Why I venture into the woods alone. Why do you?

[Spirit Bear]

Human interaction, having a computer in front of me, a TV, a phone all tend to keep my thoughts cloudy and broken. When I am alone in the woods, especially walking in the woods for extended miles all of my thoughts become clearer. My trip over this past weekend consisted of a 2 night camp at Lake Winfield Scott and a 10 mile loop hike from the lake up to blood mtn and then along the A.T and eventually back to the lake. I noticed this weekend I was annoyed with any human contact I came across, either on the trail, the campsite, or at a store to pick up some supplies. I spoke very little to those I did come in contact with, very uncharacteristic of me. I know I have enlightened my soul to a higher level simply from my alone time hiking in the woods or camping alone.
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http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/404924_2867563370456_1167130377_n.jpg

As far as experiencing god, I must discuss this because it is always a touchy subject and everyone has an opinion on it. When I am alone in the woods, again my thoughts become very clear as do my senses. I hear the breeze through the trees, feel the crisp cold air hit my face, only to be warmed by the sun as it fades in and out of the clouds above. I realize the sun is simply a small yellow star in a galaxy filled with billions of stars smaller and bigger than this one. Yet this one star is providing warmth to my face when it comes out of the clouds. It is amazing how the warmth varies depending on direct sunlight vs. indirect. This is the kind of stuff I notice when alone in the woods, people tend to distract me from seeing these things or I should say my day to day routine back in Atlanta tend to keep my senses and thoughts cloudy. I notice the buds about to pop open on certain plants, or how vibrant color is in the spring time in the wilderness. The forest is very much alive and working to perfection with NO, I mean NO human Interaction at all. I also notice the animals when I stop for 10-15 minutes without moving or talking, the animals pop up everywhere. I get sensory overload. Even when I am hiking along a trail, the walk will distract me from observing everything to its full extent. The walk or hike simply put, just gets me out there and is the task at hand. Once I am 3 or 4 miles into the woods I can't just stop and quit, I have to keep going to get back to camp or my destination. There is a sense of adventure once 3-4 miles into the woods alone. I know I am just scratching the surface with my hikes or walks, however the principle is the same.

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s720x720/539435_3618871392687_472167474_n.jpg
_
Back to god, I don't know what god is I just see it as “what is around me”. The sun is one of billions of stars in a galaxy, there are billions of galaxies in the known universe, and I can’t even comprehend the amount of stars or “Suns” in the universe however I do know there is one that sustains life. This planet, a small planet we call earth orbits this sun and provides warmth and life. Life exists on this planet, what a freaking miracle that is, forget the never ending debate on how it happened just look at the ahhhh and wonder of it all. I am a living breathing creature living of this planet orbiting this sun. There are billions of stars in this single tiny galaxy in the universe and we are sitting on an upper arm of that galaxy yet I am here in the woods experiencing life and observing life all around me. I noticed an inchworm walking up a tree looking at this creature, he was determined to get to his destination, wherever and how far that might be, only he knows yet he has life just like me, and he is living on the same planet I am living on and had nothing to do with it. Simply put the inchworm is alive the same as me. It is surviving on the planet the same as me, but without a bank account, religious belief or political opinion. Then I see a couple of squirrels running through the dead leaves looking for food and playing chase with one another. They are experiencing life the same as me. Then I see the water, streams coming down the mountain at some points of the trail they are just small trickling tiny streams, other sections they are bigger creeks, knowing they are all flowing somewhere to get to some destination and helping to sustain life on the planet to all creatures and plants.

I also realize the harshness of the wilderness, the mountains I walk how they beat me down physically, at times I get panicked thinking I am not going to make it, I want to quit and turnaround but then I just keep going, taking a break when I am winded and sitting down when my legs are tired. I tend to wonder how certain inspirational people I have heard about or read about climb places like mt Everest, the entire Appalachian Trail, or venture off into the Alaskan wilderness. Sometimes I get a sense of panic and realize that my body is not as it was 20 years ago. But one thing is for sure, I never quit or give up and just soak in my time alone in the woods.

