Mental activites during hiking

[DjangoRob]

Hey everyone. I'm thru-hiking right now (I'm in the Hiawassee public library with my friend Tom - we're the two English hikers who don't know much about what's going on ) and this first week my mind has just been a whole array of various songs getting stuck in my head for ages at a time. Does anyone else get this? Does it stop after a while? I figure I may as well ask, I don't actually mind sometimes.

Alternatively, anyone have any advice for me about this?

[saimyoji]

Eye-spy.

[Jim Adams]

Happens constantly. The only advice that I can give is to know that it happens and beware of thinking about songs that you don't like.
Just hope that it doesn't happen with TV commercials and their jingles!

LOL, got ya didn't I?

geek

[Alligator]

Earworms. Try switching to a boring/repetitive song, like 100 bottles of beer on the wall or row-row-row your boat.

[Sly]

They're called earwigs. Get an MP3 player to drive them out!

[Sly]

Oh earworms. I was close.

[TOW]

You may as well come to your senses right now, your going crazy.............happens to the best of us, I mean look at Lone Wolf........

[Wanderingson]

Wait unitl you get on a roll and start making up you own little songs that get stuck in your head--that is always a blast.

Oh, and no one has mentioned the requent childhood memories that come crashing back--yeah you'll deal with the good memories and the not so good memories and ask yourself, where the heck did that come from.

It's amazing the things the mind will do, particulaly if you are treking at your own pace. You'll be walking along a bam--you'll be counting your steps, frontwords and backwards. You'll guess how many steps it is to the next big rock and damn if you don't take the mind energy to count them. Then you set your sites on the next landmark and do it all again.

Your going to love the journey your mind will take you on--enjoy it, you may never get the opportunity to do it again.

[Jim Adams]

Wait unitl you get on a roll and start making up you own little songs that get stuck in your head--that is always a blast.

Oh, and no one has mentioned the requent childhood memories that come crashing back--yeah you'll deal with the good memories and the not so good memories and ask yourself, where the heck did that come from.

It's amazing the things the mind will do, particulaly if you are treking at your own pace. You'll be walking along a bam--you'll be counting your steps, frontwords and backwards. You'll guess how many steps it is to the next big rock and damn if you don't take the mind energy to count them. Then you set your sites on the next landmark and do it all again.

Your going to love the journey your mind will take you on--enjoy it, you may never get the opportunity to do it again.

46,47,48,48,50,51,72,73,74,95,...s**t, what was that last number? 1,2,3,4....

geek

[doggiebag]

I love it when my body goes on autopilot. My mind sort of takes a sabatical and that is when I feel happiest. My consiousness is somehow changed. Runners high/zen/self hypnosis what ever it is - I love it. know what I mean?

[Sly]

I love it when my body goes on autopilot. My mind sort of takes a sabatical and that is when I feel happiest. My consiousness is somehow changed. Runners high/zen/self hypnosis what ever it is - I love it. know what I mean?

Yeah, (especially once I have my trail legs) it's like the trail is moving under your feet and you're there for the ride.

[STOKER]

lol, I always had a few dominant songs in my head-the monkey and the engineer by grateful dead was in my head 4 over 4 months the trip.A lot of folks r now carrying mp3 players but I never carried 1. You'll learn 2 cope, or you'll go insane---either way its an adventure.

Alternitive advice--Thru-hiking is a way of life, not a temporary departure from "normality"

[emerald]

I love it when my body goes on autopilot. My mind sort of takes a sabatical and that is when I feel happiest. My consiousness is somehow changed. Runners high/zen/self hypnosis what ever it is - I love it. know what I mean?

Yeah, (especially once I have my trail legs) it's like the trail is moving under your feet and you're there for the ride.

It's when you are "as one" with the trail, when the sense of self seemingly dissolves into the background and you know after you return to the normal state that you were flowing with the trail. I think I've only ever known I was in that state after I left it.

Athletes when really on top of their games describe a similiar experience. When I played my best tennis years ago, I felt it too. When I began to think about what was wrong with my ball placement or backswing, my game left me and the harder I tried to get it back the more elusive it became.

[bfitz]

You need a mantra. Go listen to the song "The Final Countdown" by Europe. You can defeat any earworm eith that song, but there is a price...

[Bilko]

Rob & Tom, I took you over to REI when you got off MARTA last Sunday. Glad to hear that you are doing well, except for the songs ringing in your head.

Your head will stop ringing as soon as the birds start singing. Birds in America are not girls, but things that fly around in the sky.

[hammock engineer]

You need a mantra. Go listen to the song "The Final Countdown" by Europe. You can defeat any earworm eith that song, but there is a price...

Thanks a lot. Know I am going to be singing this to myself the rest of the day.

[Kerosene]

Here's a poll and thread on earworms from a few years ago.

[doggiebag]

It's when you are "as one" with the trail, when the sense of self seemingly dissolves into the background and you know after you return to the normal state that you were flowing with the trail. I think I've only ever known I was in that state after I left it.

Athletes when really on top of their games describe a similiar experience. When I played my best tennis years ago, I felt it too. When I began to think about what was wrong with my ball placement or backswing, my game left me and the harder I tried to get it back the more elusive it became.

In my case my consciousness/instinct is slightly aware of the fact that no one is completely at home - which at some level keeps me aware and safe - I'm quite sure that if there is any reason to "snap to" ie danger the self becomes aware instantaneously. I've experienced these moments on road marches, hikes even just while sitting in tree stands after hours of not moving.

[TOW]

Yeah, (especially once I have my trail legs) it's like the trail is moving under your feet and you're there for the ride.

oh yeah............................

[Phil1959]

Hey Doggie! Great topic! Sick of people telling me what underwear to bring. The way I see it,you feel that way when at peace and you have no fear.You only really live,when you have no fear.Just my 2 cents,but who am I but some nut who wants to walk alot!