View Full Version : Why do we thru-hike again?
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 13:53
I don't know why I want to, but I just do, I don't see anyone able to say why exactly they do, just that they wanted to, can anyone tell me why they did/ would/will do it?
DrRichardCranium
03-16-2010, 14:01
Because it is there.
Same reason people climb Mt Everest.
Because it's better than working.
Mountain Wildman
03-16-2010, 14:15
Because it's better than working.
I'll second that!!
But also, To know that I can do it.
See sights you can only get to by foot.
Meet new people.
Get to know myself better.
Lose some weight.
Gain some knowledge.
Eat the one pound burger at Whitehouse Landing.
Get away from it all.
Experience a simpler life.
All these reasons and more, or less.
It is tough to nail it down to one profound reason.
If I had to pick one, I guess to know that I can do it.
Class2010AT
03-16-2010, 14:19
I pretty much hate the overwelming amount of stupidty from people in day to day life, so i go to get away, I the people that i have meet on trail have been the best people i have ever met in my live. On average a hiker has a higher IQ. if I runacross someone i dont like on the trail all you gotta do is keep walking.
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 14:26
Well, the craziest thing is (and what I'm trying to figure out is) that I walked an 1/8 of a mile and came back and said that I was gonna hike the A.T. Plus I had no clue what it was or why it was there at that point...
WalkSoftly33
03-16-2010, 14:31
An example of why I hike.
1. This past weekend My uncle and I hiked up Bear Mt. NY, we past by two groups of twelve who turned back from the summit because of the conditions. (Cold, raining, slush) He and I pushed on and made it to the top. The facilities at the top were not open. He had a thermos full of simple vegtable soup...it was hot...it was delicious...we were both giddy as we took those first few bites. I have never had a better soup in my life...the shower when I came home felt amazing as well.
I have not thru hiked (yet) but hiking makes the simple things in life all the more better.
Quick List
2. Better then working in a cube infront of a cube
3. The views
4. Meet new people
5. the unknown.
6. Independence/ existentialism/ testing ones self
8. Exercise/getting in shape
9. having a hobby (I played a sport all the way through college)
10. There is no number 7 out of respect for George Kastanza naming his unborn fictional child 7
HiKen2011
03-16-2010, 14:36
I love George.:banana
Exploring is a part of human nature. The first thru hike is probably to satisfy that desire, the second thru probably is an addiction.
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 14:45
Let me pose a hypothetical question: If a thru-hike is a two-way trip, then is it one or two trips?
CrumbSnatcher
03-16-2010, 14:54
Let me pose a hypothetical question: If a thru-hike is a two-way trip, then is it one or two trips?
are you talking about a yo-yo? if so thats 1 journey, 2 completions
CrumbSnatcher
03-16-2010, 14:58
I don't know why I want to, but I just do, I don't see anyone able to say why exactly they do, just that they wanted to, can anyone tell me why they did/ would/will do it?1 of my 4 thruhikes on the AT,was because i was having trouble finding a rental/place that would except dogs! so within weeks i planned a hike.
And all my thruhikes were on the AT because i wanted my dog to hike & be with me on all my journeys! The PCT was not a place for a big, black furry dog!
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 15:00
that's exactly what I meant.
CrumbSnatcher
03-16-2010, 15:01
Well, the craziest thing is (and what I'm trying to figure out is) that I walked an 1/8 of a mile and came back and said that I was gonna hike the A.T. Plus I had no clue what it was or why it was there at that point...Thats not crazy at all dave, i planned to hike the trail without every stepping on the trail. my first hike ever, was the approach trail to start my journey. i hope you have a great hike!
i like to walk and when the trail reachd BIg k i wasnt done walkn yet
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.~Paul Dudley White~
That about sums it up
Jonnycat
03-16-2010, 17:43
Why? Because....
It turns my crank.
It floats my boat.
It rocks my socks.
It melts my butter.
It teeters my totter.
It bakes my cake.
It tickles my fancy.
It razzles my berries.
It milks my goat.
It cocas my cola.
It bastes my turkey.
It lights my candle.
It flies my flag.
It pings my pong.
That's why.
Sleepy the Arab
03-16-2010, 18:31
I thru-hike again because I am a thru-hiker.
To never thru-hike again would be denying who I am.
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 23:24
It would appear I mis-stated my question... Remind me again... why do we thru-hike?
Lone Wolf
03-16-2010, 23:25
Remind me again... why do we thru-hike?
we? have you thru-hiked?
we? have you thru-hiked?
