-Dominion-2018 2 ай бұрын

What's your technique for treating clothes with permethrin?

@JasonSnailer 2 ай бұрын

I just follow the directions on the bottle

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

Yeah as Jason said I also mostly just follow the directions as closely as possible. I spray everything I'll be wearing while backpacking (hiking clothes, hat, socks, sheos, base layers, even my underwear, beanies, etc.) and I always do it outside (preferably not on a windy day) with protection for my hands (if I don't have gloves I'll just use plastic bags).

@watch-Dominion-2018 2 ай бұрын

@@eliseott which product?

@danielsingh9415 2 ай бұрын

@@watch-Dominion-2018Sawyer's Permethrin, get at REi (usually means a roadtrip to Bellingham REi from Vancouver 🇨🇦 as they won't ship it to Canada - it's not allowed yet)

@PT_Hikes 2 ай бұрын

The suck must be embraced 😅

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

it's the only way

@dawnslight98 2 ай бұрын

Person: Why do you do this? Me: Ya know? I don't know. Person: Then stop? Me (In the middle of planning a trip): Mmmmmmm. No.

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

you get it.

@PT_Hikes 2 ай бұрын

😂😂😂

@danielsingh9415 2 ай бұрын

The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, except when ur in them, that's the suck. But just keep going until ur thru it, u can always bail later, just not yet 👍

@leowolf9258 2 ай бұрын

Hey Sauce : How about your music play, please

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

Do you mean what I listen to while on trail?

@leowolf9258 2 ай бұрын

@@eliseott Yes, your play list for hard times. I heard Hiking Dancer aka Roadrunner was going to be leaving soon for the PCT. Maybe you will see her.

@KrizAkoni 2 ай бұрын

Bugs suck…literally… 👊

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

BLOOD SUCKERS!

@GenX_outdoors 2 ай бұрын

I think backpacking in the desert sucks. It’s beautiful… except for all the freakin’ sand that gets into everything. Especially fine, red sand. It gets in your shoes, and tent, and hair, and everywhere. 😂

@eliseott 2 ай бұрын

the sand and everything wants to poke and scratch you and pop your sleeping pad