View Full Version : What's your reason?
spencerb
08-24-2008, 20:19
So, we are all planning to thruhike this trail next year. Sinking money into gear, planning logistics, getting into shape.
I've been thinking a lot about why I want to do this hike and what will be my reasons I tell myself when it is pouring rain, I haven't been dry for four days, and I want to quit.
So I am just curious, if people are willing to share, what is your reason for wanting to do this hike?
SurferNerd
08-24-2008, 20:40
I have several reasons behind mine:
1. Self Accomplishment
2. Strengthen walk with God
3. To enjoy nature and God's creation
4. To live without worries, bills, trials, problems, and drama
bikerscars
08-24-2008, 21:03
testing physical as well as mental stamina while marveling at the beauty all around...
life is too short not to go big...
feeling of accomplishment...
or something
fiddlehead
08-24-2008, 21:27
For years, for me it was: there is no place I'd rather be.
However my prioirites have changed and now it's with my family and 3 year old boy here in The "Land of Smiles" (Thailand)
I am finding that when i have a problem to deal with or just want to get away from the rat race or traffic or sun here, I take to the jungle and go for a hike up in the mountains here. It is still my favorite place to be myself and make important decisions. Silence is Golden!
bigboots
08-25-2008, 19:44
I dido what everyone else has said thus far, especially:
The challenge, feeling of accomplishment, being outdoors, no worries, time to relax, and most importantly to enjoy life!
Roughin' It
08-25-2008, 20:21
Speaking in terms of being a male, i believe every man needs adventure in life, and that desire was created in us. For me, I have regrets in previous years, especially in terms of not following my passions, and sitting on the sidelines watching the world go by.
My goal of thru-hiking the AT is a big deal for me, in so many reasons that take too long to explain. I enjoy the natural world and sort of getting back to man's roots; without traffic, plastic people with fake ambitions and motives, neon signs, shopping malls, interstates, dollar menus, stock markets, television, crime, and general petty worries.
I haven't done much long distance hiking, but the hiking i have done just brings back a sense of purity to life that seems to vanish if you let the worries of this world take over.
so thats my $0.02
spencerb
08-25-2008, 22:06
Speaking in gender neutral terms, I think every person needs adventure!!!! Why keep the every one else out of it? ;)
My biggest reason is is that the Appalachian Trail has shown me everything that I like about myself. In thruhiking, I hope to find a me I like outside the trail as well.
Also, it has been an obsession for long enough. I want to just get it out of my system and get that hike out of me! Because the trail is there, I want to see it, hike it, love/hate every inch of it.
I am currently stalled at a huge crossroads in my life. But I am not going to figure out which fork to take yet, I'm going to take the access road to Springer. :sun
Monkeywrench
08-26-2008, 09:38
This is a hard one to articulate. Of course, there's not just one reason. I think maybe different reasons become prominent at different times.
One of the biggest attractions of self-powered travel -- for me either bicycle touring or hiking -- is the simplicity of it. I am not saying it is easy, as it often is anything but. But it is simple. You wake up in the morning and your goal is simply to move yourself from here to there and provide for your basic needs of food, water, and shelter. Isn't that what we evolved to do?
As to why hiking, and why the AT, and why a thru-hike? I'm not sure. I've wanted to do it since I was a kid and started hiking with the Boy Scouts and read Ed Garvey's book. It is on my mental life-list of things to do.
And why now? For one thing, I can afford it now. I no longer have a mortgage or car payments to make. My daughter is off on her own and doesn't require day-to-day hands-on parenting. My wife earns a decent living and is willing to pick up the slack while I am unemployed. And -- this is a big one -- I am growing increasingly dissatisfied with my job. Not just my particular current employer, but with what I do to make a living, and I hope to use the time of my thru-hike to think about just what it is I want to do for the rest of my working life.
There's more too. People I know that are my age are dying. It pushes home the fact that every year the chance of something happening that will make it impossible for me to pursue this particular dream increases. It lends urgency to the idea of doing it now, while I still can.
Oh, and I think the part of me that is trying to prove to myself that I am not getting old has a say in this too. I am more fit now than I have been at any time in my life, and this thru-hike attempt is anchored at least a bit in that little bit of chronological denial.
Damn, this is all too deep for a Monday morning. (Yes, I know it's Tuesday, but I took a 4-day weekend and we went to Maine to climb Katahdin, so it's a virtual Monday for me.) I want to do a thru-hike because it's a hell of a lot more fun that sitting in a cubicle in downtown Boston helping to make selling homeowner's insurance over the Internet more efficient and therefore profitable for all the big shots that sit upstairs!
good way to put it - what would i tell myself in the rain - honestly?
