Backpacking outside the US?

[Pathfinder1]

Originally Posted by Lamebeaver

Canada, are you kidding? I hear some of those Molson smuggeling cartels can be vicious, eh?

Hi...


This is a bit off the subject...but one time when driving across Canada, they were having a beer strike...of all things. There was only one beer available...it was Uncle Ben's Blue Bull beer...which was more commonly known as the "unbeer"...!!

Fortunately, the strike ended soon thereafter.

[ppine]

Americans forget that we have a culture prone to violence. It is part of the price we pay for gun ownership, which I am in favor of. In many places like S Amer there is lots of theft, but almost no violent crime. No armed robbery for instance. I feel much safer walking the streets of a large city like LaPaz, Bolivia than I do in say Oakland or Los Angeles.

The two great dangers are drug operations which are protected abroad just like they are in the US, and active political entities that have revolutionary ideas about government. Avoid these like the plague. In some places kidnapping is used as a way to extort money from foreigners, but it is usually related to the situations described above.

[ghostdog]

Originally Posted by Gabbie

Do you think it is safe to go backpacking in other countries? Especially if you aren't familiar with the area. Would you hire a local guide to show you the places you want to go to?

Sometimes it is safe. We have backpacked both Mexico and Canada with no guides. We do like to make hidden camps that are hard to find or get into. This only time we had an issue, nothing to do with safety except for the close by wandering moose & calf, bears and the fearless wolf was in Canada in Algonquin Park. They made us camp in very specific designated sites every night. This was something completely new to us living in and usually traveling in the western states with all the massive public lands. Even the western Parks we have traveled in allow backcountry dispersed camping.

[ejdixon]

Has anyone tried backpacking in Asia? Any suggestions where to go?

[Grandpa]

Originally Posted by ejdixon

Has anyone tried backpacking in Asia? Any suggestions where to go?

My dream trip is Nepal. Lot's of good treks there and very cheap except for the plane fare. Hopefully this next fall I'll make the Annapurna circuit trek.

The Refrigerator is going to Russia this next year. He has an awesome trip planned, but that's his story to tell.

[Judy Ann]

Other than carrying a passport and knowing where the Embassy is in each country, how will your preparations differ? Can you carry your knives in a backpack in the cargo hold of a plane? Will you be carrying any specialized survival gear for a trip where you can't pack your guns or will you be allowed to bring them with you?

[ppine]

Grandpa,
I have some friends that have made multiple treks in Nepal as far as Everest Basecamp. They are geologists that love all those rocks. I have seen 1,000 of their slides and heard their tales in an effort to get me to join their next rip. It is kind of a young person's trip with passes over 18,000 feet, below zero temperatures at night, little to eat but potatoes and yak butter,, and bad sanitation littering the villages. It is extremelly beautiful and a country full of rural Bhuddists that pray often. Prayer flags and wheels dot the landscape with offerings to the gods. The cultural part seems charming and a trip of a life time. The physical environment seemed overwhelming to me considering the cost and the effort to travel at such high elevations up in the rocks. I opted for Peru and Bolivia instead and never looked back.

[Judy Ann]

[QUOTE=Grandpa;51042]My dream trip is Nepal. Lot's of good treks there and very cheap except for the plane fare. Hopefully this next fall I'll make the Annapurna circuit trek.

Nepal sounds mystical at times. I was reading about the Upper Dolpo trek today. I think one could easily spend a season there and still want to experience more.

[oldsarge]

Here is a site that has some videos a buddy of mine made a few years back. We were both stationed in Panama back in the early 80's. He went back and made a neat little documentary, kind of like the way Les Stroud (survivor man) did. I found this to be very entertaining.

Panama 1 of 16 - YouTube

14, 15, and 16 are my favorites!

[Roy]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

My dream trip is Nepal. Lot's of good treks there and very cheap except for the plane fare. Hopefully this next fall I'll make the Annapurna circuit trek.

The Refrigerator is going to Russia this next year. He has an awesome trip planned, but that's his story to tell.

Hurry Grandpa, I've heard that they're building a road along much of the Annapurna circuit! I'm sure it would still be beautiful even with a road, but I think it might lose something.