I started this out as a thread on thebackpacker.com website. It was so popular there, that I had to bring the "best of" to my site.

• The soles on your boots wear out before the laces.

• More people ask where you hike, than where you work.

• You can pack for a weekend trip, without leaving the house.

• Your planning your weekend hike all week at work.

• You feel weird NOT eating out of a ziploc baggie.

• You carry a compass in your briefcase.

• You can count on one hand, the number of vacations you have taken where you actually slept in a bed and had indoor plumbing.

• You know when &where you got all of your gear but can't remember your anniversary.

• You talk to your gear and call it by name.

• Every time you go to the head at home you still have to take a trowel.

• Everything in the garage is considered junk except your backpacking gear.

• You mount your gear on the wall of your basement/rec room like some people put up trophies.

• If you leave a fully stocked fanny pack, hiking boots, canteen and a set of state wide topo's in the back of the car "just in case" you 'happen' to end up close to a hiking spot.

• There are topo maps in your file cabinet at work.

• You are on a first name basis with Forest Rangers.

• The Campmor operators have your address memorized.

• The Forest Rangers know YOU by name.

• Your internet "bookmarks" are all hiking related.

• When you think of the woods as going home.

• Your day pack is good for three days and almost any weather.

• When you know Backpacker magazine is a day over due.

• When it doesn't matter where you are hiking.

• You don't bother unpacking your pack Sunday night, after all you just got to repack it next Thursday night for the weekend.

• When your fire permit is laminated and can be passed down to your kids.

• You proudly wear and display the "hat" that's been on your head during every outing you’ve ever been on, and it STILL hasn't been washed.

• When you’re constantly on the lookout for a pack better than the one you currently own.

• 20 miles in one day is considered "light work."

• You've hiked in Big Bend when it was 120F in the shade and thought "nice weather we're having eh?"

• You fondly remember the first time you ever had sex was during a hiking trip.

• Rednecks from south Texas see you hiking and think YOU'RE roughin’ it.

• You eat instant oatmeal at home too, and like it.

• You have spreadsheets with all your gear and how much each item weighs.

• Your kids are named Dana and Gregory.

• You go out of your way to buy and wear polyester.

• Your pillow is a sack with the clothes you wore the day before in it.

• You go to put on dress socks and find you have first put on liner socks.

• Your gear is better quality than your furniture.

• You have more gear than you have furniture.

• Most of your pictures on the walls are of outdoor scenic shots.

• Every week you are thinking about what new foods you can dehydrate for a tantalizing on the trail meal.

• The centerfold of that new magazine you just received is of the John Muir Trail instead of some beautiful woman.

• People start conversations with you by asking where you are going to hike this weekend.

• You respond more quickly to your trailname than your given name.

• One kitchen cupboard is reserved for ramen noodles, oatmeal and Clif Bars.

• Your briefcase is a daypack. And a compass, trowel and some TP are stuffed in a side pocket.

• Your friends don't recognize you when you're not peppered with insect bites and branch scratches.

• You vacuum under the bed weekly so the sleeping bag can be stored there, fluffed up, and not get dust bunnies on it.

• Gear store operators within a 50 mile radius recognize your phone voice and will special order stuff without a deposit.

• Women in gaiters are more of a turn-on than women in garters.

• It's winter, you can't wait to hike, so you set up camp in your livingroom.

• All you own is wick clothing.

• All the family pictures are in a box, only backpacking pictures on display.

• You can't have guests in your guest room, it is now the gear room.

• Your purse is a daypack.

• You are female and always carry a Swiss army knife in your purse.

• You pack better food for a day hike than you take to work for lunch during the entire week.

• When you are thinking of quitting your 27 year career and moving to Weaverville to be closer to the Trinity Alps.

• You prefer going outside to pee.

• You use a mail scale and a spreadsheet program to figure out optimum pack weight.

• "I'm working in the garage" translates to "I'm fondling and fooling with my camping gear."

• When your office decor is topo maps, spreadsheet calculations of expected miles per day, route maps; your office calendar has "countdown to trip" annotations.

• You spend your lunchtime memorizing gear shop catalogues.

• On Fridays your co-workers don't say "have a good weekend", they say "have a good hike!"

• You know the weight of any item in your pack but can't remember your spouse's birthday.

• You shop supermarkets by reading nutrition labels, calculating the best weight-to-calorie ratios for good new hiking foods.

• Your gear has seen more miles than your current car

• You plan family vacations near hiking trails so you can sneak off and hike instead of spending with family.

• You forget the toilet flushes.

• The soles of your boots wear out in less than 90 days.

• You see a small hair in your food and eat it rather than fish it out (it's too much trouble to fish it out and you're usually too tired).

• All the books next to your desk are hiking guides and map books.

• 99 percent of your photographs are of hiking trips and scenery.

• The ONLY new clothes you've bought in 5 years are hiking clothes.

• The centerfold of your dreams is the tent on sale in the latest gear catalogue.

• You own more polar fleece jackets than dinner jackets.

• Y2K doesn't scare you, because, with all your gear, you're prepared for any pandemonium.

• First dates don't get a second chance if they A) Don't know the real use for Baby Wipes, and B) think "peak-bagging" must be some sort of sexual reference.