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envirodiver
01-23-2008, 01:05
The last couple of days there has been a lot of effort spent concerning the Wild Cowboys claim. Personally I don't see what's the hurry.

My backpacking goal is to be in the woods, walk carrying all that I need, stop and camp, eat, relax, listen to the sounds, feel the clean air. It's a very cleansing experience and when things are tough the woods are where I need to be. There is no place that I can think and figure things out like when I am walking.

Maybe I don't get it. What's the purpose of turning this last bastion of non-conformity into a race or rite of passage. It seems to me that folks who's only purpose is to finish are missing a great opportunity.

Then again I could be the one that doesn't get it.

River Runner
01-23-2008, 01:37
My thoughts are that people backpack for many different reasons.

Mine is more for getting away from it all, but also a bit to physically challenge myself, since much of my job is not physically demanding.

And I'd eventually like to hike the whole AT, but I do want to take time to smell the pine trees.

envirodiver
01-23-2008, 01:43
I do agree with the physically demanding part. Nice to push yourself past the point of where you think you can go.

fiddlehead
01-23-2008, 03:11
Can only speak for myself. I do what i do cause i like it.

Life is priorities. If you have a job you don't like, quit. Find one you like.

Same with hiking, and trails, and partners, and when you go, what you carry, how fast you go, how slow, etc.

It's just your own life's priorities. (why try to make it into something else? )

Lone Wolf
01-23-2008, 06:40
Maybe I don't get it. What's the purpose of turning this last bastion of non-conformity into a race or rite of passage. It seems to me that folks who's only purpose is to finish are missing a great opportunity.

Then again I could be the one that doesn't get it.

a thru-hike IS a race and hardly non-conformist

TOW
01-23-2008, 07:28
what about losing one of your upper front toothies?

highway
01-23-2008, 07:35
It's the journey that is important, more than the destination

warraghiyagey
01-23-2008, 07:36
It's an attention grab for him. Otherwise he'd just hike it and relate his stories like the rest.

HIKER7s
01-23-2008, 09:13
To be "out there". That all its really ever been. Because its on a river, path or mountain that gives me that natural high so to speak

nitewalker
01-23-2008, 09:24
i do it becuse it is what i like to do. nothing beats siting out in the middle of nowhere listening to the wind blow, trees sway and creek, animals scurrying around and watching the good ole sunshine....

Rooster
01-23-2008, 10:31
I love being in the outdoors and enjoying all of those special moments as well, but I have to wonder if that would keep me going for five or six months. My motor runs on a fair bit of belligerence. That sounds like a hateful way of approaching the world, but I don't feel that way. Whenever my feet hurt and my knees ache and I think I can actually see the smell lines coming off me I grin like a lunatic. Anyone can have fun when you are sitting around the fire or sitting in a sunny field. I like having fun when every aspect of the hike seems to be asking, "Are you sure you want to be doing this?"
That is what gets me up early each morning and makes me eat oatmeal when in my heart I know I hate oatmeal. I'm not a glutton for punishment, but I think Dostoevsky was a smart guy and understood man's essential binding to suffering.
That said, one's personal philosophy is, I believe, tied to the person they are. I consider myself stoic, but I don't consider non-stoics to have an inferior mind-set. Some people just aren't the stoic type and that's cool. My point here is that while you are sitting and enjoying nature and you see someone march at double-time by understand that you two are enjoying the hike differently. Also, know that they are not trying to piss you off by hiking faster than you.

dessertrat
01-23-2008, 10:40
The last couple of days there has been a lot of effort spent concerning the Wild Cowboys claim. Personally I don't see what's the hurry.

My backpacking goal is to be in the woods, walk carrying all that I need, stop and camp, eat, relax, listen to the sounds, feel the clean air. It's a very cleansing experience and when things are tough the woods are where I need to be. There is no place that I can think and figure things out like when I am walking.

Maybe I don't get it. What's the purpose of turning this last bastion of non-conformity into a race or rite of passage. It seems to me that folks who's only purpose is to finish are missing a great opportunity.

Then again I could be the one that doesn't get it.

For all people, I think, hiking is a mix of what you describe and exercise/fitness. It used to be that fitness was more incidental, I think, whereas communing with nature was the primary purpose. Today-- partly because so many of us are unfit in this modern culture-- exercise and endurance seems to be gaining some sort of prominence. People used to mention fitness as a side benefit of hiking, not as the primary goal. I hear people today talk all about miles and calories, and never mention a view or an animal or plant seen.

I do hear people who think they need to thru-hike the AT to be a "real hiker", which I think is nonsense. A thru-hike is not a "race" in the traditional sense, but it is in a sense a race against the time available to the hiker, and the weather (unless you sneak into Baxter and up Katahdin without getting caught, which seems unlikely, or get yourself a cold weather permit far in advance), if you are going north.

