Backpackers Share The Craziest Things That Have Happened During Their Travels

What would you consider the trip of a lifetime? Maybe it’s going to a ritzy hotel complete with upscale shopping. On the other hand, would you prefer a tropical island with a cold drink in your hand before hopping on a boat? Perhaps jet setting is not your idea of a trip at all. Do you like to become one with nature and spend all of your time outdoors? 

Some people love to take nice little walks into the woods every once in a while to escape, while others yearn for the experience to live out of their backpack for sometimes months on end. Whatever floats your boat, as they say! Whether you’re trekking off every other weekend or saving for that massive, life-changing trip of your dreams four years from now, you probably know that traveling can come with its own unique set of challenges.

Whatever your preference when it comes to adventure, these people sure took the trip of their dreams. However, not long into the vacation, it quickly turned into a nightmare for everyone.

Time to Go 

I went kayaking in the San Juans and experienced something very strange. I mean just really super weird. In my crossing from Shaw to San Juan, we hit bad weather and landed on Spieden to wait it out. Now, the law is that anyone can land on a private island as long as they stay below the high tide line, which we did….

About 5 other men approach my kayaking party, and one of them tells us we need to leave the island right now. The dude talking to us very purposefully reaches inside his suit and reveals the end of a knife. Anytime a knife is involved, it’s definitely time to go. There’s no need for questions; just move it. Reddit User: [redacted]

 Sweet Couple

I missed my ferry from the Netherlands to England. It was late, I was in a small town, and I had nowhere to go. A cute little local couple who happened to be by me asked me if I needed help and proceeded to offer me a place to stay. Well, flash forward five days later, and it becomes quite different….

I’ve finally made my way to England and am doing the touristy thing and visiting Westminster Abbey in London. I’m about to walk out when I hear my name being called. Lo and behold, it’s the same little Dutch couple on holiday. Who thought I would ever see them again! It was such a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Reddit User: SunsetB

Sheep Noises

My sister and I both have taken National Outdoor Leadership School (which is also known as NOLS) courses in past years. You spend like three weeks with course instructors and then a week by yourself. While my sister was in the last week, alone save a handful of fellow students, she came across a shepherd in the wilderness….

The man was “blehing” to his sheep and making all sorts of sheep-like noises. My sister and her friends were lost, and so they asked this lone shepherd for help. The man turned around and started speaking to them in tongues. This continued for a couple minutes before my sister left. All they ended up getting was directions for where not to go: toward that guy. Reddit User: Sl33pyhead

Screaming Italians 

An Italian lady started freaking out at me in a train station after she ran into me and hurt herself. She was running through the station and I was just standing there waiting for the train to stop. She took a pretty hard spill after running into my backpack. I tried to help her up a bit, just being nice….

But she started screaming at me and basically just going nuts. I was stunned. The twist was when some other random Italian chick came up and started yelling back at her. Just right up in her face yelling and pointing at her to keep going. Apparently yelling and pointing is a typical thing for this area; maybe it was just them, though. Reddit User: ruuustin

Deer Drink Pee

I was packing out in Sequoia and spent a night at Bearpaw meadow. It gets a lot of traffic, and the local wildlife is accustomed to getting food from hikers, so they have very little fear. I had the whole place to myself because it was very early in the season. Most backpackers know that deer will lick up human urine for the salt (they have a natural salt deficiency)…. 

These deer were not that patient. They started by just licking up the puddle as I was peeing, but they started to fight over it and took to drinking it mid-stream. I was quickly growing very concerned about where their tongues and their presumably sharp little grindy teeth were going to end up. I cut that session short. Reddit User: aesimpleton

He Threw a Rock at a Bear

A teacher of mine was out backpacking with his girlfriend, and around midday, they put down their packs and went for a swim in the river nearby. Upon returning from the river, my professor saw a bear going through his pack! Not wanting all of the food to be lost (and maybe wanting to show off a bit to his girlfriend), my professor threw a rock at the bear….  

