I am an adventure traveler who has done many private and many outfitted trips and has led many wilderness outings. To me, backpacking means going places where there are no hostels, restaurants, or clubs.

I have found that in many commercially outfitted adventure trips, social interactions are mostly competitive and not at all friendly. On the Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) trips, people are generally cooperative and give and receive help comfortably. I have done many trips (like skiing across the Hardangervidda National Park in Norway) that I would not consider doing solo. I want to have at least one other person on a wilderness trip who has my level of competence and skill. For that reason, I try to find somebody who has my interests and abilities, and do a lot of trips with him/her.

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