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Old Boots
07-08-2012, 10:26
After years of canoeing the Boundary Waters of No. Minn. and Ontario, hiking on the AT, working in Glacier Park for a season, and climbing Kilimanjaro, I ask myself why do you it? I have come to the conclusion that it is to get and keep in touch with the wildness in me. Living in this air conditioned, electronically nourished bubble we call civilization, I need to be reminded that I am an animal more a part of mountains, lakes, rivers, heat and cold, rain and snow than the glass menagerie we have created.
i am interested in what compels you to abandon you easy hair and TVfor the rigors of the AT.

Carbo
07-08-2012, 10:43
I guess we'd still think the world was flat if we didn't have this instinct.

Rasty
07-08-2012, 12:03
I guess we'd still think the world was flat if we didn't have this instinct.

The world is flat! At least it is in coastal North Carolina. Went hiking in Croatan National Forest and called my wife as a joke when we summitted at 22' above sea level.:)

coach lou
07-08-2012, 13:47
I feel real, more alive when in the wilds. Even thought the east coast is not very wild. I also feel safer and more comfortable. What you see is what you got, as the saying goes. I feel more in control in the wilds.

BFI
07-08-2012, 18:51
It's what keeps me young and alive.

Penn-J
07-09-2012, 18:16
Men come tamely home at night only from the next field or street, where their household echoes haunt, and their life pines because it breathes its own breath over again; their shadows, morning and evening, reach farther than thier daily steps.

We should come home from far, from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day, with new experience and character.

I love Thoreau! Whenever the people around me say "why do you hike?", that hiking isnt fun, or its stupid, or their eyes glaze over when I mention something about my past hikes, I remember Mr. Thoreau's words.

coach lou
07-09-2012, 18:20
Men come tamely home at night only from the next field or street, where their household echoes haunt, and their life pines because it breathes its own breath over again; their shadows, morning and evening, reach farther than thier daily steps.

We should come home from far, from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day, with new experience and character.

I love Thoreau! Whenever the people around me say "why do you hike?", that hiking isnt fun, or its stupid, or their eyes glaze over when I mention something about my past hikes, I remember Mr. Thoreau's words.

My favorite Author.

Penn-J
07-09-2012, 18:22
i am interested in what compels you to abandon you easy hair and TVfor the rigors of the AT.

What comes to my mind right off the bat is that nobody ever says on thier death bed "I wish I would have sat in my easy chair and watched more TV"

Well, maybe some people would but I would feel sorry for them.

Penn-J
07-09-2012, 18:25
My favorite Author.

Yeah, mine too. Ed Abbey and Annie Dilard are close seconds.

rocketsocks
07-09-2012, 18:37
To live deliberately, and with out man made influences.

jos2thehua
07-09-2012, 19:09
I just love getting out there. It clears my mind and makes me feel more comfortable and I am detached from all the worries of the world. Even when I've had bad experiences like mild dehydration and heat exhaustion I've just found a sense of appreciation for every bit of it.

hikerboy57
07-09-2012, 19:11
to rediscover again and again and again how little i really need to be happy.
still need the tent fly however.
also to seek out and explore new life, new civilizations, to boldly go where a couple million have gone before!!!

Penn-J
07-09-2012, 19:18
To walk; to see and to see what you see. –BENTON MACKAYE, 1971

AjR
07-09-2012, 19:59
I grew up in the woods. It's literally become a part of me. Growing up, it was; "Hey, let's go fishing" then fishing would turn into a long hike down a creek, or a river, or around a lake. Like hunting would turn into a two to three day trip, always hiking farther into the woods than most would do. Or just to escape chores. I always had a choice, but I feel very detached after being away from the wild for too long. I find myself daydreaming about my next hunt, or fishing trip, or hike. It's a part of me now, something that I could not give up, even if I wanted to. If all technology was gone tomorrow, I honestly would not be bothered by it at all....

WIAPilot
07-09-2012, 20:15
I spent several years as a child in Alaska, NC and VA. Even then, I would hike off by myself. Later in HS and college, no one ever thought that I was into hiking because I was into the party crowd. But I hiked and camped all the time. Last September, I suddenly stopped breathing in a restaurant in Phoenix and the medics rushed me to the hospital. I recovered, but it made me reevaluate my life. What made me the happiest? I was a little surprised to discover that more than the parties and the glitz - some of my very best moments were hiking. That was the start of the AT for me. Life is too short not to do what you truly love.

Old Boots
07-09-2012, 21:04
I love this. Do you have these conversations with others on the trail and off. How do they react to it?

Rasty
07-09-2012, 21:10
Peace. It's the one place no one can reach me. No email. No phone calls. No text messages. Wake up. Walk. Look at stuff that is not a "problem" to be fixed. Walk some more. Drink coffee. Eat. Maybe read a little bit. Sleep. Repeat.

