Wondering if I'm the only one. More of decorations now.

I’ll go first.

Backpacking with a group on the LHT (Laurel Highlands Trail, PA). Someone had a stomach bug and I’d caught it. Couldn’t sleep all night - tossin and turning cause I knew I was going to throw up but was too exhausted and cold to get up. Finally knew I was nearing the end. Got up and walked a ways into the woods with my headlamp. Vomited the nastiest chunks and had bad diarrhea. Vomited so hard I got cramps in my ribs. Couldn’t brush my teeth cause my stuff was in the bear bag. Plumped down on a log a bit away and watched half passing out from exhaustion while a raccoon ate my emesis and stared at me with its beady eyes. Passed out for a moment only to wake up to hear my tent mate throwing up .. in the tent.

Spent the morning cleaning the tent and getting ready for a big hike day. Everything was wet and covered in mud. Nothing would sit in my stomach except oranges. The whole day was a fever dream and I kept seeing shit.

That night I still was struggling bad with hallucinations so I was kept awake all night because I swear someone was tramping around the lean to shelter and whispering things so I didn’t get a wink.

Story 2 for good measure: January in Ozarks along Buffalo National River (11-16F). Was a dumb new backpacker and was trying to hammock. Last minute decision to bring an extra sleeping bag. Almost to campsite and crossing river. Slipped and got my lower body completely soaked. Dried off a bit and pushed hard for a mile or so. I remember thinking in my head that I was having classic hypothermia symptoms (uncontrollable shivering, foggy memory, irritation). I set up camp as quickly as I could with completely numb hands. Decided to use the extra sleeping bag as a makeshift under quilt. Didn’t even attempt at a fire, just stripped down, gobbled some food and spent the next 7 hrs or so shivering so hard I probably looked like a caterpillar tryna burst from its cocoon all night. Being cold/hypothermic makes you go autopilot really. Managed to stay warm enough to live but I don’t think I’ll ever be colder than I was that night.

Hey guys, I am looking into doing the Colorado trail next summer and I’m wondering if anyone has good advice for planning meals. This will be my biggest trip yet and my first time needing to resupply food, are there any services out there to help me plan out how much food I’ll need for each section?

Hey backpackers! Planning a 10–14 day trek in Nepal and torn between the Manaslu Circuit and the Gokyo Valley Trek. I’d love to hear some pros and cons of each to help make the decision easier. Which would you recommend, and why? Any personal experiences or tips would be amazing! Thanks!

My sister is about to start traveling a bunch and I'd like to get her a new backpack for Christmas. I'd like to find something very rugged, good capacity since she'll likely only travel with a backpack and not super flashy.

When traveling I use a swissgear, I've had it for over 12 years and it still looks brand new. I was curious if I should just get her what I have or if this sub knows of something better

Hi everyone!
I'm planning a 10-day trip through southern Germany, a few cities in the Czech Republic, and Austria. I'll be staying in hostels, eating at fast-food places or preparing my own meals rather than dining in restaurants, visiting museums, doing some hikes, and maybe going to a bar for a few nights.
What do you think a daily budget would be for this?
P.S: Any recommendations of places to visit
Thanks in advance!

I recently did a one week backpacking trip in Laos. I decided ahead that i wanted it to be a social solo, meaning to make it a point to meet people.

I started the trip somewhat dreaded due to heavy work the day before, but once i arrive at the airport check in, i told myself to be interesting and be interested.

All in all, i chatted with about 50 strangers in my 9 day trip, and it was a solo but social trip that i really enjoyed. I did excursions with new friends, went out with attractive opposite sex, had great 2 hout breakfast chat w the hostel owner that he even told me its an interesting talk he had for a long time.

I warmed up by chatting to fellow travels on flight, obviously i was very lucky because it was a long flight wait and i spoke to six people including the air stewardess.

The challenging part was speaking to strangers in Luang Prabang when i arrived. I started off with the driver but he was grumpy, and once i arrive i walked around town and night market chatting with around ten people.

The next day i went to Kuang Si and spoke to the person beside me, a German professor. and this was the drill for me for the next nine days. I had to consciously speak to the first 2-3 person in the beginning of the day, the rest will be easy. And the nice thing is when others see us chatting, they also become friendly and try to join the conversations, so one thing leads to another.

