View Full Version : Pre-Hike Obsession?
JackRyan
04-13-2011, 15:32
Since this past fall I've been hiding in the shadows reading nearly everything I could on this website. I plan to do a thru hike when I graduate college, in 2-3 years. However I stumbled across something today that stood out to me.
"The idea to hike should not be an impulsive measure to temporarily ease your monotonous workday; it should consume your life, growing fat off your thoughts."
from this article http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7630
The first time I read this article was probably December. I just read that sentence and kept on going, giving it no particular thought. Yet today it seemed perfectly written. I realized that over the past year I had grown more and more interested in the AT, finally registering on this forum a few days ago. I have a good few years to go yet before I plan in earnest, but it is constantly on my mind. My girlfriend told me to "that I was rambling and to stop" when I started talking about the trail to a friend and then proceeded to inform him that I had "Hiking Fever".
So my question is... am I irrationally obsessed? Or have any others experienced the same thing, not months, but years ahead of their actual hike? I do weekends and week long trips when I can, but nothing major. Should I just quit college, forgo the degree, and become a vagabond?
88BlueGT
04-13-2011, 15:43
I'm going through the same thing myself. I obsessed last year when I was supposed to thru-hike but the timing just wasn't right. It slipped to the back of my mind and now that the weather is changing, its the ONLY thing I think about. Unfortunately, the time to leave this year is now and thats just not possible with school, etc.
My GF thinks that thru-hiking would be a good graduation gift to myself but I don't know if I can wait that long (another 1-1.5yrs). I'm thinking maybe just planning for next April and going for it. If I need to come back and take a few classes to finish up than thats what I will do. Maybe I can use the trail time to study prior to taking the classes and I can just test out? There are many options.
But no, wouldn't recommend dropping out of school to do the trip now, its very hard when it overtakes your mind but you need to focus on whats important RIGHT NOW and your LONG TERM future, and school is most likely the most important thing.
Let it take over your mind, but just try and push it to the back of your head while doing school work or you will be like me, at work as we speak and cant stop myself from going on these damn forums! :)
brian039
04-13-2011, 15:45
Finish school then hike the trail, don't mess around by not getting an education. It's hard to go back to school after a layoff. Finish it now while there is momentum. The trail will be there in all its awesomeness when you're done.
Concur with Brian039, first things first, then hike strong.
bigcranky
04-13-2011, 16:12
"Irrationally obsessed?" You are talking to the inmates in the asylum. Seriously.
Don't quit school. Plan the thru-hike for after you graduate. Work hard, put away a LOT of money, don't run up big debts, don't buy fancy stuff or waste your money on beer and girls. (Well, not too much anyway.) When the time is right, do the hike, and come home to a comfortable nest egg that will give you flexibility in your after-hike life.
JackRyan
04-13-2011, 16:40
"Don't quit school" haha four in a row. Ok it's a deal I won't quit! I've invested too much time and money so far not to get my degree.
Bryson kept referring to the timelessness of the trail. It's lasting power. I just hope you and he are right brian039!
put away a LOT of money, don't run up big debts, don't buy fancy stuff or waste your money on beer and girls.
seems that (aside from college expenses, books, living, etc) the fancy stuff I buy is for hiking. But the saving up a LOT of money will definitely be something I should stay focused on.
Let it take over your mind, but just try and push it to the back of your head while doing school work
That's the hard part. \
Professor- "So when you look at the eigenvalues for this equation yadada"
Me in my head- "That paracord netting for my sleeping bag worked really well, if only I could compress it more etc"
haha
Since this past fall I've been hiding in the shadows reading nearly everything I could on this website. I plan to do a thru hike when I graduate college, in 2-3 years. However I stumbled across something today that stood out to me.
"The idea to hike should not be an impulsive measure to temporarily ease your monotonous workday; it should consume your life, growing fat off your thoughts."
from this article http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7630
The first time I read this article was probably December. I just read that sentence and kept on going, giving it no particular thought. Yet today it seemed perfectly written. I realized that over the past year I had grown more and more interested in the AT, finally registering on this forum a few days ago. I have a good few years to go yet before I plan in earnest, but it is constantly on my mind. My girlfriend told me to "that I was rambling and to stop" when I started talking about the trail to a friend and then proceeded to inform him that I had "Hiking Fever".
So my question is... am I irrationally obsessed? Or have any others experienced the same thing, not months, but years ahead of their actual hike? I do weekends and week long trips when I can, but nothing major. Should I just quit college, forgo the degree, and become a vagabond?I would consider a different take on the subject.
You have to decide whether you wish to be obessed with the idea of hiking, and planning trips, and researching clothing and gear and logistics, or actually getting out and hiking. The real danger to many, myself included, is that you will be satisfied with the obessession of hiking, but never follow through with the compulsion to hike, but fall instead into the trap of merely talking about it. The same problem existed before the internet, with books and magazines taking the place of actual activities, you name it. The problem or at least the risk is worse today, I think, with the ubiquity and accessibility and immediacy of the internet.