I see god in the wilderness, I see it through all of nature. I have a conscience too, something that was given to me since birth, I don’t need to be taught it, and I know it. I don't know what my religion is, however I do believe in god, I guess you could say I believe in this being simply because of what I see in nature.

When I get back around humans in Atlanta, I get back into routine and my thoughts again become cloudy. I have other obligations I must deal with including the work that sits on my desk awaiting my talent while I type this out.

Until my next adventure…

[gizzy bear]

very nice writing...those pics are great, however the top one is phenomenal!!!! it is most def frame worthy!! :D

[gizzy bear]

oops...got caught up in the pic and forgot part 2 ... i have always loved the outdoors since i was a child...not much has changed since then (other than the obvious :p )...i still love the peace and serenity and beauty of being in the woods...and you are correct that it has an ability to lift life stressors just being in tune with nature...far better than any drugs!!!!

[Spirit Bear]

oops...got caught up in the pic and forgot part 2 ... i have always loved the outdoors since i was a child...not much has changed since then (other than the obvious :p )...i still love the peace and serenity and beauty of being in the woods...and you are correct that it has an ability to lift life stressors just being in tune with nature...far better than any drugs!!!!

Yes it is better than any drug I have ever experienced for sure. As far as that picture of lake winfield scott, I didnt take it, I found it online doing a quick search when I wrote this and the pic just sums up this place to me, I have taken several pictures of this lake, it is my personal walden pond and I have hiked from there up to blood mtn several times this year.

I know when I do my thru hike my biggest test mentally will be the virginia blues, once I get to a point to where the trail has satisfied my need to be one with nature, at that point or some point on the trail I will dig so deep into my gut to keep the task at hand going, only then will I arive to a new enlightenment with my soul.

Why I look up to every human that has ever thru hiked the entire AT, they have arived at a place most humans have never arived at. The determination and dedication it takes to walk 2200 miles up and down mountains day in and day out. I don't think words can sum that up.

[wornoutboots]

Very Nice Spirit Bear!!!!

[HikerMom58]

Yes, ditto... very nice Spirit Bear. :) I like the way u think about things while hiking. You are paying close attention to your surroundings & drinking in all it has to offer. Many people don't have the desire or the opportunity to do that. You are right!! I consider myself blessed to be able to enjoy it & the reason why I like this site, is to share with others that feel the same way I do. Thanks for sharing.

I admire you for being able to enjoy the trail completely alone. I'm not able to do that, myself. :( It's OK tho. :)

I can relate to you with the "God thing". I stand amazed every time I concentrate and drink in the beauty that surrounds me. I live in the Roanoke Valley & it is so beautiful here. I know so many places, on this earth, that I've never seen b4 (and I know I never will) are just as or even more beautiful. It makes me do some soul searching as to who is responsible for all this...the pics you posted are such wonderful examples. I don't think only science could ever explain it. So, I also, believe in God. This statement is true for me.... For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made... Because of my belief, when I go out to spend some time in the woods, there's an extra level of enjoyment, for me, that I receive from being surrounded by God's creation. I'm a HUGE fan of it!!! :D

[mgeiger]

Good stuff SB. Going alone always heightens the experience for me too. Thanks for sharing. That's a great loop.

[Dogwood]

GOOD stuff Spirit Bear! You move me with your insight. Good thread topic! It's so refreshing to peruse a thread about something that's not so mundane and directly speaks to why we do what we do and why this website exists!

I know I have enlightened my soul to a higher level simply from my alone time hiking in the woods or camping alone. This basically says it all for me. The only thing I would add is that I also enjoy the social interaction and connection with all of the universe when I hike so it's not just about being alone which is really never the case. We are never really all alone. I know that sounds wishy washy and pie-in-the -sky to some

[BobTheBuilder]

I hike alone almost all the time, but my reasons are different. My job, my volunteer activities, and my family life involve me making decisions all the time that affect and involve other people. When I am hiking by myself, I am allowed the luxury of making decisions that only affect me. Not usually life-threatening decisions, but decisions nonetheless. That, as much as the solitude and the physical challenge, is my vacation from reality.

