Hiking, Backpacking, and Camping defined??? [Archive]

JumpMaster Blaster

07-16-2014, 20:25

Don't know if this has been addressed yet, but...

What are the definitions of hiking, backpacking, and camping? What are the differences?

My thoughts-

Hiking= going out for a day, walking a trail, speed immaterial, carrying minimal gear (maybe 1 or 2 meals & water), with the goal of going back home or to a basecamp at day's end. Extremely light loads.

Camping= (includes "car camping", tailgate party camping, maybe even RV "camping/glamping")- sleeping outside in the elements in any type of tent/tarp/hammock/bivy or structure not meant for permanent shelter & residence; where the majority of the travel distance from your starting (or dismount) point to your sleeping site is NOT by foot or pack animal. Usually very heavy loads you just unpack from a truck or car, etc.

BACKpacking= what most of us do. Leaving home, going to a trailhead, and carrying all your food & water & shelter on your BACK, for miles & miles & miles, setting up camp with everything you need for multiple days. Pretty much being self-sufficient without the ability to just hop in your car & run into town for supplies.

Does section hiking (or thru hiking) the AT whilst relying SOLELY on shelters fit this loose definition? Who knows?

I've come to describe "section hiking or thru hiking" on the AT as "backpacking". I felt the need to do this so my friends/family/coworkers actually realize I'm not just driving my truck to a campsite with a case of beer, a 7 pound tent, and a 2 burner stove when I go out.

To me BACKpacking means I'm carrying everything I need (for at least a few days) with me on my BACK.

What say you?

Lone Wolf

07-16-2014, 20:43

To me BACKpacking means I'm carrying everything I need (for at least a few days) with me on my BACK.

What say you?thru hikers are just section hikers who have time and money to go walk for 3-7 months. every 3-6 days they go to a town, hang out for a day or 3 then go walkin' but they love to tell locals how tough they're havin' it on their vacation :cool:

sympathetic joy

07-16-2014, 21:14

For me:

Hiking is walking off the beaten/paved path.

Backpacking is hiking with a pack.

Camping is setting up a 'place' to reside for a short time that is outdoors. Whether it is in the woods or your backyard.

fiddlehead

07-16-2014, 21:15

To most people in the rest of the world, "backpackers" refer to people who travel with a backpack instead of a suitcase.
They tend to be just out of college (generally) and travelling the world, often with an "around the world" airline ticket.
They read books like the "Lonely Planet" guides to traveling, stay in the same places (cheap) and eat at the same restaurants (again cheap is popular as they are on a budget)

I usually refer to what we, thru-hikers do as "long distance trekking" when talking to them or other world travelers.

Camping to me means sleeping out in a tent or even RV of some kind. (or just under the stars)

Hiking is walking in the woods, desert, or jungle. Hopefully in wilderness when we can.

Feral Bill

07-16-2014, 21:23

If you are sleeping outside, as under the stars or a tarp, or in a tent, you are definitely camping. In a fully enclosed box, like a cabin or RV, you are not. In an open trail shelter, opinions vary.

winger

07-16-2014, 22:07

Hiking is walking.
Backpacking is hiking with a load.
Camping is neither.

Sarcasm the elf

07-16-2014, 22:11

Hiking is just walking where it's okay to pee. Sometimes old people go hiking by accident. - Demetri Martin

The Ace

07-16-2014, 22:18

Is there a manual of definitions that I need to carry so next time I am out I can look up what I think I am doing and make sure that I am in compliance?

CELTIC BUCK

07-16-2014, 22:23

really??? does everything need to narrowed down ?

Sarcasm the elf

07-16-2014, 22:25

really??? does everything need to narrowed down ?

Well this IS the internet! :eek:

The Ace

07-16-2014, 22:35

Well this IS the internet! :eek:

Yep, where else you gonna learn the best way to exit your tent?

Sarcasm the elf

07-16-2014, 22:42

Yep, where else you gonna learn the best way to exit your tent?

