i was 13 when my father. A’H took me on a sierra club backpacking trip around the grand tetons. i have no idea of the route but we only saw two other people the whole time (a week). one scraggly young guy who was proud that all he had with him was some beer and a copy of nietzche.
the other was a ranger who was looking for a rogue bear. the bear found us, scared some people but no harm. i was chasing it for a while. i think i would have tried to pet it if it would have let me. i wasnt too smart.
we didnt bring water. we drank from rivers. i suppose you cant do that anymore