*to self*
1. this is the most positive thing you have ever done for yourself. you've made a lot of mistakes, but this isn't one of them.
2. the "comforts of home" - all they ever were for you were problems.
3. you need to prove you can finish what you start.
4. you are at a time of transition in your life, this is the LAST time you will probably ever be able to get away with doing this. so you have to just go ahead and do it.
5. you've already told an azzload of people and if you quit now you'll look like an idiot.
Jim Adams
08-28-2008, 00:16
It will change your life in more ways than you can imagine.
geek
beerandpizza
08-28-2008, 14:47
Why? Because living on someone else's schedule makes me want to puke. I want to wake up every morning and decide what I am going to do with my day. Not some corporate machine that keeps track of their "pod" earning them money. Because, when I go into town for something, I am there for 2 seconds before the lines, people cutting you off, selfishness and of other people and their quest for all things material start getting to me. Let them live their life in order to acquire stuff. Not this boy (and wife). My favorite quote: "The stuff you own ends up owning you". Climb that corporate ladder, live in that cubicle, live for the job, do what's right for the company at personal sacrifice and most of all, achieve that synergy (puke).
well enough cynicism for today. WHO'S READY TO GO NOW!!!??!! WE'LL KICK THAT TRAIL'S A$$!!
First off I want to say thank you to SpencerB for getting us to share our own personal reasons. I have enjoyed reading the various sources of inspiration from those I hope to share the trail with early next spring.
Like most I am doing this for many reasons. The first is because it is on my list of five things I want to do while on this earth. Something intangible deep inside me...
Like others I am at a transition point in my life. I have had a great military career which I have choose to end at 20 years and 2 days. Despite many offers to stay in or at least in the career field I want to start a whole new chapter. I have decided law school (also on the list)... which won't start until next Fall. Things are falling into place perfectly. I suppose this was always my plan just never thought I would spend 20 years serving but I did because of the great guys I served with.
Time to reflect on what is truly important or needed in my life. As some eluded to above, many get caught up and lose the ability to differeniate between needs and wants. I want to get a good grasp as I move on with life.
Another reason is all of you... while the physical challenge is there it is the interaction with people not from my daily world who I hope will help me view the world in a new light. So until our paths cross I wish you all the best in preparation.
Grumpy
Monkeywrench
08-28-2008, 15:38
WE'LL KICK THAT TRAIL'S A$$!!
I'm not going to kick any trail's a$$, nor am I going to conquer any summits. Hopefully I will be able to hike the trail, and climb the summits.
For me, it's not about conquering anything in the physical world. There's way too much of that in the built world. I simply want to experience it, and let it mold and shape me as I go along. Hopefully I can be pliable enough not to break, and will be fortunate enough to make the entire journey.
Oh, and enjoy plenty of beer & pizza!
turtle fast
08-28-2008, 19:01
Coming from someone who was just on the trail...I would have to say that the sense of adventure and your sheer desire to push on. Its your internal fortitude that propells you ....it sucks, sometimes you don't want to go but you do as its the only way to finnish. The hike is 10% physical and 90% mental.....its true!
sheeptoast
08-28-2008, 22:34
I just want to take a 6 month break from life.
I have no idea what would cause a 19 year old to feel the need for a break from life but I hope you get it... more aptly I hope you find it a discover of life vs. a break.
See you out there...
superman
08-29-2008, 08:29
Most folks that I met hiking the AT were at a point of change in their lives, graduation, retirement, divorce etc. Wanting to hug a tree, be one with the flaura and fauna is fine but if you need more juice to get up some mountain just think about that person that pisses you off the most.:)
slowandlow
08-29-2008, 16:12
Because hiking is fun, and a whole lot of hiking is a whole lot of fun.
Bare Bear
08-29-2008, 23:04
"People come out to the Appalachian Trail to find their limits, and when they get here they find they don't have any." Bare Bear 06
thats a great question spencerb! for me, hiking and backpacking means freedom. i think people in this country forget their free to live pretty much any way they want. i'll take a bad day thru-hiking the A.T. to a good day at work any time. i agree with beerandpizza that the more stuff you own the more it owns you. when you go on a long backpacking trip, for the first couple of days, you mind is still humming from all the noise, people, politics, work, the evil advertisements telling you to be a good consumer. (of products that will end up in a landfill). but pretty soon all that crap starts to filter out (like the wind blows and carries it off) and you become more intune with your surroundings.
i guess it comes down to the fact that you have to really love backpacking.
enjoy waking up in a different place everyday
the campfire
the wildlife
the solitude
the rivers and streams
climbing mountains
the exercise
the sense of adventure
and i just love giving society the finger
life is just too short to spend most of your time working to buy things that don't give you any real fulfillment, for the benefit of a strangers bottom line.
to break an eleven year addiction that has put me in disgusting physical shape.