[wornoutboots]

To Answer the question, I backpack alone to Decompress from the "Trappings" of society. I feel most alive &
"Clear" while walking through the creators wonderful creation!! My Wife say's I always come back a better man. So surrounding myself with the mysteries & beauty of nature does indeed refresh my being!

[atmilkman]

My Wife say's I always come back a better man.
My wife tell's me this also all the time. She's to the point now where she'll say "you need to go to the woods". Who am I to argue. Off I go, and I always come back a better man.

[CarolinaATMom]

What you wrote says it all about taking the time to view, acknowledge, and appreciate the intricacies and simplicities of nature is one of the most valuable aspects of hiking - or even being anywhere in nature. One can't be helped but to be immersed in a different perspective and the resulting wonder and awe. It's where I always feel close to god or gods or whatever is responsible and where the trip is no longer a pure physical experience but instead becomes profoundly sacred and healing. The vistas teach us humility and the closed forests and tunnels of green teach us to turn inward and find our true center.
Thanks so much for posting this - it's very hard to explain to people, even Loner has had a hard time explaining his experiences for me because as we come face to face with the numinous there just are few words to describe it the way we fully experience it.

[Uncle Walkie]

Spirit Bear, I hear you when you speak about experiencing God in nature. In the Bible, Romans 1:20 say "for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that we are without excuse". As a christian I believe this scripture affirms what we feel when we are out there.

For me getting out in the woods gives me time to clear my head. It seems easier to hear God out there when there is nothing but me, Him and His creation; but with His Word (the Bible) we have the opportunity to hear...if we will listen.

thanks for sharing

[Spirit Bear]

I don't know Uncle Walkie if it is a christian god or a muslim god, but it is the god I see through nature. I don't care what others call it but most importantly, I know what I see and feel when out in the woods.

By the way I love this quote...

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. John Muir

[geomaniac]

Wow! Thanks for the great inspirational post SB.

[atmilkman]

By the way I love this quote...

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. John Muir
This is a pretty good one too. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth

[Del Q]

I would say besides sleeping I am most at peace, alone in the woods.

Good stuff for sure.

[Prime Time]

Food for thought to be sure. My earliest fond recollections are of adventure and travel, however insignificant or grand. Woodlands always held a special place in my heart for their silent, natural beauty, and mountains have my awe and respect. Danger always lurks which lends an element of excitement. Aerobic stimulation and the resulting release of endorphins has always been my high of choice. Combine all of these things and add in the spiritual experience of carrying all that you need for the journey and achieving the goals that you established before you set out, and you have the makings for true and pure happiness.

[Loneoak]

Spot on, thx for sharing your thoughts

[dink]

Wonderful thoughts, thank you for sharing! Alone in the wilderness gives me a chance to just be, not to have to "do".

[Dogwood]

The observations made by Spirit Bear and others on this thread amply demonstrate why nature is all important. We are part of it not separate from it. When we destroy this world or this creation or hinder or are ignorant of the connection with it we destroy ourselves! It's why I read and keep re-reading just how important that connection is and why its vitally important to keep strengthening that connection in books like Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.

[Hairbear]

for me its like a preconditioned response.i grew up with a very abusive step father,when i wanted to avoid all his negative stuff i would go out to the woods behind our house.when you start young looking at the places away from people as a sanctuary,it comes on you almost like pavlovs dog.if i feel alot of stress its not long before im sweating under a pack surrounded by trees.

[Capt Nat]

I'm not fanatic about it or anything but often, if I hear the other party coming down the trail, I'll walk off trail far enough to be out of sight and take my rest break while they pass. If I have to meet folks on the trail, I'm polite and even cordial but I would just rather avoid the encounter when it's convenient.

