View Full Version : Is Thru-hiking a vacation?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-29-2008, 19:30
Bliss wrote this in nother thread and it got me to thinking...
As far as the AT a vacation (bugs me every time someone says it's a vacation) - I ask anyone to do a random poll (since everything is polls these days) of the general population and find out if hiking the entire AT constitutes a vacation. Make sure too to tell them the reality of it and not rosy it up - like the bugs, the cold, the mud, the heat, the storms, the injury, the pain, the desire to quit, not to mention the terrain. No way did our city newspaper editor (who used to be in special forces) interview us because we had gone on vacation. If that were so, I should've been interviewed for going to Italy three years ago. Or maybe they would run a special feature for us renting a beach house this summer. No, he did it for the sheer impression it made of a mom and son completing the trail and what a monumental - uh, TASK that was.
The question: Is thru-hiking the AT a vacation?
Jason of the Woods
02-29-2008, 19:34
I guess that it is in the eye of the hiker. For me it is a challenge because of having a bad back. So I would say that it's work for me. For people that actually have a job I guess that it could be a get-a-way.?
Appalachian Tater
02-29-2008, 19:35
Yes. Before people start arguing about what a vacation is:
vacation [vey-key-shuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn, vuh-]
–noun
1.a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.
2.a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.
3.freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
4.an act or instance of vacating.
–verb (used without object)
5.to take or have a vacation: to vacation in the Caribbean.
[Origin: 1350–1400; < L vacātiōn- (s. of vacātiō freedom from something; see vacate (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vacate), -ion (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-ion)); r. ME vacacioun < AFhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png]
Jason of the Woods
02-29-2008, 19:37
Way to think ahead and cover your butt AT.
Yes. Before people start arguing about what a vacation is:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) (http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna.html) -
vacation /ve??ke?http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png??n, v?-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[vey-key-shuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn, vuh-] - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1.a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now. 2.a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended. 3.freedom or release from duty, business, or activity. 4.an act or instance of vacating. –verb (used without object) 5.to take or have a vacation: to vacation in the Caribbean.
[Origin: 1350–1400; < L vac?ti?n- (s. of vac?ti? freedom from something; see vacate (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vacate), -ion (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-ion)); r. ME vacacioun < AFhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png]
I'd have to say it's a vacation, especially compared to the alternative...working!:)
Might be just me though. I've never exactly enjoyed my work life, so anything that gets me out of it for more than 4 months, well, that's gotta be a vacation.
Appalachian Tater
02-29-2008, 19:39
Way to think ahead and cover your butt AT.Yes. Usually these discussions are ultimately about the meaning of the word, not the substance of the thing.
Footslogger
02-29-2008, 19:40
Definitely was a change of pace and I did enjoy myself ...at least part of the time (well OK - - most of the time).
But VACATION ??? ....that's a bit of a stretch :-?
'Slogger
I say it's a little of both, and my reasons for that is it was a vacation from "The real life" for me, but not a vacation in any typical sense of the matter.....i escaped reality and went on the trail, for my own reasons and my own journey; i vacated my 'normal' life but in no way was it what most think of the typical relaxing vacation!
would i do it over again?? yeah, if the right time and opportunity arose, i would!
Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-29-2008, 19:42
To me, a thru hike would be a pursuit: an activity that one engages in as a vocation, profession, or avocation; a quest or a search
aaroniguana
02-29-2008, 19:44
It's certainly a vacation for some of you.
And it's certainly a vacation from some of you. :D
Jason of the Woods
02-29-2008, 19:46
Was that the first or second time Dear? OK so maybe I'm jealous.;)
I say it's a little of both, and my reasons for that is it was a vacation from "The real life" for me, but not a vacation in any typical sense of the matter.....i escaped reality and went on the trail, for my own reasons and my own journey; i vacated my 'normal' life but in no way was it what most think of the typical relaxing vacation!
would i do it over again?? yeah, if the right time and opportunity arose, i would!
Jason of the Woods
02-29-2008, 19:47
Word.:D
Yes. Usually these discussions are ultimately about the meaning of the word, not the substance of the thing.
jersey joe
02-29-2008, 20:04
It was the longest vacation I have ever taken!
What ever it is, it's hard work that takes much persistence. .
I'd say any time spent on the trail is a vacation - whether it's a thru-hike or a day hike.
Jason of the Woods
02-29-2008, 20:20
What if you don't work and live a life of leisure like I do?;)
warraghiyagey
02-29-2008, 20:26
To me, a thru hike would be a pursuit: an activity that one engages in as a vocation, profession, or avocation; a quest or a search
Well said.:)
anyday on the trail is a vacation:)
The ATC is my vacation club
warraghiyagey
02-29-2008, 20:52
Part of the journey.