I'm not going to tell anyone else how to do it, though.;)

ki0eh
01-23-2008, 11:10
Why We Hike by Tom Thwaites


Excerpted from source: http://hike-mst.org/brushwacker/2003spring.pdf


Hiking is the best possible exercise. Hiking is a low stress activity on joints and hiking enjoys the largest possible age range from toddlers to refugees from wheelchairs. But one could get many of the same health benefits from mall walking and even treadmills. The boredom of treadmills can be forestalled with videos, probably of the out-of-doors.


Why do large numbers of hikers venture into the wet wild woods with biting insects
and stinging nettles on trails lined with roots and studded with rocks? There is something different and deeply appealing about hiking in the out-of-doors. The wilder and more beautiful the land, the better the hiking.


Perhaps a few quotes will give us a clue.


From a proposal for the Garby Trail; “Much of what is so incredible about these wild places is the sudden appearance of something so amazing and profound that its shadow remains with us for years after we return from the adventure.”


From the Navajo Indians of North America:
“Beauty is before me, and
Beauty behind me,
Above me and below me
Hovers the beautiful.
I am surrounded by it,
I am immersed in it.
In my youth, I am aware of it,
And in my old age,
I shall walk quietly the beautiful trail.
In beauty it is begun.
In beauty, it is ended”


Found in a trail register in 1993: “A single red leaf spirals gently to the ground; it glows among stones; touch it and your world will change.”
“What is it about a narrow trail and the sound of wind that brings true honesty between two friends?”


From Secrets of the W Trail: “Even the most unpromising trail must be hiked repeatedly in various seasons over a period of years if we are to learn its secrets.”


Clearly these experiences are spiritual. They are not available in malls or on treadmills. But in our secular age they are also embarrassing. Years ago such experiences would have been hammered into the prisons of organized religion but now they merely mark one as odd and possibly dangerous. So one doesn’t talk about them. This is why hiking is such a private activity, some say as private as sex and is the reason hikers refrain from using trail registers. It is the deep but bright secret of hiking. But spiritual experience is essential to our well being so hiking remains popular and can never be replaced by treadmills and malls.

dixicritter
01-23-2008, 11:21
Why do I backpack? Well for me, and me alone, it is to be out there with my family, enjoying time with them. I have zero desire to do a thru-hike. I'm happy to take the short hikes that I can with Rock and the boys. I'm not out there to prove anything to anybody, just to soak up the scenery.

That's why I go backpacking. :)

warraghiyagey
01-23-2008, 11:22
Why do I backpack? Well for me, and me alone, it is to be out there with my family, enjoying time with them. I have zero desire to do a thru-hike. I'm happy to take the short hikes that I can with Rock and the boys. I'm not out there to prove anything to anybody, just to soak up the scenery.

That's why I go backpacking. :):sun:sun:sun:sun

High Places
01-23-2008, 11:31
Last year when I thought I was actually going to do the AT. I sort of plan and map out what I would like to do each day on the trails. So I told my friend who has a whole lot of experiences than I do being on the trail. He look me in the eyes and said "why rush"? You will never experience what really out there if your goals is to rush from one point to another. So I will admit that I was being naive. Since things didn't work out last year for me. We are planning a trip this September to do a section of the trails. I will let him do the planning and I will just tag along. That way he can teach me what it really mean to be on the trails.

High Places
01-23-2008, 11:34
Warraghiyagey,

Every time I clicked on your trailjournel, it give me a page not found message. Are you working on your journel or not aware that your link is down. Really like to read up on your journel.

scavenger
01-23-2008, 11:37
Cause i can't find anything better to do.

warraghiyagey
01-23-2008, 11:37
Warraghiyagey,

Every time I clicked on your trailjournel, it give me a page not found message. Are you working on your journel or not aware that your link is down. Really like to read up on your journel.
Tell you what, I've been working on it for two years but haven't truly had the nerve to put it out in public because it's also my writing and it frightens me a little. So as you asked, I'd be happy to send you some sections, get some feedback, then maybe I'll have the nerve to put it out there.:)

Almost There
01-23-2008, 11:41
I have always had a dream of prancing about like Puck and the other fairies of the forest. Flitting here and there, communing with the plants and fuzzy, forest animals.

......:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek ::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek ::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek :

Seriously, for me it's to recharge my batteries after spending so much time with teenagers during the school year. It's also not about the miles for me, it's about having a good time. I can do 25-30 mile days if I wanted but keeping it down around 15 is much more enjoyable. At this point, what do I have to prove? Besides, where else do you have the excuse to eat like a hog....and if you have ever seen me, the thought of me prancing anywhere!:D

jesse
01-23-2008, 11:44
backpacking is the best, cheapest way to experience the wilderness. And its good exercise.

