Taking A Companion Backpacking
Weight Training to get in Shape when Carrying Heavy Loads
Getting a Backpack Companion to train is not easy when you live in different cities and allowing your back and legs accustomed to carrying heavy loads takes time.
What do you do when you are planning a backpack trip with a companion, and they refuse to train? The main excuse I get is 'I work 45 friggen hours a week. I don't have time to walk around with a backpack full of books.'
Going backpacking without being in shape for it can be a harrowing experience. You can have all the newest and greatest gear, but if your back and legs are used to carrying 30 to 50 pounds, expect some miserable days on the trail.
It is not easy to get in shape and it takes time. The only way to get your body accustomed to carrying heavy loads is to carry heavy loads.
If my companion is not ready, I guess the smart thing might be just to call off the joint trip and go alone.
The thing is though, I already spend a lot of time alone, and I really want to show this person the beautiful places I have found in the Colorado highcountry.
This certainly is not the first time that a daughter has been reluctant to take Dad's advice. (it is common knowledge that Dads are stupid, until daughters get to 25 or 30)
If it comes to it, I can probably carry everything. My backpack is certainly big enough, with extra gear tied on to the outside.
I have been training double hard to get ready - getting up before dawn and hiking around the neighborhood and down to the Greenbelt with a backpack full of dumbells in a stuff sack.
I recall something like this before. When I was 17 I convinced my Dad to go backpacking. I carried a very large pack, and he carried his cigarettes and a pen in his shirt pocket. I remember being proud and thrilled that my Dad went along and I could show him all the neat places I had discovered.
It will be the same way with my daughter. I can't wait to see her reaction when we hike behind the lake and across the marsh, and set our backpacks down in front of a valley that has about the most gorgeous view I have ever seen.
A double backpack full of weight won't seem that heavy at that moment.
(Here is a photo of my daughter backpacking a few years ago in the Colorado Collegiate Range).