Instead of running off, as you might expect a bear to do, it began to charge, but my professor simply picked up another rock and squarely hit the bear. It ran away. That professor was pretty brave, because most people would just run away screaming, becoming a causality of the bear’s rage. By why hit it to begin with? Reddit User: [redacted] 

Cheap Cars

In the middle of Patagonia, as our cheap car suddenly lost all of its fuel due to a crack in the fuel filter, the iPod shuffled to the song that is played by quintet as the Titanic sinks. My buddy and I, who were both quite nervous about being stuck in this particular stretch, turned to each other and started laughing hysterically….

As the car loses its momentum, my buddy just jumps out and starts pushing us, shouting that he sees a town up ahead. I follow suit, and we end up pushing the car for ~5-10k to find that the town is actually just a small group of trees. I’m sure you can imagine our bitter disappointment at being so thoroughly tricked. Reddit User: wasdead

Daddy-Daughter Trip

Not me, but my dad. He hitchhiked from Korea up to Mongolia and over to Greece with my six-year-old sister. The trip took well over a year because he didn’t exactly have a plan. He remembers how in Afghanistan people were amazed by my sister’s blond hair. His most negative memory of the country is how kids threw rocks at them once….  

My favorite story is about how my dad and sister stayed with Mongolian nomads who tried to teach my sister to ride a mule bareback. The lesson came to a screeching halt after she fell off. Blonde hair, rocks, and a mule. Doesn’t sound that fun to me, so I’m glad it was my sister and not me! But at least it’s a story to tell. Reddit User: [redacted]

A Huge Owl

I was coming down the hill after wandering around the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA when I came upon a nice little creek in the woods. I was looking around for a good crossing when A HUGE OWL took flight about 5 feet in front of me. I swear on everything holy that I nearly pooped my pants. I fell back on my butt. I guess the owl was scared too….

Unrelated, but a few minutes later, I was walking through some patchy melting snow as I continued on. Didn’t notice that a patch I stepped on was holding down the top of a 10-foot sapling, which sprung up free AND SMASHED MY EYE. That was just a really emotional roller coaster of a day, if I’m being honest. Reddit User: NathanArizona

You Know Klose?

I once was lost while backpacking in Peru. As it was getting rather dark, I walked into a very shady-looking neighborhood. I was completely lost and spoke very little Spanish. A group of four kids started approaching and talking to me in Spanish. As soon as those guys found out that I was from Germany, they just asked me one thing… 

“You know Klose?” (a famous German soccer player). I said that I did know him, and they started discussing soccer with me. Great times were had, and they even walked me back to my hostel. Good thing I actually knew who Klose was or I might have ended up stuck out there. It could have gone much worse. Reddit User: Xerxes

Free Meals

When I was in Berlin, they switched the tracks of the train my friend and I were supposed to take to Warsaw. When they did so, they only announced it in German. As we went to get our ticket refunded/switched to the next day, we realized we had nowhere to stay. The lady at the help desk pointed us to the place where people can make hotel reservations from the station….

The lady there was super friendly and handed us two vouchers for comped rooms and two for free meals. What could have been a potentially annoying and even dangerous situation out there had a great ending for both of us. Tourists aren’t always so lucky when they’re traveling aboard, especially when it’s obvious they’re not from that country. Reddit User: Ocho8

Big Foot

It was back in 2001 while I was backpacking in the Rockies of British Colombia, Canada. While setting up our tent, I remember my wife telling me she was hearing rustling in the bushes. The next second, we both hear a deathly screech that I can only compare to that of a baboon, and we see a bunch of bushes shaking like a tornado was coming….

Needless to say, I don’t know what the heck it was, but we pooped our pants. I’m not a bigfoot believer, nor do I believe in monkeys being out in the Rockies, but I have no idea what that was. Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep that night. We kept thinking that we heard things even though it was just our minds. Reddit User: Karma_Genie

Small Female Moose

I was hiking through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the ex’s family land when we heard a serious ruckus in the woods near us. We continued to hear this noise for several hours and finally went to inspect. A small female moose was standing on her back legs at a max extension with one of her front feet stuck in the fork of a tree….

