In January of 2021, I took my nephew on his very first backpack trip. But this wasn’t any easy, run-of-the-mill trail. Instead, we would venture through two canyons with second class scrambling as well as off-trail hiking to the summit of Quail Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park. Following a GPS and/or map-reading skills were necessary, and this felt like a great introduction to backpacking for him. Go big or go home!

I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but yes, I didn’t go on any backpack trips for over twenty years. Although you might find that hard to believe, it’s true. The reason behind this is simple yet complex.