I've got a bone to pick with Wildcat A. I am going to hike northbound and round up a posse and teach that mountain a lesson. Then I might as well keep going into Maine. I have a bumper sticker on my car that says "I love Maine" so I am not going to pass up an opportunity to hike that state again.
i gotta get out of my cubicle....for a long time. to take a real break away from work and clear my head
GeoHiker
09-02-2008, 11:10
I am currently stalled at a huge crossroads in my life. But I am not going to figure out which fork to take yet, I'm going to take the access road to Springer. :sun
Amen to that, out of school now and have been wanting to thru-hike for about 8 years now. Finally have the chance to do it and am putting getting a job off until i finish this. no more excuses for me! hope to see yall on the trail!!
Chance09
09-02-2008, 14:28
ya i'm in the same boat. I'm graduating and have no idea what i want to do with my life. I'm also really not happy with where i'm at right now
keifers13
09-05-2008, 10:26
Like many of you have already stated, hiking the AT is something that I've always wanted to do. This is the first time that I'll have an opportunity to take 6 months off devote that time to something that I want to do. I may not have many more opportunities like this, so I'm going to take it and run...err...I mean hike.
joshua5878
09-08-2008, 18:39
This is going to sound really pompus but will hopefully show the state of mind I'm in and why I want to hike. I am leaving from Springer in March and walking away from a $400,000.00 per year plus job. I am 42 and have worked my way up the corporate ladder and have never been so miserable. Not like depressed, but not happy. I hate the job and it has taken its toll on my family as well. So yeah, I guess I'm running, but I need to leave and come back. And when I come back I want to be a different person. Want to change careers etc.... I have been in the same line of work for 20 years and need a creative spark? Need to energy myself, get in shape and stop some bad habits. Why the trail?? Group up in the woods, all of my "1st times" were in the woods. I love the woods! I feel I have a small window to do this and don't want to put it off any longer. Thats it, I guess. Peace. Ted
I decided not to read what others had written until I wrote my reasons out so my apologies if this is a repeat. As I'm sure many of you have been doing, I've been thinking about this quite a bit. My desire started when my brother began his first attempt at a thru hike in 2004. He wanted me to join him and I desperately wanted to go. However, with kids in college and job commitments I decided that wasn't the time. Then in 2005 I got laid off and decided to take a couple of months to do a long motorcycle trip. I talked my bro into joining me. That completely changed my outlook on things. I realized I'm only doing this life thing ONCE! On that trip I decided that I was going to "retire" early for several years and do some of things I really wanted to do. In 2009 with the kids/college thing and the job/money things behind me it's the AT, in 2010 we begin a ride around the world on the motorcycles. So that all said I can summarize it into three things:
The Mental Fitness (Challenge) - corporate life is just not challenging anymore. Whatever I set my mind to I succeed at and I'm just not interested in doing something anymore that adds so little value to "life". The AT is my personal challenge - to do something that it very tangible, that takes real work to achieve, that isn't a "guaranteed" thing like the boring corporate world has become.
The Physical Fitness - I need to get in shape, I need to change how I approach life and fitness. I hate gyms! I want to do something I enjoy while getting fit and being outside, not being trapped in an office fits that bill!
The Spiritual Fitness - I enjoy solitude, nothing made me happier than spending hours on the back of my m/c traveling through beauty. Its time for me to be away from all the things that grab our daily attention and sift through where life has taken me and where I'm going. While not a church goer I am a "spiritual" guy. I need time alone with the Big Guy to clear my head and heart. I've become too bitter and jaded. I need to clean out the cob webs in a serious way!
PS - I talked my brother into joining me - ok, so I didn't need to "talk" him into it - I just started to mention my plan and he was ALL over it!! We're about as close as brothers can be - I can't wait to get to spend more quality time with him!
I am leaving from Springer in March and walking away from a $400,000.00 per year plus job. I am 42 and have worked my way up the corporate ladder and have never been so miserable.
Ted, I happen to live in Florida and am currently unemployed. Despite your misery of working there, I need work badly. I too plan to be in the Class of 2009, but I need to make some cash before then. If you have any pull in your company and can give me a job in SWFL I won't have to go to Colorado to make some money, especially if it's office or computer oriented.
phenimore
09-11-2008, 11:32
1. because it's there
2. silence, solitude and fasting for physical, spiritual and mental health
3. to access my passion
4. to provoke creativity
5. to remember the chestnuts
6. for my grandfathers
7. to learn the reliance of simplicity
joshua5878
09-12-2008, 15:54
Ted, I happen to live in Florida and am currently unemployed. Despite your misery of working there, I need work badly. I too plan to be in the Class of 2009, but I need to make some cash before then. If you have any pull in your company and can give me a job in SWFL I won't have to go to Colorado to make some money, especially if it's office or computer oriented.