No idea how she got stuck like that or what she was doing standing on her hind legs next to this tree in the first place. We got her unstuck, of course, but we were so afraid that as soon as she was free, she was going to come charging at us and maul us or trample us or something. Thankfully she just trotted off. Reddit User: CNCTEMA

New Zealand Trip

Upon exiting the airport in Auckland, NZ, I saw a sign saying “Auckland City 20 Kilometers.” So I just start walking; 10 minutes into the walk, a random car pulls over, and a young guy who was taking his sister to school offered me a ride. Took me to his mom’s house for a quick visit, then took me out for a quick cup of tea and breakfast….

Then he dropped me off in front of a giant hill and said the city was over that small mountain. It was a good way to start my trip in New Zealand. Sure it was a little risky hopping in the car with a random stranger, but sometimes you just get vibes like everything’s fine, you know? It ended up turning out really great. Reddit User: Mind-Reflections

Bear Country

Here we were, staying in what is called black bear country, so extra precautions had to be taken. We passed the 13 Falls tent site, and they had bear lines up with bear claw-scratched poles. We went on another mile and set up by the brook. After a while, I settled back down and drifted off, almost asleep, and then it happened….

Something came down on top of my tent and was pushing down on me. I thought the bears came back and I was being attacked. I screamed bloody murder and then realized it was just a big branch that had fallen out of a tree. Apparently I shrieked like a girl, but wouldn’t you if you thought a solid bear mauling was only moments away? Reddit User: jimmyb207

Challenge Accepted

A buddy of mine had completely rubbed his side raw from his backpack, so already he was in deep. On top of all this, his parents refused to let him go on any of the prep hikes, so he was not even in good enough shape. My buddy started to really lag behind and was slowing us down. So naturally, we called a break for him and started getting some water….

Suddenly, he looked up, saw the cliff in sight ahead, and ran up the side of the mountain screaming “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!” He ran up the whole way, unassisted, and we all just stared, shocked. To this day I’m still not sure if he was just pranking us by pretending to be so out of shape at the beginning? Reddit User: xquazimodo

 Trail Angels

I remember a stranger giving me quiche and then giving me a two-hour round trip drive to pick up a pair of shoes. He also insisted on buying me lunch. Another stranger who picked me up hitchhiking offered to let me come along with her on her way to Florida. Two different people in two different states offered and took me to their homes to shower and eat….

All of this happened while hiking on the Appalachian Trail. It might not be the crazy you’re normally expecting from a backpacker, but these stories were all pretty incredible to me. I mean, free food! Plus, of course, all the nice people and cool stories we got to tell and the bittersweet parting of never crossing ways again. Reddit User: Simco_

Drinking and Driving

One time I got a hitch while I was hiking the Appalachian Trail in the great state of North Carolina from this couple; I was with two of my friends. The couple was acting weird, and they pulled out a bottle. They were laughing, but we needed the ride because we were out of food, so we just kept going….

When they pulled out the bottle, that’s when we realized they were absolutely wasted, and they started swerving everywhere. We were in the back of their truck, so we just had to hope. It was the scariest hitch ever. Now we know better than to just hitch a ride with any rando that we find driving down the street. Reddit User: OverloadAT2017

Naked and Afraid

Before I hiked the Appalachian Trail, I watched Naked and Afraid, and on the last episode that I saw, it was of this guy in the Everglades, and he was a past thru-hiker. When I was almost done with the AT, we were in Maine, this bus drove up, and the guy driving offered to take us to his new hostel. We were some of the first people to stay, so we helped build part of it….

We were all hanging out and drinking with the owner, and the owner let out that he was the guy from that episode of Naked and Afraid. What on earth are the odds, right? It’s not like he was my hero or anything, but it was really cool to see what had become of him after all that time. Reddit User: OverloadAT2017

 Last Minute

I met a guy on the AT whose name was Last Minute. He got his trail name because he decided to take a day hike in Springer Mountain in Georgia and ended up finishing the whole trail all the way up to Maine. Everyone on the trail gets “trail names,” or names that describe something that has happened or something about you when you start your hike….

