View Full Version : Do you listen to music while you hike?
john66mustang
12-18-2006, 15:19
Hey everyone,
Does anybody have any recommendations for music that you like to listen to while you hike? I usually just play whatever's on my iPod, with something fast when I go uphill and then something more mellow when I trek down. For downhill, lately I've been listening to Bocelli's Under the Desert Sky. The cd has great songs with Stevie Wonder, Katherine McPhee, and Chris Botti. It also comes with a dvd from one of his Vegas shows. For sure it's relaxing. Anyone else have a preference?
The harmonic symphony of nature is all I prefer to hear
Neil Diamond and Whitesnake here
The harmonic symphony of nature is all I prefer to hear
Yeah that's nice until you're paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway, or Skyland Drive, or hear numerous lawn mowers, or chainsaws, or jet airplanes, or, or, or... then it's time to rock to some Pink Floyd. :sun
Footslogger
12-18-2006, 15:31
Up in northern PA you might want to pull the earbuds out though ...so you can hear the rattlers before you step on them. Had a couple close calls in 2003
'Slogger
Ryan Adams - Cold Roses. Anything by Mark Knopfler. The new Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris live disc set is awesome.
sirbingo
12-18-2006, 16:17
I do but only when I'm in camp
Lone Wolf
12-18-2006, 16:20
John Boy and Billy.
StarLyte
12-18-2006, 16:41
John Cougar Mellencamp.
His buddy, Larry MacMurtry.
No. Prefer silence. Usually.
Paul Bunyan
12-18-2006, 16:50
Skillet, Kutless, Jeremy Camp, Demon Hunter, JoJo, and Nickelback to name a few. Also the radio at times.
I generally try to avoid anything electronic while hiking; but each to his/her own. :)
I generally try to avoid anything electronic while hiking; but each to his/her own. :)
So are you using a candle lantern? ;) I'm sorta the same way... I wouldn't take a PDA or GPS, but I do pack a small digital camera these days. Bryson has an amusing story (in "AWITW") about some guy with an electronic "climate measurement" gizmo on top of Stratton.
An iPod is tempting, but I have some reservations... I'm pretty hard-of-hearing in real life (severe hearing loss, but not total) so I really value silence. One of the nicest things about the woods (usually) ... is the silence and the absence of noise pollution. Of course, that's shot to hell on the trail between RPH shelter and I-84, or out by Falls Village CT with that mini-Formula 1 race course just off the trail. :(
Originally posted by Terrapin_Too:
So are you using a candle lantern? ;)
:eek: :o Got me!! Actually, I did use a candle lantern for quite a few years...:D
Hiking for me is all about watching my thoughts and not filling my head with a lot of lyrics. Although listening to symphony, drumming, native flute, etc. is different. HYOH. If you like music then rock out. If not enjoy the natural sounds. This year I won't be listening to any music.(or reading any books) I've packed my brain with a lot of crap. Now it's time to be quite and still.
laniamore
12-18-2006, 18:01
John Cougar Mellencamp.
His buddy, Larry MacMurtry.
LOVE HIM.... yeah JCM and Old Crow Medicine Show and Paul Simon... anything really!
hopefulhiker
12-18-2006, 18:02
On the more boring parts of the hike, I ended up listening to books on Mp3.
Ramble~On
12-18-2006, 18:52
:D Ever notice how most foods taste better in the woods ?
I enjoy music more while in the woods...with the size of MP3 players and the number of songs they hold I wouldn't want to hike without it.
True, you can't hear a rattlesnake asking you not to step on it.
I enjoy the sounds of nature very much and enjoy the option of listening to it or something else. There are times I'd rather listen to music than the sounds around me...as Sly stated ...to drown out lawnmowers, airplanes and road traffic....and more so for night sounds like Whip-or-Wills and snoring.
I like to hike alone and at night sometimes it isn't easy to fall asleep because of all those little sounds out there and my senses are "ON" and sometimes they don't want to turn "OFF"...which usually doesn't equate to a good nights sleep....music in this case works great at drowning out the little things that go "bump" in the night...and if you can't hear them your imagination can't turn them into something to lose sleep over.
Jim Adams
12-18-2006, 19:29
Drop Kick Murphys, Flogging Molly--like the Irish punk but old Motown is good also and of course Zepplin.
geek
Up in northern PA you might want to pull the earbuds out though ...so you can hear the rattlers before you step on them. Had a couple close calls in 2003
'Slogger
At a decent level you can still hear rattles, the birds and bees.
Almost There
12-18-2006, 19:53
On Uphills: Metallica, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Foo Fighters(Hard/Metal Rock),
Flat or Downhills: Grateful Dead, Jay Nash(did Southbounders Soundtrack), Josh Kelley, Joshua Radin(New Acoustic album, alot like old Simon and Garfunkel), Gin Blossoms, U2, Oasis...Pretty eclectic.
At Night: mellow music or an audio book while laying in my tent.
I probably only listen to music for a max of two hours a day, and in "snake" season tend to keep an eye out and turn off music along sunny sections of the trail.
I actually prefer music while in camp (it REALLY helps you get through a freezing cold night!)...but if hiking and listening, I only put one earplug in, because I always like to hear what's going on around me.
saimyoji
12-18-2006, 22:53
George/Art late at night.
Yeah that's nice until you're paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway, or Skyland Drive, or hear numerous lawn mowers, or chainsaws, or jet airplanes, or, or, or... then it's time to rock to some Pink Floyd. :sun
Even for those few areas I would prefer not to have the hassle of the artificial "ear bud" music-I use them enough now at gym & run/walks to use the rythm to increase my speed.
