What sort of person is driven to weight their gear on a postal scale and hike distances that would make normal people question your sanity?

Post information about yourself and let's see if there is a pattern/profile that emerges to see what we all have in common.

My information:

Sex: Male

Age: 38

Marital Status: Married w/children

Race: Asian/Chinese

Occupation: Insurance Agent

Location: S.F. Bay Area/East Bay

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, Computer Games (FPS), History, Military History/Weapons, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Gardening, Paintball

Edited by Valshar on 12/27/2007 11:15:46 MST.

male
31
artist/paria/vagabond
white
outside Boston
single no kids no direction
backpacking art history heavy metal/doom metal/stoner rock/ some hardcore
fine brews

Edited by MAYNARD76 on 12/27/2007 14:12:37 MST.

Male
Age 46
Race: Total European Mutt
Single then Married with children, then single, then married again.
Mechanical Engineer working in the computer field.
Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas
Hobbies: Playing/Listening to music, reading, Backpacking, my Two dogs.

Edited by flash582 on 12/28/2007 12:17:17 MST.

My information:

Sex: When she feels like it

Age: A lot older than most of you

Marital Status: Been there, done that. Been there, done that. There now

Race: 10K's, marathons

Occupation: Whatever's on TV or some magazines

Location: At my computer

Hobbies/Interest: reading about what I used to do more often

Sex: At my age? Whenever possible.

Age: 69yrs on January 13.

Marital Status: Then: Been there, done that twice. Now: Freedom to "hop the fence" and run off to the mountains with no notice whatsoever.

Race: Human (of the WAS clan).

Occupation: Retired after 48 years of Architecture and (just barely) Civil Engineering.

MBTI: INTP

Location: S.F. Bay Area/North Bay

Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, MYOG projects, Making music (Jazz), Sailing/Rowing, Boat Building, Cooking, Handbuilt Ceramic Sculpture, Books (am not allowed to enter bookstores without adult supervision).

Update February 15, 2008: Add REI and Wilderness Exchange to "Unsupervised Entry Ban" list.

Edited by redleader on 02/15/2008 11:13:34 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 20

Marital Status: Single

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Student (Electrical Eng)

Location: Missouri

Hobbies/Interest: Hiking, goofing around with computers, canoeing, just taking up the guitar, making my own clothing, gear, electronics, and gadgets, skiing (both water and snow).

My information:

Sex: Male

Age: 26

Marital Status: engaged to be married

Race: caucasian

Occupation: Data Analyst at Staples HQ

Location: outside Boston MA

Hobbies/Interest: Fastpacking, long dayhikes, canoeing, XC skiing, snowshoeing/non-technical mountaineering, lots and lots of running, any road race over 5 miles and under 26.2, indy films and beer or wine with some good freinds

Great post idea, super interesting to see where other people come from...

Edited by Jkrew81 on 12/27/2007 13:57:36 MST.

Sex: Female

Age: 60, and I can still crank out the miles!

Marital Status: Married to a hiker/scrambler who resists backpacking

Race: I've lost every one I've ever been in.

Occupation: Paralegal

Location: Seattle

Myers/Briggs personality score: ISTJ - since we are discussing personalities and not just data, I thought I'd throw that in.

Hobbies/Interest: backpacking (of course), day scrambles and the occasional climb, teaching navigation for the Mountaineers, attending the theatre (for my sitting-down exercises) I don't have a dog, and I don't watch TV.

Edited by rosierabbit on 12/27/2007 16:29:15 MST.

It is totally inadequate to put human beeings into categories as "race", not just because it is not scientific at all!

-

21 years old
grew up in the mountains
student
thinks he's to young to get married
interested in backpacking, travelling, music

Edited by Valentin.Zill on 12/27/2007 14:09:53 MST.

Sex: Male
Age: 30
Marital Status: Married
Race: White (Norwegian/Anglo/Canadian American)
Occupation: Finance
Location: Minnesota, USA

Hobbies/Interest: backpacking, fly fishing, fly tying, yoga, my dog, occasional bird hunt, Trout Unlimited, snow shoeing, endless hours researching new lightweight gear and updating spreadsheets to create the "ultimate gear list", reading, drinking good French wine

Sex: Male-ish

Age: older then the corks in your wine bottles

Marital Status: Single then married, single then married, and ...

