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halftime
12-15-2006, 00:24
In a recent post, I referred to Long Distance Hiking as a Sport. Someone questioned this and I have been thinking about it since. If not a sport how would you classify Long Distance Hiking? Some things that come to mind:

Sport
Hobby
Philosophy
Lifestyle
All of the above
None of the above (it stands on its own)

Any Thoughts?

rafe
12-15-2006, 00:27
To me, sport implies competition. For me, hiking (irregardless of distance) is recreation.

Jim Adams
12-15-2006, 00:31
according to Ernest Hemmingway: mountain climbing, motor racing and bull fighting are sports. the participant could die at any time. everything else is a game.

ATSeamstress
12-15-2006, 02:02
I vote for recreation as well.

Heater
12-15-2006, 02:24
A hobby can also be a sport. I think hiking is a hobby but thru-hiking maybe pushes it into another area. Thru-hiking is not something most people can do every year or even more than once in a lifetime. (most people)

Kind of like fishing where you may go once every week or two. Of course, there is sportfishing that one might do once a year which is more expensive and can take a lot of planning and time. Still a hobby to most but there are professional sport fisherman.

I still think of it as more of a hobby than sport. :)

Mags
12-15-2006, 02:27
(Something I wrote two years or so ago)

I seriously view my thru-hikes as a
pilgrimage in the wilderness.

A retreat implies cutting ones self off from society,
isolation.

A vacation implies pursuit of leisure and nothing
more.

A pilgrimage is going on a journey with a beginning
and an end, a journey of self discovery, a journey
where I am immersed in a a different society.

A thru-hike is more than a vacation..which it is on
some level.

A thru-hike is more than just a retreat..which it is
on some level.

..or an atheletic endeavor

...or camping in the woods.

A thru-hike is all of the above and more.

Remember the Chaucer quote from the other day? No?

"Life stirs their hearts and tingles in them so,
Then people long on pilgrimage to go,"

And that is how I feel about my treks. They are a
pilgrimage for me.

>From my Colorado Trail journal this year (2004):

"There are many reasons why I go on these long
backpacking trips; the beauty, the simplicity, the
physical challenge. Seeing a distant view. How a hot
meal at the end of a day is so satisfying. Climbing
to the top of a rise after many miles of exertion.
All reasons why I hike. But the main reason, the
reason that encompasses all of the above, is that
these walks are wilderness pilgrimages. Rather than
going to Mecca or The Way of St. James. I am journeying to
something less tangible. Katahdin, Manning or Durango
are only end points in the journeys. The real
destination in on the trail itself. Some of my
fondest memories and experiences have been on these
long walks. If these journeys are my pilgrimages than
today I was in the cathedral. On Georgia Pass would
see Mt. Guyot as the dominant peak. Could see
the divide go on and on. It is a sight that confirms
why I go on these wilderness pilgrimages. The sojourns
in the mountains will be a part of me for a while yet
to come."

rafe
12-15-2006, 08:47
I seriously view my thru-hikes as a pilgrimage in the wilderness.

I like the "pilgrimage" analogy, Mags. I've heard it before, somewhere. I think maybe it was Rockdancer (??) but I wouldn't swear by it. So maybe Chaucer should be the patron saint of thru-hiking. ;)

highway
12-15-2006, 10:59
(Something I wrote two years or so ago)

I seriously view my thru-hikes as a
pilgrimage in the wilderness.

A retreat implies cutting ones self off from society,
isolation.

A vacation implies pursuit of leisure and nothing
more.

A pilgrimage is going on a journey with a beginning
and an end, a journey of self discovery, a journey
where I am immersed in a a different society.

A thru-hike is more than a vacation..which it is on
some level.

A thru-hike is more than just a retreat..which it is
on some level.

..or an atheletic endeavor

...or camping in the woods.

A thru-hike is all of the above and more.

Remember the Chaucer quote from the other day? No?

"Life stirs their hearts and tingles in them so,
Then people long on pilgrimage to go,"

And that is how I feel about my treks. They are a
pilgrimage for me.

