By Olly Constantine,
Media Editor.
Backpacking is a great way to get outdoors and explore the natural world. History teacher Mitchell Johnson has been on a variety of backpacking trips over the years, which come with stories of both mishaps and triumphs.
In his junior year of high school, Johnson went backpacking with his dad through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne located in Yosemite. The trip was in August and the weather forecast had initially been clear skies, so they had decided to cowboy camp and sleep on a tarp under the stars rather than bring a tent along for the journey.
It began to rain as the group hiked through the canyon but they tried to ignore it until the rain turned into a flash flood. “All of a sudden there was water everywhere and we had to get to higher ground,” said Johnson. The group had to hike up the side of the canyon to escape the water. Unfortunately, the rain didn’t clear up so they found shelter under a rock overhang.
After injuring his knee while backpacking in the Sawtooth mountain range, Johnson had to pack up early and hike back to the start of the trail by himself. As he was walking, he noticed a large flat rock in the middle of the trail. He ignored it at first and managed to get around it and continued to hike. Eventually, he noticed a dead tree that had been shredded and scratched up.
It wasn’t until Johnson saw a pile of scat on the side of the trail that he realized he had accidentally been following a bear for a few miles. “People say they’re more scared of you than you are of them, but when you’re by yourself I don’t know if it really matters,” said Johnson. Luckily, he didn’t end up meeting the bear face to face and was able to get back to the start of the trail safely.
It can be difficult to know what to do when unexpected obstacles arise on the trail. “You have to remember what your priorities are,” said Johnson. Having access to food, water and shelter make hard-to-navigate situations much easier to deal with. Some issues on the trail are unavoidable: “You can’t magically prevent tripping and breaking your wrist or something, but if you prepare. . . it can be the difference between making it out on your own or needing a helicopter,” Johnson explained.
Backpacking is a great way to enjoy the natural world. Just make sure to bring enough food and water, stay prepared and watch out for bears.