So I say either finish the degree, or forgo the degree, either one. Whatever you do though, don't just chat and blog about thru-hiking, fail your degree as a result, and in the end never go hiking either.
The sensible thing to do it short hikes while finishing your degree, with less planning and obessing, and more hiking and compulsion.
JAK
cyber-packsniffer-procrastinator extrordinaire
peakbagger
04-13-2011, 16:59
Not knowing your hiking experience, I will make the comment that some folks think they want to do long distance hiking and when they try it, decide that its not their "cup of tea". I would expect a big percentage of the 80% of thruhikers who leave the AT discover this. For most folks its takes a couple of weeks hike to figure this out. I personally have tried multiweeks trips and decided 2 week sections are what works for me. You may want to consider a trial run in advance of graduation on something like the Long Trail in VT. The logistics are similiar and if you hike early season you will get exposed to a lot of differing weather and trail conditions (not everyday is going to be warm and sunny). I dont think a week long trip is enough as you dont get to deal with resupply and hitches to town.
I spent 33 years dreaming of someday hiking the PCT before I actually attempted a long hike on it. In those 33 years I set foot on the PCT a few times always with a long slow look toward Mexico and another toward Canada. Someday...
Then I did it and it was over so quick and now I'm left with nothing to look forward to. Don't get obsessed with the trail. Don't quit school. Hunker down and be ordinary and work your life away and kill the spark inside you. It's the only way to survive this world.
Mr. Carter
04-14-2011, 14:09
I spent 33 years dreaming of someday hiking the PCT before I actually attempted a long hike on it. In those 33 years I set foot on the PCT a few times always with a long slow look toward Mexico and another toward Canada. Someday...
Then I did it and it was over so quick and now I'm left with nothing to look forward to. Don't get obsessed with the trail. Don't quit school. Hunker down and be ordinary and work your life away and kill the spark inside you. It's the only way to survive this world.
That is probably the most depressing advice I have heard today...
88BlueGT
04-14-2011, 14:13
That is probably the most depressing advice I have heard today...
Most depressing advice I've heard all WEEK! :cool:
But the reason why its most depressing, its because its partially true ...
Many Walks
04-14-2011, 15:27
I spent 33 years dreaming of someday hiking the PCT before I actually attempted a long hike on it. In those 33 years I set foot on the PCT a few times always with a long slow look toward Mexico and another toward Canada. Someday...
Then I did it and it was over so quick and now I'm left with nothing to look forward to. Don't get obsessed with the trail. Don't quit school. Hunker down and be ordinary and work your life away and kill the spark inside you. It's the only way to survive this world.
Sbhikes, I thought you recently posted that your BF was “infected”, as in really into hiking now. Seems like you still have the bug, so why not look forward to the CDT or AT in your future?
hiking temporarily cures the obsession. the longer the hike, the longer the relief, in about equal parts. so go hiking for a week. your thoughts will be clearer when you get back.
Why did I chose "Options" for my ID? Because it is what I and really each of has. OPTIONS! Pick the best one for you an yours. I'm 52, insulin-dependent, and I will, Spirits willing, go to the Trail whenever it calls me. In a couple of years I will, thru-hike, or at least make one Hell of an attempt at it. Obsessed? You bet ya. And I love my options at this point. Please keep Obsessing, helps you keep your passion. :banana
springerfever
04-14-2011, 19:29
Welcome to WhiteBlaze....we are all obsessed with the trail and the 'fix' it provides for us.
My name is SpringerFever and I'm an addict........
This is the first step. Use YOUR name not mine.
Since this past fall I've been hiding in the shadows reading nearly everything I could on this website. I plan to do a thru hike when I graduate college, in 2-3 years. However I stumbled across something today that stood out to me.
"The idea to hike should not be an impulsive measure to temporarily ease your monotonous workday; it should consume your life, growing fat off your thoughts."
from this article http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7630
The first time I read this article was probably December. I just read that sentence and kept on going, giving it no particular thought. Yet today it seemed perfectly written. I realized that over the past year I had grown more and more interested in the AT, finally registering on this forum a few days ago. I have a good few years to go yet before I plan in earnest, but it is constantly on my mind. My girlfriend told me to "that I was rambling and to stop" when I started talking about the trail to a friend and then proceeded to inform him that I had "Hiking Fever".
So my question is... am I irrationally obsessed? Or have any others experienced the same thing, not months, but years ahead of their actual hike? I do weekends and week long trips when I can, but nothing major. Should I just quit college, forgo the degree, and become a vagabond?You could say you have developed a healthy obsession about the trail and wanting to hike it. It is much better in my opinion to be very much interested in the trail and having this strong interest in wanting to hike it then not to if you do eventually attempt it and want to be successful. As far as throwing your education out the door, you may want to reconsider doing that. The times seem to be getting worse currently, and having a degree may still be handy in helping you obtain a decent job later on down the line.