>From my Colorado Trail journal this year (2004):

"There are many reasons why I go on these long
backpacking trips; the beauty, the simplicity, the
physical challenge. Seeing a distant view. How a hot
meal at the end of a day is so satisfying. Climbing
to the top of a rise after many miles of exertion.
All reasons why I hike. But the main reason, the
reason that encompasses all of the above, is that
these walks are wilderness pilgrimages. Rather than
going to Mecca or The Way of St. James. I am journeying to
something less tangible. Katahdin, Manning or Durango
are only end points in the journeys. The real
destination in on the trail itself. Some of my
fondest memories and experiences have been on these
long walks. If these journeys are my pilgrimages than
today I was in the cathedral. On Georgia Pass would
see Mt. Guyot as the dominant peak. Could see
the divide go on and on. It is a sight that confirms
why I go on these wilderness pilgrimages. The sojourns
in the mountains will be a part of me for a while yet
to come."

Good Post. I suspect it explains the 'why' for most!

weary
12-15-2006, 11:17
In a recent post, I referred to Long Distance Hiking as a Sport. Someone questioned this and I have been thinking about it since. If not a sport how would you classify Long Distance Hiking?
If it's a sport like football, baseball and hockey, how come even Jack doesn't get any big checks for participating?

Weary

rafe
12-15-2006, 11:34
The choices given in the poll don't include recreation. IMO, if you know about MacKaye, or the National Scenic Trails Act, that would have been the first and most obvious choice of words. The choices are lame.

Footslogger
12-15-2006, 11:53
I'm not sure it can be categorized. If so, some might consider it an illness.

It's a lot of things rolled up into one.

For me personally, it was something I became aware of at about age 11, thought and daydreamed about until I was 53 and then finally went and did.

At first I felt a bit like I was on a sort of vacation. I thought that I was SO fortunate to stop the world and get off for 6+ months. But that feeling faded once the reality of walking 12 - 15 miles a day set in. I never lost the "fortunate" feeling but the whole "vacation" aspect died a slow death.

If there was any sport/competition involved it was purely within me. ME against ME. Anything I undertake I tend to finish.

Lifestyle ? ...only in the sense that if time/money were no object I would probably be hiking a lot more than I am these days.

Hobby ? ...close, because I have invested heavily in it and truly enjoy it.

Philosophy ? ...that's too deep for me.

'Slogger

halftime
12-15-2006, 13:12
The choices given in the poll don't include recreation.

The choices are lame.

Duly noted. Guess it would fall either in " none of the above" or "not a sport but more than one of the above"

Nean
12-15-2006, 13:33
It is: whatever it is to you.;)

Mags
12-15-2006, 14:23
I like the "pilgrimage" analogy, Mags. I've heard it before, somewhere. I think maybe it was Rockdancer (??) but I wouldn't swear by it. So maybe Chaucer should be the patron saint of thru-hiking. ;)

One of my favorite books on the AT is "On the Beaten Path" An Appalachian Trail Pilgrimage". Maybe that is where you heard it as well?

Even before I read the book, always thought my journeys on the trails as pilgrimages in the wilderness. Suspect I am not the only one!

Yep..Chaucer would be a good candidate for a thru-hiker "saint". :)

rafe
12-15-2006, 14:31
One of my favorite books on the AT is "On the Beaten Path" An Appalachian Trail Pilgrimage". Maybe that is where you heard it as well?

Yes, that's prolly where I got the idea from... It's a great trail journal. For a minute I thought the author was Rockdancer... not! RD is in the story, but not the author.

fiddlehead
12-15-2006, 14:47
Hiking to me is just where i choose to be whenever i can break away from the money world, which was pretty often for 17 years.
For 17 years it was my lifestyle. I worked a few months every year so that i could be right back out there again as soon as i had enough.
Now, i'm a proud father so, i can only enjoy short walks in the woods. (or jungle as they call it in Thailand)
Still it's the best place to get away and think things thru and see (and be at one with) nature.
Call it a sport, or a philoshpy (that's what some call Bhuddism, the Bhuddists don't mind, why should you?) , or a hobby or a religion.
UP TO YOU! as they say here a lot also.

Nean
12-15-2006, 15:29
Hiking to me is just where i choose to be whenever i can break away from the money world, which was pretty often for 17 years.
For 17 years it was my lifestyle. I worked a few months every year so that i could be right back out there again as soon as i had enough.
Now, i'm a proud father so, i can only enjoy short walks in the woods. (or jungle as they call it in Thailand)
Still it's the best place to get away and think things thru and see (and be at one with) nature.
Call it a sport, or a philoshpy (that's what some call Bhuddism, the Bhuddists don't mind, why should you?) , or a hobby or a religion.
UP TO YOU! as they say here a lot also.

