Ah, Wilderness!

Except for an ardent few, Americans have traditionally looked upon long hikes as a slow form of torture inflicted upon Boy Scouts and Army infantrymen. That view seems to be changing. With 20-to 40-lb. packs strapped to their backs, millions of nature lovers are now taking to the trails. Many stick to the neighboring countryside, but some groups are venturing so far into the wilderness that they carry homing pigeons to send back in case of trouble. (One feathered courier brought back news of a forest fire last year.) Other backpackers boldly tackle the four-month trek from Canada to Mexico over the 2,350-mile Pacific Crest Trail, or try the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail running from Georgia to Maine. Most hikers are under 30, but today many a trail crew includes the entire family, from kids to grandparents.

In 1968 Congress responded to the reverberation of tramping feet by designating the Pacific and Appalachian trails as the first of 16 possible National Scenic Trails (see map). As yet, these are the only ones that are marked and maintained for public use, but when the system is complete it will be possible to follow the route of Lewis and Clark across the Rockies or hike for 825 miles past Civil War and Revolutionary battle sites near the Potomac. Hardy footsloggers may also be able to trudge the length of the Chisholm Trail--one of the three main cattle routes of the old Southwest--or retrace the exodus of the Mormons from Illinois to Salt Lake City. In addition to these long trails, the 1968 act also provided for a number of shorter paths within easy reach of cities; most are under ten miles long. Thirty-three of these National Recreation Trails are now available to hikers, as well as to horseback riders and bicyclists.

Fishnet Underwear. Camping-equipment sales testify dramatically to the new backpacking boom. Manufacturers report rocketing increases of as much as 400% in the past five years, mostly in sales of improved gear, which makes it possible for a hiker to hit the trail without lunging and stooping with the weight of an old-style canvas rucksack on a wooden frame. Now he can sport a rip-proof nylon bag and an aluminum or magnesium carrier, which -j have shaved down the weight of an av! erage unloaded pack from 12 Ibs. to 2 Ibs. In addition, the pack frame is orthopedically contoured to distribute the weight of the load along the bones that can bear it best. This type of pack costs around $50 and is usually the first item, after his hiking boots, on the backpacker's shopping list. Others:

> A two-to three-man 7-lb. tent made of "breathable" nylon, complete with rain fly and poles: $110.

> A 2-lb. down sleeping bag as warm as a 15-pounder made of Dacron: about $100.

> Fishnet underwear for ventilation: $10 a set. A down sweater: $30. And a rainsuit: $25--or a poncho for

$18.

> A 12-oz. brass stove, 3 in. by 5 in., which burns for 45 minutes on one-third of a pint of white gas: about $12. (U.S. forests no longer have wood to spare, so conscientious backpackers now forgo campfires.)

-- Freeze-dried food, including such delectables as shrimp cocktail ($2.50 for two servings), beef Stroganoff, blueberry cobbler, Western omelet and chocolate ice cream. Hikers with smaller pocketbooks still use the older dehydrated soups and vegetables, along with wheat germ and oatmeal.

Streamlined equipment is not the only attraction that has lured the multitudes to backpacking. Many Americans find overnight hiking trips an escape not only from the urban din but from the strident crowds that glut any campsite within reach by automobile. Writes Outdoorsman Stephen Davenport Jr., who took a group of five on a month-long trip in the Rockies: "After a backpacking trip away from all mechanical things, car campgrounds seem like the worst kind of suburbia: laid out with the smell of other people's barbecued chicken and the blare of news broadcasts." Ironically, hikers themselves have begun to congest certain areas, endangering the very wilderness they cherish. "People are wearing out our rocks," said one member of the Hoofers, a Madison, Wis., hiking club. In popular areas, 95% of the packers seem to trek over the same 5% of the trails, damaging vegetation and endangering the root systems of trees. Even the durable Appalachian Trail is hurting in spots. Last month new regulations went into effect, closing some areas to overnight campers and requiring permits for hikers in others, to allow the 14-state footpath to heal. The problem is not likely to disappear. On a once secluded segment of a trail in the Smoky Mountains, hikers were clocked for six hours of one day last fall: they appeared at the rate of one every 20 seconds.

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