This is the Backpack site
Looking for Ed “Roo” Giles's memorial?
It's on its own page — watch the tribute, light a candle, share a memory, and see his photos.
Go to Roo's MemorialHere for the Backpack trips? That's coming soon — scroll down ↓
Four decades on the same trail — good friends, wild places, and the long way home.
Our Story
Good friends.
Wild places.
The long way home.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
Coming soon
Our story is on its way
Four decades of the trail, still being written. Check back soon.
Find your way in
Three ways down the trail
Browse the years, lose an afternoon in the photos, or meet the crew. Hover to look closer.
The Trips
Four decades plotted on one Sierra trail map — every summer a marker you can open.
See the trail map
Photo Gallery
Decades of photographs in one place — filter by year and watch the crew grow up.
Open the gallery
Backpackers
The faces and nicknames behind the trips — and the years each one has logged.
Meet everyone
Add to the story
Got a story from the trail?
A photo, a memory, a tribute, or a voice recording — send it in and we'll add it to the year it belongs to. Every story makes the next trip richer.
Submit a Memory