Maybe I'm Buddist?:-? :)

Phil1959
12-15-2006, 17:04
After reading what Highway said,how can I come up with something that can top that? No need to try. I spent the last 20 years moving with my family to places like Alaska and Vermont.In search of those things he mentioned.Now I get to do it myself with the simplicity of only me and my feet! So much more than a sport! No competition needed. Only you and your adventure!

emerald
12-15-2006, 18:37
I don't know what qualifies as a long-distance hike or how a long-distance hike is any different from just hiking other than that it takes longer. Hiking is a recreational activity, however defined.

I didn't read the entire thread before posting, but, I now see someone else thought exactly the same as me. Most of us aren't really original thinkers. What can I say? The choices did leave much to be desired. Hiking is far more valuable than any or all of the options imply, it's indeed precious.

The following poem seems to belong here. It was written by Danny Hoch of BMECC in 1932. As a member of The U.S. House of Representatives from Berks, County, Pennsylvania in 1945, he was the first person to propose legislation to protect the A.T.


HIKE WITH US OVER THE TRAIL

Would you quiet your shattered nerves today,
Would you turn away from the noise
Of the busy, bustling, hurrying fray,
Would you gain your manly poise?

If this be your aim, your wish, your need,
If your heartbeats prompt a change,
If your soul is weary of rush and greed,
If your body craves more range,

Then climb with us in the mountain breeze,
Hike with us over the trail;
Look up at the sky, the birds, the trees--
Real friends that never fail.

Drink strong and hard from the mountain spring,
Sit down by the mountain stream.
Keep quiet while thrush and linnet sing--
Just sit and think and dream.

Just open your mind, your heart, your soul,
Let Nature speak to you.
Let Nature make your spirit whole--
Pervade you through and through.

Then down from the mountain top you'll go,
Your spirit refreshed and strong.
You'll be fitted to meet both friend and foe,
For your spirit will be full of song.

Then singing, you'll tackle anew your job,
And singing you'll pitch right in,
For you'll take away from the mountain top
The strength that you need to win.

Mags
12-15-2006, 18:52
I don't know what qualifies as a long-distance hike or how a long-distance hike is any different from just hiking other than that it takes longer. Hiking is a recreational activity, however defined.



I don't know... My thru-hikes certainly felt different for me than my weekend hikes.

Hikes are indeed recreational. Long hikes? A journey of several weeks or months? Think it is just more than recreation. Otherwise they would not be some of the watershed moments in my life.

emerald
12-15-2006, 19:06
I seriously view my thru-hikes as a
pilgrimage in the wilderness.

I can't fathom why people don't see hiking in Pennsylvania as something more than what many seem to.

Where else is there a campsite called Pilger Ruh, Pilgrim's Rest.

emerald
12-15-2006, 19:11
I don't know... My thru-hikes certainly felt different for me than my weekend hikes.

Hikes are indeed recreational. Long hikes? A journey of several weeks or months? Think it is just more than recreation. Otherwise they would not be some of the watershed moments in my life.

Okay, so maybe such a hike is more recreational than a short hike due to its duration?;) Can we agree on that?

Mags
12-15-2006, 19:20
Okay, so maybe such a hike is more recreational than a short hike due to its duration?;) Can we agree on that?

Heh..when I wa lost on a drt road in "Somewhere,NM" this past year...do not know if I could consider it recreational! :)

As I said, hiking is recreational. A long hike is recreational. But, at least for me (an important qualifier) long hikes are just more than recreation. Then again, so are shorter adventures for me, too.
http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=34

Your mile mileage may vary...literally and figuratively. :)

rafe
12-15-2006, 19:22
I don't know... My thru-hikes certainly felt different for me than my weekend hikes.

Hikes are indeed recreational. Long hikes? A journey of several weeks or months? Think it is just more than recreation. Otherwise they would not be some of the watershed moments in my life.

It might be because you devalue the term "recreation" and reserve it for less-arduous or more casual pursuits. Now, I don't have a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary handy, but I take the word more seriously.. or perhaps more literally. Could it be, that in those "watershed moments," that you were, in fact, re-creating yourself? ;)

Forgive me for harping back to MacKaye again, but it's worth pointing out that the word recreation appears seven times in that short 1921 article that eventually led to the creation of the A.T. The word also appears, more times than I can count, in the text of the 1968 National Scenic Trails Act, which conferred legal status on the AT, CDT, PCT, et. al.