How are you at sales???
I will be graduating in December and have no desire to jump right into a career. I need to do some growing up first, and I know that the trail is the way for me to do it. I manage to work out more issues in a 2 hour hike than I do in 2 months of work/school.
I also just plain love to be out in the woods sweating my ass off while racing up a mountain. Being up on a ridge with a cool breeze, and the scent of hemlocks is probably my favorite place in the whole world, and being able to experience that for months at a time seems unbelievable. Plus I'm dating the most incredible girl I've ever met who wants to do it too. We both need a big adventure before we settle down.
bach2112
09-23-2008, 01:48
For some, the reason they want to hike is to say they did something that no one else will do. For others, it's to prove to themselves that they have what it takes.
For me, it's the love of hiking. I love being outdoors, and when I started thinking of thru hiking, I pictured great views, meeting new and exciting people, and having an experience of a lifetimes. Though this is all true, the simple fact is that it will be full of rain, snow, slush, bears, dogs, crazy drunks, hurting thighs, and many more other things. But why do we hike? If it is to try to and say I did something you can't do, then this is the wrong place for you. But if you love to hike, truely love the outdoors, then the AT is home to you.
My girlfriend and I broke up about 2 months ago, and when that happened, I was knocked down. But I realized that since I was born, I was told what to do and how to do it, not just by parents, but by everyone, including my ex. I was never given a chance to do what I wanted, and when I did do what I wanted, it was always unimportant. My ex before my last ex cried when I got into the school of music, and I have been living with alcoholics most of my life. I hated life, and I hated myself.
But when I went to the mountains last year, I felt alive. I felt this sense of belonging that no one could understand. This was my home, up here in the North Carolina mountains. This was where I belonged, where the mountains won't judge me, where I felt free. So it began, my obsession with the Appalachian Trail.
To thru hike it is my plan, but I, just like all of us who or are going to hike it, have a deeper connection to it. To thru hike means we will become a part of the trail. Our years and months of saving every cent, of buying gear, of training, become a part of the trail. Our blood, sweat and tears get soaked up the trail. We don't hike the trail, we live it. We are doing something that is bigger then us.
When we make it through our journey, it won't matter why we started it to begin with. Yes, we have our reasons, but at the end of the trail, we will have learned what we are all about.
Bare Bear
09-24-2008, 08:53
BACH 2112
One of the happiest people I know I met on the Trail. He had finished school (BYU) and was trying to decide whether to go take a big well paying job or do what he liked best (being in the woods). He is a bird counter for a non-profit, makes about $19,000 a year but loves what he is doing. THAT IS WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT. I hope to see you on the Trail.
Time To Fly 97
09-24-2008, 09:20
Walk with God
Learn who you really are
Feel sustained joy
Become a super athlete - if you don't slackpack - or at least very healthy
Live in a Kharmatic state
Do something in life just for you
Become immune to letting the little things bother you
Live in the present, untethered to itinerary - go with the flow mentality for life
See the good in everyone
Feed your spirit
And all these things you take with you for the rest of your life (hopefully staying in shape too). The further you hike on the AT, the better the journey gets and the more you learn about what is important in life. Memories from hiking the AT are an endless well of happy thoughts that you can drink from anytime.
Also: When you get into a hike, the rain and cold and dark...are just part of the journey and are cool too. You occassionally get down during these times because of something else usually - dehydrated because you exhaled your liquids on a cold night, hungry and need electrolytes, etc. You learn to recognize and fix what's getting you down pretty early on.
Happy hiking!
TTF
Dyadya Tim
09-30-2008, 13:08
I'm not going to lie, and say that this has been a dream of mine for years, because it hasn't. My choices always lead me to large cities where I was unhappy. I came back to the mountains for what I thought was going to be a break and what I found instead was the AT. I need a new challenge in my life, a new chance to see what I can fight for in my life. I've become stagnant in mind, body and spirit, it's time for me to walk to awareness and let who I truly am flow from me like a river over the rocks of objection and preconception.
Caveman
2009ThruHiker
09-30-2008, 15:36
To Build a stronger relationship with God through focus and trust.
To bring the cart back around behind the horse again. My wife and I married into already having children from a previous marriage so we will now explore the honeymooners phase of marriage - the phase before parenting (the kids are in college now) on a romantic adventure, that, like marriage and parenting, will have many challenges and ups and downs (all puns intended)....wait, what are we thinking!?!
To fulfill a dream from the first time I hiked the AT, 10 years ago.
