View Full Version : What kind of people thru-hike?
kiteskimo
12-27-2009, 18:55
Just in general...what are the personalities of thru-hikers like?
Are they introverts/extroverts?
liberal/conservative?
older/younger?
serious/silly?
rule makers/rule breakers?
organized/spreadout and messy?
Obviously these are only a few qualities that i could think of off the top of my head...some may not even apply. Post anything you can think of. Thanks!:sun
Yes. All of the above. :)
bigcranky
12-27-2009, 18:57
Yes to all of the above. I've met plenty of thru hikers, and they fit all those categories.
bigcranky
12-27-2009, 18:58
Dang, Tinker, reading my posts before I even post them again.... :-)
Mediocre minds think alike. :p
Pacific Tortuga
12-27-2009, 19:08
You forgot sick & twisted.
bigcranky
12-27-2009, 19:19
Mediocre minds think alike. :p
Ain't that the truth.
cowboy nichols
12-27-2009, 19:32
Crazy!!!!!
ChinMusic
12-27-2009, 19:33
What kind of people thru-hike?
Stubborn
:rolleyes: really slow learners?
off-pher
12-27-2009, 19:52
Just in general...what are the personalities of thru-hikers like?
Are they introverts/extroverts?
liberal/conservative?
older/younger?
serious/silly?
rule makers/rule breakers?
organized/spreadout and messy?
Obviously these are only a few qualities that i could think of off the top of my head...some may not even apply. Post anything you can think of. Thanks!:sun
Yes..........................
Chaco Taco
12-27-2009, 20:27
Just in general...what are the personalities of thru-hikers like?
Are they introverts/extroverts?
liberal/conservative?
older/younger?
serious/silly?
rule makers/rule breakers?
organized/spreadout and messy?
Obviously these are only a few qualities that i could think of off the top of my head...some may not even apply. Post anything you can think of. Thanks!:sun
Why does it really matter? Every type of person thruhikes!
Yes, the hiking community is interesting and diverse when it comes to those things and occupations and such but there are also some interesting trends that pop up.
I hiked a couple of days this year with a guy named Stats. He read somewhere that the % of thru-hikers that are introverts is huge even though the % of introverts in the average population is significantally smaller.
I thought that was cool.
white_russian
12-28-2009, 00:05
The only stereotype I can think of is white people. The vast majority of people on the AT are white.
Blue Wolf
12-28-2009, 00:08
Yes, the hiking community is interesting and diverse when it comes to those things and occupations and such but there are also some interesting trends that pop up.
I hiked a couple of days this year with a guy named Stats. He read somewhere that the % of thru-hikers that are introverts is huge even though the % of introverts in the average population is significantally smaller.
I thought that was cool.
Where did you hike with Stats? great guy!! I met him in Franklin and found out we live one town apart seen him a few weeks ago matter of fact.
Andrea356
12-28-2009, 00:20
According to the majority of people I've spoken to about this in the running-water-and-wall-oriented portion of my life, the term for which you are looking is "absolutely bat***** insane."
You're welcome.
;)
people that don't mind stinking for a bit.
Lone Wolf
12-28-2009, 09:00
Just in general...what are the personalities of thru-hikers like?
mostly type A people that plan too much and go by a schedule. they're not spontaneous or carefree
mweinstone
12-28-2009, 10:41
bluehike
newhike
twohike
eyehike
youhike
thruhike
gimmi all your candy
mostly type A people that plan too much and go by a schedule. they're not spontaneous or carefree
Lone Wolf I'm sorry that I can't agree with you on this one.
Quite a few might have "A" personalities but I would say that by my estimation, most who complete a thru are the ones who who don't abide by a ridgid schedule and are able to cope with unforseen happenings. Be it injury, weather or equipment failures. These folks also have the additional determination that is required.:-?
I am reminded of this experience I had on the PCT. I was not a thru-hiker, just a very long distance hiker. I was about 1500 miles into my hike so far, suffering and cursing (out loud) the rain in Washington. I'm sitting in a hotel trying to wait out the rain and I see this thru-hiker stride across the parking lot. I had like instant hatred for him because he's like all these thru-hikers, totally at peace with the weather and whatever adversity, totally comfortable with the trail and its discomforts, and just basically at ease and happy. But I went out say hi and offer him the use of my hotel shower if he'd like to take a shower. He said he just wanted to take a few minutes rest and get back on the trail. Arrgh! Why was I such a wimp!!??
Jim Adams
12-28-2009, 23:00
Thats funny...I thought most of them were like me...shy!
geek
Thats funny...I thought most of them were like me...shy!
geek
Now that's gotta be one of the funniest things I've read on here all day!!! :D :p
Now that's gotta be one of the funniest things I've read on here all day!!! :D :p
Yo, I'm shy like dat. :o
Where did you hike with Stats? great guy!! I met him in Franklin and found out we live one town apart seen him a few weeks ago matter of fact.
Hi Blue Wolf. I hiked with Stats just before & after the Mayor's house. The hiking world is a small place, isn't it? :)
Jester2000
12-28-2009, 23:10
People with too much time and not enough sense.
Jim Adams
12-28-2009, 23:10
Yo, I'm shy like dat. :o
So true!!!!