Say what you will, I give that thread points for originality.

kayak karl

07-16-2014, 22:54

some camp to hike. others hike to camp. both may carry backpacks.

rocketsocks

07-16-2014, 23:04

Is there a manual of definitions that I need to carry so next time I am out I can look up what I think I am doing and make sure that I am in compliance?
just log-in here, we'll let ya know if your doin' it right. :D even if were wrong.

JumpMaster Blaster

07-16-2014, 23:14

Ahh, a simple discussion on the subtle nuamces of "backpacking" vs "hiking" vs "camping". I started th thread because I have friends that can't (or won't) differentiate bewtween the 3. They SAY they want to go "hiking" on the AT with me, but I don't think they REALLY know what they're asking for, so I want to explain the differences to them (so they don't get surprised when I expect them to HUMP thier gear 10-40 miles in).

Mags

07-17-2014, 00:32

Hiking is just walking where it's okay to pee. Sometimes old people go hiking by accident. - Demetri Martin

Love it! :)

OCDave

07-17-2014, 01:11

I play "catch" with my sons. The throwing is assumed.

If we go for a "hike" the backpacking and camping is assumed.

RangerZ

07-17-2014, 06:36

I make a walking/hiking distinction, hiking gets you somewhere, walking doesn't. I walked 40 miles over the 4 July weekend but ended up at the same place, home, all three nights.

russb

07-17-2014, 07:12

I make a walking/hiking distinction, hiking gets you somewhere, walking doesn't. I walked 40 miles over the 4 July weekend but ended up at the same place, home, all three nights.

Fascinating. I think of it as the opposite. For me walking is the destination, while hiking is the journey. When I walk to the store, I will take the shortest distance as getting to the store is the purpose. I may go to a park and hike around the lake to enjoy the scenery and the time in the out of doors.

To the OPs question. One can hike without camping, and one can camp without hiking, but one cannot backpack without both camping and hiking.

slbirdnerd

07-17-2014, 08:18

I don't feel the need to define it.

garlic08

07-17-2014, 08:34

I once met a fellow "backpacker" after my first long distance trek, the PCT. She was skeptical of the mileage I'd claimed to have done, somewhere in the range of 20 miles per day average, with some 30s thrown in there. Traditional backpackers just don't hike that kind of mileage, so I must have cheated. When I explained how I'd partly accomplished it by lightening the load, carrying bare-bones camping equipment, even to the point of not carrying a stove, she exclaimed, "Well, that's not backpacking then." Exactly, I thought. I realized I'd discovered a new activity, and really enjoyed it.

Pedaling Fool

07-17-2014, 08:35

How does treking fit into all this...:confused:

Rain Man

07-17-2014, 09:50

Camping= (includes "car camping", tailgate party camping, maybe even RV "camping/glamping")-

Just to ask: Do you want to add kayaking to the list of transportation methods to a campsite? :)

Some weird folks even bicycle and camp. Something I've not done (yet). :)

Rain:sunMan

.

Sarcasm the elf

07-17-2014, 09:58

lemon b

07-17-2014, 12:06

Camping for me is when I have a car. Backpacking and hiking. Six of one half Dozen of the other. Both are walking. In the back country I usually have some sort of gear.

Airborne... wouldn't waste too much time thinking on this one.

Wülfgang

07-17-2014, 13:16

thru hikers are just section hikers who have time and money to go walk for 3-7 months. every 3-6 days they go to a town, hang out for a day or 3 then go walkin' but they love to tell locals how tough they're havin' it on their vacation :cool:

hahaha yes!!

russb

07-17-2014, 13:23

Back when I was in boyscouts We were told that your packweight should be around 40% of your bodyweight. And that was using an old High Adventure brand external frame pack! Now that was backpacking!

Yeah, for some reason the adults over time tried to weigh us down more. But even fifty years ago the recommendation was still 20% of body weight. In my 1967 BSA fieldbook pg 264 "...keep the total weight of your pack down to about a fifth your total body weight..."

Another Kevin

07-17-2014, 13:35

some camp to hike. others hike to camp. both may carry backpacks.

