I backpacked for over 10 years without ever owning, much less bringing, a camera. Old hiking buddies probably have photos, but I got zip. Actually, I am getting older....16 years of hiking no photos :(

Yes I do bring a camera now....my blackberry haha. Still dont own a camera

Edited by sparky on 05/12/2010 00:44:47 MDT.

Joseph:

I'm kind of like you. I've traveled to many parts of the world over the last 14 years -- and no photos. I finally took a camera along last year. There were both pros and cons -- but overall, I was glad I did -- and I will continue doing so in future trips.

First Hike: to climb Martinez peak in 1967, So California, no pictures
Second: climbed Olancha Peak in Sierra, 1967, no pictures
3rd: climbed Split Pk, Sierra, 1967
JMT: 1971

below: climbing Split Pk, 1967


1967, 9 day backpack on W. side of Sierra, to Little 5 lakes.



below: climbing Dragon Peak, Sierra, 1967


below: on the JMT 1971

Edited by rshaver on 05/12/2010 15:29:37 MDT.

Love these forums. So many good ideas for me to improve my experience. Moving as fast as I can towards lightweight, from, well, frankly, anvilweight backpacking.

Here is a good selection of packs, and typical backpacking clothes. This was on a cross country pass in the Palisades region of the Sierra of CA. My on the right, 20 years old, 1970.

Wonderful photo -- and thanks for keeping this thread alive. I love looking at these "old" photos. Hope to see more from everyone...

Other than some "hike down the road to the campground" scout trips, this was my first "real" backpacking trip. June of 1970, Yosemite NP. We had no idea what we were doing.


Me with my "treking pole", old felt hillbilly hat, and my rented down sleeping bag. Stylin'



My hiking buddy by our tent. Note taught pitch, use of large rocks along the sides to keep the edge down, and the use of native sticks for the tent poles. Also, the antique pack frames with canvas pack bags add a nice touch.

-Mark

My buds on a 1971 Nine day hike in the Sierra, from Cottonwood to Sawmill, on the W. side of Whitney, Left to right:

deceased, retired cop, bankruptcy attorney, small business owner, patent attorney, social worker.

Hey, lady, you got the love I need,
Maybe more than enough.
Oh, Darlin', Darlin', Darlin', walk a while with me,
Oh, you got so much, so much, so much.

Many have I loved, and many times been bitten,
many times I've gazed along the open road.

Many times I've lied and many times I've listened,
many times I've wondered how much there is to know.

Many dreams come true and some have silver linings
I live for my dream and a pocketful of gold.

Mellow is the man who knows what he's been missin',
many many men can't see the open road.

Many is a word that only leaves you guessin',
Guessin' 'bout a thing you really ought to know.
You really ought to know.
I really ought to know.

Over The Hills And Far Away
by Led Zeppelin

I am on the right and my brother is on the left. I took a full pack all the way to the top (young and didn't know any better), wearing Levis- at least they were 501's, no gloves. At the time I thought it was just a long walk. I wish I still had that kind of energy.

Here I am using my staff and shadow to do direction-finding in the Sinai. As you can see, the weather was great.

here my oldest, sounds funny cause its from 2008, other than the zip off pants it could be the 80's.
the reason i started backpacking was that i inherited that pack, pad, and optimus 99 stove from my stepdad when he died the previous fall.
even that pack was probably about 20 lbs fully loaded.

the pack has dropped a few pounds since then, about as much as the gut-

Edited by benwood on 01/27/2011 16:40:55 MST.

Great great thread. I could look at these old pics all day.

My earliest backpacking photo, 2 nights flyfishing Cottonwood Lakes, 2004.

Edited by Lopez on 01/28/2011 22:39:57 MST.

Roads End Kings Canyon Rae Lakes Loop 2000. Getting my large Gregory Denali pack ready for me to shoulder. I shudder when I see this pic. The pack is a Gregory Denali BTW

Edited by kennyhel77 on 01/30/2011 11:19:57 MST.

There have got to be a few additional old images out there! Here is one while climbing the Sherpa Glacier on Mt. Stuart, Washington State, 1975.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your photos! Please keep them coming... don't be shy! :)

This one was a couple of days in Alaska. I can't remember the name of the pass, but we took a train and hiked maybe 20 miles total. Right before we got to the visitor center where my Grandma would pick us up, my cousin Michael came face to belly with a brown bear standing right in front of him on the trail. I was a probably ten minutes behind him and missed it.

I might as well join in the fray---


Here's an early shot getting my first nature fix at a stream in Colorado 1955.


And then we move to 1963 which shows the old reliable canvas Yucca pack in Texas.


And then here we are in Pisgah NF 1984. I really liked my wool poncho from Peru.

This was maybe the summer of 1998, midway through college, and two of my best friends from high school and I decided to climb Mt. Washington. We had all read Kerouac's The Dharma Bums and were hungry for the meditation of mountains.
It's pretty grainy (a digital photo of a color photocopy of a photo) but the visibility was just like this picture suggests on the summit. I don't remember seeing anyone else up top there that day, but if they were there, they would have had to have been right next to us for us to see them anyway.
I wore baggy cotton painter's pants,cotton t-shirt, a chunky handknit wool sweater, (pretty much what I wore around campus) and a borrowed little LL Bean rucksack with a synthetic sleeping bag lashed to the top (probably a Slumberjack or Coleman). There's also a yard-long French bread stuffed between the lash straps. We knew little about gear but we did alright, even relatively lightweight. This trip still resonates with me as one of the most memorable and deeply connected (to the mountain and to good friends) hikes ever.

Edited by GregPehrson on 02/04/2012 11:22:28 MST.