To conquer fear, to face challenge and adversity, to meet people with common goals from all walks of life.
To process what is next after the trail.
Outofstep39
10-01-2008, 20:53
My Reason?
I've never been tested in my life, Im not trying to be arrogant, but i floated through life without any hard work(granted im 18 so it hasnt been that long.) The only time i really feel like im accomplishing anything is when im physically pushing myself.
Also the only time i feel sane is when im outdoors. I cant stand college so far, my classes to this point have been easy, and i hate walking to class everyday thinking that on this beautiful day im going to go sit in a box for the next couple hours. If i dont hike at all for an long time(like a week) i get aggressive and irritable.
I just want a memorable experience. Rain, snow, sun, i love being alive and out in it. I want to revel in the glory of life and the freedom of carrying my world on my back, my days destination subject only to my whim and fancy.
Ronnie Motrose
10-01-2008, 20:58
I have several reasons behind mine:
1. Self Accomplishment
2. Strengthen walk with God
3. To enjoy nature and God's creation
4. To live without worries, bills, trials, problems, and drama
One, two and four you can throw out the window. Start with three and see if the rest follow.:)
Originally Posted by SurferNerd http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/wb_style/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=687614#post687614)
I have several reasons behind mine:
1. Self Accomplishment
2. Strengthen walk with God
3. To enjoy nature and God's creation
4. To live without worries, bills, trials, problems, and drama
One, two and four you can throw out the window. Start with three and see if the rest follow.:)
It seems to me that in the spirit of HYOH that only SurferNerd can determine what to throw out / keep and the proper priorities. Only #3 may work for you, while for many they might say #2 is most important and should come first and all else will follow.
Personally, I'm just glad to start "meeting" all my fellow 2009ers - looking forward to meeting many of you on the trail!! :D
Rockhound
10-02-2008, 16:26
This is going to sound really pompus but will hopefully show the state of mind I'm in and why I want to hike. I am leaving from Springer in March and walking away from a $400,000.00 per year plus job. I am 42 and have worked my way up the corporate ladder and have never been so miserable. Not like depressed, but not happy. I hate the job and it has taken its toll on my family as well. So yeah, I guess I'm running, but I need to leave and come back. And when I come back I want to be a different person. Want to change careers etc.... I have been in the same line of work for 20 years and need a creative spark? Need to energy myself, get in shape and stop some bad habits. Why the trail?? Group up in the woods, all of my "1st times" were in the woods. I love the woods! I feel I have a small window to do this and don't want to put it off any longer. Thats it, I guess. Peace. Ted
take 1 years salary and you'll be able to thru-hike the AT in style every year for the rest of your life. Its amazing how many rich, miserable people there are in the world. Why do they work so hard, so long, doing something they hate? good luck on your hike. I think you just might find happiness there. I was in the same boat 5 years ago (although i was making considerably less). I realized the old cliche of "money wont buy happiness" is spot on. I have not had "a real job" in all that time and I couldnt be happier. Ive been able to manifest whatever I need and have never gone hungry while enjoying complete freedom and seeing nature in all its splendor and meeting some great people. Beats the hell out of working for the man
It doesn't surprise me to hear so many hikers combining a love for being outdoors in nature with some higher power. If U believe the story in Genesis, and I do, someone, who I call God, didn't place us in a cubicle, car, square house, on a bus, or in or on something manmade of glass, steel, concrete or asphalt. God placed us in a garden. I believe it is in everyone's heart to go back to that place where we live in harmony with ourselves, others, our environment, and yes, even God. Somehow, hiking is the call of our spirits to return to that place where we function best.
Hiking in nature, as on the AT, let's us remove much of that 'static' that clouds us from seeing who we really are. It gives us the time to resolve issues and come full circle. Hiking in nature hints at the promise that we will somehow be different, more complete, better. Hiking will overwelmingly demonstrate that there is still good in this world. The best way I can describe completing a long hike is to imagine something so pure, innocent, healthy, thought provoking, inspirational, cleansing, and overcoming that you can't but help to be changed forever. It will make you aware of something or someone greater than yourself.
Storminorman18
10-13-2008, 01:40
Honestly, for me its a pretty simple answer. Because I want to! Ever since I first read bill bryson's a walk in a woods, I've thought about hiking the AT. True during most of the time I was in college, I kinda forgot about it due to school and activities, but now I've sectioned hiked a bit, and now as I am graduating college, I feel this maybe my only time to do it. The rest of my life is going to be tied down to jobs, and other things. I feel while I have the freedom to do a thru hike I should. I know hiking will never truly die with me and I plan to teach kids of my own how to camp, hike, and backpack. However, I want the freedom to set my own sails and see where the wind takes me.