Don't sell the word short, Mags. It may mean more than you think it does. :)

Mags
12-15-2006, 19:39
I do indeed think of recreation as something more casual. Which is great! Never thought of looking at the "re-creation" angle, though.

Having said all that, will stick to my origial opinion. For me, long hikes are indeed recreational...but encompass more than recreation. YMMV...

(Thirty thankyou cards done..phew!)

Disney
12-15-2006, 20:29
I think it's a form of therapy too. Physical and mental.

Lone Wolf
12-15-2006, 20:36
Long distance hiking is just long distance hiking. It's also a license for gluttony. Buffets take on a whole new meaning.

Sly
12-16-2006, 02:03
I choose it (or it chose me) as a lifestyle. If I'm not hiking, I'm planning for the next one. Buffets and gluttony aside, it's a great way to see America!

halftime
12-16-2006, 10:30
I don't know what qualifies as a long-distance hike or how a long-distance hike is any different from just hiking other than that it takes longer. Hiking is a recreational activity, however defined....

Shades of Gray:

You raise a good point. This poll is specifically directed toward classifying Long Distance Hiking (assuming there is a difference between Long Distance Hiking and Recreational Hiking (shorter duration and time frame).

After re-reading McKaye's articles, not sure his discussion of the recreational aspects of the AT necessarily relate to Long Distance Hiking. It seems to me he mostly refers to recreational activities occuring in two week time frames as an escape from everyday life. To me Long Distance Hiking goes beyond this. I'm sure many will disagree, however.

rafe
12-16-2006, 12:06
After re-reading McKaye's articles, not sure his discussion of the recreational aspects of the AT necessarily relate to Long Distance Hiking. It seems to me he mostly refers to recreational activities occuring in two week time frames as an escape from everyday life. To me Long Distance Hiking goes beyond this. I'm sure many will disagree, however.

Well, I'm elated that someone's taking the trouble to read MacKaye's stuff. As far as I can tell, in 1921, 2000+ mile "recreational" hikes were simply not imagined. But the part about "escape from everyday life" was very much on his mind. As a young man, MacKaye did a lot of hiking in New England... but from what I recall of his bio, his typical adventures were on the order of a week or two in the Whites with his pals.

neo
12-16-2006, 12:18
its in my blood ,i cant help it,i gotta hike:cool: neo

emerald
12-16-2006, 13:06
Shades of Gray:

You raise a good point. This poll is specifically directed toward classifying Long Distance Hiking (assuming there is a difference between Long Distance Hiking and Recreational Hiking (shorter duration and time frame).

After re-reading McKaye's articles, not sure his discussion of the recreational aspects of the AT necessarily relate to Long Distance Hiking. It seems to me he mostly refers to recreational activities occuring in two week time frames as an escape from everyday life. To me Long Distance Hiking goes beyond this. I'm sure many will disagree, however.

The concept of long-distance hiking -- whatever that is -- perhaps came into being in 1948. Some of MacKaye's writings referenced here were written prior to that, hence the idea of a long-distance hike was a concept that he likely never considered at least until after Earl Shaffer's hike.

Remember also, the concept of social security and retirement was a product of The New Deal. Most people did not have the leisure time or financial security to consider such a hike even if the idea had crossed their minds and it likely didn't.

Probably the longest hike that people knew of at the time was Vermont's Long Trail, conceived by James P. Taylor, a Vermont school teacher. If you want to believe it, both Taylor and MacKaye were on Stratton Mountain when their idea struck them. I am proud to have played a minor role in bringing back The Long Trail to Stratton Mountain.

rafe
12-16-2006, 13:14
Remember also, the concept of social security and retirement was a product of The New Deal. Most people did not have the leisure time or financial security to consider such a hike even if the idea had crossed their minds and it likely didn't.

Excellent point, thank you!

mrc237
12-16-2006, 13:41
Hobby = researching and buying gear + planning hikes --- Lifestyle = hiking

highway
12-16-2006, 16:05
Hobby = researching and buying gear + planning hikes --- Lifestyle = hiking

I have found that I like the planning portion almost as much as the hiking portion-not quite but almost:D

Nean
12-16-2006, 16:32
I have found that I like the planning portion almost as much as the hiking portion-not quite but almost:D

I dont like to plan. I think it was Steven Perns' book where I first read something along the lines of: Planning takes away 90% of the adventure. That always held true for me. My only plan is to make it to the next town. Back when I was a LDH, I considered it a lifestyle.

halftime
12-16-2006, 20:12
The concept of long-distance hiking -- whatever that is -- perhaps came into being in 1948. Some of MacKaye's writings referenced here were written prior to that, hence the idea of a long-distance hike was a concept that he likely never considered at least until after Earl Shaffer's hike.

