Is It Just Me??

[wornoutboots]

Or do the ways of Society bother you more & more after you get off a long Hike? Say a Few Weeks or a Few Hundred miles or so??

[Bronk]

I've found I have a lot less tolerance for BS, and a greater willingness to take risks that improve my quality of life, and I don't mean that in a materialistic sense. I've chosen jobs and moved places that have made life more fun even though I could have made more money doing other things.

I've also gained a greater awareness for what works and what doesn't, and I don't waste my time trying to force things that don't work.

[Praha4]

.... one thing I notice is after being away on a long hike, upon getting home I see and hear pretty much the same political bickering on radio and TV, the faces and names may change, but the polarized B.S. talking points are the same. When I get home, I am much more inclined to just tune it out, and realize how much time I've wasted in the past listening to it all. One of the attractions of hiking is being disconnected from the net.

The great majority of hikers I meet on the trail share similar feelings, now I realize this is not any scientific poll, but seems that most I meet don't want to talk politics and it's best to avoid the topic.

[rocketsocks]

Honestly, I try not to take myself and others to seriously. I have zero time for drama, and other peoples petty problems, life is just to short. If your in need, I'm there for you, if all you want is a hug....hug your self and lets get to the business of just hangin out, tellin some stories, and just being real.

Be good to yourself.

[cricket71]

come on hugs are awesome..but seriously, like I was told by a wise woman don't take yourself to serious or those around you, "be good to yourself" we only have one life to live, live like tomorrow isn't gonna come and love with a child's heart and imagination....there's nothing wrong with laying in the grass and looking up at the clouds to pick out animal shapes..as long as no one sees

[litefoot2000]

Or do the ways of Society bother you more & more after you get off a long Hike? Say a Few Weeks or a Few Hundred miles or so??
Try fitting in after a thru hike.

[rocketsocks]

come on hugs are awesome..but seriously, like I was told by a wise woman don't take yourself to serious or those around you, "be good to yourself" we only have one life to live, live like tomorrow isn't gonna come and love with a child's heart and imagination....there's nothing wrong with laying in the grass and looking up at the clouds to pick out animal shapes..as long as no one seeshugs are better than drugs. Funny, an old guy told me once... Be good to yourself, he was right about a lot of things... And one day we'll be old, funny how that works.

[cricket71]

when my cousin finished his thru hike in "84" he ended up living with my folks on their farm because he just couldn't get off the trail mentality back to what society and his parents told him what he needed be. he actually had trouble for quite a few years. He's still not up to what society finds acceptable today.I must say though he does have a cool different life.

[hikerboy57]

Try fitting in after a thru hike.
nothing wrong with being a misfit in our materialistic society. we need more of us to give balance to this tired consumerism that empties our wallets and gives us no satisfaction. the trail gives us lessons to impart to our children- how little you really need to be happy.

[Dogwood]

When I look around I don't want to be doing what 90% of the masses are doing 90% of the time. I killed my TV(don't own one). Hardly watch TV. Hardly read newspapers. Even though I have a PU truck, when I have the option and it makes sense I walk, pedal a bike, and take public transportation OFTEN. These are some of the BEST choices I've ever made in my life. SO MUCH BS with OH SO MANY seeking to control/influence what people think, believe, and how they behave. I HAVE TO get away from that. It's so common. It's even expected that others will do this. What's worse is that the masses have LARGELY let their guards down and ALLOW themselves to line up on their way to the slaughter house as obedient heads of livestock. When one learns to live outside of that for awhile the choice is obvious at least TO ME. I want a great amount of responsible independence. I get that when I long distance hike. I like the REAL freedom that comes from living largely off the grid and without being exposed so readily to ALL that are seeking to bend me to their self serving agendas. It's SHWEET to know an INDIVIDUAL can make more independent choices.

[The Greenman]

I'm no Sociologist by any means, but I'm guessing that we are raised (and continually bombarded) by the capitalist society in which we live. When you're out on the trails we slowly begin to shed some of that - and life stops being such a huge competition.
When all the rigors and BS of daily life fall away, we can actually start reasoning (and questioning) what we personally hold as truly valuable. Some folks have life changing experiences with their brush with Nature! Maybe getting a glimpse of how we humans and society REALLY should be, not as we are instructed it should be.

