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Poll: Is the interest in backpacking and camping really fading?

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  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Starchild View Post
    As I see it, it is evolving back to what it once was and increasing in this new way, not decreasing. Old style backpacking going down, new style (which really is the old old style) going way up.

    There is a wonderful convergence happening with technology, people (society) and nature, this was our ancient and sacred connection with Mother Earth that is being reformed and reintroduced. We didn't live isolated from nature, or each other, we were part of both and our technology (tools and toys) we had with us.

    The old backpacking trend has historically been for people to come into nature to get away from society and this form of escape from society and technology and has been handed down generation to generation through hiking clubs and others who ventured out. For many decades this was the main intro one had to nature.
    The number has been proportionally very low and recently the hiking clubs failed reaching the next generation. Thus the old way is losing numbers, but for people who need to escape this style will never die out, there will always be those people who chose this type of experience, just it will no longer be the norm.

    The new trend is that society is coming back into nature in huge numbers, not to escape life, but to live with it, to include nature as part of their normal lives, as we also include technology as part of our normal lives, and to have them blend synergisticly. The internet and the convergence of technology (smartphone), and much lighter and more comfortable hiking and backpacking gear has opened up the wilds for the 'children of the earth' (all of us) to come and play and they are coming, and mother nature welcomes her children back.

    The greater use of the internet and social media, along with the growth of interest in books and movies will hit a critical mass, if it has not already, where this trend will be self sustaining, the draw of people to nature will be the shear numbers of people already drawn, and sharing their experiences and lives with others.

    With the different type of experience sought between the new and old groups, a different style of backpacking is to be expected. Backpacking may involve more travel through towns along the way, not seek out places of solitude but where they can find like minded people at powerful places of great beauty.
    This is a very strange post even though I think I get the gist of it. It is mind-blowingly optimistic and almost expressed in covert terms especially paragraph 4---who knows what you're talking about??---although you almost explain it in paragraph 6 with your "backpacking may involve more travel through towns . . "---a very depressing trend in my opinion.

    Your quote: "The internet and the convergence of technology . . . has opened up the wilds for the 'children of the earth (all of us) to come and play and they are coming, and mother nature welcomes her children back." All I can think of is this quote from Edward Abbey---

    "Once upon a time there was a continent covered with beautiful pristine wilderness, where giant trees towered over lush mountainsides and rivers ran wild and free through deserts, where raptors soared and beavers labored at their pursuits and people lived in harmony with wild nature, accomplishing every task they needed to accomplish on a dailv basis using only stones, bones and wood, walking gently on the Earth. Then came the explorers, conquerors, missionaries, soldiers, merchants and immigrants with their advanced technology, guns, and government. The wild life that had existed for millennia started dying, killed by a disease brought by alien versions of progress, arrogant visions of manifest destiny and a runaway utilitarian science.



    "In just 500 years, almost all the giant trees have been clear-cut and chemicals now poison the rivers; the eagle has faced extinction and the beaver's work has been supplanted by the Army Corps of Engineers. And how have the people fared? What one concludes is most likely dependent on how well one is faring economically, emotionally and physically in this competitive technological world and the level of privilege one is afforded by the system. But for those who feel a deep connection to, a love and longing for, the wilderness and the wildness that once was, for the millions now crowded in cities, poor and oppressed, unable to find a clear target for their rage because the system is virtually omnipotent, these people are not faring well. All around us, as a result of human greed and a lack of respect for all life, wild nature and Mother Earth’s creatures are suffering. These beings are the victims of industrial society.



    "Cutting the bloody cord, that’s what we feel, the delirious exhilaration of independence, a rebirth backward in time and into primeval liberty, into freedom in the most simple, literal, primitive meaning of the word, the only meaning that really counts. The freedom, for example, to commit murder and get away with it scot-free, with no other burden than the jaunty halo of conscience.
    "My God! I’m thinking, what incredible **** we put up with most of our lives--the domestic routine, the stupid and useless and degrading jobs, the insufferable arrogance of elected officials, the crafty cheating and the slimy advertising of the businessmen, the tedious wars in which we kill our buddies instead of our real enemies back home in the capital, the foul, diseased and hideous cities and towns we live in, the constant petty tyranny of the automatic washers, the automobiles and TV machines and telephones-! ah Christ!,... what intolerable garbage and what utterly useless crap we bury ourselves in day by day, while patiently enduring at the same time the creeping strangulation of the clean white collar and the rich but modest four-in-hand garrote!



