7 Amazing Benefits of Short Backpacking Trips

Like most folks who enjoy backpacking, I love a good long trip. A trip that consists of several miles or several dozen miles. It is trips like this that really test us. During this time, we can dig deep and find out what we’re made of. We learn things on long trips that make us even better. We find holes in our training, we put our gear to the test. Long trips give us something to work towards as well. At times we may have months of training to prepare for a long trek. However, there is a great advantage in taking some short backpacking trips.

In my experience with backpacking, or even just hiking and camping, I have grown to love short trips. This is a completely different method of enjoying creation and being in the great outdoors. Some of my greatest memories were made on these short trips. The idea struck me last night and I knew I needed to share this quickly.

What is a short backpacking trip?

First, let’s define what a short trip truly is. In my opinion, a short trip would be 3 miles or less to your camping destination. Now one could argue that a short trip would be camping near your vehicle or even in your vehicle. And I can’t argue that, so I will include such trips when I discuss these benefits. I have had so many good times loading the truck, driving the family to a farm pond, and setting up camp. The fact is, it pays to take short trips where you can truly focus on the experience of being in a beautiful place with people you love doing things you love to do.

My kids and I normally take a trip every spring to Smoky Mountain National Park. On these trips, we typically hike to a back-country site where we spend the night. We always plan our trips and select our routes based on water. We love to fly fish, so we use the hike in and out to fish all the good holes we see along the way.

Recently, my youngest daughter has begun to show even more interest in fishing. After seeing her interest, I knew that I would have to take a different approach to get her on some good fish. So, I decided to eliminate some of the hiking to increase the fishing time. Our trip last October was to the opposite side of the National Park where we set up camp in Cades Cove campground. Our car was parked right beside our tent. This was a completely different experience and I want to share the benefits of these short trips.

#1 Short backpacking trips Save Your Joints

I love a long adventure just as much as the next guy. However, I certainly can’t do these more than once or twice a year. I usually spend time training my body to be prepared for these long hikes.

However, short backpacking trips have a much smaller impact on you physically. It wouldn’t be difficult to fit 10 or 12, or even more of these short trips into your schedule each year. If I had it my way, I would gladly take a short trip every month. These trips simply cannot tax your body the way the longer trips do. You will feel indestructible hiking 2 miles to a backcountry site for an evening by a mountain stream.

#2 Take more comfort items

With a short backpacking trip, we have opened up a world of possibilities for additional gear and equipment that we can bring along. One of my favorite things to do while backpacking is cooking. Since we aren’t hiking for days and days and mile after mile, we can handle a lot more weight in our packs. On a recent trip to the Smokies, my daughters and I enjoyed some amazing campfire meals. I brought a cooler full of groceries, a Dutch Oven, and several utensils that made cooking very simple. Here is a list of items that I would pack for a short backpacking trip, but certainly not for a long one.

• Extra Blanket
• Pillow
• Extra food!
• Drinks other than water
• Bluetooth speaker
• Bigger tent
• Lantern
• Fishing gear
• Camera

I could go on forever with this list. Can you see how bringing along some of these items can completely change the comfort level of the trip? Take advantage of it and carry more stuff.

#3 Bring the ones you love on short backpacking trips

Let’s face it. Most of the loved ones in our lives aren’t willing or able to tag along with us on a 20-mile excursion into the mountains. These are things that we sometimes have to do solo, or with our core group of people that share our interest in hiking.

However, with short trips, it’s not too much to ask others to join in. Take the kids, your spouse, your parents, or even your dog! It’s a wonderful thing to experience God’s creation with the ones we love.

#4 Document your trip for others to see

One of the luxury items that I mentioned was a camera. On a short trip, we aren’t as reluctant to pack that heavy Nikon. Bring binoculars to take in a bit more than you would with the human eye alone. Bring video equipment and record everything that’s happening on the trip so others can see. Your Instagram followers will appreciate this.

#5 More time for the things you love

Since we aren’t spending as much time hiking, we have time for other things. When I take short backpacking trips, I’m usually hunting or fishing. With a two-mile hike, we can be at camp well before lunchtime. This leaves us all kinds of time for the activity of your choice. Here are a few ideas.

• Bird watching
• Fishing or hunting
• Foraging
• Journalling
• Napping
• Drinking coffee by a cold clear mountain stream
• Photography

Again, I could go on forever. And I have to say, writing that list made my heart smile.

#6 Take trips more often

I have already mentioned this one, but this benefit is worthy of the list. Who doesn’t want to take backpacking trips more often? Take a trip every month. If you’re fortunate enough, do it every weekend. Go to more places and see more stuff.

#7 More time to take it all in

This is where I will bring this list to an end. Taking a shorter trip with less emphasis on hiking opens up more time for us to just be in the moment. If we have family with us, we can take this time to be close with them while being in amazing places. Take time to be mindful. This life is short. Spend time near a waterfall and just watch it for a while. Climb to a high point with a view and just relax. My heart is smiling again.

Conclusion

I hope this list of benefits has inspired you to think differently about hiking or backpacking. Taking more trips is like doing more reps in the gym. It makes us better. We learn things. We test our gear. And we have more time to do what we enjoy.

For must have gear, check out my article here.

Here is a great post that lists good day hikes in the US.

Good Luck