Snoring Sarge
07-10-2012, 01:47
The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.
Thomas Jefferson

OzJacko
07-10-2012, 02:42
Outdoors I feel like I am me.
When I feel the cold, get wet from the rain and climb a mountain (actually hills around here), I feel more alive.
As for hiking a long trail that adds an "accomplishment" factor to the whole experience.
i.e. Hiking I do because it suits me. Long distance hiking I do because it challenges me.
Lots more reasons but those sum up most of it.

A1ien
07-10-2012, 08:53
What comes to my mind right off the bat is that nobody ever says on thier death bed "I wish I would have sat in my easy chair and watched more TV"

Well, maybe some people would but I would feel sorry for them.

I've been wondering lately if any successful thru-hikers end up saying, "I wish I'd never hiked the AT" . . .

Penn-J
07-10-2012, 09:25
I've been wondering lately if any successful thru-hikers end up saying, "I wish I'd never hiked the AT" . . .


Thats a good one! Maybe that question should be it's own thread.

Velvet Gooch
07-10-2012, 09:55
For the misery. Nothing steps on me like a harsh winter storm at altitude

rocketsocks
07-10-2012, 10:03
For the misery. Nothing steps on me like a harsh winter storm at altitude
Strangely, this makes complete sense to me, and I concur.

rocketsocks
07-10-2012, 10:05
I've been wondering lately if any successful thru-hikers end up saying, "I wish I'd never hiked the AT" . . .


Thats a good one! Maybe that question should be it's own thread.Heck yeah, float that, could be interesting.

Astro
07-10-2012, 10:31
One reason is the same reason I used to run 5K races. Knowing I was going to do it again would force me to get up earlier in the morning to stay in shape for the next race, or in this case hiking trip. But the AT is much better since you also get to enjoy of all of the natural world God has given us. And along with that is the peace of the woods on one side of the spectrum and then the AT communiity and culture on the other. There is also the long term goal of completing of 2,180 plus miles and the sense of accomplishment along the way.

FarmerChef
07-10-2012, 10:31
I've lived most of my life in the sticks for the pleasure of living off the land and having a bigger say in my food and lifestyle. It's more quiet, you can actually see the stars, if not the Milky Way, you can farm, hunt, and fish to provide for your family, and you get to know your neighbors and rely on each other almost like a family. Getting on the trail takes that to a deeper level. Out there there are no demands for my time, no deadlines to meet, no big decisions. Literally, the moment we park the car, get our packs on and step onto the trail the stress just disappears. When I come back to the car and get in it comes right back. Bills to pay, meetings to attend, job to work. Life comes rushing back, passing plaid and going straight to ludicrous speed. :D We help the people we meet on the trail and they, in turn, help us. Nobody asks. We just treat each other like we were taught in kindergarten. We're not competing for anything.

That's the biggest part of it for me. But close behind are the hours I get to spend with my wife and kids with relatively undivided attention. Rereading my journal entries brings me right back to any day of our past hikes and the challenges and successes that built lasting memories for my children and us. It's my hope that some of these experiences will contribute to their happiness and diligence as they become adults and members of the community. I don't care that they become millionaires or have a "higher standard of living" than my wife and I. But I do care that they have grounded character, work hard, play hard and earn the respect of others. The rest will follow. I'd like to think there's some lessons the trail can teach us with regard to those attributes and more.

Penn-J
07-10-2012, 11:54
I've lived most of my life in the sticks for the pleasure of living off the land and having a bigger say in my food and lifestyle. It's more quiet, you can actually see the stars, if not the Milky Way, you can farm, hunt, and fish to provide for your family, and you get to know your neighbors and rely on each other almost like a family. Getting on the trail takes that to a deeper level. Out there there are no demands for my time, no deadlines to meet, no big decisions. Literally, the moment we park the car, get our packs on and step onto the trail the stress just disappears. When I come back to the car and get in it comes right back. Bills to pay, meetings to attend, job to work. Life comes rushing back, passing plaid and going straight to ludicrous speed. :D We help the people we meet on the trail and they, in turn, help us. Nobody asks. We just treat each other like we were taught in kindergarten. We're not competing for anything.

That's the biggest part of it for me. But close behind are the hours I get to spend with my wife and kids with relatively undivided attention. Rereading my journal entries brings me right back to any day of our past hikes and the challenges and successes that built lasting memories for my children and us. It's my hope that some of these experiences will contribute to their happiness and diligence as they become adults and members of the community. I don't care that they become millionaires or have a "higher standard of living" than my wife and I. But I do care that they have grounded character, work hard, play hard and earn the respect of others. The rest will follow. I'd like to think there's some lessons the trail can teach us with regard to those attributes and more.

I enjoyed reading that. Thanks.