Since, I am not a thru-hiker, I got flamed once by a thru-hiker, for calling it a vacation. They basically said I wasn't qualified to have an opinion on the subject. But yea, its a vacation, unless you are being paid to do it, and some boss yelling, if you don't get off your A$$ I'm firing you from the trail. Its a vacation unless your bonus depends on meeting mileage quotas.
Think Spring
02-29-2008, 21:20
:sunIt's a "journey" in life that would fit into Maslow's pyramid at the highest level, one's "self-actualization needs",.....something that you feel you MUST do to feel "complete"....IF you had ever entertained the concept of "hiking the AT". And, as a couple of you have expressed, it's a "vacation"... that a lot of "flatlander's" would NEVER understand. Kinda makes you feel sorry for "flatlander's", eh?
Blissful
02-29-2008, 23:10
What ever it is, it's hard work that takes much persistence. .
Amen.
(BTW - Are you going back out? Thought I saw that somewhere? Another vacation? :))
I asked Paul Bunyan tonight - is hiking the AT a vacation? He said - "Are you crazy? It is NOT a vacation!"
Blissful
02-29-2008, 23:21
Yes. Before people start arguing about what a vacation is:
vacation [vey-key-shuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn, vuh-]
–noun
1.a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.
2.a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.
3.freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
4.an act or instance of vacating.
–verb (used without object)
5.to take or have a vacation: to vacation in the Caribbean.
[Origin: 1350–1400; < L vacātiōn- (s. of vacātiō freedom from something; see vacate (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vacate), -ion (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-ion)); r. ME vacacioun < AFhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png]
Yeah, I looked this definition up last time Sgt Rock said it was a vacation back about 18 months ago (wonder what his ears think now - just kidding - though I am glad they are healing up).
Anyway, I guess if I felt it was a suspension of true "work", I would agree. But doing the whole AT is the hardest mental and physical work there is in so many respects. Which is probably why so few have finished it. Or dragged their offspring with them to do the whole thing. Ha ha
But we plan to vacation in West Virginia this summer- doing a five day hike. That will be nice and easy, I hope and pray. But it never is. Always challenges to face and to overcome. And overcoming is work, and work many do not like to do 'cause it can hurt. Makes hikers a unique class of people, like the pioneers in a way.
I've viewed them as segments or chronicles in my life. Adventures, but not really vacations. But I've spent most of my life in school, not working, so it may have a different effect than someone who is going to get away and wind down from 30 years in the workforce.
I won't disagree with anyone who claims it's a vacation. But, the vacation does include a daily grind aspect and is definately hard work. Fun work, but hard work. Rewarding work. :)
I think thru-hiking can be like work though. You've got your watershed moments when everything makes sense and is worth it. You've got some tough days, and you've got the busy work, or the middle miles which feel like pointless/mindless filler. Actually that's related to a lot of things in life.
Section hiking is my favorite type of vacation. When I had a job with paid vacations it was extra special. Now, when I take time off, no pay.
From most thruhikers I've met on the trail I get the idea that, after a month or so, especially if the weather has been bad, or illness or injury happen, it can take on the burden of a job. Some climb the ladder, some grit it out, and some have a good time. I've met folks in Maine who just wanted to get it over with, and others who never wanted it to end. I have a feeling that, given enough time and money to do a thru, I'd be the latter......but there's no way of knowing for sure.
For me, my thru-hike was a vacation, though one with more work than I originally imagined. I've often said it takes a genuine work ethic to pull it off. But it was the first and only time in my life when I had 5 1/2 months with no obligations other than those I chose for myself. Even with the degree of effort required, that definitely made it a vacation for me.
max patch
03-01-2008, 14:38
The question: Is thru-hiking the AT a vacation?
Of course it is.
Nearly Normal
03-01-2008, 14:49
I haven't thru-hiked but do get out for trips as much and as long as I can.
I love it but it is it's own kind of work.
I would think that a lot of people that quit a thru-hike early on find out it is not the kind of "work" they want or didn't think it would require "work".
Alligator
03-01-2008, 15:18
I never think of hiking as work in the employment sense:-?. Now if the pay was right I'd make hiking a career and call it whatever you like:D. (I do use work a bit more loosely though, like I had to work for that view.)
Thru hiking is more like a marriage than a vacation.
LittleMsGoody2Shoes
03-01-2008, 15:50
Originally Posted by Appalachian Tater http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/wb_style/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=555443#post555443)
vacation [vey-key-shuhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngn, vuh-]
–noun
3.freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
Based on that definition, I'd have to say MOST DEFINITELY!