This guy was an ultra light hiker, so he only had about 20 pounds on his back and ended up hiking much longer days and did about 20-30 miles a day. He was just an absolute unit of a man even though he carried very little in the way of supplies. I was shocked at how far he’d come given the way that he hiked. Reddit User: OverloadAT2017

Highlands Highway

At 19, I hiked from village to village through the tribal highlands of Papua New Guinea. I walked into villages with 50 men holding machetes staring me down as I hiked into the place. I rode in the back of a pickup truck packed on 4×4 roads with myself and 7 other natives and our backpacks for 10 hours through the “Highlands Highway….”

It was, and still is, one of the most dangerous roads in the world. I received bird of paradise feathers as a gift while eating pig, ferns, and sweet potatoes with the natives. Papua New Guineans are mysteriously wonderful if you like that sort of thing as a backpacking hiker. I highly recommend broadening your horizons that way. Reddit User: alanairwaves

Diarrhea Off a Ferry

I watched the owner of the hostel I was at get beat to a pulp by three angry tricycle drivers. I bailed a random Irishman out of Filipino jail after he was caught accidentally peeing on one of their motorcycles. I led a terrible rendition of “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band after coming down with some homesickness at a local reggae bar….

I had diarrhea off the edge of a boat for the entire duration of a 6 hour ferry ride (don’t eat the street meat). I felt really bad for both the other people on the boat and also the fish. There are definitely downsides to traveling so extensively (obviously), and most of the time it’s pretty unavoidable. Makes for a really great story though, eh? Reddit User: [redacted]

Tiger’s Face on the Crotch

We had to share our sleeper room with a Russian guy who spoke no English and looked like a mobster. As soon as he realized we weren’t Russian and were visiting his country, he ordered a bottle of brandy and 3 glasses from the stewardess. We sat drinking it and communicated using anything but language for about 3 long hours….

When bedtime was upon us, he took off his trousers to reveal a black pair of tight underpants that had a tiger’s face on the crotch. He climbed to the top bunk and fell asleep. You do know what they say, right? When in Russia, get drunk with strangers and let them sleep in your room. Wait….Reddit User: [redacted]

6-Foot-Tall Spider Web

I was hiking in the beautiful rainforest on the Brazilian and Argentinian border near Iguazu Falls with one of my best friends. It was a stunning landscape, and we were having an absolutely amazing time until I heard a loud shriek come from behind me. My friend had walked directly into a spider web. This wasn’t just any spider web….

It was about 6 feet tall and spanned between two large trees across a 4 foot distance. Her entire body was coated in web. We all laughed at her and cleaned her off. Even if you don’t have a fear of spiders or don’t actually mind them, just imagine wrapping yourself up with web and not knowing where the massive spider is. Reddit User: [redacted]

 Merci Noodles

I was on a train in Paris about this time last year; my friend and I were on our way to meet some people down at the Moulin Rouge. I was eating a cup of noodles with a fork I’d liberated from the hostel when this lovely gent stood up to leave the train, sort of half bowed with his head down and hands together, and ever so gently took my noodles from me….

He says ‘merci’ a couple of times and departs the train. People ‘round those parts must be extra friendly? They share noodles without asking, but at least he said thanks, right? Needless to say I was left pretty hungry, without my painstakingly acquired fork, and entirely noodle-less. I hope he enjoyed them though. Reddit User: [redacted] 

Auschwitz

We go and spend the entire day at Auschwitz. That night, we are waiting on the bus, and there is an old man sitting there. He greets me, and his eyes are red from crying. He is American. He tells me he fought in WWII and helped liberate other death camps. He has lived in Poland for 8 years and made the decision to visit Auschwitz to try and understand why….

For two years he has made the bus ride from Oschwiem, but he does not have the courage to go inside. I didn’t get to stick around long enough to find out if this was the time that he finally made it into the place or if, once again, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it and returned home. Reddit User: [redacted] 

He Pulled Out a Sword

At a hostel in Amsterdam, we stayed in a room for 8. We ended up chummy with the other two couples in there.  As we were chatting and getting ready for bed, a guy came in to take one of the other beds remaining, sat down, and PULLED OUT A GIANT SWORD. He just sat down on the cot, took it out, laid it on his lap, and sat there silently….