Nean
01-23-2008, 11:48
There are many reasons, and they are all valid.;) There are many different things you can learn on a long walk.:-? Some learn a lot and some don't learn much at all.:(

I hike because I love the lifestyle and most of the people you meet are decent human beings.:) Besides, working more than playing never made sense to me.

Maybe I'm just lazy?:o:rolleyes::D

bloodmountainman
01-23-2008, 11:58
I love humanity; it's people and relationships that I don't like! My hiking experiences have taught me I can make it in this world on my own. I hike to escape the "needs" of others.

Terry7
01-23-2008, 13:48
FREEDOM!!! I go on the AT when the weather warms up and come off when it gets cold. I hate to be rushed in anything. For me its more about the time spent on the trail than the miles.

DawnTreader
01-23-2008, 15:02
Then again I could be the one that doesn't get it.

Exactly. I think for speed hikers, it is more than being in the woods and "doing nothing." For me, there is nothing better leisurley walking the trail. But for others, they look at a trail and see more than their surroundings. They see a challenge. A personal goal. Mallory was once asked why climb mountains, and he answered, "because they are there."
If a speed hiker was asked "Why climb mountains fast?" Their response would likely be "Because I can."

cowboy nichols
01-23-2008, 15:17
I hike because I'm part Irish and a trail is the only place I can play with Leprechauns and not thought to be crazy. (Well, not to CRAZY)

Kara
01-23-2008, 16:58
My first post!! Each of us hike for different reasons, just like each of us who save money do so for different reasons. And, guess what, one of the reasons why I try to save money you might not agree with...

Something I have learned in my few years of life is that very rarely do things go exactly as you have planned or imagined. Something will come up or happen to change your plans, just as I'm sure will happen with Wild Cowboy. Perhaps he just loves to dream big and challenge himself so much in hopes that he can even attain half of it. By vocalizing it, he's made that challenge a little more concrete and now he has to try to live up to it. Just a guess...

I haven't thru-hiked the AT...or even any portion of it...yet. I've only just become intriqued with it and backpacking as a whole and have only a few backpacking experineces. I've always enjoyed hiking and spending time with good 'ol Mother Nature though, and feel that perhaps I've finally found a little niche in life that I truly enjoy...the backpacking world...

fear, challenge, fitness, capability, independence, meeting new people, seeing new things, relaxing, camp food, FALL LEAVES, beauty, rejuvenate... These are all words that might describe my relationship with hiking and possibly backpacking as well... I could go on... travelling cheaper, seeing wonderful things...not by doing it the easy way but by earning my chance to see it, healthier than sitting on the couch at home most times!!

Happy Hiking!

Ewker
01-23-2008, 17:13
Kara, :welcome to WB

bfitz
01-23-2008, 17:30
Beats workin.

Boudin
01-23-2008, 17:30
I don't particularly like putting a pack on my back. I'm not crazy about being sweaty, dirty and smelly. I don't like to get wet. It's hard for me to breath going uphill. I love my nice warm bed.

With all that being said, I don't know why I hike. I just know that when I leave the house and throw my pack on my back and I get dirty, sweaty, stinky and yes even wet...I am happy. The weight of the world is off of my shoulders. My blood pressure goes down. When I am on the trail I just have a sh?t eating grin on my face that I can't wipe off. I guess that's why I hike.

Lone Wolf
01-23-2008, 17:34
My first post!!

catch me if you can! 13,622 to go. welcome aboard. :D

Kara
01-23-2008, 17:53
You're on L. Wolf...check back in a couple of hours...

ah hem.... acutally, you might want make that a couple of years...

HIKER7s
01-24-2008, 07:50
Why do I backpack? Well for me, and me alone, it is to be out there with my family, enjoying time with them. I have zero desire to do a thru-hike. I'm happy to take the short hikes that I can with Rock and the boys. I'm not out there to prove anything to anybody, just to soak up the scenery.

That's why I go backpacking. :)


(envying all the hiker-hiker marriages out there) :)

JAK
01-24-2008, 08:52
I really enjoy long distance running, but I haven't managed to get my weight down to go as far and as long as I would like to. Long distance hiking is something I can do all day. That's a big part of it; 8-12 sometimes maybe even 16 hours of endorphins. :D

But nature has to be the biggest reason. Especially when totally buzzed on endorphins.

DavidNH
01-24-2008, 10:23
a thru-hike IS a race and hardly non-conformist

just how is a thru hike a race?

Lone Wolf
01-24-2008, 10:24
think about it

warraghiyagey
01-24-2008, 10:27
just how is a thru hike a race?


think about it
IT's only a race if you think it is. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. It's not a race to me.