It's a very good question and I know that all of us will ask more than a few times during the course of our journeys "*** am I doing here?"
There many reasons that I will be doing this hike come Spring '09
such as
I've been thinking about doing this hike since the first day that I met the AT in the summer of '71 while hiking in the DWG
The years went by and i got into hiking and then got into winter hiking and then got tired of winter hiking and headed for the high deserts all along thinking that someday I had to thru hike the AT
Twenty one years summers ago I had it planned in detail for the following Spring and then I had a catastrophic orthopaedic injury and couldn't walk normally for a couple of years
I got married and stopped hiking for a couple of years
Eentually I found a great orthopaedic surgeon who repaired the injury
I can walk again
A couple of years ago the marriage ended and here I am with this old guy need to get back in touch with the places of my youth that inspired me and made my soul sing
As far as the physical rigors of the Trail go I am under no illusions about how physically and mentally difficult some days are going to be But I know about the power of mountain magic to set things right
I know that this will be a life changing event for me
I know that it's foolish to think that I know how it will change me...but it will
I also know one more thing:I will only do the AT once as a thru hike so I'm gonna make sure that i take the time to enjoy it immensely
So as I push my body into hiking shape I think about summiting Katahdin and then heading across Knife Edge and down Pomala as the way that i want to end this hike
I'm hiking this year because I don't like the real world anymore after my thru hike this year. Life on the trail is more simple, relaxing, and just plain fun. Nothing matters out there but the truly important things like food, shelter, and weather. I've got a big paddling trip that I will be doing in 2010, and I need to kill a year before I do that. So I either go back to the real world or go back on the trail.
Now, to answer your question as to why I would hike the trail my reason from last year would be the original one.
It all started with this girl I've known for 7 years. We used to date and still have feelings for eachother. Well she farted in front of me for the first time. I knew right then that she was moving too fast for me, so I ran off into the woods. Now I can't get away form them.
Monkeywrench
10-24-2008, 07:31
Now I can't get away form them.
From what, girls that fart?
Boy, you guys are deep, I'm just a old man that wants to go out for a long walk in the woods. Retired last year and have been reading alot about the AT. I live in Gainesville GA about 45min. from Amicola. My biggest concern is getting all that s--t in a pack. I'm looking forward to the stars with no other lights around. Maybe meet some of you good people, also beeer and pizza sounds good.
From what, girls that fart?
That and trails. I leave home on my hike single this year, and come home with three girls practically at my door step. So I'm hiking again next year hoping I can have a harem. Then I'm going on a 4 month paddling trip around Florida in 2010, so maybe I will have a cult after that.:-?
From what, girls that fart?
Speaking of farts did anybody happen tosee this article?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081023/sc_livescience/thestinkinfartscontrolsbloodpressure;_ylt=AgbkEyow C2f4.wJRTxnIEkys0NUE
rdsoxfan
10-26-2008, 18:56
Being one with the outdoors and feeling the positive energy around me when I'm in the woods. Its about the simplicity of life and what it gives in return that so few comprehend. Being able to escape the confines of everyday society. Having a sunrise and sunset as your time clock. Waking to nothing but the sound of a bird or rustiling squirl, maybe even the patter of rain on your tent. And the simple fact that when I'm there in the moment, I feel alive and at peace with myself and certainly closer to a higher being.
Rem Dawg
superman
10-26-2008, 19:38
It's just gear, it's just walking and it's just another day in paradise.
I want an adventure.
I want to meet people I wouldn't normally meet.
I want to visit the States.
I want to do something that's physically challenging. Was sick for quite a while, now I'm not, I want to get uber-healthy and learn to trust and rely on my body.
Am another at a crossroads person, where to live, what job, what uni course and I'm hoping to be able to find some answers on the trail.
To Live the dream!
Because the trail is there`and it is calling to me to walk it.
Kdawg
My buudies think it's mid-life crisis :)
They think it might be easier just buying a red convertible driving with the top down.
My reason,
Just to enjoy the ride and keep truckin!..That's all
Calmb-1
TN-Grizz
Physical challenge.
Sense of community.
Meeting people who share my passion for hiking and backpacking and camping.
Take a break before I begin a new career.
Have a shared adventure with my eldest, and namesake, who did it in 2006.
Hopefully have some laughs.
Maybe see a moose.
Prove to my wife that I REALLY did need all that gear I purchased the past couple of years.
tucker0104
11-14-2008, 17:38
I just want to get away for a while. I am only going to be hiking for a month or 1 1/2 months but I just want to have fun and be outdoors.
tomandcolin
11-15-2008, 09:20
My friend and I have been looking for an event to raise some money for a UK Cancer charity and when i heard about the AT i got so excited that wee'd a little.
