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View Full Version : Some feedback if you will...



stranger
11-26-2009, 17:18
OK so I'm in the process of booking flights for next year (for another hike) and this has got me thinking about a few things.

I've done a few thousand miles along the AT since 1995 and a couple of Long Trail thru-hikes under my belt as well. So I'm not new to long distance hiking.

I've come to realize a few things about hiking:
- The more I hike, the more I want to hike
- The more zero days I take, the more zero days I want to take
- Sitting around camp early in the day frustrates me
- Doing long days and covering miles motivates me


So if you wouldn't mind, I think it might be useful to hear about what some others have experienced, perhaps in the same format:
- Couple of observations
- Frustrations
- What motivates you

Cheers!

Lone Wolf
11-26-2009, 17:21
i don't get springer fever anymore

Spirit Walker
11-26-2009, 19:47
I'd pretty much agree with your observations. I've done thruhikes of the AT, PCT, CDT and GDT - and I still want to do long hikes. I do short hikes whenever I'm not doing long ones, but I really love the long hikes. Hiking has been a major part of my life for more than 21 years. Every year, I want to be out there hiking, even when I'm enjoying other kinds of travels. There is something about the long distance hiking lifestyle that makes me happy and I can't get enough.

At the same time, when we go to town, I often find it difficult to leave, especially the farther up the trail we go. We'll do quick in and outs at the beginning of a long hike, but then end up spending three days at a time in town after we've been out for four months.

Pushing for miles is a part of doing a long hike, but it is also important, to me, to relax and enjoy it. That means some days I'll hike until sundown, but other days I'll go for a swim, relax by a lake or a view for a few hours, take side trips to interesting places, and spend enough time in towns to feel rested and relaxed before heading out again. I see a lot of hikers who push so hard they stop enjoying the trail. They finish their hikes exhausted and frantic to just be done. I've only felt that way on one of my hikes - when constant bad weather in Washington took away a lot of the joy. On all of the others, at the end of the hike, I'd have continued hiking if it had been possible. I was really enjoying the experience.