I learned everything I know about being shy from Nean!:o
geek
Yo, I'm shy like dat. :o
yeah, sure ya are! :p just like Geek is shy...:rolleyes:
Jim Adams
12-28-2009, 23:16
Hey, Nean and I are just identical twins except he is thin, has a dog and has hiked to the moon and back...I am fat, have a cat and made it all the way to Yosemite...but when it comes to shy...he is the Master and I am Weedhopper! So much Zen.
geek
Hey, Nean and I are just identical twins except he is thin, has a dog and has hiked to the moon and back...I am fat, have a cat and made it all the way to Yosemite...but when it comes to shy...he is the Master and I am Weedhopper! So much Zen.
geek
:o I'm so shy I just peed on myself.:o
Jim Adams
12-28-2009, 23:20
:o I'm so shy I just peed on myself.:o
OMG.....me too!:eek:
Zen....so much Zen.
geek
Honestly, thru-hikers are the coolest group of people I've ever met. There are tons of different personalities as far as extroverts, introverts, bible preachers, potheads, and everything in between. Even though your personality may not mesh 100% with everyone, they are by far the coolest group of people I've ever met. All have something great to offer. All are crazy enough to even attempt a 2,174 mile hike. All have passion of some sort, all have determination. I am constantly looking for other groups as amazing as thru hikers, but I only seem to find it on other long distance trails.
Deluxe
Chaco Taco
12-28-2009, 23:41
These kind of people hike the trail
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb209/everyone_knows_its_butters/NinjasStoleMyFamily.jpg
eawinter
02-10-2010, 15:45
I can't think of any thru-hiker that I've walked with that didn't have at least a little bit of 'adventurer' in them (at least enough to get them to the start of the trail, and often a lot more than that) and a healthy dose of both persistence and self-determination. A neat group of people.
JustaTouron
02-10-2010, 15:50
People with big appetites.
While I am not sure of any other similar characteristic...but every thru hiker I met was a hearty eater.
Just in general...what are the personalities of thru-hikers like?
Are they introverts/extroverts?
liberal/conservative?
older/younger?
serious/silly?
rule makers/rule breakers?
organized/spreadout and messy?
Obviously these are only a few qualities that i could think of off the top of my head...some may not even apply. Post anything you can think of. Thanks!:sun
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes. and
Yes.
The only thing they all have in common is a love of the outdoors and an uncommon lack of fear of physical exertion.
It's all part of the sub-culture.
Jester2000
02-10-2010, 17:47
The only thing they all have in common is a love of the outdoors and an uncommon lack of fear of physical exertion.
Unless they're in town, in which case they turn into some of the laziest people you'll ever meet.
Monster13
02-10-2010, 18:43
:rolleyes: really slow learners?
This is my favorite. :)
Johnny Appleseed
02-10-2010, 22:00
hiker trash-stinky at that.
cindellasaurus
02-10-2010, 23:24
bluehike
newhike
twohike
eyehike
youhike
thruhike
gimmi all your candy
I have nothing good to say as to who hikes..but this made me chuckle. Especially the very last line. :D
at least for me, I was not messy...lol... in fact, got tiddier as I went. I didn't want to waste time and frustration looking for something or just lose it.. Sadly, wolf has a point... carefree can be hard to find out there but it IS there once in awhile.
I was at Gooch shelter a few years back and a big crowd was there and folks were being sort of shy cus most all were new to the trail. Well these 2 young guys start talking and it turns out they both had just gotten there pHD is physics, quantum theory the rest of the evening.
Who hikes the trail, intelligent people.
superman
02-13-2010, 20:09
I was at Gooch shelter a few years back and a big crowd was there and folks were being sort of shy cus most all were new to the trail. Well these 2 young guys start talking and it turns out they both had just gotten there pHD is physics, quantum theory the rest of the evening.
Who hikes the trail, intelligent people.
I am not!:banana
Jester2000
02-14-2010, 02:13
I am not!:banana
Neither am I. 2000 must have been the year of the idiot.
superman
02-14-2010, 06:51
Neither am I. 2000 must have been the year of the idiot.
I'd say that we were the "retarded class" but that wouldn't be politically correct and you know how much I care about that.
It's one thing for people to undertake a challenge that less than 20% succeed at but what kind of a fool does it take to do it more than once? I'm starting again March 31. :D
Lone Wolf
02-14-2010, 07:08
It's one thing for people to undertake a challenge that less than 20% succeed at but what kind of a fool does it take to do it more than once?
someone with a lot of time and money and not much going on in their life. doing the AT is not dangerous or very tough.
But it does require a great deal of stick-to-it-iveness.
johnnybgood
02-14-2010, 09:12
But it does require a great deal of stick-to-it-iveness.
So that's how you spell it. Nice going Marta ! :D
Lemni Skate
02-14-2010, 09:34
I have a book somewhere that has a ton of stats garnered from thru-hikers about all sorts of things.
The one thing that stood out to me when I read it was that while the general population are extroverts (draw their energy from being around others) by about a 3:1 ratio. The ratio is reversed on the trail at 1:3.
I think a lot of people I've met on the trail don't seem like introverts in a trail situation because they do get enough solitude and when you thrust a bunch of introverts together some will end up taking on extrovert roles.
I also remember noticing that filtering and treating water had no effect on the incidence of intestinal problems, and that the type of footwear had no effect on the number of foot, ankle and leg injuries.
I've got to find that book and recommend it on here, to people who like numbers like I do.
wvgrinder
02-14-2010, 12:46
Fools who don't have the sense to get out of the rain ;-)
Old Hiker
02-17-2010, 11:49
:rolleyes: really slow learners?
Wouldn't that be the multiple thru-hikers?
I only hope and pray I can reach that exalted status in this or the next or the next lifetime. :D
climber2377
02-17-2010, 12:06
it might make an interesting study, not sure i d read the whole thing though
Hatfield
02-17-2010, 13:15
Unemployed
The only stereotype I can think of is white people. The vast majority of people on the AT are white.
Most I saw were well tanned by the time we got though the Smokies. It doesn't take long, especially before the green tunnel leafs out.
JustaTouron
02-17-2010, 14:32
The only stereotype I can think of is white people. The vast majority of people on the AT are white.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/08/14/128-camping/