Race: Strangely uninteresting

Preoccupation: I'm wiling to do just about anything for money except for what my current employer wants me to do.
I have very loose morals and exceedingly low standards, I'm like an ebay for hedonists, sadists, and assorted riff-raff.

Location: dead center in the state of Washington, really, exactly dead center.

Hobbies/Interest: I googled "g-spot" and came up with this place, what are you all sickos tramping around in less then a loin cloth with a tin cup and a bag of tea for? Does the fcc know about this? Why doesn't cyber-nanny block you people out?

Edited by pyeyo on 12/27/2007 16:21:35 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 23

Martial Status: Single, with the hope that being an avid bushwalker will get me somewhere...(unlikely)

Race: Caucasion (Scottish, Irish, English, German decent. Minimum 4th Generation Australian)

Occupation: Student [ B.Sc (Sustainable Environments), now doing honours degree in Soil and Land Systems-Spatial information. "Rangeland condition monitoring using remotely-sensed, cross-fence comparisons". ]

Location: right now? Waite Campus (The University of Adelaide), South Australia. Its a beautiful, hot sunny day, and I am in the office working (yeah, ok procrastinating) when my mates are fishing on a beautiful beach.

Hobbies/Interests: Bushwalking, Rogaining, Scouts (Rover Crew Leader and Assistant Venturer Leader), Travel, Cycle touring, Caving, the odd "vertical sport", physical training, carrying rediculously heavy rucksacks. Drinking (sometimes) and socialising, gossip, paying out mates mercilessly(its the Australian way).

ahhhh John, we have plenty of fantastic wine in the good ole USA. (wink!)

Sex: Male
Age: 36
Marital Status: engaged
Race: White (Scot-Irish, so VERY white)
Occupation: Teacher
Location: Tennessee
Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, trail building, reading, movies, history, canoeing, Gothic industrial music, photography

EDIT: Since Aroth added his MBTI, mine is INTJ

Edited by Bearpaw on 12/29/2007 15:22:38 MST.

feeeeemale

youngish (but old enough that hippies shouldn't trust me)

married mama (the kidlets are why i'm on short-term hiatus)

mostly Caucasoid, with rumours of Cherokee

many different jobs (waitress, yogurt jockey, secretary, business manager, writer, succubus)

southern ca-li-for-ni-yay

alternate interests include building stuff, fixing stuff, painting stuff, sewing stuff, listening to stuff, reading stuff, discussing stuff, and cooking stuff. oh, and being mildly amusing (or aggravating, take your choice).

Since it was brought up and I happen to remember mine, I'm ISTP.

Adam

Sex: Female

Age: 34

Marital Status: Married w/one child

Race: White/Filipino

Occupation: Self Employed.

Location: Western Washington State, near Mt. Rainier.

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, hiking, snowshoeing, sewing, cooking, being a mommy and wife. Traveling. Being a touron.

Sex: Yes!

Age: Dirt addresses me as "sir"

Marital Status: Happy

Race: Human

Occupation: Food distribution

Location: Seattle

Hobbies/Interest: writing, photography, travel, hiking, gear, gadgets and gizmos

General personality of an UL hiker? Mildly obsessive. Kept in the attic by the family and released on weekends to wander the wilderness. Prone to cutting things off expensive gear and muttering about fabrics.

Sex: Male
Age: 24
Marital Status: Single
Race: Anglo-Saxon
Occupation: Christian Camp Gear Manager and Wilderness Guide
Location: San Juans, CO
Hobbies/Interests: God and the Bible, Backpacking, DIY Gear, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing!!!!!!!, telemark skiing and xc skiing, biking, slacklining, making stuff, baking,

my prediction of what we all have in common - backpacking, and perhaps a tendancy towards engineering nerdiness.

Sex: Male
Age: 18
Marital Status: Single
Race: white
Occupation: Unemployed
Location: Bozeman, MT
Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing, Ultimate Frisbee, slacklining, running, biking, kayaking.

Sex: Male

Age: 29

Marital Status: Married with 2 daughters

Race: German/Swede/Irish mix

Occupation: USAF

Location: Based in Phoenix, AZ , on location everywhere! (Born in CO)
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling to distant lands, Backpacking, Rock Climbing, Hiking, trying out new sustainable technology, and taking my male Japanese Akita "Kobi" for runs in the park!

