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Newb
11-14-2006, 12:48
Interesting article here. Apparently overnight and long distance hiking is on the decline. Also, there's a need for volunteers in Hartford...

http://www.ctnow.com/outdoors/hc-backpacking.artnov14,0,7434535.story?coll=hce-headlines-entertain-top

Jack Tarlin
11-14-2006, 13:25
There are spurts and drops in the numbers of thru-hikers every few years, for all sorts of reasons.

We seem to be in a period where the numbers are declining.

Well, wait until the "Walk in the Woods" movie comes out.

Those numbers will change, really fast.

Bloodroot
11-14-2006, 13:56
There are spurts and drops in the numbers of thru-hikers every few years, for all sorts of reasons.

We seem to be in a period where the numbers are declining.

Well, wait until the "Walk in the Woods" movie comes out.

Those numbers will change, really fast.

Do you think there will be a period of time in the future where the AT will ever be overpopulated? And what would be considered in your eyes as overpopulation? If so, what do you think would cause it?

Newb
11-14-2006, 14:15
I fear the day when there is a full service hut every ten miles for the entire length of the trail. Of course, these will have corporate sponsors. Then of course they'll have to pave the trail for easier access....

DavidNH
11-14-2006, 15:08
Do you think there will be a period of time in the future where the AT will ever be overpopulated? And what would be considered in your eyes as overpopulation? If so, what do you think would cause it?


you don't think the trail is over populated already? Sure in Maine there is plenty of wiggle room but down near the start, say in southern North Carolina..often times the shelter is full and there are like 15 or 20 tents set up around it.

It would be nice if the number of thru hike attempts DO decline. when the numbers of folks hiking the trail climbs too high...then one can't get the wilderenss experience inteded by the ATC.

David

Tankerhoosen
11-14-2006, 15:10
Interesting article here. Apparently overnight and long distance hiking is on the decline. Also, there's a need for volunteers in Hartford...

http://www.ctnow.com/outdoors/hc-backpacking.artnov14,0,7434535.story?coll=hce-headlines-entertain-top

I already e-mailed the guy they quoted in the story about needing help, I am up for it, anything to get me out more.

Sly
11-14-2006, 15:21
Only during the thru-hiker crunch and basically only down south. Most of the other times it's not all that crowded . No one says you have to start with the pack. :rolleyes:

If you want more solitude try a little variation, a different starting point, a different direction etc.

Jack Tarlin
11-14-2006, 15:25
In addition to different starting times or directions, one might also consider hiking in different seasons.

And of course, for those truly seeking solitude, one might consider another Trail altogether.

Lilred
11-14-2006, 16:14
Has anyone considered the possibility that the numbers have decreased due to the increase in gas prices? Everything is costing more, so shelling out big bucks for gear may be getting put on the back shelf for some people.

Spirit Walker
11-14-2006, 16:22
Partly it's the aging of the baby boomers, combined with the fact that hiking is too slow for a lot of kids. They want more speed, more excitement. So they are more likely to use bikes or dirt bikes. I don't think it's just a temporary phase, though Jack is right, there are fluctuations. The '70s were big for backpacking, then it didn't become really popular again until the '90's. 1999 and 2000 were the peak years for the AT. I think current use is about half what it was then.

The lack of backpackers is going to make a real differnce in a few years. Out west, it already has as more and more trails have become multi-use - which includes motorbikes on single track trails. There are a lot more of them than of us. We saw very very few backpackers, except in the wilderness areas. Even in the National Parks, we saw a lot more horses than hikers. Trail funds will go where there are the most users - which means bicycle, ATV and motorbike trails.

It also means that there are fewer people willing to maintain the trails. Bikes and motorized users don't seem as willing to do their part - then they'd have to face up to the damage they do to the trails. As the old maintainers die off, there aren't a lot of younger people taking their places. A few, but not many. That means that in a few years a lot of the trails built during the boom years will become impassible, and there will be more pressure on the few that remain open.

LostInSpace
11-14-2006, 17:01
Although I don't care for multi-use trails, some multi-use may be good in some places. A couple of years ago I spent ten days hiking the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The day I went in and the day I came out were the only times that I saw any other humans, and they were horse packers. The horses make a mess of wet trails. However, if it were not for horse use, which tends to peak during hunting season, I don't think many of the trails would remain open. There isn't enough foot traffic to keep back the vegetation. Bushwhacking in a lodgepole pine forest isn't exactly fun.