[jimmyjam]

I like it because it let's me clear my head and recharge. There is nothing like the sights, sounds and smell of nature to make you feel better. I took the wife out on a day hike the other weekend and when we got back to the car she had this big grin. I said what? She said "I really didn't want to go today, but now I'm so glad that I did." So get out there, it'll put a smile on your face. :-)

[RED-DOG]

To get away from all the BS in today's society.

[Spirit Bear]

I have enjoyed reading everyone's responses. I am sure when I thru hike and after I have walked my first 100 miles I will enjoy some company in the evening at the shelters. Im still a novice to this site and with the AT community.

Planning for my thru hike in 2014.

[l84toff]

Thanks for posting. Your post is inspirational and at the same time echoes a lot of my own thoughts. I find the day to day world very noisy and difficult to see the important things in life. Being out there, it's easy to feel a sense of calm, to see things clearly, to find peace.

This thru hike business pulls me like nothing I have ever felt. Better than any drug you say? Maybe that's why I'm addicted!

[Many Moons]

Only want to hike! Not worry about someone else's hike! There will be plenty of others out there already. Hike On!!!

Miller
ILMT

[Persie]

I went for a hike Monday, it was cold, raining, and to the average person, a miserable day. My husband asked "why do you hike, what could you possibly get out of walking around in the woods for hours, carrying 25lbs on your back, especially on such a blustery day?" I'm going to show him your post, and when he's done reading - tell him "that's why".


This isn't simply good stuff, it's explains who we are. Well done Spirit Bear.

[Tuxedo]

I love this thread

I sit next to the trail or on a vista and feel my soul communicate to the world... a language inaudible soaking me like a I was a dry sponge in fresh water. Best I can explain it or articulate the unexplainable. I'm not running I tell her I'm just gonna go for my month of Sundays. amen

[mgeiger]

Second reply to this thread, but you got me thinking. I should go a little deeper.

Last March I did the loop from Lake Winfield Scott and went up Blood.

When I got up top, there were about 40 scouts and their wranglers. Good to see kids out there. I took some pics for them and had a few laughs. They eventually left and I has the summit to myself for 45 minutes which is a rarity on the most hiked piece of the AT in GA.

I laid on that frozen rock staring straight up. All I could see was a deep blue winter sky for my entire periphery. I literally had the whole world beneath me. Some struggles I have had were "behind me". I'm a spiritual guy... I said a little something to a friend that had passed too soon in life - a pal who showed me the AT and took me up Blood for the first time when I was 12. Aside from that, it was just silence and clear thoughts. Very deep experience for me.

5 years ago, I had my will done. My last wish is to have one of my children go up and scatter my ashes. After the hike I described above, I can say "ya that'll work".

[JAK]

Nature is God's Ultra High Speed Internet, and of course it has infinite bandwidth.
All of our senses are adapted to interface with it. Everything else is noise.

[corrodedarcher]

Great thread, Spirit Bear! Sounds as though we share similar ideals.

I enjoy traveling alone in the wilderness as no one has to wait on me, nor I on them. It is my pace at all times...a sense of selfishness that feels right. There are no distractions from the many nuances of nature that would otherwise go unnoticed. It is meditative, whether feeling the ground variations with each step through thin soled shoes, listening to the change in my breaths, or sitting atop a ridge taking in the moment without thinking of any particular thought. There are no facades, or the pretending of emotions for they flow naturally and freely at just the right moments. The only noise I hear outside of nature is that of my own. At night, the feeling of being alone amplifies the stillness so acutely that I grasp to hear anything for an auditory reference point. It's like teetering on the edge of a vacuum before peacefully drifting off.