I tend to spend long nights analyzing data and fiddling with gear...BS degree in Aeronautical Science / Physics might be a factor! MYOG is up next! =)

Male
55
Married, 34 years
3 children all on their own (mostly), 2 grandchildren
White
Jewish
School Superintendent, volleyball coach
North Central Idaho (left CA in 1971)
INTJ
Backpacking (47 years), skiing, whitewater rafting, running, biking, volleyball, carpentry, gardening

Male
27
Single
-Teacher (High School Mathematics)
-Graduate Student (Discrete Mathematics)
Denver, CO
Backpacking, Snowboarding, Training my Dog, Cooking, Music (Mostly Independent: Country, Metal, Hip Hop, Rock, Folk, Pop and more), Movies and Books

Sex: Male

Age: 67

Marital Status: Married (46 years) 2 daughters, 5 grandchildren, 1 great-grandson.

Race: Caucasian (Irish & German/Dutch mix)

Occupation: Retired 2006 - USAF Meteorologist 20 years, Trucking/Warehousing Operations Manager 18 years, Emergency Services Dispatcher (and EMT) 8 years.

Location: Upstate New York right on the Vermont border. 15 minutes from the AT and LT,

Interests: Long distance Hiking, Snowshoeing, Canoeing. Spend almost all my time with my dog. Recently started making gear.

Edited by Quoddy on 02/11/2008 15:22:49 MST.

Sex: male

Age: 17

Marital Status: single

Race: Caucasian (German/Italian/Scotch-Irish)

Occupation: Student (HS)

Location: NJ

Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Hiking, Rafting, Traveling, Scouts, Playing Trumpet, Listening to Rock or Jazz, Movies, Computer/Tech, Reading, Looking at Maps

Favorite Classes: Earth Science, Physics

MBTI: INTJ


trends I've seen so far:
-many interested in physics/engineering/technology/tinkering
-many have similar MBTI

Edited by pedro87 on 12/29/2007 16:31:00 MST.

Sex: Male
Age: 30's
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: US Coast Guard
Location: Bay area

Love making my own gear, SUL fastpacking, and ultra anything.

Crazy things I've done:

1. JMT Unsupported attempt. Started with sub 15 lbs pack.

2. Primal Quest Utah last year and doing PQ in Montana next year.

3. Have run 105 miles in 24 hours.

Future things to do:

1. Taho Rim Trail Unsupported Record next year.
2. Top 30 or even 20 in Primal Quest
3. Furnace Creek 508
4. Hardrock 100
5. Run Barkley 100
6. Deca-triathlon in Mexico

As you can tell from the list, it seems the older I get the stupier I get as well.

Edited by awsorensen on 12/30/2007 14:40:17 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 43

Marital Status: Married w/children (1-9 years old...2 pretty girls & 1 little devil)

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Ph.D. Materials Scientist. I identify/develop new barrier packaging films for Kraft Foods to protect their food (Chips Ahoy cookies, Oscar Mayer, Cheese, coffee) from oxygen & moisture.

Location: Allentown, PA area (I'm ~15 miles from the AT).

Previous adventures: Moab area, Yosemite, Oregon's Cascades, Joshua Tree, and lots of hikes on the AT in TN/NC, VA, PA, & NY.

Hobbies/Interest: Family activities, Backpacking, Reading (mostly living vicariously through other people that get outdoors more than me)

Goals: Next year, take my 5 & 9 year old on overnighter hikes on the AT and introduce my family to Yosemite! In the next 5 years, I'd like to make time to hke the JMT. Longer term, I'd like to do other large sections of the PCT, CDT, and explore some of the national parks more.

Sex: Male

Age: 58

Marital Status: Married to a Chinese immigrant (now a citizen) w/2 sons (20 and 24)

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: M.A., database architect, database system analyst, database programmer, for a major health insurance company.

Location: Edina, Minnesota

Previous adventures: High Sierra Trail (in Sequoia National Park), every summer 2000-2007, in 2007 did the HST round trip.

Hobbies/Interest: Audiobooks, long walks with my dog and audiobooks, avid Internet Researcher (news, research items, Backpack planning).

Goals: Next year, 160 miles of the JMT. Eventually I want to bribe or convince my sons to join me -- the youngest did once in 2003 but does not want to do it again. Start a Catholic Hiking Club in the Twin Cities, MN. (in my parish, I offered my BP expertise and company on the JMT in exchange for a donation to the Church and a fellow parishioner donated the amount to the parish, so we'll have at least 3 memers on the JMT hike in 2008).

