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Lion King
03-04-2005, 21:55
The simplicity.
The smell of fresh clean air and the uninterupted solitude of walking alone along a path within the boundaries of creation.
The song of a hundred different birds every morning as you drink icy cold water from a mountain side. The wind through the trees as you lose yourself in the thought of nothing but of being what it is we are right then.
The closeness to the energy of life, the creator, the creation and the oneness of being in it and appreciating it all at the same time.

The time away from negative forces and people and conversations that are only mirrors to why those individuals are so unhappy. Their judgements, thier hatred their lost overly-complicated ways of not seeing but trying to over look the basic truth of life, while denying it even exists.

The humbling nature of nature. The heavy rain and bitter cold and the lightening that burns the air around you. The adrenaline that gets you heart kicked up three or four nothces when you hike in the night and hear something bigger then rabbit running beside you. The beauty of it all...its more then anything and it is such a healer.

I can never say how much it means to me, but I love it and I am so greatful that I am less then a week away from stepping back out for a while.

See ya out there.

LK

Lone Wolf
03-04-2005, 21:57
Preach on brother LK!

SavageLlama
03-04-2005, 22:49
Good stuff. :D http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

hungryhowie
03-05-2005, 01:10
Amen.

-howie

neo
03-05-2005, 01:14
i gotta hike,gotta be out there,hike to live,live to hike:sun neo

steve hiker
03-05-2005, 01:24
Can poop where ever u want.

Lion King
03-05-2005, 03:13
The physical exhaustion that replenishes the mind better then anything else.
The challanges of facing who you are, what you have done and why you are where you are.
Its that special time when you realize the importance of forgiving those who have wronged you, forgiving yourself for bad choices that may have lead to wronging another, and the reasons why worrying over it all on a constant basis, even when you arent aware you are worrying is a waste of time. Yet, it shows you how to clear the mind while turning the faults into positive actions that may have never been brought to the forefront if you had not the time to actually 'hear' the world talking to you.

It shows you the past is what it is, a lesson, a choice good or bad, and the things that come from them.
You have to face your own life out there, that terrifies some...the lonely times when all you have is your thoughts. The good bad and ugly of lifes little turns and twists. You see where you screwed up, and if you can think it through, it makes it all better. and I really really enjoy that.
The time to think clearly on life and its roads and the people and the reasons behind every step you have taken to get to the next step.

The uniterupted beauty of understanding what it is you were before you forgot, based on what others taught you they assume you should be to please them. Happyness comes from being true to your life, and the time in the wilderness always gives that to you, which in turn gives you more to give to others.

Man...cant wait..cant wait...cant wait....

Caleb
03-05-2005, 04:31
two weeks ago I got caught out in a blizzard in th Whites. out of food, out of fuel, out of trail. emergency bivouac under sil tarp in the howling windstorm. a fearful night of knowing I had frozen clothes and a tough bushwhack ahead of me the next day. then waking up to the sounds of a ******* nuthatch out there all alone with me. I fell in love with that bird. of course I also wanted to eat it. these are not 9-5 sensations. C

oldfivetango
03-05-2005, 08:51
What happened next?
inquiring minds want to know........
Cheers to all,
Oldfivetango

jeepcj258
03-05-2005, 13:00
THIS IS A GOOD POST! LK I am 8 days away myself and I can not wait.

FINISH THE STORY, what happens next?

God Bless
Seth

Doctari
03-05-2005, 13:44
Good post LK.
Reminds me much of a shakespeare speach from "As you like it":

"Are not these woods more free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam, the seasons' difference, as the icy fang & churlish chiding of the winter's wind, which, when it bites & blows upon my body, even till I shrink with cold, I smile & say This is no flattery: these are counselors that feelingly persuade me what I am. Sweet are the uses of adversity, which, like the toad, ugly & venomous wears yet a precious jewel in his head; & this our life exempt from public haunt finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones & good in every thing. I would not change it."

I shall add your "Speach" to my quotes, to be carried on the trail as inspiration.

Doctari.

Rift Zone
03-05-2005, 14:00
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle

LK you are totally excellent dude.

TDale
03-05-2005, 23:30
Somewhere in the middle of my recent solo trip, I realized Why. And it ties together the Hiker Trance threads in a sublime way.