Mags
11-14-2006, 17:04
"Done in a day" activities are booming. Moutain biking, trail running, rock climbing, etc.

Day hiking has plateaued (sp?), backpacking and multi-day camping has dropped significantly. (according to the 2005 Outdoor industry report. Since I am on a library computer...too lazy/lack of time to find a similar thread posted earlier with the hard stats :) )

My prediction? As Ginny mentioned, look for more mult-use trails, esp. ones close to the front country. Backcountry trails far from high use areas are already showing neglect. If you go into an REI , look what is being sold. Emphasis on the "done in a day" activities. It is not bad or good..but different.

Part of me is happy to see less people in the backcountry. The pragmatic part of me knows that is only a short term plus. In the long term, could be troublesome.

For the long trails we all love, I suspect the thru-hiker/long distance hiker numbers will not alter all that much (we are a small group to begin with). BUT, there may be more presssure to open up parts of "hiking only" trails to be come multi-use trails.

(PS. Ginny, working on my CDT-L post. Lots of questions...and I am writing a lot. :D)

ed bell
11-14-2006, 19:49
Excellent post Mags. Very thought provoking.:sun

Topcat
11-14-2006, 20:27
I was out this weekend with a couple of other Dad's and our kids. We saw lots of day hikers but only one other group were spending the night. Their loss, I'd say. I sleep better in the woods

chknfngrs
11-14-2006, 21:05
like Mags said, it's really a double edge you're talking about here. It's good that folks are going out, but it's bad they're stinking up our spaces with, well, what would YOU call it? Nothing beats being outdoors, and if more people want to be out there with me, great!

Just get everyone on the same page and believe in LNT. And stay far away from me out there. Kidding.

ed bell
11-14-2006, 21:45
Has anyone considered the possibility that the numbers have decreased due to the increase in gas prices? Everything is costing more, so shelling out big bucks for gear may be getting put on the back shelf for some people.I can say that last year the $1.50+ jump in gas prices made me think twice about the longer car trips. My favorite "close" spot was 140 miles round trip. At a generous 20mpg thats an extra $10+ for a quick trip. Overall gas prices have been a good bit higher the past 2 years.

guthook
11-15-2006, 08:35
"Backcountry trails far from high use areas are already showing neglect. If you go into an REI , look what is being sold. Emphasis on the "done in a day" activities. It is not bad or good..but different.


Damn... and I thought that was just going on near me and not everywhere else.

Nice of you to point out the "not bad or good" part. It always bothers me when people look down on others who are using the outdoors because someone thinks their form of outdoor activity is more pure or just better. Of course there are reasons for elitism, but everyone's just trying to enjoy the outdoors in their own way. Nothing wrong with that.

Newb
11-15-2006, 16:02
I go hiking in order to save money on entertainment. I figure a weekend spent hiking costs a lot less than a weekend spent doing most other things.

warren doyle
11-15-2006, 17:27
Unless we have a cultural revolution in our country, long distance backpacking will not increase.

Our culture increasingly emphasizes comfort, consumption, convenience, speed, fear and dependence on technology. These are alien to the values/concepts/attitudes/behaviors that long distance hiking demands.

Lilred
11-15-2006, 17:43
Unless we have a cultural revolution in our country, long distance backpacking will not increase.

Our culture increasingly emphasizes comfort, consumption, convenience, speed, fear and dependence on technology. These are alien to the values/concepts/attitudes/behaviors that long distance hiking demands.


I think Warren has summed it up pretty good here. I would welcome a couple of years of larger numbers on the trail due to the movie, if that would put more money in the coffers. (sp?)

c.coyle
11-15-2006, 17:55
From the article: "Day trips are especially popular."

Dayhikers and weekenders are the backbone of the AT. People who hike the same sections repeatedly, belong to local clubs, and turn out for work crews are, in the long run, more important to the health of the AT than thru hikers.

This is not meant to slight thru hikers. It just seems to me that the people who make a difference have a constant, longterm connection to a particular section of the trail.

Lone Wolf
11-15-2006, 18:39
Unless we have a cultural revolution in our country, long distance backpacking will not increase.