    "Such are my thoughts—you wouldn’t call them thoughts would you?—such are my feelings, a mixture of revulsion and delight, as we float away on the river, leaving behind for a while all that we most heartily and joyfully detest. That’s what the first taste of the wild does to a man, after having been penned up for too long in the city. No wonder the Authorities are so anxious to smother the wilderness under asphalt and reservoirs. They know what they are doing. Play safe. Ski only in a clockwise direction. Let’s all have fun together."
    --Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire, 1968

    I believe Abbey shows the real interface between wilderness and human technology, and not some revisionist idea of more Americans somehow "synergistically" combining the glories of technology with the glories of nature and wilderness. Unless you want backpackers to stay glued to their GPS devices and screens and phones 24-7 or to fly personal drones for that special gopro nature moment or to twitter out their exact locations hourly. The last forest will fall to make the next silicone chip factory.

    Not to go on a Ted Kaczynski rant, but technology is ruining the Southeast wilderness areas where I backpack and nothing but a drastic change will help. The air pollution in the Great Smoggy Mountains National Park is worse than the city of LA. Nonstop overhead jet traffic from the airports of Atlanta and Knoxville and Chattanooga and Asheville kill the silence of the original forest. Screaming racing motorcyclists ruin the mountain stillness with their muffler-less harleys. ATVs want to invade the mountain trails and will do so unless stopped.

    I see no trend of this getting better. In fact, by 2050 the US will have around 440 million people---not a good number for wilderness areas. Heck, the Grand Canyon already has around 60,000 tourist helicopter flights yearly. Talk about noise pollution.

    Phew, sorry for this early morning RANT.

  2. #22
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    I hope this isn't thread drift, but I think bike packing is growing fast. That type of backcountry travel would not show up in sales of traditional backpacking gear. Those folks use pretty much custom-made frame packs and the lightest in cottage-industry gear, and are doing some pretty impressive trips. I saw quite a few on the popular CT. I've met some young men and women on trail-work days and that's all they talk about. By the way, for the greatest part, I've found they are very fine people to share the trail with, and have contributed fairly well to trail construction and maintenance.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

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    Quote Originally Posted by garlic08 View Post
    I hope this isn't thread drift, but I think bike packing is growing fast. That type of backcountry travel would not show up in sales of traditional backpacking gear. Those folks use pretty much custom-made frame packs and the lightest in cottage-industry gear, and are doing some pretty impressive trips. I saw quite a few on the popular CT. I've met some young men and women on trail-work days and that's all they talk about. By the way, for the greatest part, I've found they are very fine people to share the trail with, and have contributed fairly well to trail construction and maintenance.
    This is absolutely true. I'm looking into doing the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMTR) next summer. It's a pretty cool idea of doing a 2800 mile "thru bike" in 2 months or less.... much less time away from home. If you already have a good UL backpacking skills and setup, much of it translates over to bike packing pretty well.
    Last edited by SteelCut; 08-14-2015 at 09:55.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Majortrauma View Post
    If what I saw in Dolly Sods and SNP the past month is any indication backpacking is not dieing off. Lots of backpackers, not day hikers.
    In the past few years, Dolly Sods has turned from a nice, isolated backpacking trip, to almost a freeway full of backpackers. Saw more people there backpacking than I do in Grayson Highlands!

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by garlic08 View Post
    I hope this isn't thread drift, but I think bike packing is growing fast. That type of backcountry travel would not show up in sales of traditional backpacking gear. Those folks use pretty much custom-made frame packs and the lightest in cottage-industry gear, and are doing some pretty impressive trips. I saw quite a few on the popular CT. I've met some young men and women on trail-work days and that's all they talk about. By the way, for the greatest part, I've found they are very fine people to share the trail with, and have contributed fairly well to trail construction and maintenance.
    Been getting more into this too, but for a different reason... There are pretty places in illinois but not much "infrastructure" from the standpoint of safe water sources and legal places to camp. It's a bit of a mileage issue really. There are places within state parks to hike, but stringing much more than 15 miles together within a park makes it tough. On the flipside is the 500 mile Grand Illinois Trail, mileage is there in the form of rail to trail style travel but it's meant for bikers, not backpackers.

    There are 30+ mile water carries and some creative camping required on most of the trail. In the chicagoland area of the trail- the only safe water sources are typically at a gas station or other business because of pollution. Also, unless you're capable of 30+ mile days, most of the trail is fairly inaccessible for most folks.

