The Internet is for...Backpacking?

A look at backpacking by the numbers, WWW style.

It's the most physical of pursuits, this activity you love, the one that brings you to these pages. It's rugged and active, cleansing and fulfilling, challenging and vigorous...and dare I say virtuous? It's a hike here and a weekend there and a mega-trip every so often. For some it's an everyday pursuit, but for others the realities of money, travel, physical well being, etc. force this hobby, this passion, into a narrow time slot only to realized occasionally.

But this is 2008 (for a few more days), the 21st Century, the era when anything and everything can be "experienced" over the internet. We here at Backpacker headquarters (a.k.a. "Corporate HQ" to all our forum users), embraced the web this year by launching our new website in March. And in honor of the internet and all its voyeuristic glory, a look at Backpacking by the numbers, WWW style.

8,660,000: Search results via Google for the term "Backpacking"

21,200: Number of videos on YouTube categorized under "Backpacking"

3,436: Number of times "Tinny's Backpacking Muffins" has been viewed on YouTube

57: Number of people online in the Backpacker.com forums right now (1:04 MST, December 24)

15,157: Number of posts the #1 Backpacker.com forum user has posted

38,310: Total Backpacker.com forum members

66: Number of visits on Backpacker.com off of the search term "maple bacon fry bread"

0: Number of recipes on Backpacker.com for "maple bacon fry bread"

519: Number of Facebook fans on our new Facebook page. Are you our friend?

80+: Number of degrees Fahrenheit when our intern gamely sported a bear suit for our "Survive a Bear Attack" video

1: Number of people who wrote in to tell us we should be nice to bears

--Katie Herrell, web producer

Sources: Google, YouTube, Ikonboard, Google Analytics, Facebook, a thermometer, the intern