Backpacking (travel) - History

History

While people have traveled for all history with their possessions in packs they carry on their backs, the concept of modern backpacking can be traced, at least partially, to the Hippie Trail of the 1960s and '70s, which in turn followed sections of the old Silk Road. In fact, some backpackers today seek to recreate that journey, albeit in a more comfortable manner. Seventeenth-century Italian adventurer Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri has been cited by some authorities as one of the world's first backpackers.

While travel along the old Hippie Trail has been rendered complicated since the early 1980s due to unrest in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, backpacking has expanded to other regions of the world. At present, new "hippie trails" are being formed towards Northern Africa in places such as Morocco and Tunisia.

Technological developments and improvements have also contributed to changes in backpacking. Traditionally backpackers did not travel with expensive electronic equipment like laptop computers, digital cameras, and PDAs because of concerns about theft, damage, and additional luggage weight. However, the desire to stay connected, coupled with breakthroughs in lightweight electronics, has given rise to the flashpacking trend. And not only is there a shift in what backpackers carry now, there is also a change in what they use to carry that gear: backpacking is becoming less and less reliant on the physical backpack in its initial form.