We also went silent for a second because we didn’t know if he was serious. He ignored us and just sat there with his sword. Big swords are definitely…shocking, especially when there is no rhyme or reason to really have one. We literally didn’t say a word to each other for the rest of the night for fear of upsetting him and getting a taste of that blade. Reddit User: Vedmedyk

Will You Marry Me?

I was exploring this little village. A guy came up and started talking to me in very broken English. Within 5 minutes, he asked, “You married?” I said no. He then said, “You marry me?” I assumed he was joking, because we’d known each other for 5 minutes, so I said yes. He immediately began yelling something in Vietnamese, then grabbed my hand and started waving it around in the air….

Within minutes, we were surrounded by dozens of people who were all cheering and smiling and shaking my hand. So basically I got married to a complete stranger during my trip abroad. Just kidding; I broke this guy’s heart like all of the other tourists before me. I wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last for that guy, I’m sure. Reddit User: quailgirl  

Jumped Off a Train

I was backpacking around Europe with my girlfriend, and we were on the train from Krakow, Poland. Just as the train set off, we realized it was the wrong one and that we had to get off. Ended up with us opening the door (it was an old train with a manual handle, no electronics) and jumping out onto the platform as it was travelling at a fast run….

She grabbed her bag and made sure she got off before the train sped up, but the entire time, I was worried one of us was going to make the decision to jump and the other was either going to chicken out or the train was going to speed up and we’d be separated from each other right on the platform. Reddit User: Captain_Comedown

Caught a Chipmunk

I was hiking with some friends in New Mexico on a scout camping trip. I was somewhat tired and getting elevation sickness. After they left, I took a nap, but before they got back, I was alone at the site. There were between 5-10 chipmunks running around our campsite. I built a small fort where I could sit on top of a ledge….

I dropped a bear bag below and put some nuts in it. Within a few minutes I had caught myself a chipmunk in a bear bag. To be honest, I didn’t really have a plan after that, so I just sorta kept it in the bag to show my friends when they got back, then let it go. It’s not like we roasted it over the fire or anything! Reddit User: [redacted]

The Cat

Not a travel story, but it does involve a backpack. I was going to school one day, and my backpack felt unusually heavy; I had just assumed I had a textbook in there that I had forgotten about, so I left it be. I got to class and opened the bag up, and inside was my cat, who had been experimenting with new sleeping spots….

My classmates looked on in confusion as I pulled a cat out of my bag. I tried to stuff it back in, but the cat was (literally) out of the bag at that point, and there was nothing I could do if I didn’t want to get clawed to shreds. The teacher was insanely not happy, let me tell you. Reddit User: CannibalFruit

He Woke Up on Their Couch

Taiwanese lifelong military members gave me beers and tried to talk to me in Chinese and very broken English. I was pretty drunk when they started telling me that I should get off at their stop. I agreed to, and I found myself at a shrimp fishing house with more beers. I blacked out and woke up the next day on their couch….

One guy then took me to a waterfall, and we went skinny dipping. He took me to the train station so I could meet up with my next host. They were really just all around stand-up guys, and I’m sad that I don’t really know how to ever get into contact with them again. I think we could be real bros. Reddit User: bean9045

A New Semi Driver

I was hitch-hiking in far Northwest Australia and got a lift from a guy in a semi. A few hours in, he said he was pretty tired and asked me if I wanted to drive. I was a teenager and didn’t even have a license. I said no, but a little while later, I noticed him nodding off at 130 kmh carrying 37 tons, so I said okay….

He showed me how to work the gearbox and waited till I got up to speed, then clambered back into the sleeper for the next four hours. I’m happy to report that nothing happened on my watch, mostly because at that point it was like the middle of the night, the roads were totally straight, and no one else was even out. Reddit User: [redacted]

 You Need a Map

I was 3 days into a 5 day loop in the North Cascades along part of the Pacific Crest Trail. There had been a lot of flooding that spring, and a bridge had washed out on the trail we meant to take. There was a fork in the trail with something about the towns. Somebody had posted a note saying something, but at first it was hard to read….

