Everyone enjoys things differently and my philosophy on backpacking is that it's all relative and based on preference. There are many advantages to each mode of getting around and there are also drawbacks to each one. Let's look at hiking. Hiking is a great way to stay in shape. When you go out on a long day hike or thru hike, you expend lots of energy and work muscles you never knew that you had. You can really lose that weight or gain that stamina, but that is also the drawback to hiking. Hiking uses lots of energy making you more tired and requiring a great deal of conditioning as with any other sport. You have to continuously drink fluids and consume calories to keep up with the energy that is burned which is why hiking is a great way to lose weight.
Hiking allows you to enjoy nature on a more intimate scale. You experience things physically and can touch that which is around you. You can hike through a trail or along a road or near a cliff and experience things first hand. Hiking also allows to to explore places that are unexplored or gain access to a place that you would not be able to with biking or canoeing. On the flip side, hiking is rather slow and the distance travelled is much less than biking or canoeing. Your trip may not be as long and there is a possibility of not reaching your destination before nightfall. But there is a mode that does gain speed and can bring you to your destination quicker.
Biking is a very popular sport and is growing. I am personally not very experienced with biking, but do know the benefits of it as well as the downfalls. I have a buddy who is well experienced in biking who may post some entries later about biking. Unlike hiking though, biking is quite a bit faster and allows you the option to cover more ground. You can now travel at say 20 mph rather than 3. Your cross country trip is now 3 weeks rather than 7. However, you don't have the experience of hiking, the feel of nature and the trails. Most biking trips are along roads and steady surface. You won't go into trails and difficult terrain as you would hiking. Granted, you can park the bike and follow trails on foot, but that is called hiking.
Biking does have many advantages though. When hiking, you carry all your gear on your shoulders and hips. Depending on the weight, this can really take a toll on your body and wear you out faster. When biking or canoeing, you can carry your gear on racks, in the bottom of the canoe, or even in a trailer, and even though you still need to condition yourself, you don't have to acclimate to the weight as much except for climbing hills.
Although, biking does offer the situation of failing parts. When on a long trip, you have the added weight of a tool kit and spare parts. You may carry repair kits while hiking, but it won't add up to the weight of a bike repair kit. If you want a trip with minimal spare parts or repair kits, go with canoeing.
Canoeing has so many advantages. Every young boy dreams of a canoe trip. Why? Because of the adventure! Theres just something about canoeing that adds that spark. It really takes you on an adventure. And like biking, you don't have to worry about carrying your gear on your back. You just sit it in the bottom of the canoe and off you go! But like biking and hiking, there is a degree of conditioning required. Not so such in your legs, but in your arms and back. You may have the difficulty of paddling upstream or fighting rapids. On the other side, you may floats downstream and only use paddles to keep yourself in the channel. You can add speed by paddling vigorously downstream and cut your travel time greatly.
However, canoeing does have its limitations. You obviously are limited to water: lakes, streams, rivers, etc. And that reduces your experience that you have with hiking. But you do gain the experience of the feel of the water: the flow, the current, the waves. You have a different kind of experience altogether. Then again, there's also the risk of capsizing and soaking, or possibly losing, your gear.
Each mode of travel in backpacking has it's benefits and flaws, but I believe that they are all equally enjoyable and you can gain from each. When selecting which you will pursue, determine your interest and what you want out of it. Each person has his own preference and that is what it's all about: enjoying your time experiencing God's green earth.
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