Remember also, the concept of social security and retirement was a product of The New Deal. Most people did not have the leisure time or financial security to consider such a hike even if the idea had crossed their minds and it likely didn't.

Probably the longest hike that people knew of at the time was Vermont's Long Trail, conceived by James P. Taylor, a Vermont school teacher. If you want to believe it, both Taylor and MacKaye were on Stratton Mountain when their idea struck them. I am proud to have played a minor role in bringing back The Long Trail to Stratton Mountain.


A good history lesson. Thanks for sharing. Both McKaye and Taylor were visionaries who had the the fortitude to make things happen. Wish there were more folks like them today.

superman
12-16-2006, 21:26
It's not a sport. It's like golf. Who would think of golf as a sport? If it were a sport we could play defense and I'd have a chance at winning.

or: It is: whatever it is to you.;)

K0OPG
12-17-2006, 12:51
Not a sport - you are not competing against anyone or anything. You don't keep score, and no one cares who comes in first or last.

Not a hobby - you put too much time and money into it for it to be a hobby. building model cars is a hobby.

Philosophy - Yes, because you have to have the correct philosophy of mind to complete a long distance hike.

Lifestyle - Yes, because it takes so much time of you life, to have the time of your life. (read that again slowly if it didn't make sense the first time).

SGT Rock
12-17-2006, 12:59
Alternative vacation location(s).

Spirit Walker
12-17-2006, 18:11
For me a long distance hike is much more than just an alternative vacation. I agree with Mags - there is a pilgrimage aspect to long distance hiking that is quite different from the way I feel when I am out for two or three weeks at a time. A thruhike is much bigger than just a series of short hikes - physically, mentally and emotionally.

Right now we are trying to figure out what we are going to do next year. We have time in plenty - but Jim doesn't have the knees to be able to do another long hike right now. And I find that doing a week here and a week there just doesn't have the same pull that doing a long trail does. I have a lot of fun on short hikes, and some of my best vacations have been ones where I explored a lot of different trails, but it doesn't satisfy in the same way that planning and living a long trail does. Perhaps because the challenge is much less. Perhaps because you don't really let go of "civilization" when you are only in the woods for a short time. It isn't the same kind of spiritual journey that a long hike can be - at least not for me. I'm sure I'll enjoy our wandering this year - but I'd much rather be doing the CDT again.

Nean
12-18-2006, 16:05
For me a long distance hike is much more than just an alternative vacation. I agree with Mags - there is a pilgrimage aspect to long distance hiking that is quite different from the way I feel when I am out for two or three weeks at a time. A thruhike is much bigger than just a series of short hikes - physically, mentally and emotionally.

Right now we are trying to figure out what we are going to do next year. We have time in plenty - but Jim doesn't have the knees to be able to do another long hike right now. And I find that doing a week here and a week there just doesn't have the same pull that doing a long trail does. I have a lot of fun on short hikes, and some of my best vacations have been ones where I explored a lot of different trails, but it doesn't satisfy in the same way that planning and living a long trail does. Perhaps because the challenge is much less. Perhaps because you don't really let go of "civilization" when you are only in the woods for a short time. It isn't the same kind of spiritual journey that a long hike can be - at least not for me. I'm sure I'll enjoy our wandering this year - but I'd much rather be doing the CDT again.

Makes sense to me.:) Explains why I've never considered going out for a week or few as a long hike too.;) Send Jims' knees a get well soon for me.:sun

emerald
12-26-2006, 21:50
Much to my surprise, no one I asked could come up with a copy of Danny Hoch's poem I mentioned earlier in this thread. I once had it committed to memory, but couldn't produce in its enitrety when I posted the opening lines.

This afternoon, I found it again in The Pennsylvania Room at Reading Public Library. It was buried in an article about BMECC that appeared in Historical Review of Berks County for Summer of 1959.

Click here (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=287201&postcount=19) to view my earlier post, edited today, with the full text of Danny's poem. If you've never seen it, you must!:)

woodsy
12-26-2006, 21:56
Yup, a must see
Thanks for posting this for
I can relate to it.