"not too much about backpacking I don't enjoy'

There is not too much about backpacking that I don't enjoy immensely, including the sore muscles that cause me to down a few aspirin in order to get a good night's sleep.

I am a little disappointed when the hike up the trail is so short that I don't get a good workout. A couple of miles is not far enough. Three to seven miles is about right. Any more than seven means I need to get an early as start as possible, so that I have plenty of time for rest breaks, and can still reach my desination in time to pick a campsite before dark.

Sitting around my tent in the evenings, watching the light drain from the landscape in a wilderness area is about as good as it gets, in my opinion. I always sleep extremely well, sometimes up to eleven hours when camping in the fall and winter months.

Mornings are absolutely tremendous, with my fingers wrapped around a hot cup of chocolate or coffee, watching the landscape shift from shadows to morning sun. High mountains typically have cold nights and mornings, which I have heard is essential for good days, while backpacking.

I have done this so many times that I cannot really separate the smell of spruce and fir from the vision of my coffee or hot chocolate heating on my tiny stove, or the red glow of the first sun just hitting the tips of the mountain peaks. It is all part of the package of backpacking, and comes wrapped with the beauty and mystery and freedom of the high country.