As a single mom of 3 girls (the oldest being 14), I can't think of anything more refreshing that a nice LONG hike far, FAR away from my current duties. :D
:sunIt's a "journey" in life that would fit into Maslow's pyramid at the highest level, one's "self-actualization needs",.....something that you feel you MUST do to feel "complete"....IF you had ever entertained the concept of "hiking the AT". And, as a couple of you have expressed, it's a "vacation"... that a lot of "flatlander's" would NEVER understand. Kinda makes you feel sorry for "flatlander's", eh?
Do people really say "flatlander" in Ohio?
Tipi Walter
03-01-2008, 16:23
Anyone who lives outdoors, carries a pack and sets up a shelter night after night, I would not consider to be on a vacation or a "vacationer."
To me a person on vacation is just a tourist, a dayhiker at best and a Wheeled Tourist at worst.
I see the word "vacation" as like vacuous or vacuus(latin for empty or void). Or vacare, to be empty. So I suppose people to be on vacation are therefore empty-headed, car-bound rolling couch potatoes who still have an abiding deep regard for traffic, roads, cities, pavement, sprawl and the crowds of other humans.
Backpackers are, by their simple desire to retreat to the woods without cars, traffic, roads, cities, etc, are therefore NOT vacuous or empty and so are not on "vacation."
People on vacation go to Gatlinburg. Backpackers are just the opposite. Just haven't figured out a term for it yet.
Of course, hiking the A.T. is a vacation, but it's my hope hikers will see it increasingly as a means to reconnect with the natural world and as an opportunity for personal growth.
Nearly Normal
03-01-2008, 18:22
Most things in life get better the more you work at them.
Damn! I try NOT to vote on public :-? polls but you got me.
Vacation... Yes
Future TH... Yes
Public polls SUCK.
Anyone who lives outdoors, carries a pack and sets up a shelter night after night, I would not consider to be on a vacation or a "vacationer."
To me a person on vacation is just a tourist, a dayhiker at best and a Wheeled Tourist at worst.
I see the word "vacation" as like vacuous or vacuus(latin for empty or void). Or vacare, to be empty. So I suppose people to be on vacation are therefore empty-headed, car-bound rolling couch potatoes who still have an abiding deep regard for traffic, roads, cities, pavement, sprawl and the crowds of other humans.
Backpackers are, by their simple desire to retreat to the woods without cars, traffic, roads, cities, etc, are therefore NOT vacuous or empty and so are not on "vacation."
People on vacation go to Gatlinburg. Backpackers are just the opposite. Just haven't figured out a term for it yet.
Unless you are retired or do not work daily for whatever reason, taking time off to do what you want to do is a vacation. You may choose to do volunteer work with your time. You may choose to drink yourself silly. Stand on your head and clinch popsicles between you cheeks... I don't know.
It is vacationing.
kayak karl
03-01-2008, 18:47
id rather put up with yous (South Jersey for you all) then the people at work. i vote vacation
People on vacation go to Gatlinburg. Backpackers are just the opposite. Just haven't figured out a term for it yet.
What a horrible place. Gatlinburg reminds me of exactly why I'm thru-hiking.
Almost There
03-01-2008, 18:51
Unless you are retired or do not work daily for whatever reason, taking time off to do what you want to do is a vacation. You may choose to do volunteer work with your time. You may choose to drink yourself silly. Stand on your head and clinch popsicles between you cheeks... I don't know.
It is vacationing.
Pretty much I agree with this assessment, you choose what you do for a vacation, based on what you enjoy. Sitting on a beach for a week is not my idea of a good time, maybe a day or two, but a week???
I said a thru hike was something different because people learn something about themselves once out there.
There are those who never want it to end and for them it remains a vacation.
There are those who go out and realize it is not what they thought and end up hating it and go home.
Then there are those who refuse to quit but still come to hate much of it. Same as the 2nd group, but they have a tougher mental fortitude. It ceases to be a vacation to them, but rather a personal test of who they are. These are the same people who will possibly never go back to a long hike, but will pull it out like a badge of honor later on in life and say, "yeah, I hiked this trail back in the day." Is it still a vacation, yes, in a technical sense...but these people cease to see it as such.
kayak karl
03-01-2008, 18:53
Thru hiking is more like a marriage than a vacation.
Do I have to give up half my gear when its over?:D
Mr. Parkay
03-01-2008, 19:03
I consider hiking to be a vacation... but when making miles starts to feel like a job, it's time to take a zero day :D
That's my philosophy anyway.
Thru hiking is more like a marriage than a vacation.
An interesting thought, Rick. I'll have to ponder it a bit before replying.
