View Full Version : Am i crazy...?
poetrusic
12-10-2004, 20:33
hey y'all....
i am currently planning a thru hike for 2006, and i am able to work out all details about the gear, the money, the time.... save one....
i need my guitar. ive been playing for awhile and i can honestly say that it is my lifeline. anytime things have gotten rough or unbearable,... i always had my guitar to soothe my pain. i'm not saying i'm very good,... i just know what i like. playing a guitar out, under the stars, is better that most things i can think of. i know weight is a big issue, but they make travel and backpack acoustics for hiking and such. i guess my questions are....
will the extra weight kill me?
will my playing upset other hikers on the trail or in shelters?
has anyone done it... and how?
ANY suggestions are welcome... good or bad.
thank you.....:o
hey y'all....
i am currently planning a thru hike for 2006, and i am able to work out all details about the gear, the money, the time.... save one....
i need my guitar. ive been playing for awhile and i can honestly say that it is my lifeline. anytime things have gotten rough or unbearable,... i always had my guitar to soothe my pain. i'm not saying i'm very good,... i just know what i like. playing a guitar out, under the stars, is better that most things i can think of. i know weight is a big issue, but they make travel and backpack acoustics for hiking and such. i guess my questions are....
will the extra weight kill me?
will my playing upset other hikers on the trail or in shelters?
has anyone done it... and how?
ANY suggestions are welcome... good or bad.
thank you.....:o
Here are your answers:
no
no
yes, by carrying one.
Basically everyone has their comfort items (s). If thats what you need to be happy, well then bring it. I met a couple hikers who had guitars on trail. They had the cool Martin backpacker guitars, they can't weight more than a pound or two.
Of course I'd always ask just to be courteous, or incase people want to go to bed, but the overwhelming majority of the time, you'll be openly invited to play around shelters, groups, hostels etc. In fact you'll probably make friends more easily than anyone else do to the fact that everyone misses good music.
A guy showed up to hawk mtn shelter the first night with banjo that weighed 7 lbs. We stayed with him a couple nights in Georgia and loved listenin to him pick. The weight couldfn't have been that much of an issue as he flew past us and never caught him again. It's very possible...
Brushy Sage
12-10-2004, 21:07
I met a northbounder in 2002 as he was going through Maryland. His Martin Backpacker was broken and not playable. He was still carrying it, and I suppose he hoped to get it repaired somewhere, though he didn't say. So I guess some advanced planning in how to protect the instrument might pay off.
TakeABreak
12-10-2004, 21:37
As stated above it should be a problem as long as you remember when others want to go to bed they expect some common curtesy (it is proper ediquite that at dark people get quiet and go to bed), and the fact that you slip and fall from time to time and generally when you do fall it's right on the rump and (assuming the guitar is attached to your backpack),anything hanging down in that area will smashed and may become a porjectile piercing through you body.
MisterSweetie
12-10-2004, 23:29
I believe one year someone hiked with a tuba. That'd be a load.
"I came to the woods because i wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to route all that was not life. And, not when i had come to die, discover that i had not lived." - H.D.Thoreau (from Dead Poet's Society)
Hey, I like your signature block quote, but it isn't from Dead Poet's Society. It's from WALDEN. Thoreau was a live poet when he wrote it - long before movies were around - and he wasn't much of a society guy. (Movies would be just one more reason why Thoreau would have chosen to live in a shack in the woods :)
zenribbits
12-11-2004, 00:00
Gibbon, <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Have you considered smaller stringed instruments such as the mandolin? I don't think the weight would be much different than a guitar, but you would still get a similar sound, have a hard case protection option, and not have to worry about it dangling over your butt.<o:p></o:p>
rocket04
12-11-2004, 00:25
I met several hikers with backpacking guitars and nobody ever complained about them playing. And there were plenty requesting that they play for everybody to hear. So as long as it's that important to you, I think you'll be able to fit it in and the weight will be well worth carrying.
Rocks 'n Roots
12-11-2004, 00:28
Somebody told me a "dobro" is a small guitar that is carry-able...
tanichols
12-11-2004, 01:41
I'll be on the trail in '06 and very much would enjoy the sound of a guitar along the way. When are you leaving? NOBO or SOBO?
I think its important people bring some of them with the trail. Keeps things interesting and you really get to see what a diverse range of interestes thru hikers have. Something really important to me is Astronomy. Looking at me you might not surmise I'm an astro geek, but the night sky is to awesome not to enjoy. And I do a lot of outreach in my area relating to astronomy. I plan to bring that part of me to the trail. Look for me to have one heck of a green laser pointer (truly a light saber) pointing out constellations at night to those I camp near, etc. It'll be neat to share the constellations with fellow hikers. If you've never seen one of these things they're awesome. About 115.00 or so and they operate at a frequency that bounce off particles in the air, so the beam goes on and on.
I also plan to keep a journal of approximate limiting magnitudes of places along the trail. Compile a list of some of the darkest spots along the trail.