[Dogwood]

Even after I've patiently answered all the questions and informed them of what it's like to long distance hike many folks just don't get it. It's as if I spoke Chinese to them and all they know is English. They short circuit by default. Most folks have been so conditioned(brain washed?) to define life according to particular cultural norms that it has become difficult for them to view life in other ways outside those norms. IMHO, it's primarily why wanna be a thru-hikers fail in their thru-hiking desires; they can't live for an extended duration outside their self imposed comfort zones. Their margins of comfortability have beem very narrowed. We are a spoiled society with many having a sense of self entitlement and having a quicker is always better mentality. And, all sorts of people use this to get what they want from us. As well, they foster and further condition this attitude.

Have you ever been part of or noticed a group of long distance hikers such as AT NOBO atop Mt Washington, in Hanover, at Katahdin Stream Campground? They not only have as sense of determination but also a GREAT clarity in their eyes that comes from abstaining from much of societal norms and much of the BS that comes with it. Talk to someone pre and post AT thru-hike and I'll bet these same people don't entirely view life the same way post thru-hike. This change(eyeopening?, enlightenment?, self actualization?, view of society, universe, etc) makes it hard for some post thruhikers to readjust back to waht they were pre thru-hike. I say DO NOT TRY! No one is the same post verse pre thru-hike.

[Malto]

Even after I've patiently answered all the questions and informed them of what it's like to long distance hike many folks just don't get it. It's as if I spoke Chinese to them and all they know is English. They short circuit by default. Most folks have been so conditioned(brain washed?) to define life according to particular cultural norms that it has become difficult for them to view life in other ways outside those norms.

No truer words have been written. This is also the part that can't be learned from a journal.

[Lone Wolf]

Or do the ways of Society bother you more & more after you get off a long Hike? Say a Few Weeks or a Few Hundred miles or so??actually type A hikers bother me more. buncha Thoreau wannabes. hypocrites

[hikerboy57]

the ways of society bother me after a one week vacation.what would you expect after 5 months of worrying about nothing except whether youve got enough food and water and how long your shoes will hold out?
society isnt going to change just because you took a long walk. its what you take back from that long walk that counts.the way i saw how some of these kids confidence grew as they dealt with horrendous weather this spring, and they got through it over and over again until one realizes you have freedom. absolute freedom. that you can go anywhere. do anything you really want to do, all with less than 30 lbs on your back, and find pure joy.
take it home. spread the joy. teach your kids. change the world.one person at a time.

[Drybones]

actually type A hikers bother me more. buncha Thoreau wannabes. hypocrites

The only reason I entered this thread is because I saw LW making a post, which is most times interesting. I agree with his statement. After a long time in the woods I become more thankful for the blessings I have. A hot shower, cold beer, good food I take for granted too often. It's not possible to appreciate what you have until you've done without it for a while.

[HikerMom58]

the ways of society bother me after a one week vacation.what would you expect after 5 months of worrying about nothing except whether youve got enough food and water and how long your shoes will hold out?
society isnt going to change just because you took a long walk. its what you take back from that long walk that counts.the way i saw how some of these kids confidence grew as they dealt with horrendous weather this spring, and they got through it over and over again until one realizes you have freedom. absolute freedom. that you can go anywhere. do anything you really want to do, all with less than 30 lbs on your back, and find pure joy.
take it home. spread the joy. teach your kids. change the world.one person at a time.

Words of wisdom and truth, right there.

I'm smiling at Drybones and LW's posts... they are funny when they don't try to be...:D

[rocketsocks]

the ways of society bother me after a one week vacation.what would you expect after 5 months of worrying about nothing except whether youve got enough food and water and how long your shoes will hold out?
society isnt going to change just because you took a long walk. its what you take back from that long walk that counts.the way i saw how some of these kids confidence grew as they dealt with horrendous weather this spring, and they got through it over and over again until one realizes you have freedom. absolute freedom. that you can go anywhere. do anything you really want to do, all with less than 30 lbs on your back, and find pure joy.
take it home. spread the joy. teach your kids. change the world.one person at a time.Very nicely said Hiker boy.