JackRyan
04-15-2011, 01:25
The real danger to many, myself included, is that you will be satisfied with the obessession of hiking, but never follow through
I've never heard of this before. But I doubt that it will happen to me (knock on wood) I'm always pulling the cord to head outside.
You may want to consider a trial run in advance of graduation on something like the Long Trail in VT.
That is a great idea actually. The most i've ever hiked before is a week at a time. If I can schedule time off work during the summer I'll have to look into that.
Don't quit school. Hunker down and be ordinary and work your life away and kill the spark inside you. It's the only way to survive this world.
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours. - Ayn Rand
hiking temporarily cures the obsession. the longer the hike, the longer the relief, in about equal parts. so go hiking for a week. your thoughts will be clearer when you get back.
Great Idea. Planning on it ASAP!
springerfever and Options- Like 88BlueGT, glad to know I'm not alone.
It is much better in my opinion to be very much interested in the trail and having this strong interest in wanting to hike it then not to if you do eventually attempt it and want to be successful.
I figure this way by the time it comes around I'll be about as ready as I'll ever be. Though maybe too much planning could also be a problem.
Trailbender
04-15-2011, 01:30
Should I just quit college, forgo the degree, and become a vagabond?
I did. Go on the AT end of April or early May of this year. Who knows when I will leave it again.
mweinstone
04-15-2011, 09:08
split for the hills baby. worlds cracken up.
My BF was infected with the trail and then he got a heart problem and that cured his infection.
My depressing advice is only to say that, at least for some of us, there's long distance hiking -- aka a life well-lived -- and then there's all the rest -- aka "success". Neither are compatible with the other.
At least finish school so the door to "success" doesn't slam shut. The hike will probably ruin you for several years, why make it permanent?
88BlueGT
04-15-2011, 10:49
My BF was infected with the trail and then he got a heart problem and that cured his infection.
My depressing advice is only to say that, at least for some of us, there's long distance hiking -- aka a life well-lived -- and then there's all the rest -- aka "success". Neither are compatible with the other.
At least finish school so the door to "success" doesn't slam shut. The hike will probably ruin you for several years, why make it permanent?
:confused:
I'd suggest you finish college first like the others.
Now, on to what I actually did...
My buddy Tony and I -- we hadn't yet finished college and just couldn't take the stress anymore. One day I'd suggested to Tony that we go to the furthest place we could get from Muncie, Indiana. That we take an adventure of sorts.
Well, that certainly got the ball rolling down a hill. Our classmates had wondered what was going on because we'd stopped all studying and focused our efforts exclusively on finding the specific place furthest from Muncie. Tony had gotten out his ruler and had run out to get the Road Atlas from under the front seat of his car and started measuring the maps. Tony summarily had determined the furthest place we could go and still stay within the lower 48 states was Seattle, Washington. After San Diego was also discussed, Tony had said, "Hey, I think I have a cousin that moved out to Seattle"...
As I remember we were on the road to Seattle that afternoon. Me with a grand total of $55.00 for the trip in my pocket. Tony I think had another Emergency Student Loan from Ball State University in his pocket.
It was my First Great Adventure. Absolutely the most fantastic time. We hitchhiked all the way to Seattle. Somewhere around South Dakota, upon seeing the Rocky Mountains in the distance, us being from the Midwest, I'd said to Tony, "How in the world are we going to get over that!"
As I remember, we'd only bought one beer in Issaquah, Washington where we hung out making ourselves indispensible to Tony's cousin. The rest of the time, someone in that Issaquah bar we frequented bought our beers. Reason: They couldn't believe there was a college named Ball State. I'd had to pull out my class registration to prove it. After that, Tony and I were the guys from Ball State and beers just started showing up.
Many weeks later I'd returned to Indiana and had to write a personal, hand-written letter to the Dean Of Men at Ball State University (I didn't even know there was a Dean Of Men) in order to continue on and finish the last quarter of my college education (with a 4.0 out of 4.0 that quarter I might add). My scholarship money had already paid for that last quarter of college and well, I just hadn't shown up to class for some reason, me being "out of town" and all.
Ended up getting my two college-boy degrees and having the adventure with it anyhow.
Call me irresponsible.
Datto
Yeah, the trail ruins you. It makes you want to do another hike. I couldn't resist the lure and hiked two years in a row. Now that I'm not hiking this year, I'm feeling really surly and depressed.
i second (or third, fourth, whatever) what most have been saying. The hike will change you in myriad ways. Finish school first to give yourself the most options. I went a different route. I finished about half of college before getting fed up and splitting for the trail. When I got home in October I didnt know what to do with myself. That feeling lasted a good while. Finally I'm back in society and finishing school but it took me a good long while to get back in the swing of things. Graduation is perfect because you're wrapping up one phase before starting another. Finish school, have a great hike, and figure it out from there. Enjoy.