I'm most likely going to bring a pair of binos too, as theres a fair amount of astronomy I can do with those as well. But I'm debating that at this point as it might be more extra weight than I want to carry.
Anyways good luck with your planning and finding a suitable "trail guitar."
I only heard one of those backpacking guitars once, sounded good to me. The hiker had his in a heavy duty garbage bag while hiking. I would think the concern about falling on it & ending up with some fairly expensive kindling would be something to consider.
I carry a PVC flute, weighs about 13 Oz. Has the same affect on my that you are searching for, if I play my flute a few minutes, I feel better. From my experience playing In some shelters & seeing the guitarest playing, all seem to enjoy a imprompto concert just before bed, each time we played (solo) all conversation stopped.
I say go for it.
Doctari.
Mr. Clean
12-11-2004, 08:50
I bet we wouldn't get the same reaction with bagpipes. :banana It's always nice to listen to any music.
Go the Gathering in 2005 or Trail Days and you will probalby have the chance to meet Tacoma Ted. We spent a few days together on his last thru-hike. He packed along a Martin Guitar. He kept it well wrapped in plastic trash bags. We all enjoyed his entertainment at the end of the day. He has since made a couple of CD's with trail tunes on them.
Dances with Mice
12-11-2004, 10:00
Look for me to have one heck of a green laser pointer (truly a light saber) pointing out constellations at night to those I camp near, etc. ... I also plan to keep a journal of approximate limiting magnitudes of places along the trail. ... I'm most likely going to bring a pair of binos too, as theres a fair amount of astronomy I can do with those as well. But I'm debating that at this point as it might be more extra weight than I want to carry.
Being near a good musician is heavenly.
There are outstanding places for star gazing along the trial IF the weather cooperates. But usually hikers don't camp there. Very often the overhead canopy in camp will be leaves and branches. Not discouraging you, just be aware.
That laser sounds cool, tho. Got a link?
LIhikers
12-11-2004, 11:33
A guitar might be a little much to carry. Since you've already got the details of your hike worked out why not use the remaining time to learn to play an instrument that will fit into your pack. A recorder, tin whistle, and harmonica come to mind but I'm sure there is more if you think about it.
poetrusic
12-11-2004, 13:08
frosty....
i only wrote it that way for two reasons
one... it's somewhat abridged from the actual passage...it's the one used in the movie
two...it happens to be my favorite movie of all time
no disrespect meant.... i just like the quote and the movie
poetrusic
12-11-2004, 13:24
ted...
i'm not sure on an exact date...i might just leave with the masses in march
haven't decided...but i'll be there...night after night playing...this i guarantee!!!!
minnesotasmith
12-11-2004, 13:29
If he brings a CD player that only plays country music with extra twang or (c)rap, just as they would for an insomniac with a loud out-of-tune accordian who was blind to dropped hints not to play after 10:00 P.M. :datz
A guitar might be a little much to carry. Since you've already got the details of your hike worked out why not use the remaining time to learn to play an instrument that will fit into your pack. A recorder, tin whistle, and harmonica come to mind but I'm sure there is more if you think about it.
Ya, there ain't nothing like listening to someone try and learn how to play a new instrument.
minnesotasmith
12-11-2004, 14:52
It sounds like bear spray just became a multi-use item. :D
CSplee19
12-13-2004, 03:30
I am going on the thru hike with Poetrusic in 2006 and I can guarantee anyone that comes our way he is not "learning to play an instrument" he has been playing for a long time and in my own opinion is very good. I love to listen to him play. It is very soothing to me. Hope to see some of you on the trail.
ffstenger
12-13-2004, 05:34
I have seen a few catalogs with a guitar made for backpacking, not much bigger
than the fretboard and somewhat flared at the bottom, they're suppose to sound pretty good, lite weight and just needs a weather proof cover. I play a
mountain dulcimer (lite version on the trail) sounds a bit softer than a guitar.
but everyone sings along...
Showme
dje97001
12-13-2004, 20:23
Without wanting to sound negative, I was up on Mt. Eisenhower over this past summer and there were two people playing recorders I think. They weren't playing anything recognizable, just notes--stretched into pseudo-songs. They were really into it, maybe it was just me, but I didn't enjoy it at all. I like hearing a good player every now and then, but I would think that a lot of people go into the woods to hear the woods and enjoy the sounds of nature--personally, I didn't stop to enjoy the view on that summit for very long. I wasn't about to tell them to knock it off, but still, it was a clear day and I would have enjoyed resting up there. I think that as long as you ask people, or don't get so moved by your own playing that you don't notice the people around you are kind of annoyed, your playing would most likely be appreciated.
SavageLlama
12-14-2004, 01:13
I once met a guy named Woody who was thru-hiking with a banjo. He played it around a campfire one night and was pretty good, so everyone enjoyed it.
But if you're not damn good, one of two things will happen:
1) You'll chuck it before you're out of Georgia
2) Someone will beat you with it ala Bluto in Animal House
I hereby ressurect this thread. I want to know how the hike went.
http://www.aldha.org/tubaman.htm