Sex: Male

Age: 46

Marital Status: Blissfully Single

Race: Chinese

Occupation: Accountant

Location: Home of the Rose Bowl

Hobbies/Interest: Traveling, backpacking, wasting time surfing backpacking forums and gear sites, reading (love to read about history, economics, cultures)

Future thing to do: Travel around the world taking only trains and ships.

Gender: Male

Age: Early 40's

Personal Status: Single

Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, irish/cajun hybrid

Occupation: Physician

Location: North Texas, originally from Louisiana

Pre-Occupations: Many outdoor sports, physical fitness, funny movies, good music, simple living.

Edited by jshann on 01/03/2008 20:23:14 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 28

Marital Status: Single

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Web Developer

Location: Kansas

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, Computers, watching sports

Edited by dustinmeyer on 01/01/2008 15:21:19 MST.

SWF
Age 29
I work as a substitute teacher.
I currently reside in SoCal.
I am a huge sports fan, in addition to hiking and backpacking. Sports, sports, sports.

sex: male
age: 50
married no kids 3 cats
race: National Auto Sports Association National Competition License holder and white w/ freckles
Occupation: Pilot
Location: Kansas City MO
Hobbies: Building things, built an airplane in my basement and flew it to Alaska, built a 17'kevlar canoe and paddled it down the Bloodvein River, built a 4x5 view camera, built a Factory 5 race car and race it in NASA sanctioned competitions, backpacking, fly fishing, photography, radio controlled model airplanes

It is interesting to see what other folks here are doing.

Male
twenty and one
Single, no kids, no goals
Scandinavian and Cherokee
ex-bike messenger, currently unemployed carpenter
South Carolina but moving to Amherst mass shortly
I like death/doom/black metal, rock climbing, bicycles, tinkering, horticulture ;-), and blowing things up

*edit* How could I forget that I like good beer? Porters and Bocks por favor

Edited by Jenner on 01/02/2008 09:18:55 MST.

My information:

Sex: Male

Age: 26

Marital Status: living with girlfriend

Race: English

Occupation: Outdoor Instructor

Location: White peak area of the peak district

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking (ultralight of course!) Hiking, scrambling, bushcraft, making my own gear, canoeing, mountain biking, reading about the outdoors, movies!

Edited by thedanwhalley on 01/02/2008 11:28:35 MST.

My information:

Sex: Female

Age: 39

Marital Status: Married w/children

Race: Scottish/Canadian

Occupation: Wilderness Cookbook Author and Website Designer

Location: near the Grand River, Ontario, Canada

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, Canoeing, Gardening, Cooking, Art, Reading, Writing, History, and Photography

edited to add: I also love to collect vintage and antique backpacking stoves but I don't use them - they weigh too much

Edited by Laurie_Ann on 01/02/2008 11:39:02 MST.

My information:

Sex: Male

Age: 35

Marital Status: Married with one son- Henry!

Race: Euro American- Irish/English/German/Dutch/Apache ancestry

Occupation: Vice Principal of an Elementary School, President of a small non-profit (www.gfsf.org), BackpackingLight Editor

Location: Redmond, Washington- USA

Hobbies/Interest:
Major hobbies: Playing outside with my wife Amy and my son Henry, Backpacking, Mountain biking, snow shoeing, travelling, hanging with family, hording and weighing gear

Minor hobbies that I have all the gear for and enjoy occasionally: mountaineering, road biking, whitewater canoeing, scuba diving, off road motorcycling, snowmobiling, sledding, archery, cross country skiing, dj'ing parties, Alfa Romeos, photography, collecting music, computers and related gadgets, dancing, collecing and studying Mayan huipiles, and these days, working on my house. :-)

Give this guy another friggin hobby!

Oh yeah- I have an RC car too. And I sea kayak sometimes. And I can snowboard.

But I don't cook and I don't do crossword puzzles. :-)

Big backpacking goal:
I'm training for what I'm calling the Triple 50- 3 50 mile days back to back on the PCT in Oregon. I'm totally stoked on this and I think about it daily. I can't wait to see if I can do it!

Edited by djohnson on 01/02/2008 18:06:38 MST.

my info:

Sex: Male

Age: 15

Race: english/scottish/irish/german

Location: D.C. suburbs

Favorite Hiking so far: SIERRAS, Uintas, shenendoah, dolly sods

Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Running, biking, Swimming, triathlon, snowshoeing, XC skiing, downhill skiing, photography, playing around with my spreadsheets, maps, and gear.

