READERS COMMENTS

Beautiful places like these do make me want to go. I love reading a trail story that tells about the person's venture into the special places on earth. Each trip is as unique as the person experiencing it. That's what makes classics like Stanley's search for Livingston so memorable, so riviting. Through the story we can 'see' what he saw, experience what he experienced, trudge through what he trudged through and rejoice where he rejoiced. Sometimes a thousand words are worth a picture. Keep writing BP.
Posted: May 31, 2011 Steve C.

...no fun being the skunk at the garden party, but...I've been bringing these issues up for years now. How do you not become a jaded, extreme oriented, ounce counting, gourmet sucking, survival humping, continent jumping gear whore? Magazines are a service to the public which the government can't provide properly. So you take it or leave it & fire off a letter to the editor when warranted.

I faced these same concerns when I conceived & prepared to launch 'ekos" magazine in the early '70's. One eventually hits the wall & starts regurgitating the same old stuff. Your best hope is to supplement the verbal assault with a photo. Nothing speaks as well as a shot of McGee Creek up in Evolution.

Advertising the Sierra High route is not the problem...I rather enjoyed, vicariously, the return to peak scrambling days of my youth...nor is the Tuolumne Meadows freeway, which was a nuisance back in the '60's in high season. To enjoy the wildness, one needs to avoid the crush & plan accordingly. I tend to stay in the corridor of Desolation to south of Sonora Pass...drawing the line of venture just north of Yosemite. Most of us had our way with Yosemite in the 60's-70's, before the deluge of hype.

I get a kick when I stumble across an 84 year old woman trekking with the family in the back country of Carson Iceberg Wilderness. You either take the chance or hide at home...& remember, chance favors the prepared mind.

Fads come & go...speed trekking is an example why bother, it misses the point of being in the 'here & now' of life around us. Sizzle sells...the question is how many times will you go back for seconds. The Sierra beckons & my 9 year old is heeding the call...the dna is conditioned to respond. It's in our jeans, so to speak. As my father's father taught him so shall my son to his own...it's fly fishing time!

Posted: May 30, 2011 the buckaroo

Anyone who follows Backpacker on-line or in print with any degree of regularity would know that the more local , North American hikes have been covered many times. I really don't need or want to read about the John Muir Trail for a while unless you can do it with a different slant. I love reading about Everest but doubt that I will ever go there. Besides, I would rather my favorite " local " treks not be advertised . Have you ever hiked the Muir Trail/ freeway in late July ? Please don't advertise the High Sierra route any more. The Inca Trail sounds intriguing but I'm not booking a ticket because of the article.
Posted: May 26, 2011 Chicotd

Anyone who follows Backpacker on-line or in print with any degree of regularity would know that the more local , North American hikes have been covered many times. I really don't need or want to read about the John Muir Trail for a while unless you can do it with a different slant. I love reading about Everest but doubt that I will ever go there. Besides, I would rather my favorite " local " treks not be advertised . Have you ever hiked the Muir Trail/ freeway in late July ? Please don't advertise the High Sierra route any more. The Inca Trail sounds intriguing but I'm not booking a ticket because of the article.
Posted: May 26, 2011 Chicotd

I totally agree with John. I know Backpacker believes these are not the only "Best" treks, but using that superlative makes me think such. How about just saying these are "Ten of the Best Treks" and leave the question hanging about more best treks. Then another article can be written about 10 of the best in the U.S. and we will want to keep reading more. Of course, I'm just being nit - picky. I know, though, that the Grand Teton Circle has got to be one of the best in the entire world as does the High Sierra.
Posted: May 26, 2011 Eric Nelson

Wow John,

Global Warming is such a crisis that we shouldn't even read about the world around us?

Cool. I'm off to weep in my more ecologically sound "single cabin".


Posted: May 15, 2009 David

You've posted none of the EQUALLY dramatic places in North America because? Nothing like promoting massive carbon footprints I guess.
Posted: Apr 03, 2009 John "Double Cabin" Betts

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