Thru-Hikers are Lazy: How to Be A More Efficient Backpacker
This blog is sponsored by one of my favorite water treatment methods, Aquatabs.
The premise for this blog started as sort of a joke, but as I thought more about it, I realized there was a kernel of truth to the joke that we could all learn from. The joke? Thru-hikers are lazy. The truth? Thru-hikers are efficient. Taking lessons from all the ways thru-hikers display “laziness” can help us all be more efficient backpackers.
You might be thinking, what do you mean thru-hikers are lazy? They walk hundreds of miles, sometimes all the way across the country, with everything we need on our back. And you’re right! BUT if the energy a thru-hiker is expending is not being spent specifically on forward motion toward the terminus of their choosing, they often don’t want to spend it!
Because of that, we thru-hikers become extremely lazy in all things not related to hiking toward our destination. That’s why thru-hikers are the perfect example to look at for how to become a more efficient backpacker.
Today’s blog is all about how to save energy while backpacking and become more efficient.
1. Carrying as little weight as possible to be a more efficient backpacker.
My first piece of evidence for thru-hikers being a lazy bunch is the LENGTHS we go to to reduce our pack weight. Even if a thru-hiker isn’t ultralight, I guarantee you they have spent hours thinking about the weight of various items in their pack. If they started out with a really heavy pack, I guarantee you they have gotten rid of things to lighten that load.
Because we have to carry all of our stuff for such long distances, we get really good at making sure it’s lighter. This is something that ALL backpackers can learn from and implement to make their backpacking trips more pleasant and efficient.
Again, you don’t have to be ultralight, but not packing just any random thing you might need will make backpacking trips way more enjoyable!
2. Cowboy Camping to be a more efficient backpacker.
Another thing I think we can learn from thru-hiker laziness is the art of cowboy camping. I’m sure there are some casual backpackers who do this as well, but I feel like I most often hear praise for cowboy camping from the more dirt bag inclined among us.
Cowboy camping, for those who don’t know, is setting up your sleeping bag under the stars, no tent, usually just a ground sheet and your sleeping pad.
Thru-hikers tend to take advantage of this often on clear nights after a long day of hiking when setting up a tent sounds like the absolute last thing you want to do.
Unobstructed views of the milky way are just a perk of being more efficient and borderline lazy.
3. Finding better ways to treat water to be a more efficient backpacker.
Another thing I’ve seen born from thru-hiker laziness but is actually just genius efficiency, is not filtering your water. I know what you’re thinking, “but GIARDIA!” Trust me, I’m just afraid of having uncontrollable diarrhea in the backcountry as you are, but I never said don’t TREAT your water, just that there are ways to avoid filtering it.
My friend Stickerz turned me on to Aquatabs on the PCT back in 2019. We were in the Sierra gathering water from an overflowing, snowmelt-filled creek and she simply popped an Aquatab in her water bottle, shook it up, and stuck it back in her pack. I was like, “Are you not going to filter your water?” And she said, “I’m too tired, I’m just treating it with Aquatabs.” We had been slogging through the snow for days and I was enlightened.
She kept hiking and after 30 minutes her water was drinkable.
I now carry Aquatabs with me for situations just like this, when I don’t feel like squeezing water through a filter, especially when it’s nice, clear water but I’m still not sure what could be upstream. I’m not trying to drink from a marmot’s bathroom without treating it.
Aquatabs also kill viruses that are too small to be treated by some backpacking filters, specifically filters that are 0.1 microns or larger in size.
Having multiple ways to treat water is definitely a lazy thru-hiker hack.
4. Strategic water stops for being a more efficient backpacker.
While we are on the subject of water, another lazy but efficient thing thru-hikers do ALL the time is strategically plan WHERE they are getting water. I posted about my lazy thru-hiker theory on tik tok and half the comments were about not collecting off trail water.
Off-trail water is any water source that you have to deviate from your intended trail to gather from. So say I’m thru-hiking the CDT, and the trail itself does not cross a water source again for 10 miles, but there’s a 1 mile side trail to water in 5 miles. There is NO WAY most thru-hikers are going to take that side trail, even though that water is CLOSER it’s way more efficient to just carry enough water to last 10 miles and collect right from the trail.
The exception is when the thru-hiker was so lazy they did not check where their next water source was and they are forced to get the off-trail water because they’re dehydrated in the middle of the desert.
This method can definitely be used by all backpackers to be more efficient, and you can even take it a step farther by planning your camp spots around water sources. It’s just smart.
5. Cold soaking to be a more efficient backpacker.
Need I say more? Thru-hikers have literally invented a way to consume calories without cooking, without carrying a stove, and without even enjoying a single bite (you can’t convince me anyone actually likes cold ramen).
Cold soaking is a quest to consume energy in its rawest form. No pleasure, just calories.
I don’t know if cold soaking is worth adopting to become more efficient, but it’s an option for the more masochistic among us in their quest for efficiency.
6. Minimal movement at camp to be a more efficient backpacker.
This ‘thru-hikers are lazy’ theory actually originated from a conversation I had with my good friend Carly. We go backpacking together fairly frequently and she noticed how I have a habit of stacking all of my things on my foam pad at camp when it’s time to wind down and eat dinner.
In contrast to her going back and forth to get things from her tent, I take one trip and plop my happy butt down on my sleeping pad. Once I’m there, nothing but trail magic or the call of my sleeping bag can move me.
Thru-hikers have mastered the art of minimal movement once we arrive at camp. After we are done hiking for the day, we are DONE.
Barring safety concerns, these little efficiencies are definitely something all backpackers could incorporate to save energy for hiking.
7. Not walking in town to save energy for backpacking.
If not on their designated route, thru-hikers will take any opportunity to hitchhike. We go to town to do our little chores, and if we can get a ride from chore to chore, we will stick our thumbs out faster than you can say “true crime documentary”. We will take the semi-inconvenient but free public transportation all around town until the bus drivers know our names. We will get a hotel right next to a restaurant and a Walmart and not leave that one square block radius until it’s time to continue our walk across the country.
What’s the lazy lesson in this for backpackers? Avoid unnecessary mileage at all costs. Try not to forget things at camp sites and water sources that you’ll have to hike back for. Research parking before you leave and make sure your trail head is getting you to the area you want to backpack. Avoid extra steps in your quest for infinite steps, ya know?
I hope you can apply lessons from a lazy thru-hiker to your next backpacking trip. Thanks for reading!