Anyone who lives outdoors, carries a pack and sets up a shelter night after night, I would not consider to be on a vacation or a "vacationer."
To me a person on vacation is just a tourist, a dayhiker at best and a Wheeled Tourist at worst.
I see the word "vacation" as like vacuous or vacuus(latin for empty or void). Or vacare, to be empty. So I suppose people to be on vacation are therefore empty-headed, car-bound rolling couch potatoes who still have an abiding deep regard for traffic, roads, cities, pavement, sprawl and the crowds of other humans.
Backpackers are, by their simple desire to retreat to the woods without cars, traffic, roads, cities, etc, are therefore NOT vacuous or empty and so are not on "vacation."
People on vacation go to Gatlinburg. Backpackers are just the opposite. Just haven't figured out a term for it yet.
If not vacationing, then what?
Weary
Nearly Normal
03-02-2008, 17:32
A pleasureable activity you work at.
My friends and I worked on a cooler full of beers last night.
Really worked on em.
If not vacationing, then what?
Weary
Is it possible to take vacation if you are retired? Or unemployed?
Is it possible to take vacation if you are retired? Or unemployed?
Sure it is. I haven't retired from working. Just from earning money.
Weary www.matlt.org
Sure it is. I haven't retired from working. Just from earning money.
That is a fantastic quote. I'm just not sure if it is meant to be funny or frightfully true.
But thanks for your work maintaining trails either way.:)
Think Spring
03-02-2008, 22:35
Yeah, Mudhead, many people in Ohio recognize "flatlanders", "blue-hairs" and other similar folks that "experience nature" through the local zoo, National Geographic video's, and other means that allow them to "avoid sweat". But, if that's their choice and I don't have to abide by it, woohoo for them.
That is a fantastic quote. I'm just not sure if it is meant to be funny or frightfully true.
But thanks for your work maintaining trails either way.:)
These things are always more complicated than they appear on the surface. I've never been a great maintainer of trails -- though I was responsible for a couple of miles of the AT for a couple of decades. I've always been a walker and 40 years ago I managed to talk myself into a dream job that allowed me to write about the issues surrounding the trail in Maine. And even to get paid for occasionally climbing a mountain or canoeing a wild river.
When I sensed the powers that be were (wisely) beginning to doubt the value of my contributions -- not to the trails, but to readership which keeps the newspaper profitable, I took a slightly early retirement.
I had founded a land trust in my town 15 years earlier, but had never served on its board, and the people who did serve never did anything about protecting any land.
A group that was trying to make the land trust work, asked my advice and I became a member of the board. Over the years we managed to protect around 800 acres and inspired the protection of several thousand additional acres.
Nothing generates more work like success. When the paper companies that owned most of the north woods started to sell out to developers, it was natural to try to buy some key parcels to buffer critical portions of the narrow AT corridor. What else might I have done instead? Well there is an active senior center a few miles away that serves lunch once a week, and card and bingo games daily.
Frankly it struck me as more interesting to figure out a way to buy the summit ridge of Abraham, a little known, but pretty mountain next to the trail.
Anyway. That's what I've been doing for the 17 years since I retired.
And that's the message I try to impress on people. It's a great feeling to have helped save one of the great mountains of Maine -- and the northeast for that matter. It's a great feeling to have saved one of the last undeveloped and unprotected sand beaches in the northeast.
I can't think of anything I could have been doing that would have been more enjoyable. The frustration is the lack of money to accomplish all that needs to be done. The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust could spend $20 million tomorrow, buying land that would be a joy to thousands of hikers.
Praise is always nice. But the real need is for dollars.
Weary www.matlt.org
fiddlehead
03-03-2008, 00:20
If you love it enough, it's your life!
Twas mine for 15 years ('89-2004) Now i have a 2 1/2 year old boy so will have to put it on hold for another 12 years or so. Still do day hikes though.
Nearly Normal
03-03-2008, 03:32
If you love it enough, it's your life!
Twas mine for 15 years ('89-2004) Now i have a 2 1/2 year old boy so will have to put it on hold for another 12 years or so. Still do day hikes though.
I know exactly how you feel but many don't.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=547237#post547237
fiddlehead
03-03-2008, 04:32
Don't get me wrong. I love my boy and my decision to give up long distance hiking for a long time is well justified in the passion that he has brought into my life.
Watching him learning how to swim, or playing the air guitar and singing bring as much joy as standing on the top of a mountain and looking back at the great view and climb you just finished. (and changing diapers or taking him to the doctors is just like a blowdown on the trail)
Nearly Normal
03-03-2008, 17:25
I totally agree. You must take the responsibilities of life.