Hmm, which am I? Neither, I think. I like to see more-or-less natural places that I've never been to. Some of them are off-road so I hike to them. Some of them are farther off-road than I want to do in a day, or are clustered in such a way that I want to spend multiple days visiting them, so my backpack comes along for the ride. (Some of them are even along the A-T, so I hang around here.)

And I harbor the secret vice of photography.

So what I am is neither hiker nor camper, but actually tourist, peakbagger, clueless weekender. The sort of person this site loves to disparage, in other words. :)

Another Kevin

07-17-2014, 13:52

Yeah, for some reason the adults over time tried to weigh us down more. But even fifty years ago the recommendation was still 20% of body weight. In my 1967 BSA fieldbook pg 264 "...keep the total weight of your pack down to about a fifth your total body weight..."

Back when I was a Scout leader, I recall arguing with a lot of mommies about pack weight - doing a pre-trip inspection and sending half the gear home. "But Johnny might NEED that! You have no concern for his SAFETY!" "Ma'am, he will be a lot safer with a manageable pack load." When you combine that with leaders who equate insane pack loads with manliness, you get a lot of weird stuff coming along on the trail. I drew a pretty hard line in that department, because otherwise I'd wind up having to lug some kid's surplus gear, and I surely didn't want to do that. Not even to prove manliness. OK, so call me a wimp.

Sarcasm the elf

07-17-2014, 14:28

Back when I was a Scout leader, I recall arguing with a lot of mommies about pack weight - doing a pre-trip inspection and sending half the gear home. "But Johnny might NEED that! You have no concern for his SAFETY!" "Ma'am, he will be a lot safer with a manageable pack load." When you combine that with leaders who equate insane pack loads with manliness, you get a lot of weird stuff coming along on the trail. I drew a pretty hard line in that department, because otherwise I'd wind up having to lug some kid's surplus gear, and I surely didn't want to do that. Not even to prove manliness. OK, so call me a wimp.
But Kevin, my son NEEDS his cast iron skillet and backpacking cello! I'm sure he'll be able to carry it all himself!:eek:

rocketsocks

07-17-2014, 14:41

Hmm, which am I? Neither, I think. I like to see more-or-less natural places that I've never been to. Some of them are off-road so I hike to them. Some of them are farther off-road than I want to do in a day, or are clustered in such a way that I want to spend multiple days visiting them, so my backpack comes along for the ride. (Some of them are even along the A-T, so I hang around here.)

And I harbor the secret vice of photography.

So what I am is neither hiker nor camper, but actually tourist, peakbagger, clueless weekender. The sort of person this site loves to disparage, in other words. :)That word always sounded like a Soup to me.

Nothin' like a good bowl of disparage.

rocketsocks

07-17-2014, 14:43

Just to ask: Do you want to add kayaking to the list of transportation methods to a campsite? :)

Some weird folks even bicycle and camp. Something I've not done (yet). :)

Rain:sunMan

.I want to do both of those, Patman posted a real nice video last week of him in his little inflatable packable yak, while on a hike...awesome!

Coffee

07-17-2014, 14:49

I like to walk and do not particularly like spending hours and hours (to say nothing of days) in camp. So backpacking with most waking hours spent walking is what I like best. There have been times when I've liked camping in one spot for a few days but for some reason lately I like to keep moving. There isn't really any need to have definitions and ultimately one person's recreational preference need not match anyone else's preference. And yes, as seriously as backpacking is treated in some places online it is just a recreational activity.

russb

07-17-2014, 15:08

Back when I was a Scout leader, I recall arguing with a lot of mommies about pack weight - doing a pre-trip inspection and sending half the gear home. "But Johnny might NEED that! You have no concern for his SAFETY!" "Ma'am, he will be a lot safer with a manageable pack load." When you combine that with leaders who equate insane pack loads with manliness, you get a lot of weird stuff coming along on the trail. I drew a pretty hard line in that department, because otherwise I'd wind up having to lug some kid's surplus gear, and I surely didn't want to do that. Not even to prove manliness. OK, so call me a wimp.

LOL. I remember those types of stories as well. I recall one time a scout was going into his pack to get something and pulled out an extra lantern battery and said "oh, my mom packed it in case I needed it". His patrol leader then said, "yeah, but your mom doesn't have to carry it now does she."

gregpphoto

07-17-2014, 16:49

Hiking and camping are just synonyms for walking and sleeping.

