I was awakened nest morning by a woodpecker practicing his Morse code and the honking of Canada geese. Though hiking can take you to a greater variety of places, river trips trump backpacking in two key areas. You can just roll off your craft for a refreshing dunk in the river whenever you get overheated, and the boat can carry a ton of stuff–think: steak dinners with wine (not that the Boy Scouts guzzle Cabernet, but for rafting or kayaking in general)…. Full Story