    Bike packing is proving to be a good solution to the "blank" miles of the trail, as well as making large portions of the trail more enjoyable for a wider audience.

    I think if that big prairie trail they are looking at will work out west some type of bikepacking options would put it in reach. Much like my local trails- while the prairie or farmland does have it's charm... walking through a cornfield for 20-30 miles just to link a section and pass through the next state park gets old fast. Hoping on the bike has helped renew my interest in the local trails for sure. For now, I just wear my regular pack.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    This is a very strange post even though I think I get the gist of it. It is mind-blowingly optimistic and almost expressed in covert terms especially paragraph 4---who knows what you're talking about??---although you almost explain it in paragraph 6 with your "backpacking may involve more travel through towns . . "---a very depressing trend in my opinion.

    Your quote: "The internet and the convergence of technology . . . has opened up the wilds for the 'children of the earth (all of us) to come and play and they are coming, and mother nature welcomes her children back." All I can think of is this quote from Edward Abbey---

    "Once upon a time there was a continent covered with beautiful pristine wilderness, where giant trees towered over lush mountainsides and rivers ran wild and free through deserts, where raptors soared and beavers labored at their pursuits and people lived in harmony with wild nature, accomplishing every task they needed to accomplish on a dailv basis using only stones, bones and wood, walking gently on the Earth. Then came the explorers, conquerors, missionaries, soldiers, merchants and immigrants with their advanced technology, guns, and government. The wild life that had existed for millennia started dying, killed by a disease brought by alien versions of progress, arrogant visions of manifest destiny and a runaway utilitarian science.



    "In just 500 years, almost all the giant trees have been clear-cut and chemicals now poison the rivers; the eagle has faced extinction and the beaver's work has been supplanted by the Army Corps of Engineers. And how have the people fared? What one concludes is most likely dependent on how well one is faring economically, emotionally and physically in this competitive technological world and the level of privilege one is afforded by the system. But for those who feel a deep connection to, a love and longing for, the wilderness and the wildness that once was, for the millions now crowded in cities, poor and oppressed, unable to find a clear target for their rage because the system is virtually omnipotent, these people are not faring well. All around us, as a result of human greed and a lack of respect for all life, wild nature and Mother Earth’s creatures are suffering. These beings are the victims of industrial society.



    "Cutting the bloody cord, that’s what we feel, the delirious exhilaration of independence, a rebirth backward in time and into primeval liberty, into freedom in the most simple, literal, primitive meaning of the word, the only meaning that really counts. The freedom, for example, to commit murder and get away with it scot-free, with no other burden than the jaunty halo of conscience.
    "My God! I’m thinking, what incredible **** we put up with most of our lives--the domestic routine, the stupid and useless and degrading jobs, the insufferable arrogance of elected officials, the crafty cheating and the slimy advertising of the businessmen, the tedious wars in which we kill our buddies instead of our real enemies back home in the capital, the foul, diseased and hideous cities and towns we live in, the constant petty tyranny of the automatic washers, the automobiles and TV machines and telephones-! ah Christ!,... what intolerable garbage and what utterly useless crap we bury ourselves in day by day, while patiently enduring at the same time the creeping strangulation of the clean white collar and the rich but modest four-in-hand garrote!



    "Such are my thoughts—you wouldn’t call them thoughts would you?—such are my feelings, a mixture of revulsion and delight, as we float away on the river, leaving behind for a while all that we most heartily and joyfully detest. That’s what the first taste of the wild does to a man, after having been penned up for too long in the city. No wonder the Authorities are so anxious to smother the wilderness under asphalt and reservoirs. They know what they are doing. Play safe. Ski only in a clockwise direction. Let’s all have fun together."
    --Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire, 1968

    I believe Abbey shows the real interface between wilderness and human technology, and not some revisionist idea of more Americans somehow "synergistically" combining the glories of technology with the glories of nature and wilderness. Unless you want backpackers to stay glued to their GPS devices and screens and phones 24-7 or to fly personal drones for that special gopro nature moment or to twitter out their exact locations hourly. The last forest will fall to make the next silicone chip factory.