Goals: Sierra high route, Tuscarora trail, Triple crown thru-hikes, Skurka-sized expedition (I have a good Idea in mind :)) mini triple crown with a twist, Id like to try out some mountaineering, 7 summits depending on my situation in the future, training for a first Ironman length triathlon.

Current project: finishing my Eagle and Denali scout awards. (within a month of completion!) William T. Hornaday conservation Medal. (Im not so much in it for the award, just seems like a good excuse for doing 3 or for conservation projects)
and planning for this summers trek.. 260 mile stretch of CDT, south pass-old faithful, yellowstone

Edited by ryanf on 01/02/2008 18:30:30 MST.

Wow... I'm amazed at how on-topic this thread stayed. I guess people like talking about themselves. Speaking of which... my turn... LOL...

Stats:
- Male
- 39
- Single
- Caucasian
- Web Designer & Developer
- Halifax, Canada

Hobbies:
- Surfing
- Yoga
- Running
- Bonsai
- Classical Guitar
- Mountain Banjo
- Architecture & Design

Sex: Male

Age: 38

Marital Status: Married with two daughters age 9 and 6 months.

Race: Mom's family from UK, Dad's family from Canada and some pre-WWI Eastern European country that does not exist anymore.

Occupation: Tech Support for school district (hate it), getting a alternative teaching cert for 4-8th Generalist. Weekend warrior with 20th SFG(A) in Alabama.

Location: Wichita Falls, TX- USA

Hobbies/Interest: Paying off school loan and CC bills. Running, backpacking, climbing when I can, roller blading, spending time with my family, and Call of Duty 4. I wasn't gonna put the COD4 but my wife made me.

My type is:
ISTJ
Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
78 25 31 6

.

Edited by theavrock on 08/15/2012 20:22:38 MDT.

Well, there seems to be a lot of males, and a lot of MBTI: INTJs, and most people have put backpacking as one of their hobbies!

Female
Age 47
Sorta attached, sorta 2 young adult offspring (Not mine and only part-time)
Mostly caucasian (Hungarian/Romanian/Irish/Chickasha)
Scientist/researcher who loves my work
INTJ
New Zealand based

Interests include gardening, reading, doggy, weight training and fine whiskeys...and backpacking or "tramping" as we call it. I am also a compulsive modifier and improver of just about every piece of gear that ever touches my hands.

Sex: Not lately
Age: Too close to 50 (help it's catching up fast)
Race: Anglo Saxon (UK mix)
Status: Soon to be single again(First time around) with one Kid in University and one still in High School.
Location: East of Toronto Canada
Occupation: Quality Checker for an Engineering Firm (I'm not an Engineer - surprised?)
Hobbies: Collecting old camping gear (all that stuff we're supposed to be getting rid of!!!!!!!!!!!
Goals: Discover that my bad hip joint will not inhibit me getting back into hiking. Build up the nerve to get out there for a long one.

Sex: Male

Age: 23

Marital Status: Hitched, no kids

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Student (pre-dental), also own a recording studio

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Hobbies/Interests: Writing and producing music, photography, being outdoors, snomobiling, camping and hiking, dirtbiking, history, languages, books, philosophy

If anything, I've realized from going UL that I have an obsessive personality. I get wrapped up in one thing for a while and it consumes me (not to the point where I am disfunctional, luckily). If I can harness this personality trait I should make out well in life (I think).

Sex: Male

Age: 18 - Started lightweight backpacking two years ago...

Marital Status: Single and lookin...

Race: White

Occupation: Student

Location: Right now - Grand Rapids MI for college. I live in Seattle though.

Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Snow Camping, Making Movies, lifting, and right now I'm trying to learn how to pick locks...

Personal info:

Age-55-Male-residence -NW. Florida
marital-married, 2 kids, dog, 3 cats, Iguana
occupation-U.S. Probation Officer and semi pro musician
hobbies-music, harmonica, setting up tube amps for harp, running, hiking, BPing, gigs and jams

Sex: Male
Age: 24
Marital Status: Taken
Race: Caucasian
Occupation: Research assistant on my way to Grad school for Psych Ph.D
Location: Boston, MA
Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Researching backpacking gear, cooking, I am obsessed with reading, learning outdoor skills (identifying plants, making fire, basically 'primitive' living) I never play anymore, but Mike reminded me that I DID play the some blues on the harp, I may add more later...