I guess my motivations behind it are not only to dodge work for 5/6 months to really experience something epic. This will be the first of many long distance charity hikes/bike rides that i'm planning around the world.
I've never been to America and would really like to find out exactly why its labeled by so many as "the greatest country in the world" because if it is i would very much like a piece of that action :D
I guess i also like the idea of disappearing from england for half a year and immersing myself in the simple life with no phone or internet and having simple needs and desires, like burgers.
Oh and my mum said i'd never make it to the end...
Ben Cowan
11-18-2008, 21:15
Like everyone else, I can think of a million reasons to why I am going to do this. I'm sure if I tried to name them all, I would leave many reasons out. The nest reason to sum it all up is because I want to.
Serial 07
11-18-2008, 21:31
1. to hike for the physical exercise
2. to meet good people
3. to reconnect with the people i already know (wait, that's probably number 1)
4. to poke at a fire
5. to learn about myself
6. to feel the solitude of nature
7. to stick it to the man (damn you "real" world!!!)
8. to continue becoming a more self-reliant person
9. to sleep under the stars on big bald
10. to drink spring water (real freakin' water)
11. to have fun and actually enjoy life
12. to give thanks
oh, and dot's ain't comin' to me...
Serial 07
11-18-2008, 21:41
and quite honestly, i love the A.T. and about 50 people i've met along the way (and that's only in two years)...it's one of those things, for me now, that i know will be apart of my life forever...
Lone Wolf
11-18-2008, 21:47
oh, and dot's ain't comin' to me...
me either. i gotta walk about 500 yards to get there
Serial 07
11-18-2008, 22:01
for all you've done for dot and pam...they could at least buy that land next door to ya and open a more convenient location...but then you might lose your hikin' legs...
sheepdog
11-18-2008, 22:21
Adventure
Lone Wolf
11-18-2008, 22:23
task avoidance
sticks&stones
11-18-2008, 22:51
My partner from 01 can answer that one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKC7_mChDOw
Ed Garvey was a personal friend of my dad's. His family is still very close to us. Dad supported Garveys hike and is mentioned in his book on several occassions.
As these two men day hiked various trails (not always the AT), I on occassion joined them and was often enlisted to pick them up and drop them off at various trail heads.
Over time this hiking thing grows on you. I saw what a thru hike did to Mr. Garvey and Dad. Now that I am at a later stage in my life I recognize they had something. I want what they found.
I have read what everyone has listed as a reason to hike and all are good reasons. I cannot verbalize why I want to do this, I just know I need to do it.
joshua5878
11-29-2008, 17:55
So, we are all planning to thruhike this trail next year. Sinking money into gear, planning logistics, getting into shape.
I've been thinking a lot about why I want to do this hike and what will be my reasons I tell myself when it is pouring rain, I haven't been dry for four days, and I want to quit.
So I am just curious, if people are willing to share, what is your reason for wanting to do this hike?
My brother and I are leaving Springer in March 09 determined to complete our hike in 6 mo's. We have a lot of reasons but we came up with the idea when our Dad died last year around this time. In his last wishes to my brother and I he told us that he wanted to have his ashes sprinkled on his parents grave in Wilkes Barre PA. Of course we told him that is what we would do. So a couple of months ago my brother called me and asked me if I was serious about the AT thing and I said I was. He asked if he could join me then we both thought immediately that we could take Dad with us. Of course for weight limitations his urn will have to stay behind replaced by a zip lock, but none the less he will join us.
We also figured this will give us some serious motivation to make it to PA, Wilkes Barre isn't that far off the beaten path and we have relatives that will pick us up. It would be a good break point. So that is our reason now, taking Dad home. (he died in FL which is where I am).
slimsalmon
11-29-2008, 19:51
Reason: Gain mastery over craving/aversion at the same time do some thing that I have the desire to do.
Also I'd like to become adapted to living in an environment that I don't control because right now I'm self employed and own my house and land. I operate under the illusion that I have control of every aspect of my life, but deep down I know that everything that is material is temporary. I'd like to learn to adapt to living in surroundings that I don't/can't control every aspect of.
Rockhound
11-30-2008, 16:41
beats work
WILLIAM HAYES
11-30-2008, 17:24
Well I have been on the trial before in the rain for a solid week-no views just rain and fog. mentally it can get to you if you let it-you have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable-I started to focus on my environment - the sound of the rain the different look of the woods and mountains -rather than internalize a bunch of negative stuff about being wet and muddy and having to slosh thru a trail that had turned into a small creek-my advice is accept it and enjoy it as much as you can
Hillbilly
JaniMichaels
12-01-2008, 00:26
This has been something I have been interested in doing for a few years, since i first learned about the AT from my mom. I have always been drawn to everything adventerous, so the thought of a 2000 mile trail in the woods fascinated me.