    Not to go on a Ted Kaczynski rant, but technology is ruining the Southeast wilderness areas where I backpack and nothing but a drastic change will help. The air pollution in the Great Smoggy Mountains National Park is worse than the city of LA. Nonstop overhead jet traffic from the airports of Atlanta and Knoxville and Chattanooga and Asheville kill the silence of the original forest. Screaming racing motorcyclists ruin the mountain stillness with their muffler-less harleys. ATVs want to invade the mountain trails and will do so unless stopped.

    I see no trend of this getting better. In fact, by 2050 the US will have around 440 million people---not a good number for wilderness areas. Heck, the Grand Canyon already has around 60,000 tourist helicopter flights yearly. Talk about noise pollution.

    Phew, sorry for this early morning RANT.
    Seriously huge topic! I am glad I have seen the remote places I have. And want to see much more.. Speaking from my observations alone, it seems there is a growing trend toward the extreme sports and epic adventures. Perhaps more people trying to tackle a large trail as a physical feat and less about being in the vastness of nature and all of its glory. With FKTs being the attention getters rather than the most seen and enjoyed.


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  7. #27
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    I personally think thats its growing. People are getting tired of the rat race in the cities and want to get outdoors. Not have any facts to back it up but when I talk with other mountain bikers about riding and camping I seem to get positive feedback and interest.
    I think the bike packing segment of camping is really growing. Lots of long trails are in the works. On one of the bike packing sites or backpack blogs I read that Z_PACKS is working with some the guys on different tent designs that use the bike as the tent support similar how hikers use their trekking poles. Hikers and bikers are all gram weanies. The more you carry the more you hurt.
    For those interested mtbr.com has a really good bike packing forum.
    Sorry to get off the main subject.

  8. #28
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    NPS show overall numbers are done esp when the population increase is factored in (less percentage of people overall). In raw numbers, from 1979 to 2013, the NPS reports two-millions people LESS doing overnight activities. That is including backpacking, camping and backcountry lodges, etc. . From 1979 to 2013, there was a 700k+ person decline in backpacking per NPS figures.

    Source

    Keep in mind, the population in 1979 was 225 million vs 316 million in 2013.

    As for long trail numbers going up. Absolutely. But that is a very small minority in overall outdoor use. Where a previous generation may have done the hostel thing in Europe with a railpass, what captures the imagination now are the long hikes for various reasons.

    And I have jaundiced view of the long distance hiking scene in the sense of how many of say, AT thru-hikers, spend time outside if it is not a multi-month hike? In other words, it is the culture of the trails/the journey aspect that is alluring. Perhaps more so than the outdoors aspect. In other words, as odd as it may sound, a person who may hike 2000+ miles may not be a consistent backpacker (One and done?)


    So is backpacking dying? Naaah. Declining? Absolutely.

    More thoughts here if interested...as I wrote it last year.
    http://www.pmags.com/death-of-backpacking-a-response
    Last edited by Mags; 08-14-2015 at 15:24.
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  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by mahoosucnotch View Post
    Speaking from my observations alone, it seems there is a growing trend toward the extreme sports and epic adventures. Perhaps more people trying to tackle a large trail as a physical feat and less about being in the vastness of nature and all of its glory. With FKTs being the attention getters rather than the most seen and enjoyed.
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks for bringing up speed hiking and Fastest Known Times. It's odd that some backpackers drool over Scott Jurek and others but it is what it is. We had a discussion of FKT on BPL.com recently and here's my post and thoughts:

    SLOWEST KNOWN TIMES
    I see no point in posting FKT accounts as it's a fringe sport in my opinion having little to nothing to do with backpacking. Just because they do it on a recognized backpacking trail like the AT or the JMT means we have to pay attention to them? If they did it on the Blue Ridge Parkway no one would care.

    Why encourage fastest known times and the guys who do it? Who cares about setting a record moving quickly thru the woods?

    It's crazy in my opinion. It's sort of like saying "I go to church and pray and get communion and have developed a way to do it in 3 minutes instead of the usual one hour". Or: "I have learned thru certain techniques to give my children quality face and play time in much faster allotments so instead of playing catch with Timmy for 2 hours I've shortened it to 5 minutes."

    Traveling fast thru wilderness is a real oxymoron---don't buy the hype, newbs!

    I'm much more interested in seeing guys pull a 21 mile trail in 7 days and do 3 miles a day while camping of course. SKT---Slowest known time.

  10. #30
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    Its going up. Good news is that we still have many areas where one can go and see no one.