But hiking is different for me. Using them anywhere doing that would be like going to a fine concert with ear plugs on. Even though I was at the event, I wouldnt be able to appreciate what was going on around me. So, I leave mine at home.
Besides I dont want to carry their weight, hassle with the dangling cord, spare batteries and worry about something other than my small digital camera getting wet. Nope, its just not worth the effort to carry it along, even roadwalking along the areas in the above quote of this post!:)
But if you want it along, go for the hassle:D
Green Bean
12-19-2006, 22:45
I prefer silence of course its the most peaceful place to be. the woods!! but I still need my music :)
I'm definately planning on bringing an mp3 player on my next long hike. I love listening to music while walking and I really think it would add alot to the overall experience being able to listen to your favorite songs while you hike. I mean I really like silence in the woods as well, but I'm totally addicted to music and the radio doesn't play what I want to hear.
Brushy Sage
12-25-2006, 12:15
Do those who use earphones want to be alone with their internal experience? I once stopped to ask a question of someone I met on the AT, and she seemed irritated that I had interrupted the music. Maybe it was my long beard that she didn't like!
Do those who use earphones want to be alone with their internal experience? I once stopped to ask a question of someone I met on the AT, and she seemed irritated that I had interrupted the music. Maybe it was my long beard that she didn't like!
Seems rude to me. I normally always take off my earphones when I see someone approaching and flip them back on after they pass.
Do those who use earphones want to be alone with their internal experience? I once stopped to ask a question of someone I met on the AT, and she seemed irritated that I had interrupted the music. Maybe it was my long beard that she didn't like!
I have no idea if this applies to your story, but ... thrus can sometimes seem rude to non-thrus -- without meaning to be.
Two Speed
12-25-2006, 12:37
Never. First, I think I carry enough electronic devices in a digital camera and an IC controlled LED light. My take is I spend enough time caring for those two gizmos and don't want to spend the time fooling with another battery gobbling piece of crap; I'm in the woods to get away from all that.
Next, I think Bun Bun put it best in The Music of the Spheres (http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/bb%20music.html). I don't claim to be in Bun-Bun's or Spirit Eagle's class of hikers but I think Bun-Bun's got a darn good argument.
In contrast I don't mind if someone brings an instrument on the trail, provided they have some talent. Home made music just seems right out there.
Next, I think Bun Bun put it best in The Music of the Spheres (http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/bb%20music.html). I don't claim to be in Bun-Bun's or Spirit Eagle's class of hikers but I think Bun-Bun's got a darn good argument.
Wow. I actually agree with BunBun about something.. :D
Two Speed
12-25-2006, 12:42
Wow. I actually agree with BunBun about something.. :DDon't let it get you down. I've agreed with Neo and MS on one or two items, much to my embarrassment. :eek:
Wow. I actually agree with BunBun about something.. :D
Well, since Jim and Ginny never brought music with them, they don't really know. No one listens to music 100% of the time. If over the course of a week you listen for a few hours and pick your places, you're not going to miss out on many sounds of nature. Again, if the volume is turned low, you're not likely to miss any. IMO, listening to music (not radio) is not interference from the outside world. It's similar to using a paper and pen, or a pocketmail for journaling. It's a one way affair.
That said, on the CDT, I didn't have any music for 2000 miles when I bought a cheap cassette player and listened for a couple hours during one stretch before I ditched it. One should be totally aware of their surroundings in Griz country and not fiddling with the volume control! Truth is I didn't miss music on that trail.... it's more conducive to the long green tunnels. YMMV.
Blue Jay
12-25-2006, 20:57
Anyone try the new WeeWee system?
TurkeyBacon
12-26-2006, 10:20
MP3's were not overly mainstream when I hiked, so I hiked with a radio and got reception for most the trail. My favorate station was heard in southern maine and then faded out. It came in real clear on top of Katahdin though.
I do have an MP3 now so Shawn Mullins sounds good in my peacefull moods, Jack Johnson when I need to feel good, John Mayer when I need to drown out the noises that go bump in the night, OAR when I need energy and the Eels sound good just about any time.
TB
I never listen to music while I am hiking, I never would have heard a rattle snake just off the trail if I was listening to music. A part of hiking I enjoy is because I love the sounds of the woods, the rain. the wind, birds and even the chatter of squirrels. I did carry a small sony walkman so I could listen in the evening after I had supper and in the morning before I got started to get the day,s weather. I found the local radio stations to be a lesson in culture. In the south I found an "all NASCAR' station in TN. where they had stock car call in shows, news from the tracks and lots of ad's for automobile performance. In New York I especially enjoyd anti Republican, anti Bush talk radio. Of course there was the anti Hillary stations in the south. Local stations in Maine had radio shows wher people would call in trying to sell used snowmobiles and firewood in August. Classical music around Boston. Leave your MP3 at home, bring a small radio, learn all about the taste and culture variations along the 2000 plus miles the trail passes through.
I never listen to music while I am hiking, I never would have heard a rattle snake just off the trail if I was listening to music.
People keep saying that, but it's false if you don't have the volume cranked up.
What's ironic is the little rules people make. It's OK to listen to local culture on talk radio, but not music. Instead on listening to local culture, I check it out first hand in town, usually at bars!
Two Speed
12-26-2006, 12:18
I have to admit that I do miss the Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk on the weekends, but I view that as one of the little sacrifices one must make to go hiking sometimes. Now if we could just get a zip stove that pulled in a FM signal we'd be talking! :D