“We hiked for an hour along this route and never got to the town.” Below that was a response: “It’s 50 miles. You need a MAP.” Just goes to show that even the best of the best should use hiking equipment and other resources while they are traveling, especially along a trail. You never know when something can suddenly change for the worse. Reddit User: Rock_You_HardPlace

Larry the Cable Guy

A few years ago, I was backpacking on the Appalachian Trail with my dad and brother, and we decided to stop for lunch. But as we were getting our little stove out, a bear came out of the woods and started walking towards us. We proceeded to bang pans together to scare her off.  We started cooking lunch when Larry the Cable Guy and his family passed by us on horseback….

We talked for a while, then warned them about the bears up the trail, and we went our separate ways. I always secretly hoped after that that Larry would add some sort of outrageous bear story to some of his sets since it was such an interesting encounter, but unfortunately it never happened. Oh well, a guy can dream. Reddit User: DrumpKing

Beef Stew Bomb

I was backpacking with co-workers in West Virginia, and we set up camp in the dark after a long hike in. We got a fire going and proceeded to mix up some purple drank. We were having a great time until one of the guys wanted to heat up some dinner by putting a can of beef stew in the fire, unopened….

The beef grenade went off, and it blew out the fire. Everyone was hit with stew shrapnel, and just at that moment, it started raining. Fun times! If I’m thinking back on it now, I guess what I’m really most impressed about is that none of us got pieces of literal metal shrapnel embedded into our faces or something when the thing exploded. Reddit User: [redacted]

 Friend Missing

I was backpacking in Japan with one of my close friends. One night, I ended up running around screaming, searching for my friend who just vanished on a pitch black beach. I freaked out but eventually went to sleep in hopes of finding him in the morning. The next morning, I saw him sleeping about 5 meters from where I spent the most time yelling and searching….

He had not drunk any alcohol or taken drugs, he is just the heaviest sleeper. Seriously, dude, could you not hear me when I was literally a few feet from you shrieking your name at the top of my lungs? A sea creature could have flopped up on shore and eaten him and I doubt he would have even noticed. Reddit User: ibleuble

Snickers

I was hiking in the backcountry in southeast Alaska with 10 other students as a part of an undergrad summer program. One of our instructors carried Snickers in his pack and used it to barter with the students. I bartered for a Snickers in exchange for buying two ice cream cones when we got back into town. Saved the snickers until around day 17….

Some of the students tried to pressure me to share it. Almost broke out into a fist fight with one of the girls. Over a Snickers! The angrier they got that I had what ended up being the last one, the funnier it became. When one kid was nearly ready to punch me, I just held the Snickers in front of him and said, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Reddit User: Radiant_Aurora

Human Trafficking

I had been wandering around and was looking for some sort of vending machine, since I hadn’t eaten in a while. I had circled the entire station when suddenly, a homeless man appeared asking for change. Unfortunately, being a compassionate and stupid 19-year-old girl, I gave him the change I had. He immediately took a vinyl/thick sack, threw it over my head, and started pulling me with him….

I was in shock and couldn’t bring myself to fight back. Fortunately, one of the smokers saw this happen and rescued me. So I guess all I can say is keep your wits about you, travel in a group if you can, and try not to look obviously like a tourist (like I did, clearly searching for food because I didn’t really know where I was). Reddit User: [redacted]

Rattlesnake Bites

I went backpacking at a well-known Boy Scout destination in New Mexico. It was a really awesome trip, but it was fraught with various types of danger, one of them being rattlesnakes. I was pretty much terrified of getting bitten, being up in the mountains with no way to get medical attention for hours. Then this guy in the other group, super casually, just shrugs.

“Oh yeah! I got bit like 2 days ago, spent a night in the hospital, and now I’m back.” Super casual. From that moment on I couldn’t even enjoy any of the scenic views as we hiked because my eyes were glued to my feet to make sure I wasn’t stepping anywhere near one of those scaly venom fiends. Reddit User: mrbdog46