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mags View Post
    More thoughts here if interested...as I wrote it last year.
    http://www.pmags.com/death-of-backpacking-a-response
    Ummmmmm...

    I'm humbled that someone else took notice and raised it as a talking point. And offered some insightful (and well-researched) counter-points.

    And, along with the info presented, kudos on the lost art of data attribution. (Even if current web links die, they can almost always be found via The Internet Archive, folks. Post your sources!)

    Mags, if I may make two similar observations:

    Quote Originally Posted by Mags
    Unfortunately, if people do not have a vested interested in maintaining backcountry resources, the resources will go away. In our national parks and forests, backcountry patrol rangers are becoming less common. Trail maintenance is going by the way-side. And money for protection of our wild lands may dwindle.
    NAILED IT!

    and

    Quote Originally Posted by Mags
    If there is no interest in the backcountry, who will fight to preserve our wild lands? Do we really want the wilderness experience to be strictly a diorama about the mountains, wildlife and the natural world that is no longer accessible to most?
    w00t.gif

    .

  12. #32

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    Mags says,
    "Do we really want the wilderness experience to be strictly a diorama about the mountains, wildlife and the natural world that is no longer accessible to most?"

    Great word, diorama. Describes exactly the nature experience a huge percentage of Americans want to have: From a seat on a rolling couch in a vehicle. The forest supervisors and Park officials and Tent Police and backcountry rangers ETC seemingly have done everything in their power to make America's wild lands watchable from inside a metal and glass box while moving.

    This is and was a choice made by politicians and superintendents and Mags fear has already come to pass. The main question is: Can we close more forest roads and Park roads and get people walking? Please, can we not make places harder to get to and more inaccessible?

  13. #33

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    Sheeezzzzz Tipi..... I'm right there with ya on the whole Slowest Known Times perspective for my own travels but really man, it's crowded enough already! If people want to power walk or speedy hike or do cart wheels on meth through whats left of our semi-wild places just to see how quick they can do it please effin' let them, and don't discourage there haste. Step aside and cheer, give their epic blog a click or two; just let them race thru and hustle back home, and try not to encourage them to linger. The sooner they complete their rad journey the better. I don't mean sound bossy, and i did say please.

  14. #34
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    Studies show more people work longer hours and take less vacation time. I can certainly see just having TIME for backpacking being an issue.
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  15. #35

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    In PA, I've noticed an increase of backpackers on the trails in the last 10 years.

    I'm not sure if a decrease of backpacking in the national parks is really an indicator of declining popularity. There are so many backpacking trails outside the national parks and some areas of the country have tons of trails on state or national forest land, but few national parks. Besides, popularity, fees, and regulation in the national parks may explain the decrease; maybe backpackers are simply going elsewhere.

  16. #36

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    "Do we really want the wilderness experience to be strictly a diorama about the mountains, wildlife and the natural world that is no longer accessible to most?"

    The wilderness is more accessible than ever at this stage in history - NOT LESS. To expect that to change towards there being less human access overall in general isn't likely to happen. It's an idealistic overly romantic concept that wilderness in general will become less accessible although, being cut from the same cloth, I too share many of the desires of other Naturalists, as Muir, Abbey, Carson, and Leopold.

    There are deep back country opportunities to experience wilderness, wilderness where little to no evidence of humanity exists, very well balanced with enormous front country "wilderness" opportunities for experiencing it as well - NOW. Yet, many humans, the masses, want to experience Nature and "wilderness" in the most human convenient most human comfortable way just as it has been since...And, there have always been a host lining up to give them that and to further promote this human centered concept for experiencing Nature and wilderness.

    When expecting to connect with wilderness or Nature on human centered terms for human entertainment putting wilderness on a stage in a confined but expansive zoo like atmosphere expecting it to exist inside a convenient to control bubble apart from humanity for human convenience entailing domination, mindless destruction, subjugation, and ceaseless human "development", is this truly connecting with wilderness and Nature or is it just another human centric example of a species childishly attempting to get what it wants on its terms while in the process of "getting" destroying and heavily impacting the very thing they were reaching out to connect with?