[Dogwood]

We should have gone into the wilderness.
That is where the healing is, and sanity.
When you go into the land,
You go into your self also,
in dreams, in memories, in talk,
with the spirits and the dead.
Things get clarified in the wild.
That is why wise people go back,
go in when they are troubled and
why they pretend to hunt and fish (and hike).
And that is why, if a person is calling for help,
some friend, some guide prepared to be as
close as self, should take him (or her) back to the
Wilderness where the windigos inside them
can be freed

Waylan Drew
"Halfway Man"

[Tipi Walter]

Thanks for this thread. I'll copy it and take it out with me on my next trip. Here's my take on it from some previous backpacking journals---

http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/JournalSubjects/Nature-Rants/i-wCJLsNb/0/L/trip-12-L-L.jpg (http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/JournalSubjects/Nature-Rants/i-wCJLsNb/0/L/trip-12-L-L.jpg)

TRIP 20
THE FACE OF GOD
"Nature is the Great Teacher helping me to understand my ego. I knew this when I was 9 years old but I never could put it into words until now. I wonder if I'll ever see the face of God and yet here is the face of God in the things of nature no human has created. The question is, why then isn't it completely fulfilling? It may be because Miss Nature is too simple and complete and final for us, instead we require complex reasonings and intricate knowledge as we categorize and name each creature and species while we obliterate each one in kind. Modern humans are the hubris of the world but for 100,000 years we saw Miss Nature, we heard her speak to us in the wind and rain and rivers, we felt safe and secure and warm in her natural embrace.

Of course, we lived with the human dilemmas of ritualized warfare, fear and disease, but we also lived with the wisdom of nature and kept the population small and in harmony with it's environment. What then happened?

Sometime in the past we thought we became God, we began to worship all things human and we began to worship our own creations: Electricity, cars and metal, weapon systems, religious and political systems, and we called this worship scientific progress. By this we could manipulate nature and abuse it to feed our love of self. End O' Sermon."

TRIP 39
PAPA NATURE
Starting in about two minutes I need to blow out the candle and start conserving the two I have left for the remaining 7 days. Goodbye little brother. Mid October at 5,000 feet is very different than even 3,300 feet atop Tipi Ridge in Watauga County, NC. Here it means autumn business and says to strap down your headgear boys, tie up your medullas and cower like a mouse while you write your last letter home cuz the large turds are about to hit the big floor fan. Papa Nature's got a cold streak and he knows how to use it.

Get out of the woods while you have a chance or stay and be a man amongst men and by so doing become a friend to the Wild Woman who Made the Cold and who Rides the Wind. She is terribly beautiful and unlike the christian or muslim or jewish God you WILL see her because you are seeing her now and she is seeing you because you believe in the beauty of wilderness and she IS wilderness.

In summary, let go of your rosary and quit mumbling pie-in-the-sky chants and grab your walking stick and walk thru the cracked eggshell of human invention and ugliness and step into the real world of her loveliness called dark green firs against mouthwatering blue skies, high cold sleet and pounding waves of wind, winding trails going deeper and everywhere into Her Being, thick icy fog and wet creek crossings, brown grass meadows and rocky outcrops, cliffs and loud shouts, dank hot forests and stinging hornets, relaxing white rattlesnakes and courting copperheads, turtles underfoot and turtles afoot with large packs.

And by so doing quit your useless manmade religions and get hold of the oldest and the best. Look at the moon, look at the sun, look at the solar system, study the galaxy, ponder the universe. God loves wilderness and the wild woman of the wind and cold is God, too.

TRIP 42
Shunka dog is laid out in the sun as if dead. But now it is January and the indoor-captivated people are afraid to park and walk, they cower under the spoken words of TV weathermen whose purpose is to devalue all climate conditions except for the sunny and warm.

WEE'TARDS SELLING FEAR
It is therefore fear the weathermen sell and it is one more nail in the coffin in the endless battle against nature. A weatherman says---"I'm sorry to say I have nothing to offer you today but tomorrow promises to be better as the clouds move out. Today and for the rest of the week we will return to our average January temperatures so bundle up and stay indoors. The temperature at night could fall as low as 20 degrees and so in such life threatening cold the National Weather Service has issued an updated warning to limit outdoor activity to 20 minutes per day and to remain indoors."

