Television For Backpackers

Backpackers don't have many television shows produced with them in mind. Still, there are some shows that can be appreciated especially by backpackers. They even contain some useful lessons. Here are a few examples of the best.

National Geographic Specials

The specials produced by the National Geographic Society are great viewing for getting you motivated to plan new backpacking trips. The older ones are some of the best for this, like the thirty-year-old episode where four guys built a raft and floated down the Yukon River. You can find many of these on DVD now in public libraries, as well as in some video rental stores. You can se newer episodes on the National Geographic Network and occasionally on PBS.

Survivorman

This is a television program about wilderness survival. It can be seen on the Discovery Channel, and the Science Channel (and possibly others). The show is about one man against the elements. The man in this case is Les Stroud, who is put in various environments to survive for seven days while filming himself.

One feature of Survivorman is that each show has a "theme." The Canadian arctic episode, for example, has Stroud left with a broken-down snowmobile. He cannibalizes this various useful items, including the seat cushion, which he uses for a insulating sleeping pad. The Sonoran desert episode has him in the middle of a desert with a broken dirt bike, and he uses wires from this to weave a blanket of grass.

It is creative and entertaining, but is a survival show useful for backpackers? I think so. There are the specific techniques of survival that Stroud shows us. In addition to that, though, is the inspiration the show provides. Survivorman lets you know that you can survive - and it gets you in the habit of thinking about how to use everything around you. This is knowledge that not only makes the wilderness more interesting, but could also save your life someday.

I Shouldn't Be Alive

This show is a pure survival story show. These are true stories of people that have survived some of the most horrible circumstances in every type of wilderness. In one episode the story is told of a couple who were stranded for nine days in the middle of winter in the Sierra Nevadas - with a baby. They really shouldn't be alive, but they are.

That is the point of watching a show like this. It is inspiring. Watch the episode where the man crashes his plane in the African desert and breaks his spine, then faces killer elephants, ants, thorns, hyenas and more. If you are ever lost in the wilderness, just recall a few of these shows and you'll know that people have survived worse situations than yours. You won't give up hope too easily.

"Reality shows," like survivor, are drama and more about political survival than wilderness, but there are other things for backpackers to watch on television. These include movies that get us motivated, like the "White Wolf," series. Movies like these may not be full of great acting, but they always put teenage hikers in beautiful setting that make us want to get the pack out and start making plans.

Finally, if you can catch it on television or rent it from the video store, watch "The Edge," with Anthony Hopkins. It is an inspirational survival story for starters. It also has some of the most beautiful scenery you'll see in a movie. You'll want to start planning a trip to the Canadian Rockies before the movie is even over. This one is great backpacker television.

The Ultralight Backpacking Site | Television For Backpackers