[4Bears]

We are really social beings, but equipped to be alone. I am thankful that when I get tired of the societal rat race that I can go be alone or in a very close circle of friends, out in the woods some where and recharge my personal being in order to go back and cope with the "world".

[Tipi Walter]

"Society" has always been spilling over into our "primitive" time---just see the new pay-as-you-go rules in the Smokies. And now you must reserve every spot for every night you're out. Plus, getting away from "home" and into the forest does not mean you'll be shut of overhead jet traffic noise or racing Harley roars or military helicopter flyovers. As our population increases to 450 million by 2050, well, backpacking won't be what it once was. You just may find more solitude and silence locked in your bedroom at home.

[DavidNH]

one thing a thru hiker (or long distance section hiker) gain from his experience.. is a comfort level with himself and an ability to be alone, even enjoy being alone, that most people in society just don't have. I think that hikers are also far less materialistic than society at large.

[Bronk]

nothing wrong with being a misfit in our materialistic society. we need more of us to give balance to this tired consumerism that empties our wallets and gives us no satisfaction. the trail gives us lessons to impart to our children- how little you really need to be happy.



"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

--Krishnamurti

[Bronk]

When I look around I don't want to be doing what 90% of the masses are doing 90% of the time. I killed my TV(don't own one). Hardly watch TV. Hardly read newspapers. Even though I have a PU truck, when I have the option and it makes sense I walk, pedal a bike, and take public transportation OFTEN. These are some of the BEST choices I've ever made in my life. SO MUCH BS with OH SO MANY seeking to control/influence what people think, believe, and how they behave. I HAVE TO get away from that. It's so common. It's even expected that others will do this. What's worse is that the masses have LARGELY let their guards down and ALLOW themselves to line up on their way to the slaughter house as obedient heads of livestock. When one learns to live outside of that for awhile the choice is obvious at least TO ME. I want a great amount of responsible independence. I get that when I long distance hike. I like the REAL freedom that comes from living largely off the grid and without being exposed so readily to ALL that are seeking to bend me to their self serving agendas. It's SHWEET to know an INDIVIDUAL can make more independent choices.

I've lived without running water or grid electricity for the last 7 years and totally agree with what you are saying here.

[Runsalone]

"Society" has always been spilling over into our "primitive" time---just see the new pay-as-you-go rules in the Smokies. And now you must reserve every spot for every night you're out. Plus, getting away from "home" and into the forest does not mean you'll be shut of overhead jet traffic noise or racing Harley roars or military helicopter flyovers. As our population increases to 450 million by 2050, well, backpacking won't be what it once was. You just may find more solitude and silence locked in your bedroom at home.

Ive experienced that here in North georgia just in the last 15 years or so. I truely dread what your saying coming true, and if Im being honest, I have a feeling thats the direction its heading. The wilderness being "loved to death" resulting in more regulation BS and overcrowding of trails. Kinda makes one want to move somewhere truely remote. :(

[Tipi Walter]

Ive experienced that here in North georgia just in the last 15 years or so. I truely dread what your saying coming true, and if Im being honest, I have a feeling thats the direction its heading. The wilderness being "loved to death" resulting in more regulation BS and overcrowding of trails. Kinda makes one want to move somewhere truely remote. :(

I was in the Cohutta recently for an 18 day trip and spent many nights near Three Forks Mt and along the Cowpen trail---both near the southern end of the Cohutta. I could not believe the constant jet traffic overhead---which I attributed to the biggest airport in the US---Atlanta. It was hateful. And then there's this---30,000 drones are scheduled to be released into the skies over America the beautiful. Plus, for some reason Cohutta is used as a training ground for military helicopter nap-of-the-earth flyovers which I found ironic since a designated wilderness area is supposed to have a free airspace above it. Nope.

[Tom Murphy]

We are a spoiled society with many having a sense of self entitlement and having a quicker is always better mentality.

I agree, may thru-hikers do have a sense of entitlement and a quicker is better mentality.

Thru-hiking is a VACATION for most people. I agree that you learn to be content with less and are forced to spend a lot of time navel gazing which can be a good thing too.

I am most impressed by those who, after a thru-hike, structure their lives around saving for the next long distance trail. Those are the ones who make the trail their lives rather than a vacation.