Edited by arichardson6 on 02/01/2008 06:20:01 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 24

Occupation: special needs education

Ethnicity: European Mongrel- fractionally German, Italian, English and possibly Jewish. Born rural, culturally urban.

Location: Bristol, (dis)United Kingdom

Hobbies/Interests: Music, Backpacking (always solo), writing, tea drinking, food (trying to cut down on that for the backpacking) time, space, trees, the way culture gets inside our bodies and glows, brews or festers there before passing on in a new form.

Edited by deadogdancing on 02/11/2008 03:35:05 MST.

Huh?

Edited by skopeo on 04/13/2008 01:02:31 MDT.

Sex: Male

Age: 37

Martial Status: long term relationship, no kids.

Race: White

Occupation: High School science teacher

Location: San Diego, CA

Hobbies/Interests: mtn biking, hiking, rock climbing, kites, kitesurfing, kite buggies, fighter kites, kite making, surfing.

Ryan said it, I too get wrapped up in one thing for a while and it consumes me. All my friends notice it. It is good to stay diverse.

Edited by geokite on 02/12/2008 22:44:32 MST.

Sex: Male

Age: 29

Race: Dutch, Swedish

Marital Status: Married, no kids, ever!

Occupation: Architect

Location: Duluth, MN

Interests: All season backpacking, climbing (rock and ice), mountain biking, kayaking, c.c. skiing, reading, films, sketching, model building

Sex: Only with my right hand... Wait, I meant Male, scratch that

Age: 19

Married: Nope, dating

Occupation: Student at Arizona State which makes my....

Location: Tempe, AZ

Likes: Jeepin', Road trips, watching sports, butterflies, rainbows, clowns, ponies and romance novels with Fabio on the cover

Dislikes: Hiking, Backpacking, Trail running, mountain biking, car camping, kayaking, fishing, basically anything that takes me away from said list above (note: extreme sarcasm in use during this list)

Sex: Male

Age: 26

Race: English/American Indian

Marital Status: Married

Occupation: Wholesale Purchasing

Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Interests: Backpacking, Politics, History, Archaeology, Science

Sex: Male

Age: 70+

Marital Status: Married w/grandchildren

Race: Caucasian-Scottish

Occupation: Retired scientist/academic

Location: Rural SE Arizona

Hobbies: Backpacking, Mountaineering, Target shooting, Archery, Reading,Philosophy, Music and Gear making.

MBTI: INTJ

Edited by Rincon on 02/16/2008 18:13:33 MST.

female
43
married, 1 kid in college
location: lake tahoe, ca. desolation wilderness is my backyard- the pct is 5 miles from my house thru the woods.

occupation: office manager- a job that demands my time in exchange for putting money in my bank account so i can do what i want with the rest of my time.

preoccupations: making stuff. currently, making fire with a bow drill. i like to make things i use: 16' kevlar canoe, my backpacking gear (everything except my thermarest!) clothes, the rug on my floor, etc. i like to fix things, too. i'm pretty much "homemade"

activities: flyfishing. hiking. skiing. canoing lake tahoe.

aspirations: spend 1 month in the woods, wandering the sierras. then maybe more!

mbti:istj

Sex: Male

Age: 30

Marital Status: Married w/4 dogs

Race: Mostly Irish

Occupation: Firefighter/Paramedic Baltimore City, Maryland

Location: Just outside Baltimore

Hobbies/Interest: Backpacking, camping, hiking, history of the fire service, reading, American Civil War, my ipod, dogs, cycling, tools.