Our culture increasingly emphasizes comfort, consumption, convenience, speed, fear and dependence on technology. These are alien to the values/concepts/attitudes/behaviors that long distance hiking demands.

Hmmm. Today's long distance hikers seem to want lots of comforts in the woods. Big shelters and lots of them which brings in the fear aspect. Pile in a shelter, safety in numbers. They want a lot of time in towns too. Slacking out of a hostel for days on end. And most carry cell phones (dependence on tech.) And a lot of them rush the trail (speed).

Mags
11-15-2006, 18:49
Dayhikers and weekenders are the backbone of the AT.


Alas, backpacking is down signififcantly aswell...and not just on the AT:

http://www.outdoorindustry.org/pdf/2005_Participation_Study.pdf


Day hiking continues to be popular, but is not changing (i.e. is static) Other activities are gaining popularity.


Similar thread from before:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14841&highlight=Skurka


..and I take back what I said earlier: Think it WILL effect thru-hiking on the AT, but less so on the other other trails (which have much less people ).

Jack Tarlin
11-15-2006, 18:55
A noted hiker has remarked that "Our culture increasingly emphasizes comfort, comfort, consumption, convenience.....and dependence on technology. These are alien to the values/concepts/attitudes/behaviors that long-distance hiking demands."

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with this, but I find it interesting, and more than a little amusing, that this same hiker has achieved most of his A.T. mileage while relying on comfort, convenience, and dependency on technology, i.e. automotive support for most of his long-distance A.T. hiking.

Which would seem to me to be alien to the values, concepts, attitudes, and behavior that long-distance hiking demands.

So while the sentiments he expressed are worthy of consideration, I'm not sure he's the best person to be expressing them.

jmaclennan
11-15-2006, 19:29
Unless we have a cultural revolution in our country, long distance backpacking will not increase.

Our culture increasingly emphasizes comfort, consumption, convenience, speed, fear and dependence on technology. These are alien to the values/concepts/attitudes/behaviors that long distance hiking demands.

i have thought about this issue quite a bit. so, what would you say accounts for the increase in long distance hikers over the last 30 years? was it the "cultural revolution" that occured during the 60's? perhaps, but our cultural emphasis on comfort, consumption, etc. was increasing the entire time; so these trends may not influence long distance hiker numbers. anyway, an increase in hiking numbers could very well occur in the wake of the 'walk in the woods' movie and that would not constitute a cultural revolution.

Jack Tarlin
11-15-2006, 19:45
Another factor is that people nowadays spend more of their free/leisure time indoors: Long-distance hiking really took off in the seventies......well, think of the things that exist now that weren't dreamed of back then: Satellite TV, the Internet, Video Games are just a start. When I was a kid, almost ALL of my free time, at least during daylight hours, was spent out of doors. We now have seen several generations come of age who spend the vast majority of their time in their bedrooms or living rooms. They spend far fewer time outside, and tend to be far less athletic or energetic.

People today also have much shorter attention spans: They read less. They watch more TV, or spend hours a day on high-speed computers. The typical Holllywood film is much shorter than it was a generation ago; people simply have shorter attention spans and require activities and interests that provide immediate returns.

They walk, and exercise far less, and if they DO exercise, it tends to be indoors, at a health club. Outdoor activities that are on the increase tend to be ones that require less physical effort, such as golf.

People like the ones described above are simply not likely to be interested in taking 24 to 27 weeks off to go hiking.

Oh, and there's a population shift. The great "baby boom" in this country was from 1946-1964. Even the youngest boomer is over forty now, and the population will only be getting older. There were simply a lot more young people in the seventies and eighties than there are now, and long-distance hiking tends to be an activity most popular among the young. Fewer young people means fewer backpackers.

Pokey2006
11-15-2006, 19:50
Well, those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s (or earlier) grew up differently then the young people of today. While I was out playing kickball in the street, making mud pies in the rain and taking every possible opportunity to run through the woods, my sister, 13 years my junior, grew up in front of a computer screen.

Kids today go to organized sporting events, like a soccer team that practices from 3 to 5 p.m. every day. So it would be reasonable to think that these kids would grow up to be adults who want more "organized" things to do with their free time.

I wonder if the more "organized" group tour things are increasing in popularity, even as interest in the more individualized backpacking experience is decreasing?

Pokey2006
11-15-2006, 19:51
Ha ha ha! I see great minds think alike sometimes!