I was going to ask that question, but he actually answered it in the body of the OP.
I think he's making an attempt at vicarious living, but I understand your question, too.
Why word it that way, Dave? You don't have to try to fit into a club that doesn't exist except in the minds of a few elitists.
We're ALL hikers. Some of us just had the good fortune to find enough time to keep going.
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 23:37
If I understand your question, I re-worded it because I got a few the reason I will/did hike agaain answers, but I was sort of looking for that answer that is like so elusive, it's like there's a magnet in the trail and there's a small paper clip on me somewhere... like that...
Dave (is David better?) - is your signature line original? It's very clever and amusing - and SO true.
David@whiteblaze
03-16-2010, 23:55
honestly, I could care less what you call me, just don't call me late for dinner... (heheheh) Check out my profile conversation with shoeless wanderer for the whole thing... not original, but still good...
fiddlehead
03-17-2010, 00:36
Once I got comfortable living in and around nature, I had a hard time being happy elsewhere.
So, whether it's a thru-hike, a month long trip in the Himalayas, or a week get away in winter in the deserts of AZ, it's being surrounded by earth/plants/sky that is important.
(not the thru-hike)
And the longer the trip, the better.
It was my life for 16 years but now I have a son and that is a totally new and (sometimes) just as exciting trip.
To get away from people.
To get away from society as a whole.
To avoid responsibility.
To test myself.
To find myself.
To make myself a better person.
To make new friends.
To live a completely minimalist lifestyle and shed the worry that possessions bring.
To do something insane before I'm trapped in the cycle of going from job to job.
To figure out what exactly I'm going to do after college.
And then there's reasons I can't explain. When I'm outside, beating my body to death, I feel amazing. Not sure why, just do. No matter what's waiting for me back home, I'm happy. If I'm in a mental/emotional slump, going for a week or so trip almost always brings me back up. It's like another dimension completely separate from "life."
superman
03-17-2010, 04:58
Thru hiking was the healthiest thing that I'd ever done just for me, both mentally and physically. It's been ten years and I need another fix. People invest in finances and forget to invest in themselves. Hiking the AT is an investment in yourself.:)
I think people thru-hike because they think that anything less than the entire thing is less. But it's an arbitrary distance, really.
The real challenge is to somehow keep the thru-hiker heart alive at all times.
full conditions
03-17-2010, 14:49
One of the biggest unexpected joys that I experienced on my thru hike was the near total absence of the need for constant compromising with my fellow humans. For the most part, I was utterly free to come and go as I pleased without so much as a 'by-your-leave' to anyone. At no other time in my life have I had that sort of independence. It remains one of the driving forces in my plans to hit the trail for long hikes upon retirement.
singingpilgrim
03-18-2010, 02:56
I actually was thinking about this yesterday, and hadn't seen this post.
Why I'm planning to Thru-Hike 2011
1. To have an adventure with and spend time alone with my beloved God.
2. To meet and befriend some of the most fascinating people on earth. :)
3. Because of a love of beauty and adventure that is a core part of me and makes me prefer nature walks to manicures and picnics to fine dining, something not everyone around me understands.
4. Because since I visited the AT as a trail angel five years ago, I haven't gotten the idea or desire to thru-hike out of my head.
5. To lose weight.
Wolf - 23000
03-18-2010, 03:24
It's HOME!!! And I'm EXTREMELY HOMESICK!!!
I want to go hiking again!!!
Blue Jay
03-18-2010, 10:04
It would appear I mis-stated my question... Remind me again... why do we thru-hike?
I want to know why someone who has thrued would ask such a question.
Why is the color Red called Red? I'm trying very very hard not to insult you.
DrRichardCranium
03-18-2010, 10:15
I think Thoreau said it best:
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29600.html) http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_info.gif (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29600.html)http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_plus.gif (http://www.quotationspage.com/myquotations.php?add=29600)http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_email.gif (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29600.html#email)http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_blank.gif
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
JustaTouron
03-18-2010, 10:36
The cool looking patch.
David@whiteblaze
03-18-2010, 12:30
I want to know why someone who has thrued would ask such a question.
Why is the color Red called Red? I'm trying very very hard not to insult you.
I do too, but nobody that I nkow that has thru-ed has asked... As stated earleir, I want to know why that dea is just stuck in my head, the title wasn't as clear as it could've been... :rolleyes:
Smoky in TN
03-18-2010, 14:38
Why do we thru-hike again?
Because we had so much fun the last time! :)