Some people run to get there faster. Others, to escape from something. But there's a growing breed—half runner, half backpacker—who run not for efficiency or escapism, but for a particular form of inhabit the world in motionThis peculiar modern ritual is called fastpacking, and although it sounds like a trend from a hipster mountain shop, it is actually an ancient and wildly human synthesis: moving far, fast, and with the minimum.
What is fastpacking?
Fastpacking is a mix between trail running and backpacking. That is: running (or moving very fast) through mountains or natural terrain, carrying in your backpack everything you need to sleep, eat, and survive for several days without outside help. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? Like trying to meditate on a roller coaster. And yet, it works.
The goal is not so much speed as light self-sufficiency: carry just enough to explore as much as possible. Like a beetle that packs its home on its back, but decides that won't stop it from flying.
Unlike traditional trekking—where the pace is set by weight and pause—fastpacking moves with the lightness of mind of someone who doesn't depend on anyone. And that freedom, that wild autonomy, comes at a price: carrying only the bare essentials and turning every gram into an ethical decision. Do you really need that second pair of socks? And what about that book? (Spoiler: you won't read it, and you know it.)
From Thoreau to Altatrek: When the Mountain Becomes a School
We could say that fastpacking is the bastard son of Henry David Thoreau and Kilian Jornet: one sought to lose himself in nature to find himself, the other ran for the peaks as if escaping gravity. In between, fastpackers have turned the act of hiking mountains into a kind of nomadic philosophy, a mixture of contemplation, physical suffering and logistical discipline.
And this is where it comes in ALTATREK, with its trail tours that cross mountains as if they were verses from an epic poem. Because what ALTATREK proposes is not simply walking or running through nature, but live it as a moving story, where every kilometer is a scene, every crest an epiphany, and every sunrise between shelters a lesson in humility.
Fastpacking in practice: poetry or masochism?
The aesthetic of fastpacking could be mistaken for that of a Zen monk: ultralight equipment, austere decisions, efficient movements. But beware, beneath that minimalist air lies a iron willBecause when you carry your life weighing 5 kilos, everything weighs heavily: every climb, every drop of water, every cold night under a tarp while the wind converses with your thoughts.
ALTATREK's trail tours draw on that same intensity. They are not simple excursions; they are transformative journeys, where the physical and mental intertwine like roots on a path. Here, there's no room for the passive tourist or the Instagram adventurer taking fleeting poses. Here, the terrain is conquered with sweat, but also with silence. You run, yes, but you also contemplate. You suffer, but you grow.
Antithesis in motion: speed and depth
Fastpacking is, in essence, a walking antithesis: go fast to connect deeperIn a world where everything pushes us toward the superficial and the immediate, running in the mountains with a minimal backpack becomes an act of resistance. It's like reading Tolstoy running: it requires stamina, willpower, and a certain functional madness.
And that is, also, what defines ALTATREK: travel a long way without losing your soul along the wayBecause it's not just about speed, it's about meaning. Because reaching the refuge isn't the goal, but rather the excuse to look back and say, "Wow, I did it. And I'm still in one piece."
Fastpacking: The Adventure of the Future?
Perhaps fastpacking is the natural response to an era of excess. While cities flood us with notifications, objects, and useless stimuli, the mountains remind us that with a liter of water, an energy bar, and a good jacket, you can cross an entire world. In sneakers.
And if you also have someone who maps out the route, guides the pace, and turns each stage into an experience… then you are no longer just fastpacking: you are traveling with purpose, as ALTATREK proposes on each of its trail tours. With them, you don't just cover terrain: you explore a more resilient, lucid, and free version of yourself.
In shortFastpacking isn't just a sport or a trend for adventurers with GPS. It's a way of inhabiting the landscape, of embodying freedom with your legs and your mind. And in the hands of those who understand it as ALTATREK does, it becomes an initiatory journey where the body advances and the soul reaches out.
