Walking in the city is just plain walking, but hiking outdoors with a pack on your back is an adventure. "It's always stimulating," said Ryan Allen, a guide for Northwest Passage, an adventure travel company based in the Chicago suburb Willamette.

The company is booking several backpacking trips in the Midwest and overseas. "You always see something new. There are no reruns."

"Even if you go the same route, you never know," agreed Jeanette Fortmann, a Northwest Passage client from Arlington Heights. "Number one, there's the weather. It's always changing. And then also there are the people. You can take the same route and do it over and over again, but if you have a different group, you get a different feel. It's very intimate setting. You are with people 24/7. You have to take the experience and make the best of it."

Allen, 32, lives in Evanston just north of Chicago when he spends summers working for Northwest Passage. But, Oregon, where he grew up, is his home the remainder of the year. His first outdoor experiences were loading a pack with goodies and heading out for a hike along a nearby river. Nature viewing, bird watching, plant identification, all became part of the experience. Later, he learned to camp and to cook over open fires.

"It's kind of neat because you feel self sufficient. You have everything you need on your back. You're going to take care of yourself with food, clothes. You hit the trail, and you're one with nature," he said.

Backpacking proved to be a gateway to other outdoor activities, including rock climbing and mountaineering. Eventually, he started to paddle. He now leads kayaking trips for Northwest Passage, and he's joined the company's expeditions to the North Pole as a guide.

He's discovered clients of the backpacking adventures are following his footsteps.

"Typically, people are trying to get some experience in the outdoors. Backpacking is pretty introductory. Rather than starting with rock climbing, hiking is a way to ease into it. We get a lot of new outdoor enthusiasts," Allen said.

Fortmann, who is "45 and holding," was like that. Newly divorced in the mid-1990s, she decided she wanted more excitement in her life. She actually made a list of things she wanted to try. Backpacking was on it.

"I wasn't going to wake up one morning and say, 'I should have tried this,' " she said. "I did a lot of day hikes, but actually never backpacked. It isn't something you do by yourself. You want to go with someone who knows what they're doing."

She quickly signed up after she read a brochure about a Northwest Passage trip to the Porcupine Mountains on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Still popular among Northwest clients, the trip was just what she needed.

"It was not so strenuous, and it has spectacular views," she said. "It is very beautiful. It was probably the best place I've backpacked close to home. The West (western United States) is a different experience. Here, you can throw all your stuff in the car and go less than a day's drive and enjoy the outdoors. It's not so far from everything that you can't get home if something goes wrong."

Allen, who's been to Porcupine Mountains three times, said elevations reach about 2,000 feet. The trip covers about 25 miles in four days. A couple of days are long. Nature viewing and matching animals, birds and plants to entrees in field guides is a favorite pastime along the way.

"For the Midwest, it's pretty darn good. There's a lot of up and down along the trail," he said. "We rate it for beginners, but it's a challenge. It's not going to be a cake walk. One spot in particular along the lake can get kind of boggy, muddy, your boots will be squishing through the mud. It will be slow going."

Allen said the group is usually limited to 12 so the client-to-guide ratio can be kept to four-to-one at the most. Guides split cooking duties. Sleeping is done in tents. Campsites are "abundant," he said. Seasoned hikers are encouraged to stop and take in the sights more so their less experienced companions can keep up. The group dynamics are "tricky," he said.

"There is no formula for that. You have to read the group," Allen said. "You have to keep people interested, keep people happy. You might have to talk about it. If you feel like you are a fast hiker, take more rest breaks, enjoy the scenery. If you are slow, try to keep a good pace. It can be challenging. But, when you get a group out in the wilderness, they aren't in their comfort zone. They aren't on their La-z-Boy. The people tend to look out for each other really well. Especially with a beginning level trip, people don't show up with any expectation of having to rush or to summit or to conquer."

Good hiking boots are the key, according to Allen.

"Go to the store, get expert advice from sales people, get the right size. They must be comfortable," he said. But, your work isn't done. Wear them around. Recognize where you have 'hot spots.' They're usually on the heel or they can be on the toes. The key is to let the group know if you start feeling a hot spot. Stop and deal with it. Don't let it develop into a blister. Treat it with Moleskin. Take your socks off and air your feet out on breaks."

Just like Allen, backpacking encouraged Fortmann to try other outdoor experiences. Today, she is active with the Sierra Club and volunteers as an assistant when the organization leads bike tours to out of the way places like the I & M Canal. She still enjoys spending time with people she met on the trip to Porcupine. Her backpacking experience helps wherever she goes. One lesson she's learned - she has too much "stuff."

"I've learned to eliminate more and more stuff. You think you need this or that, but the backpack was too heavy. Every trip, my pack has gotten lighter and lighter. I have a dining room table. Things get put on there a week in advance. Then I eliminate things day by day," she said.

She has also learned to buy the right equipment, from light clothes made of wicking material to keep moisture away from her body to the right backpack that fits her. Rely on experts at specialty stores for advice on what to get, she said. Try rental equipment until you are sure backpacking is for you.

Good preparation is not just for you. She pointed out every member of the group has a responsibility to everyone else to make sure they stay healthy and keep pace or everyone can suffer, she said.

"What you do affects the whole group. If you get hurt, someone else has to take care of that," she said.

---

Hiking hints

Every year, hundreds of Americans get lost, injured and even die while hiking through remote sections of national parks and other wild spots in the United States. The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees offers these survival tips for safer hiking:

• Have a plan and share it. Whether hiking solo or in a group, you need to become familiar with the area you will be hiking, the hazards, and the expected weather.

• Make sure your equipment, clothing, and food are up for the trip. Test your equipment before leaving.

• Know your limits - and those of the other individuals in your group. A military unit travels at the speed of its slowest member and that is a good way to think about how to hike. Use a buddy system.

• Always bring along about proper emergency equipment. When hiking by yourself, ensure that you have a first aid kit.

• Learn in advance what to do if things go bad.

For more, visit www.npsretirees.org

---

If you go

• The Porcupine Mountain trips are July 17-20 and Sept. 11-14. Land cost is $375. Visit http://www.nwpassage.com/porcupine_mountains.htm

Northwest Passage also leads excursions to;

• Isle Royale, Minnesota, a backpacking and camping adventure on the shoreline of Lake Superior. The eight-day tour departs Aug. 24. Land cost $995. Visit http://www.nwpassage.com/isle_royale_hiking.htm

• The Italian Dolomites featuring the forests, rock faces, rivers, lakes. No camping here - small basic hotels called rifugios are home. The eight -day tour departs Sept. 2008. Land cost $2,895 http://www.nwpassage.com/dolomites.htm

* Allen also has hiked in Ireland, where the company offers an eight-day Inn-to-Inn Hiking Trip in the Twelve Bens mountain range June 15 and Sept. 7. Land cost $1995. http://www.nwpassage.com/ireland_hiking.htm

Tours include appropriate accommodations, most meals, expert guides, camping gear if applicable and park fees.

Phone (800) 732-7328 or see www.nwpassage.com for more information.