Why can't/don't they say instead that "It's a glorious day to be out as a blizzard is presently dumping 2 feet of fresh snow on our County. The cold and wind coupled with a full moon tonight will give those outside an opportunity to experience one of the most beautiful pristine landscapes our state has to offer. It is recommended that those who have camping gear should try and get to the highest mountain they can find and camp for a night as such awesome conditions might not be duplicated again for many more years."

In my opinion anything that promotes or stirs up our fears should be avoided and for the most part that means avoiding television and newspapers. To live in fear is the American way and books could be written about its history and current cultural dominance. Being out in nature gives me short lived and momentary fears, the rest of them you can keep to yourself.


TRIP 43
NYLON UNIVERSITY
I'm warm now as a sun beam tries to poke out and say hello and disturb my dreams of a Day 5 blizzard and white powder festival with me playing the part of the local idiot too dumb to get out of the cold but grinning like the butt kisser that he is. I am the head brown noser in a short line of fellow brown nosers who would kiss Momma Nature's butt all the way up the Nutbuster Trail and back. Sometimes she turns cranky and whips around to snap my lips off but most of the time she's perfectly composed. Those times she does turn mean are difficult but I've learned more about her and more about myself than at any college. Classes therefore are in session at Nylon University, can you pay the tuition?


TRIP 43
The eastern horizon is a bright burnt orange and soon father sun will be showing us what is real and what objects are solid and angular and with sharp edges, the moon left a dreamlike world of soft circles and no edges. Which is the best? They both are needed.

TRIP 44
WALKING IN BEAUTY - SAYING GOODBYE
The only reason I stay sane on long winter trips is due to the faith I have in the gear I bring and in the willing heart I have inside my chest to thank the Creator for the opportunity to use such gear and to use it within this shakened snowglobe we call Nature. And anyway, what could possibly go wrong enough to warrant separation from the God that IS nature and that is beyond nature?

This overcoat must be discarded, that is a fact, but will it be during this trip in the winter snows or will it be at some other tentsite on some other mountain in some other season? God is the Great Outfitter and when it is decided that I need a whole new set of backpacking gear this old stuff, this old body, will be replaced. How can we experience the beauty of wildness without the proper tent, sleeping bag and pack?

Walking in beauty describes it, loving it without knowing why also describes it, wanting it without clear reason is the worship and the mumbled prayer is unconscious at best and it's enough. Nature is therefore everything, the black night sky, the deep space beyond this world where no human can walk, surrounded by stark aloneness, cold and the black void and below it comes the treeline and the river valley, the buffalo and the green grass, the white powder on a hillside, the home where life is and is sprung. All creatures worship simply by existing in this natural world and I exist too which is my simple worship.

So let my eyeballs roam atop two strong legs and let the freedom and beauty of nature be my food. END

[johnnybgood]

After reading Tipi's narrative I've got nothing... well said.

[hikerboy57]

tipi thank you so much for sharing that.

[Grits]

Wonderful thoughts and thanks to all for sharing. I don't have the talent to put into words how I feel but two songs and one poem keep jumping into my head. This poem Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon is by St. Francis. ofAssisihttp://www.catholic.org/clife/prayers/prayer.php?p=183

A song by Brandi Carlile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxyT27xRH0
A song by St. Francis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lzJRopqL_c&feature=related

[Tipi Walter]

Thanks Grits for the tunage. Here's one I sing when I'm hiking. BTW, how do you get the youtube video to appear on your posts??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IPM-M79Lfrw

[shelb]

Wow! A lot of great thoughts have been posted to this thread....

My reasons for hitting the woods are two-fold: both to enjoy the beauty and to spend time in reflection. For this reason, I prefer to hike with someone (friend, my spouse, or my kids). We share our thoughts about what we see, and often-times, one of us will point out something to the other. Yet, during these hikes, we will spend some of the time walking silently, each person thinking inward - reflecting on his/her own thoughts. For me, this is the best of both words!