It's not just the thrill of a new challenge that draws me to the trail, though. I just graduated from high school last year, and like many other hikers seem to be, I am at a crossroads in my life. Hopefully I'll figure some things out while I'm out there, like what I want to do for the rest of my life. I'm going to school here in Texas this semester, and right now my plan is to transfer to a school in New York when I'm done with my hike. So I'm kinda walking to school.
Mostly I feel that the AT is where I need to go next. I have been becoming a bit obsessed in the last few month. I went on my first long distance solo hike over the summer. I hiked the JMT and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Civilization has been frustrating and I can't wait to get back into the woods. I know I'm up for the challenge of a six month hike, and there is nothing else I would rather do.
I'm doing this because I can. There may never be another point where circumstances allow me to bugger off into the woods for six months, so I'm seizing this opportunity.
On 'I want to quit days', I'll remind myself how much money I spent on getting here and how much of a turnip I'd feel to go home and have to tell everyone I failed.
nyushka42
12-15-2008, 16:10
I'm going because I need to finish what I've started.
The first time on the AT in 2006, I was avoiding growing up, getting a real life. I'm still a bit lost. I'm hoping if for once I finish what I started, I'll be able to grow up.
Besides that, I've been interested in the AT ever since I was 5, and my mom pointed out the overpass on I90 in MA, and told me that my great-grandfather had section hiked parts of the AT decades before. As he's my hero, I've wanted to follow him ever since.
Mikiniki
01-06-2009, 23:02
I want to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine because I have found the meaning of life. Its happiness. Some people are happy settling down with a family, making money, buying a large house or living simply....but for me...happiness is experience and adventure and personal exploration.
I'm a bit of a transcendentalist(you may have to look that up) so this trail to me will basically be the equlivent of a holy trek to Mecca. This is a way for me to commune with nature, get back to my roots, learn about myself and find my true spirit.
I just graduated from High School....I'm young and naive and excentric but I'm also making a transition into adulthood and womanhood. In this year that I'm taking off from school I will have sailed a 43 foot boat from Maryland to Bermuda, taught at a boy scout camp, earned my sharp shooter rank....and now...completed the Appalachian Trail. When I began my year long adventure, I told everyone and myself that I need to do this to so that I can settle down....but planning this hike has taught me that I doubt I ever will settle in to the rest of society....so I might as well have fun!
Jim Adams
01-06-2009, 23:15
My brother and I are leaving Springer in March 09 determined to complete our hike in 6 mo's. We have a lot of reasons but we came up with the idea when our Dad died last year around this time. In his last wishes to my brother and I he told us that he wanted to have his ashes sprinkled on his parents grave in Wilkes Barre PA. Of course we told him that is what we would do. So a couple of months ago my brother called me and asked me if I was serious about the AT thing and I said I was. He asked if he could join me then we both thought immediately that we could take Dad with us. Of course for weight limitations his urn will have to stay behind replaced by a zip lock, but none the less he will join us.
We also figured this will give us some serious motivation to make it to PA, Wilkes Barre isn't that far off the beaten path and we have relatives that will pick us up. It would be a good break point. So that is our reason now, taking Dad home. (he died in FL which is where I am).
I hiked the The PCT with my mothers ashes in a zip-loc and spead alittle bit in every beautiful spot that I came to. I still have a little left that goes with me on every hike and a small capsule that hangs around my neck. I'm not done showing her the country yet!
Have fun and good luck...your dad will enjoy the trip.:sun
geek
Jim Adams
01-06-2009, 23:26
BTW, there may be several reasons that you start...probably adventure is the most given reason but in the end you will be amazed at the freedom that you will experience. Probably more than at any other time of your life.
geek
So I have an excuse not to shower everyday!
Seriously, I read a book called "The long Walk (http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-True-Story-Freedom/dp/1558216847)" around the same time I did a day hike in the Smokies in 03. It inspired me, so I set out in 04, but got off due to unexpected events back home. I'm heading out again this year because I have unfinished business with the trail.
OverLoad
01-07-2009, 12:41
I want to break my addictions from society like TV, car, heating and AC etc and then reevaluate what is important to me in life.
Well, for a reason, it's personal, but as to how I feel about hitting the Trail this year? View this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvxjcY3Xcc
For me it started out as a challenge, a way to get away, and all that....
But more and more it has become my own personal "heart of darkness." I know its a little ridiculous, but I just have to know what is waiting for me around every turn in the trail and in every hitched ride and in every town. I am a person that believes everything happens for a reason. I can't wait to see what gets thrown at me and how well I use what I have been taught to handle it. I'm just tired of waiting to begin.