JumpMaster Blaster

07-17-2014, 20:54

Ok, some of you think I'm losing sleep trying to "categorize" this. I'm not.

I have a preconceived notion of what each activity is, because what I bring to go camping, I don't bring for backpacking, so when a freind wants to tag along, I need to tell them that they will be humping everything they bring & not relying on any other means of transportation other than their feet.

I could just use the Army definition where everything is a ruckmarch, and you're carrying way too many items that are way too heavy anyway. Better?

Wise Old Owl

07-17-2014, 21:15

JumpMaster Blaster My dad would wonder about the hiking part as you left out that every hike would end up at Happy Hour... just sharing....

The Ace

07-17-2014, 21:51

I need to tell them that they will be humping everything they bring & not relying on any other means of transportation other than their feet.

Well, why can’t you just tell your friends this instead of developing all of these formal, discrete definitions? Or are your friends attorneys?

rocketsocks

07-17-2014, 21:56

It's just postin'

JumpMaster Blaster

07-18-2014, 19:03

Dude, let it go. If you don't like it, change the channel. Friendly discussion is what the forum is about.

Okay yeah, they're attorneys. Happy?

rocketsocks

07-18-2014, 20:13

Dude, let it go. If you don't like it, change the channel. Friendly discussion is what the forum is about.

Okay yeah, they're attorneys. Happy?ha ha, perfect...do they hike?

Wise Old Owl

07-18-2014, 21:11

Haven't seen an Attorney hike..Most of them are possibly trail runners and love to lie... chasing the money trail...

Please don't PM me if cant find the damn humor in this... yea its dry so dry very dry... omg dry.... my hiking socks just rolled up an inch!

would you like a hashtag or smile to make folks feel better? :sunthat's the ticket! Yes Owls do stand up... late at night!

The Ace

07-18-2014, 21:27

ha ha, perfect...do they hike?

It depends on what the meaning of hike is.

The Ace

07-18-2014, 21:29

Haven't seen an Attorney hike..Most of them are possibly trail runners and love to lie... chasing the money trail...

It's just lyin'.

July

07-18-2014, 21:34

Aye memories... Back in the late 90's bunch went to the Smokie's to hike. Based out of Elkmont, (dropped off) after spending the night hit the approach to the ridgeline. Stopped just shy of the ridge (AT)n for first nights bivouac. Hit the AT bright eyed and bushy tailed first thing the next morning. It was late March and hit AT, beautiful patches of wildflowers, interspersed with snow. End of the day was the nights shelter. Heres the kick... later in the evening 3 lawyers show up (Atlanta) and have hiked all day long to reach the ridge line. They were completely beaten and worn, carrying the latest high dollar gear. They informed all of us there, that they had ,had,enough. They were going back home tommorrow, if anyone wished to purchase any gear from them, you could basically get it for free. I guess they had not hiked before?

lemon b

07-19-2014, 10:16

Jumpmaster. If my last sentence was caused by a broken head to keyboard filter. I'll give ya ten and than" beat my boots with a full pack" and we move forward as brothers.

RangerZ

07-19-2014, 12:21

Jumpmaster. If my last sentence was caused by a broken head to keyboard filter. I'll give ya ten and than" beat my boots with a full pack" and we move forward as brothers.

Ten and "... one for the Airborne, one for the Rangers and one for the Engineers". I haven't thought about beating my boots in years.

rocketsocks

07-19-2014, 13:05

Haven't seen an Attorney hike..Most of them are possibly trail runners and love to lie... chasing the money trail...

Please don't PM me if cant find the damn humor in this... yea its dry so dry very dry... omg dry.... my hiking socks just rolled up an inch!

would you like a hashtag or smile to make folks feel better? that's the ticket! Yes Owls do stand up... late at night!
often I ask myself "how did we get here" socks pulled up above the drum sticks on a sleep deprived owl who may need a criminal lawyer one day. :sun stole your sun.