We very rarely get to spend time alone. Our time is spent reacting to the demands of civilization on ourselves. Being the correct father/brother/worker/cog in the machinery of society.

With a proper pack on your back, you know you have your subsistence. It may be frugal, but it's all you truly Need.

On my last trip, I came to a particular section on the trail where I realized that this is how it must have been. Just a wildlife track through the wilderness. I sat down on the trail and let that sink in for a moment.

Self-sufficiency is the most liberating thing there is. To go out and face, one on one, the biggest thing you can put your feet on is not an act of bravery or adventure. It is recognition of your place in the world, in the grand scheme of things.

What we do is not a sport, hobby, or pastime. It is a reflection of who we are, and our understanding of our place in the world.

We go there because we belong there.

Keep preachin' LK.

cutman11
03-06-2005, 00:48
Why do I hike the trail? Until I read TDale's post, my answer has always been "Because it is there"...but in my mind, without putting it into the eloquent words of TDale and LK, the reason is exactly what has been written. There are many who have hiked the trail at a troubling time, such as after a divorce. I began hiking it to AVOID one...there is something about KNOWING what is really important that makes everything else in the non AT world seem much more like "small stuff", and as the saying goes, dont sweat the small stuff. Hiking the AT lets us see the "rat race" world many of us live in for what it is...just the zero day(s) between sections of the trail.:clap

Mini-Mosey
03-06-2005, 09:05
I like that idea of "real life" (i.e. job, "civilized" society)just being "zero" days between days spent on the trail. (Hope I paraphrased that correctly.) I have learned that I need to make time to get out there on a regular basis. It's truly my sanity saver.

Catsgoing
03-06-2005, 11:20
i gotta hike,gotta be out there,hike to live,live to hike:sun neo
NEO SUN *****

Can't you take a medical leave from work and still get paid??

It is a small lie to getting off work but then you can finish the AT...

If they have that type of program @ your job.

All you need is a note from your doctor....

The hardest part is not talking about your hike at work when you get back.

We all need a mental break from day to day living!!!!! Good Luck **

I know how important it is for you to get out there and get on The AT.....

Lion King
03-06-2005, 17:12
Staring into a souless box, while I would rather be staring at a Starfilled night.

I feel my fingers ride the keys, while I would much rather feel my feet ache from a day of trance induced strolling.

Time means nothing right now as the days until the time when I return to the wilderness seem so far, yet the days out there go so fast, no matter how many of them you spend, and before you know it you seem to be back somewhere longing to be back out there again.

Bored, listless, tired of being tired because I am not using my physical energy as it should be used. A hunter and a roamer and a traveler who enjoys the company of strangers and old freinds in the light of a fire as opposed to a noisey bar filled with strangers who are not concerned about anything other then who they can use.


Time it seems plays with my head, it makes me want to be out there within seconds of stepping away.

counting the seconds makes them longer, appreciating them makes them seem nonexistent.

I

Percival
03-06-2005, 18:19
Staring into a souless box, while I would rather be staring at a Starfilled night.

I feel my fingers ride the keys, while I would much rather feel my feet ache from a day of trance induced strolling.
I hear that.

Percival
03-06-2005, 18:28
Can poop where ever u want.
I hear that. :D

cutman11
03-06-2005, 20:11
Can't you take a medical leave from work and still get paid??

It is a small lie to getting off work but then you can finish the AT...

If they have that type of program @ your job.

All you need is a note from your doctor....


Only problem for me is I AM the Doctor! So who's gonna read my note?:-?

steve hiker
03-06-2005, 20:30
Only problem for me is I AM the Doctor! So who's gonna read my note?:-?
No problem Doc, you can write your own note. Just don't write it for a controlled substance, the DEA will track you all the way to Kahtadin.

Gonzo!
03-07-2005, 10:02
If everyone were to go to the wilderness... then the place they all came from would become the wilderness.

The more people who know about the AT and decide to partake of its pleasures, the more it will not be "wilderness".

I dread the possibility of having to register, and possibly pay to stay at any shelter, or even just camp in the woods along the AT.

Lion King
03-07-2005, 13:14
Fight The Power.