  17. #37

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    Here's where I think you may have missed it Mags. You drew your conclusion "backpacking is declining" rather exclusively from the NPS data. The data is skewed to reflect recent NP usage at a time when the NPS has been having well publicized budgetary issues! The NPS has been making the choice to shift resources towards development and maintenance emphasis on front country services - where the masses historically congregate anyway - getting the best bang for their budgetary dollar. As we know, the masses want their "wilderness" experiences to be as convenient for them as feasible. Start taking away some of the perceived "conveniences" associated with back country footpath travel and a growing perception that is being done and I would think it is to be expected NPS back country backpacking numbers to be decreasing. I understand reliable stats on longer term backpacker usage can be hard to locate. I would like to have seen data taking from other sources getting perhaps a better more wide ranging perspective of backpacker numbers beyond just NPS data before coming to the conclusion "backpacking is declining."

    Some larger SPs, where backpacking is popular, have had some budgetary issues as well sometimes resulting in similar occurrences.

    And, of course, different outdoor market segments apply pressure as well not only in responding to outdoor desires but by shaping the interest in those desires as well that have affects on park budgets. We're seeing greater resources allocated towards the expansion of bicycling, paddling, etc opps in parks.

    It's a directed shift too where overall the results, certainly considered by "higher level decision makers" and park personnel BEFORE the "budgetary issues", - mean greater control! Remove the funding for or shift funds from BC travel restricts many from going there having PROFOUND FAR REACHING ADVANTAGES FOR SOME.

  18. #38
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Guys, unless you have numbers, your anecdotal hunches aren' really good. I used NPS data because it was the most readily available.

    But since I enjoy a good debate, I've taken up the gauntlet. I'm also very good at Googling to find numbers versus "This is what I really think"

    Primitive camping (not in developedcampgrounds), backpacking, and mountain climbingshowed decreases in the number of people who participated, butincreases in the number of days of participation

    http://www.foresthistory.org/publica...08/Cordell.pdf

    So, much like the thru-hiker "proof", less people are doing it..the numbers left are more active.

    Granted it is from 7 years ago..but it is Saturday morning and I am drinking my coffee and about to head out.

    This is from 2014...however.

    http://www.fs.fed.us/research/docs/o...ds_summary.pdf

    Notice the "visiting primitive areas" is expected to decline. (USFS puts it as "Visiting Primitive Areas Backpacking; primitive camping; visiting a wilderness ")

    Curiously, the trend shows of less people doing it...but the core people doing it doing it more.

    Keep in mind these percentages in the first example do not reflect the population growth of the United States. Factor in the population growth, and the numbers decline more.

    I could do more..but I am sticking by my research vs hunches.

    Informed hunches are sometimes correct.

    Uninformed hunches usually aren't.


    I think the much better discussion we should all be having is why is it declining? If we are left with a smaller percentage of the population invested in the backcountry....well, draw your own conclusions.
    Last edited by Mags; 08-15-2015 at 10:35.
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  19. #39
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    It doesn't surprise me that overall participation is declining. There seems to be a widespread belief that the woods are incredibly dangerous, that you need to bring the latest gear from REI (insert portlandia skit here), and have either an experienced guide and a weapon with you in order to make it out alive. I know that statement is anecdotal, but I run into people with overblown safety concerns so consistently that I can't help but believe that it is a relevant factor in declining rates of backcountry use.

    My coworkers, who are mostly from NYC all think that I am going to die each time I go out on the A.T. for a week or two and when non-hikers who join A.T. message boards to learn, their first questions overwhelmingly seem to be about bears, snakes, hillbillies or "survival" questions (especially on the Facebook A.T. Groups). One of my favorite things is when I get the chance to bring a friend on their first overnight trip, they all have remarked how much tougher hiking is than they thought, but how much safer and more relaxing the trail is compared to what the had imagined it would be like. Almost all of these friends admitted that they never would have attempted an overnight trip if I hadn't been with them the first time, and after the trip was over most of them were comfortable enough to consider going again, with or without me.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  20. #40
    Aspiring Thru-Hiker g00gle's Avatar
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    07-04-2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    There seems to be a widespread belief that the woods are incredibly dangerous, that you need to bring the latest gear from REI (insert portlandia skit here), and have either an experienced guide and a weapon with you in order to make it out alive.
    I'm not very worried about the dangers. At least half of my 80# loadout for the A.T. is ammunition and Bear Grylls survival tools. I got danger covered. My bigger concern is the future of publicly available outdoor areas, the longevity of wildlife, and the overall integrity of wilderness environments in the future.

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    Disclaimer: Before I get roasted too badly, my base weight is NOT 80#, I've never bought a Bear Grylls anything, and I would never dream of bringing any ammo stronger than Gatorade and Clif bars on the trail.

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