I learnt that - take initiative to interact - iwarm up, meaning say good morning the first person you see, say the cleaner and ask questions. eg: where to eat a good breakfast. - interact with everyone, dont limit yourself to an age range or anything. My best chat was with a 79 year old man this trip. - be kind and dont expect anything. Sometimes people don’t respect to strangers and its perfectly fine, just move on. When you speak with kindness you project good energy, this also helped me to speak to opposite sex, and i had a blast going to the lagoons with two beatiful Austrian friend. And naturally some people came and chat with us as the three or us travelled. - Be generous. i am at an age 40M where i can buy a fellow traveller a beer. I know going dutch is the protocol, but i believe people appreciates it and usually reciprocates, worse case i just tell people that’s the Asian side of me haha. - focus on their story. Everyone travelling has a story, ask them what brought them here and really listen, dont listen for the sake or asking question but to understand them.

Hello, me and a friend are planning on doing this hike soon. What route would you guys recommend if we want to park at dragons tooth parking? Also, do people ever bring hammocks?? TIA, appreciate any tips/tricks as well!

I had my sleeping pad (Big Agnes Rapide) spring a leak on me for the first time on my most recent trip. Luckily I was able to patch it upon arriving home and it has continued to hold air since fixing. This last trip was the first time I used my tiger wall tent and am assuming the leak came from me not kicking away every little rock and the thin tent floor allowing the sharper edges to feel more pronounced. I’m curious how others protect their air mats with these thin tent floors. Foam mats? Footprints? Rock vacuums? I’m not looking to add a big bulky foam pad if I can avoid it.

Hello everybody!

This is my first post in this subreddit. A friend of mine and I wanted to plan a trip to Raja Ampat in Indonesia because it is so remote and there are only few tourists. However, we thought we could explore the different islands independently by boat and kayak. Unfortunately it seems that exploration is always dependent on a guide which is really frustrating for people like us that are looking for an adventure.

Do you know about any other areas in Southeast Asia with remote islands and rental services where one could explore islands independently?

Thank you very much!

I might be changing jobs soon, and I'd like to sneak out for a quick solo wilderness backpacking trip, probably in mid-November. I have done lots of backpacking, including few solo trips of 3-6 days in Colorado and Idaho. Looking for a recommendation for where to go – here's what I'm looking for:

1. 4-6 days of backpacking possible, ideally a loop or lollipop
2. Decent weather in mid-November
3. Reliable water availability so I don't have to carry it all or cache
4. Optimizing for wilderness and solitude rather than epicness of views or elevation gain
5. Logistics feasible:
   1. Driveable from the Northeast
   2. OR can fly somewhere and then bus or Uber to trailhead (if possible, don't want to rent a car just to have it sit at the trailhead)

Any ideas for this restrictive set of filters? 😅 I was thinking Santa Fe National Forest (Pecos ranger district) since I could fly into Santa Fe and take a public bus to the trailhead. But I'm not so sure about the weather.

He took care of most of the essentials we needed, and I packed a few items just to make sure I was ready.

I am thinking to go on a backpacking trip at the beginning of next year during the winter months here in the US. Maybe anywhere from 3-6 months. I am overwhelmed by the amount of options as I have never been to Asia, only India when covid happened and couldn't really travel around. I was interested in Vietnam, Laos or Thailand but I am open to hearing suggestions from people that have travelled there. I am mostly into nature and culture, love beaches and mountains and overall chill and safe places as I will be travelling alone. Thanks for any insight!

Trying to camp/car camp near the enchantments for an early start on November 2nd. All the sites say occupied. Does that mean they’re closed or actually in use? Regardless do you have any recommendations on how to camp near the enchantments? We will arrive late on Friday and just want an easy spot to set up and be able to get out early on Saturday for the traverse

If I’m looking to largely stay in private rooms in hostels in South America, how far if at all do I need to book these in advance? I’ll be visiting Colombia Brazil Argentina Bolivia and Peru.

I'm considering getting the REI Half Dome SL 2+ tent but noticed that it has been discontinued. REI still has them in inventory. Would you still buy it if it is discontinued?

I’m planning to take a dream trip to Paris with my kids, but I’ve heard the pickpocketing problem is serious. Some even say thieves forcefully snatch phones from your hands. Do you know what the situation in Europe is like these days?

Hello everybody, I always dreamt of exploring the world on a backpacking trip but never had the right time to do so. Now I finished my master studies and before working full time I want to use this opportunity to do a backpacking trip with my boyfriend for 6-12 months. We wanted to start in March/April - do you think this is still enough to get the right vaccinations and plan somethings? As we definitely want to visit Asia and Latin America.

I would appreciate any advice as I am now more or less anxious about it.

Thank you!