The Backpacking Theory

Mark Zimmer
The Backpacking Theory

Every time this thought of lecturing about how good someone has it enters my mind, I get the same feeling that I imagine an elderly person gets when they remember the speech they just gave that started with, “When I was your age…” Although I am younger than many of the people that I explain my basic theory to, I can’t help but realize that I have a rather unusual look on not just making money but life overall.

The “theory” that I am talking about is one that I coined while trudging though some hot, stagnant aired forest with mosquitoes the size of small birds sucking blood out of me faster you could say, “Oh my God, I hope I don’t get West Nile Virus!” It was during this exhilarating experience that I came up with my “How to enjoy life: Appreciation through Deprivation” thesis.

The whole basis for this “theory,” if you can call it that, is that the best way someone can learn to enjoy their surroundings and learn to be patient while being persistent, is to take themselves out of their comfort zone, and go for total misery. And the quickest, cheapest, and easiest path that I know of to leave your comfort zone and give you a healthy dose of deprivation is: backpacking.

Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, I want to make it clear that although I enjoy pointing some of the lesser attributes of backpacking, it is an activity that I enjoy. After reading this some may wonder WHY I enjoy it, and the best justification that I can give is to tell them to give it a try. With that being said, I will get back to backpacking.

At the basis of this theory, there are two main principles that are separate issues; but they work together to address one main “problem” that many people feel that they face. The first problem addressed is the feeling of not having enough material possessions, and the second is the annoying habit of feeling sorry for oneself.

Addressing the first principle of not having enough material possessions happens almost the moment a backpacker steps on the trail. Since everything that the individual brought along is on their back, it becomes instantly obvious that more is not better. The mind suddenly starts to run through the pile of unnecessary junk on your back, and begin to wonder why that pillow, extra shirt, or toothbrush handle (no joke) is being lugged around. This thought process rapidly accelerates when walking on inclines, and jumps exponentially when pushing yourself back up after face planting down a hill. It usually doesn’t take long for the mind to reach the conclusion that although most stuff in life is nice, it sure isn’t necessary.

The second issue of feeling sorry for yourself really never actually goes away; it is just magnified so much that once you reach society again, feeling sorry for yourself doesn’t make sense, since you are excited almost to a childish level. I will give a few examples that may seem ridiculous but are actually true. Take something as basic as a real meal. Quickly jumping back to our first issue, we remember that less is better, and this goes for food as well both in weight and quantity (and usually quality). After a week of rice, beans, dried fruit, and oatmeal; a cheeseburger is a real Godsend. On a more basic level, running water is a truly exciting thing upon your return to the real world. After a week of drinking warm, fishy tasting water that has been flavored with iodine to kill any viruses that the water filter missed, a simple glass of cold water is better than can be imagined. The list of examples goes on and on from sleeping with a pine cone you forgot to move jabbing you in the back all night; to trying to bathe in water that is so cold it does disturbing things to certain parts of the male’s anatomy and makes breathing while bathing, next to impossible. The point of realizing that, “Hey, I don’t have it so bad,” sets in real quick when you hop back into your vehicle and drive to a motel for the night.

The best thing, however, that I feel backpacking offers is the chance to think. Backpacking is physically tiring but mentally stimulating. There is very little noise, and the mind gets a chance to just relax and wander.

So there you have it; the next time you feel that you have it SO hard, and that you NEED that new suit, car, gold-plated harmonica, or whatever; remember that a little bit of serious deprivation can end up making your everyday world pretty rosy. And from that foundation, one can go out and happily achieve their goals while never feeling like they HAVE to get to a certain point to be successful.