Backpacking: You wouldn't like itby Bob Crane and Aaron Severs
As a public service, the backpackers of Club Tread offer these words of caution for those who may be curious about backpacking.
Backpacking may not be for you. Many people become disoriented being away from the city for more than a few hours, finding it difficult to cope with the lack of external stimuli (traffic, noise, crowds). This is especially true at night when one may have to endure absolute silence, broken only occasionally by the wind whispering through the trees or the surf lapping the shore. Wide open space can lead to other types of trauma − sweeping vistas, lingering panoramic sunsets, the sight of a sky full of stars can be troubling to those who are used to the more finite and obscured skyscapes typical of the city.
But don't backpackers develop a special bond after spending so much time together? Sure, if you don't mind every minor action being constantly scrutinized, every foible and mistake becoming a source of merciless teasing and forever recorded in the club's oral storytelling tradition.
And what about those disturbing rumors of a secret backpacking cabal ('The Skull and Poles Society'), whose initiates are forced to participate in weird rituals such as flinging ropes over impossibly located tree branches and draping them with bags of food to celebrate the onset of darkness, or are lured on trips by senior backpackers to become sacrifices to appease the rain gods?
There are those who would say our warnings are self-serving, that we just want to keep our special places to ourselves, but we can assure you that we have only your best interests in mind.