The death of backpacking? (The death of backpacking?) — High Country News

Great essay in The High Country News.  I am not giving up.  An experience I recently had in the Grand Canyon gives me hope.  I took an extra layover day, at Indian Gardens, during my Tonto Tour in March.  I wanted a rest day to just relax, eat, borrow a book from the little “library” there and enjoy being in the canyon.  A young family was camping in the space next to me – three young kids and their parents.  No iPads, iPods, Gameboys, whining, complaining, boredom.  Those kids were having the time of their lives and clearly enjoyed backpacking.  I hope their parents continue immersing them in wilderness-time.  Those kids are our hope for the future of wild places.

The adrenalized relationship with the natural world is also an experience of human conquest – the peak-bagger’s pathology. Ironically, it’s not much different from the benighted mindset of corporate accountancy: How many cliffs base-jumped? How many extreme trails conquered? Faster, more. And always the adrenalin payoff Casimiro perceives – not dissimilar to the monetary payoff chased by capitalists.

Source: The death of backpacking? (The death of backpacking?) — High Country News