Sex: Female
Age: Late 40ish
Marital Status: Single
Race: Appalachian American
Occupation: Medical Transcription
Location: West Virginia
Hobbies/Interests: Backpacking, Downhill and cross country skiing, fishing, making/tweaking gear.

is there a form or something? sex/age/marital status/hobbies/...

huh? a light weight backpacker is not a SKU.

anyway, as for the personality profile of the lightweight backpacker let me offer the following, though little enough of it describes me and probably even less of it describes you. regardless, near as I can tell (and this is from years of keen observation and practice) the personality profile of a lightweight backpacker is: irascible / impudent / contemplative / arrogant / exhuberant / musical / intolerant and intolerable / happy and friendly / conservative in viewpoint, often tending toward communism / compassionate / careful / reckless / attuned / competitive / mute / raucous / inquisitive / highly perceptive and uncommonly blind. and this is the just part of the list.

now, not all lightweight backpackers pack all these personality characteristics but we all pack more than one. and not all of these characteristics bunk well together as we all well know. I here offer the metaphor of the trail mix. nuts and raisins, all in one bag.

so, sorry, no profile. but if there is one personality attribute shared by all of us who value wilderness it is our personal imperative to seek out wild places, there to hone ourselves against momma earth and to, you know, rub our husks off against the rocks.

now that's personality.

:)

Lots of funny stuff so far. Sorry, I'm no comedian. Me...

Sex: Male

Age: 48

Location: Portland, OR USA

Marital status: married 17 years/ 2 kids

Occupation: Real Estate appraiser. Past jobs include fishing guide (Alaska) commercial fishing (Alaska) baggage handler with airlines, fire sprinkler fitter and general vagabond.

Race: western and northern European decent

Hobbies/interests: backpacking, fly fishing, discovering new (to me) music, martial arts point sparring, family and friends, tinkering with my 73 BMW 2002, gardening, BBQing, good beer and a good peaty single malt.

There were some 58 or so respondents to this survey...though not all of the resulting numbers will add up to 58 for particular categories.

These are very general groupings and observations and are not meant to offend anyone or to over generalize or stereotype anyone or group of people.

Some of the responses defied an easy category, but here is what I came up with:

Profile of a lightweight backpacker:

Male: 46
Female: 8

Single: 24
Married: 28

Ages:

Less than 21 yrs old: 5
21-30 yrs old: 19
31-40 yrs old: 10
41-50 yrs old: 10
51-60 yrs old: 4
61-70 yrs old: 2
71 or older: 1

Race:

Caucasian: 40
Asian: 2
Unknown/No response: 3

Please note: many who were multi-racial with Caucasian heritage were grouped as Caucasian. I hope that I offended no one in doing so.

In the vast majority of cases, Caucasian was of European decent.

Occupations:

This was hard to classify or group and forgive my generalizations:

Those who work in education: 8
Those who are currently students: 8
Those who work in IT: 4
Those in Science & Engineering: 6
Those in Military, Law Enforcement, Public Safety: 4
Those Retired: 4
Those in Health Care: 2
Those in Business/Sales: 7
Other: 5 (this ranges from authors, artist, pilot, carpenter, etc)

Well this was fun to see all of the responses and I leave it to you to draw any conclusions that you want.

The more interesting aspect of this has been being able to read people's responses and to see the details of their interest and lives.

There is a wide diversity among us and we all benefit from such a large pool of knowledge to draw upon.

Thank you for all of you who joined me in this whimsical quest for knowledge.

If there are any of you who wish to add your own information to this list, please feel free to do so.

Adding to this can only serve to allow your fellow BPLer's know more about you and you about everyone else here.

Thanks!

-Tony

Sex: male
Age: 35
Marital Status: Married, 3 great kids
Race: Cherokee/German (White boy)
Occupation: IT, systems developer
Location: South-East Ohio
Hobbies/Interests: Family time, backpacking, collecting music, booze and cigars, art, cold beers, movies, hangin with the dudes, takin' it easy (which never actually happens with 3 tots)

INTJ here as well.

Edited by magillagorilla on 12/23/2008 13:05:16 MST.

As a fellow INTJ I find this thread fascinating, as a healthy majority of the responses are this Myers Briggs type, yet they only comprise 3.5% of the general population. I wonder what the most prevalent MB type would be for a "traditional" backpacker.

Perhaps it's the J that keeps those baseweights down...

Edited by ChrisMorgan on 12/23/2008 11:39:02 MST.

female
44
happy single with some cats
european mountain mix living still in Europe
vet and writer
job, backpacking, canoeing, travelling, taking pics, reading, gardening (japanese garden), searching for simplicity and enjoy life

Sex - Male
Age - 50
Marital status - married, 3 underachieving children
Race - white. Came from England in 1692. Certainly mongrels by now.
Occupation - petroleum engineer
Hobbies - skiing, Boy Scouts, sailing, backpacking, various gun games, hunting.

Apparently from a generation that doesn't know what a MBTI is, or why you would want one.