JAK
01-24-2008, 10:36
It is a race against time because it is supposed to be done in a single year more or less, I think. I think technically, or at least metaphorically, it might still be considered a race even if there was no time limit. Think rat race. It all depends on one attitude. One can go into a marathon race and not treat it like a race. Same with a thru-hike.

Not that I am totally against racing. But when I used to do a lot of competive racing I used to dream about not crossing the finish line even if I was in first place but I never did. Perhaps because never sailed that perfect race. It's still out there, waiting. One time though I got so into the final upwind leg that I crossed the finish line and just kept going for another 5 miles, totally missing the next race. There was a bit of ego involved though, I must admit. It wasn't pure romanticism. Perhaps if I mature enough someday I will just go out and acheive that perfect hike, or sail, or paddle, without any pretence whatsoever.

"Damn all motives, ulterior ones, and others."

HIKER7s
01-24-2008, 11:37
I would think the most important "race" for the NO BO's would be to get to Katahdin before it closes up and it gets really hard to get past Baxter's rules to summit.

JAK
01-24-2008, 11:39
Good one. Time and tide, and park officials, wait for no man. :)

High Places
01-24-2008, 12:24
Tell you what, I've been working on it for two years but haven't truly had the nerve to put it out in public because it's also my writing and it frightens me a little. So as you asked, I'd be happy to send you some sections, get some feedback, then maybe I'll have the nerve to put it out there.:)

I am sure it will be great! So yes, would like to read some of it.

copythat
01-24-2008, 23:39
i hike because i can't afford a sailboat. ;)

take-a-knee
01-25-2008, 00:57
think about it

I did think about it and you are right, it is a race, sort of, and it is most definetely an act of conformity. I'm not saying that is bad, but it is what it is.

NorthEastDieHard
01-25-2008, 14:02
Beats workin.

I love the city. I love movies and big comfortable chairs and symphonies and everything in a modern world. But when it comes down to it, nothing beats the outdoors. Green grass under the soles of your feet, breathtaking blue skies and the cleanest, most crisp air circulating through the woods is what ultimately drives me to hike. Walking through the woods with a cocophany of animal noises that oddly enough turn into a symphony.

Our civilizations call the outdoors the "wilderness", as to allude the fact that it is wild. But in fact, in my eyes, the outdoors is a place where everything moves in harmony; each piece knows its role and its place. The civilizations humans have built is the wilderness. There, they are pinball machines holding each person underneath its glass as one goes from here to there, sometimes with no rhyme nor reason, creating a pool of foul smelling gas and garbage.

Back on topic - And ascending your mountain; physically pushing yourself, body and mind to the top. Until you finaly do break the tree line - sweaty and tired - and can stand facing the wind eyes closed, open palms, and one big, goofy smile is one of the greatest feelings. Finally, rock hopping like a fool until you have to stop. You make camp and eat one of the most satisfyingly good meals in your most recent memory. And this done with friends. Don't get me started.

That is why I hike. I find it hard to express how I feel most of the time, until I reach the dirt and the first tree on the edge of the woods. It's freedom. And by God, it beats workin'.

NorthEastDieHard
01-25-2008, 14:03
Beats workin.

I love the city. I love movies and big comfortable chairs and symphonies and everything in a modern world. But when it comes down to it, nothing beats the outdoors. Green grass under the soles of your feet, breathtaking blue skies and the cleanest, most crisp air circulating through the woods is what ultimately drives me to hike. Walking through the woods with a cocophany of animal noises that oddly enough turn into a symphony.

Our civilizations call the outdoors the "wilderness", as to allude the fact that it is wild. But in fact, in my eyes, the outdoors is a place where everything moves in harmony; each piece knows its role and its place. The civilizations humans have built is the wilderness. There, they are pinball machines holding each person underneath its glass as one goes from here to there, sometimes with no rhyme nor reason, creating a pool of foul smelling gas and garbage.

Back on topic - And ascending your mountain; physically pushing yourself, body and mind to the top. Until you finaly do break the tree line - sweaty and tired - and can stand facing the wind eyes closed, open palms, and one big, goofy smile is one of the greatest feelings. Finally, rock hopping like a fool until you have to stop. You make camp and eat one of the most satisfyingly good meals in your most recent memory. And this done with friends. Don't get me started.

That is why I hike. I find it hard to express how I feel most of the time, until I reach the dirt and the first tree on the edge of the woods. It's freedom. And by God, it beats workin'.

Lilred
01-25-2008, 15:39
I don't know where I read this, but I thought it was perfect. I backpack because it's the only sport who's ultimate goal is to find a nice rock to sit on and rest. :)

jesse
01-25-2008, 15:46
I backpack because it's the only sport who's ultimate goal is to find a nice rock to sit on and rest. :)

thats good