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WIAPilot
05-25-2012, 17:39
What lesson or knowledge or wisdom did you learn after completing the AT? Not wisdom about hiking, but rather about yourself or about life??

Pedaling Fool
05-25-2012, 19:47
I learned how efficient the human body is and just how little food it needs. People are fat because they eat way too much, period. Has nothing to do with physical activity (yes I know physical activity burns calories and the more you exercise the more you burn). My point is that people can condition their body to become very efficient fuel burning machines; we don’t need to exercise to lose weight.

I exercise to keep the body strong, but eat in a way to keep excess weight off. I know there’s some overlap here, but it helps me to think this way to manage my weight, which I was beginning to have real problems with before my hike.

Everyone blames sugar for the obesity problem, but again, it’s not sugar it’s the quantity. People do this (eat so much) because food is so cheap in society and it’s also a tool for combating boredom and we use it generally to please one’s self; you should not eat just because you feel hungry, it really is best to let yourself be a little hungry, but again we don’t do this in society, it’s just not “natural”, but it is.

fiddlehead
05-25-2012, 20:17
Nature is reality, the rest is BS. (didn't really learn this on the AT, more so on the western trails, but the AT was a start of it all)
Also "less is more"

q-tip
05-25-2012, 21:03
Hiking from Springer to Harpers Ferry in 2010 was an affirmation of life. I was dead on an operating room table in 2008, so finishing that hike was a goal I conceived in the recovery room.

Spokes
05-25-2012, 21:46
What lesson or knowledge or wisdom did you learn after completing the AT? Not wisdom about hiking, but rather about yourself or about life??


....... Amazing how much the human body can withstand given the right state of mind.

I still think about some aspect of the trail everyday.

Veetack
05-25-2012, 21:52
I haven't done a thru, but I've done several section hikes and the biggest thing I've learned is that society brings out the worst in people. When you get in the woods and you're on the trail, everyone around you seems significantly nicer and more than happy to have a conversation about anything. I think the generosity of others is something that gets ignored in "real life"

Spokes
05-25-2012, 22:08
I agree with Veetack.

S'mores anyone?

msupple
05-25-2012, 22:23
I learned how simple life can actually be...such as a spigot made from a Rhododendron leaf. :)

The Cat in the Hat

Mountain Mike
05-26-2012, 00:57
Post hike/s: that if you set your mind to it you can do it. The unkonwn is just a short walk away...keep walking & find it.

garlic08
05-26-2012, 08:22
I learned that steep hills don't really matter very much in the long run.

Veetack
05-26-2012, 14:44
I learned that steep hills don't really matter very much in the long run.
I also learned that uphill is better than downhill. Yeah, you may get winded, but a long downhill HURTS.

Moose2001
05-26-2012, 14:52
I learned we overthink, overplan and overstress about way too many things. It's just a walk. You walk 3-5 days, go into town, resupply and walk again. No big deal.

rocketsocks
05-27-2012, 09:09
I've learned that Cyber Thur-hiking is a lot easier than actually doing one,and both share the same amount of attention,when off trail.:D

chiefduffy
05-27-2012, 13:29
I've learned that hiking relaxes and renews me, and if I hike long enough, it changes my life.

(I have not yet completed the AT)

Spokes
05-27-2012, 17:15
I also learned that uphill is better than downhill. Yeah, you may get winded, but a long downhill HURTS.

So true. That downhill into Bennington, VT (NOBO) is an absolute nightmare on the quads.

garlic08
05-28-2012, 01:02
In an informal poll I've taken of hikers who have been badly hurt, nearly all injuries happen on descents, and often within a few hundred yards of a trail head or road. I figure you're not only fatigued, but you're probably rushing a bit and have your mind on something else waiting for you in town. You just don't see that loose boulder or wet log.

So another thing I learned on the AT was to take a long break before that last descent into town, to eat the last of my food, drink the last of my water, and just relax.

hikerboy57
05-28-2012, 14:16
I haven't done a thru, but I've done several section hikes and the biggest thing I've learned is that society brings out the worst in people. When you get in the woods and you're on the trail, everyone around you seems significantly nicer and more than happy to have a conversation about anything. I think the generosity of others is something that gets ignored in "real life"

I kind of agree, but for different resons. I think my time on the trail has renewed my faith in the good in people, that people are kind and compassionate, not just on the trail but in life in general. what the time on the trail does is dispel the cynicism that comes about from watching too much news and media, which only reflects a very small segment of reality. the world is by and large a warm, caring freindly place, and people DO help easch other in times of need, whether its tornadoes hurriicanes, tsunamis,9/11, etc.
We lose our cynicism when we hike.

steve43
05-30-2012, 12:11
Less is more.

wookinpanub
05-30-2012, 16:06
Never panic. It does absolutely no good. My first two weeks, getting lost was a daily occurence. The first couple of times it happened, I started hyperventilating, etc. (being solo and in the 100-mile wilderness). I learned to sit down, grab a granola bar, and think about the situation. Some folks take this for disengagement, but it's not. Anytime I get in a potentially hazardous situation, I have taken this physical lesson that I learned on the AT and applied to everything in my life: Career, marital, parenting, financial, the list goes on.

Jim Adams
05-30-2012, 16:14
I really don't NEED electricity.

geek

rocketsocks
05-30-2012, 16:16
Never panic. It does absolutely no good. My first two weeks, getting lost was a daily occurence. The first couple of times it happened, I started hyperventilating, etc. (being solo and in the 100-mile wilderness). I learned to sit down, grab a granola bar, and think about the situation. Some folks take this for disengagement, but it's not. Anytime I get in a potentially hazardous situation, I have taken this physical lesson that I learned on the AT and applied to everything in my life: Career, marital, parenting, financial, the list goes on.+1,I like this advise.It is exactly what all the books tell you you should do
Stop
Think
Observe
Plan

johnnybgood
05-30-2012, 16:56
Just remember the worst thing you can do , after getting lost of course ,is panicing.
Get yourself a compass and learn how to use it.

Rocketsocks' acronym is also sound advice. :)

JJJ
05-30-2012, 17:42
I kind of agree, but for different resons. I think my time on the trail has renewed my faith in the good in people, that people are kind and compassionate, not just on the trail but in life in general. what the time on the trail does is dispel the cynicism that comes about from watching too much news and media, which only reflects a very small segment of reality. the world is by and large a warm, caring freindly place, and people DO help easch other in times of need, whether its tornadoes hurriicanes, tsunamis,9/11, etc.
We lose our cynicism when we hike.

We lose our cynicism when we hike.
+1

rocketsocks
05-30-2012, 17:51
Just remember the worst thing you can do , after getting lost of course ,is panicing.
Get yourself a compass and learn how to use it.

Rocketsocks' acronym is also sound advice. :)Not my advise,I've merely stood on the shoulders of great men/women,but thanks Johnny,b good.:sun