JumpMaster Blaster

07-19-2014, 20:13

Jumpmaster. If my last sentence was caused by a broken head to keyboard filter. I'll give ya ten and than" beat my boots with a full pack" and we move forward as brothers.

Or brother & sister *wink*.

Airborne!

illabelle

07-19-2014, 21:23

From my dad's old 1947 edition of Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:
Hike: To move with a swing, toss, jerk, or the like. To march laboriously; hitch. To walk or tramp.
Camp: (n) The ground on which tents, huts, etc are erected for shelter. (v) To pitch or prepare a camp.
Backpack: word not listed.

Therefore, since Mr Webster is a highly respected authority on word definitions, I must conclude that there is no such thing as backpacking, there are no people who backpack, and obviously none of you people are real.

Venchka

07-20-2014, 01:27

You can't prove a thing. I was never here.

Where exactly does "trekking" fit in? Why does "trekker" or "trekking" require specialized gear? Hey.

Wayne

Sent from somewhere around here.

rocketsocks

07-20-2014, 05:35

I make a walking/hiking distinction, hiking gets you somewhere, walking doesn't. I walked 40 miles over the 4 July weekend but ended up at the same place, home, all three nights.
That's an interesting observation.

...Sometimes I take a walk and end up trekking across town to go get a cup of coffee with a full load in my backpack in preparation for an up coming camping trip where I expect to do some day hiking Thru different sections of the AT for the weekend, inevitable I tire and take the train back sometimes, or just yellow blaze it...but I never blue blaze it home cause there's no trail to my house :)

illabelle

07-20-2014, 05:40

You can't prove a thing. I was never here.

Where exactly does "trekking" fit in? Why does "trekker" or "trekking" require specialized gear? Hey.

Wayne

Sent from somewhere around here.

Trek: To travel by ox wagon. A migration, esp of a group in wagons, to a new home. Loosely, a journey.
Per Webster, the only specialized gear associated with trekking is an ox wagon.

rocketsocks

07-20-2014, 05:45

Trek: To travel by ox wagon. A migration, esp of a group in wagons, to a new home. Loosely, a journey.
Per Webster, the only specialized gear associated with trekking is an ox wagon.
I dunno...maybe we should take a pole :D

rocketsocks

07-20-2014, 05:47

That's an interesting observation.

...Sometimes I take a walk and end up trekking across town to go get a cup of coffee with a full load in my backpack in preparation for an up coming camping trip where I expect to do some day hiking Thru different sections of the AT for the weekend, inevitable I tire and take the train back sometimes, or just yellow blaze it...but I never blue blaze it home cause there's no trail to my house :)
Sorry, forgot to say...Truth.

Wülfgang

07-20-2014, 11:54

I think most backpackers fall into a spectrum: Ultimate hikers and Ultimate campers being the two extremes. Most are somewhere in the middle.

The hikers tend to like walking and constant forward progress more, while the campers, obviously, enjoy spending time in camp or time doing non-hiking related activities like fishing, etc.

Neither is wrong, but both do require a different approach to how you use your daylight hours, gear choices, even fitness. By definition I think most people attempting (and certainly completing) a long-distance thru-hike are more like Ultimate hikers.

kayak karl

07-20-2014, 16:30

end up trekking across town Define Trekking !

BuckeyeBill

07-20-2014, 16:42

Define Trekking !

A trek is a long, adventurous journey undertaken on foot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking) in areas where common means of transport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport) are generally not available. Trekking should not be confused with mountaineering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaineering). In North America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America) the equivalent is backpacking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpacking_%28wilderness%29).

Backpacking is generally an extended journey or walk with a backpack.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpacking_%28wilderness%29#cite_note-1) However, for North American hikers it more frequently describes a multi-day hike that involves camping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camping), though occasionally it may involve the use of simple shelters or mountain huts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_hut).

Camping is an outdoor recreational (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreation) activity. The participants (known as campers) leave urban areas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area), their home region, or civilization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization) and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsite). Camping may involve the use of a tent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent), caravan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_trailer), motorhome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorhome), a primitive structure, sporting camp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_camp) or no shelter at all.