[hikerboy57]

i go to the woods alone to again experience life through the eyes of a child.
the rhythm of hiking allows my internal dialogue to subside, and i can just be.
my mind stops labeling things and i can live in the moment.
no past, no future.
just the eternal now.

[Dogwood]

i go to the woods alone to again experience life through the eyes of a child.
the rhythm of hiking allows my internal dialogue to subside, and i can just be.
my mind stops labeling things and i can live in the moment.
no past, no future.
just the eternal now.

Ditto. I think we're from the same planet or same different dimension. Did we both get left behind by our spaceship crews?

[corrodedarcher]

i go to the woods alone to again experience life through the eyes of a child.
the rhythm of hiking allows my internal dialogue to subside, and i can just be.
my mind stops labeling things and i can live in the moment.
no past, no future.
just the eternal now.

Nice. I'm guessing you are inspired by Eastern philosophy or Tolle or both. I struggle to quiet my internal dialogue. Sitting alone on a high ridge pretty much shuts it off though.

[Grits]

Thanks Grits for the tunage. Here's one I sing when I'm hiking. BTW, how do you get the youtube video to appear on your posts??
Tipi go to the tool bar just above where you write the thread reply and click on the insert video then copy and paste the url in the pop up tool and paste it there. Great song and I am thinking Rocky Top is in your backyard.:banana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IPM-M79Lfrw

[Dogwood]

Wow, TW, another weirdo alien. Thank God for alien weirdos - those who are willing to learn in unconventional ways, who live against the grain, who are willing to examine and change their own and humanity's ways, those who are willing to NOT examine everything from a pro human centric point of view.

When someone shares these insights(wisdom) we are so blessed, When someone shares these insights as poetically as you have it makes it that much better. For that I thank you.

Have you ever been exposed to the insights and philosphy offered by Native Americans(Indians) or other native cultures that lived in greater harmony with the natural envirionment. A lot of what you shared mimics their own insights and philosophy.

A thread like this should never be closed!

[hikerboy57]

Nice. I'm guessing you are inspired by Eastern philosophy or Tolle or both. I struggle to quiet my internal dialogue. Sitting alone on a high ridge pretty much shuts it off though.

try reading the miracle of mindfulness by thich naht hanh.

[corrodedarcher]

try reading the miracle of mindfulness by thich naht hanh.

I have only read one of Naht Hanh's books: Zen Keys. I will check out this one you recommend. Thanks.

[Wise Old Owl]

I have enjoyed reading everyone's responses. I am sure when I thru hike and after I have walked my first 100 miles I will enjoy some company in the evening at the shelters. Im still a novice to this site and with the AT community.

Planning for my thru hike in 2014. I too share your enthusiasm and want to reach out that this was a wonderful read! Thank You.

[Sman]

Enjoyed this Thread greatly!!!!

[Dogwood]

Can I get college credit for taking a philosophy class if I read through this entire thread?

[chief]

I did read through this entire thread, reminds me why I gave up drugs!

[atmilkman]

I did read through this entire thread, reminds me why I gave up drugs!
Cornbread and iced tea took the place of pills and 90 proof.

[Hill Ape]

honestly, i really hate it when i'm on the trail and somebody strikes up a conversation about their god (by any name) my eyes just glaze over and i tune out, then beat feet the other direction.

call me a cynic i guess. i read the whole thread and reached for a rolling paper, double wide. medicinal of course.

[virginia jen]

Two reasons: 1) The reason i go- my own sanity- i love having everything i need, and not having to worry about anything else. 2) the reason i go by myself- my friends that don't think I'm crazy for going are too crippled to come with me :D .

[walknrow]

Solitude. Community.

[Different Socks]

I venture into the woods alone b/c this town is full of mtn bikers, campers, boaters, sledders, hunters, fishermen, drinkers, but no one willing to drive 3 hours to Glacier and then drive 3 hours back.