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aficion
11-06-2013, 15:56
When you are out for several days, some level of deprivation,(not depravity), is to be expected. What one thing do you miss the most when you are on the trail for several days? My number one is ice cubes. What's yours?:-?

hikerboy57
11-06-2013, 15:57
milk. more specifically half and half(nido is good, but it aint the real deal)

fredmugs
11-06-2013, 16:01
Sleep........

turtle fast
11-06-2013, 16:06
Indoor plumbing and electricity.....you definately get somewhat of a sense of what it must of feel like when the rural farmers got electricity for the first time from the REA (Rural Electrification Admn.) projects of the 1930's when you get back home.

HikerMom58
11-06-2013, 16:09
milk. more specifically half and half(nido is good, but it aint the real deal)

Humm....milk?? Where have I heard that before? :-?

HEY ATMILKMAN!

HikerMom58
11-06-2013, 16:13
Indoor plumbing and electricity.....you definately get somewhat of a sense of what it must of feel like when the rural farmers got electricity for the first time from the REA (Rural Electrification Admn.) projects of the 1930's when you get back home.

Oh yeah.... nodding head. I remember coming into a shelter & noticing a fake electrical outlet cover attached to the shelter wall. I got so excited for a minute- for no apparent reason! LOL!

Namtrag
11-06-2013, 16:30
A shower

It takes me less than one day of hiking to become totally grungy and stinky. I can't even stand myself after two days. On top of the sweat and B.O.are the bodily function smells. Not to belabor it, but the tp on the trail doesn't seem to work as well as it does at home! lol

Hot Flash
11-06-2013, 16:32
Hot showers. Sure, you can shower along the trail, but it's not the same as having endless, instant hot water in your home shower.

FarmerChef
11-06-2013, 16:32
I'll lump a shower and laundry into "running water." I love cooking on the trail, not having electricity and other comforts we take for granted. Frankly, I'm glad my kids go solidly without TV for a week at a time and me too! But the shower and laundry (both items smell until, um, cleansed) those are what get to me the most. In second place is a mattress. I like my z-rest fine enough but there's nothing like the 'ole pillowtop :D

FarmerChef
11-06-2013, 16:33
Hot showers. Sure, you can shower along the trail, but it's not the same as having endless, instant hot water in your home shower.

I live with 3 girls and one woman. Endless is not how I would describe the hot water in my home :D I get to take longer showers on the trail than at home. Yay!

Tipi Walter
11-06-2013, 16:37
The biggest thing I miss on my backpacking trips are my old backpacking buddies from the 1980's. I often sit by my tent at the end of a day and pretend I see my old friends coming up the trail to talk and reminisce.

Train Wreck
11-06-2013, 17:20
Diet Coke

Trail angels, take note :)

GoldenBear
11-06-2013, 17:25
A shower (it's the first thing I do when I get back to civilization).
My wife (the second thing).

atmilkman
11-06-2013, 17:38
Humm....milk?? Where have I heard that before? :-?

HEY ATMILKMAN!


What's in a name? The name says it all. As per TW - Trail Angels, take note:).

Dogwood
11-06-2013, 17:43
Posting to WB, BPL, hiking blogs, etc umpteen times each day. :) Like my hiker porn.:) I think I'll start a 900 # hiker chat line. Categories: trails, UL, hiking singles, hiking calendar models live talk, GPS tracking services, beta and trail weather updates, speed hiking, mice population stats at AT shelters, Groupons at buffets near a trail, etc.:)

FarmerChef
11-06-2013, 17:48
What's in a name? The name says it all. As per TW - Trail Angels, take note:).

Do you prefer whole, 2%, 1% or skim, strawberry, chocolate or just plain. H - All of the above is also an acceptable answer. Powdered skim milk is not. :D

Another Kevin
11-06-2013, 18:52
The biggest thing I miss on my backpacking trips are my old backpacking buddies from the 1980's. I often sit by my tent at the end of a day and pretend I see my old friends coming up the trail to talk and reminisce.

A sentiment that is no doubt shared by all of us with too many miles under our boots. Let's offer a wistful toast to all our companions who now hike under the trees that bear the golden apples of the Hesperides:

"In groves we live, and lie on mossy beds,
By crystal streams, that murmur thro' the meads:
But pass yon easy hill, and thence descend;
The path conducts you to your journey's end.”
This said, he led them up the mountain's brow,
And shews them all the shining fields below.


They wind the hill, and thro'
the blissful meadows go.


(Virgil, Æneid, 6.642)


As we remember them under the trees they left behind:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz7BzP5-mEQ

My laughter is o'er; my step loses its lightness;
Sweet countryside measures steal soft on mine ear.
I can only brood on the past and its brightness,
While those I have mourned once again gather near.
From every dark nook they press forward to meet me,
And wisfully scanning the broad leafy dome,
I find other faces fond bending to greet me:
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home!


(I remember the step-grandfather I never met, who hiked off in 1940, never to return; the uncle who first took me into the woods half a century ago; the young man in whose company I first hiked above treeline, and who was cut down in a plane crash a few weeks afterward; another young man to whom I taught trail cooking, whose ashes lie amidst the ruins of the Twin Towers; and numerous other companions with whom I lost touch, but who could hardly still be hiking today. Remember to save me a spot, guys!)

Coffee
11-06-2013, 18:57
Perishable foods and running water in that order.

atmilkman
11-06-2013, 19:03
Do you prefer whole, 2%, 1% or skim, strawberry, chocolate or just plain. H - All of the above is also an acceptable answer. Powdered skim milk is not. :D

All of the above, including goats milk and coconut milk. Nido is my trail favorite but I have to admit if powdered skim is all I can get it's in the bag. About the only milk I wont drink is buttermilk. My Dad could drink it straight out of the carton but that's one hereditary trait that didn't carry over.

Cookerhiker
11-06-2013, 19:50
"I was beginning to appreciate that the central feature of life on the Appalachian Trail is deprivation, that the whole point of the experience was to remove yourself so thoroughly from the conveniences of everyday life that the most ordinary things - processed cheese, a can of pop gorgeously beaded with condensation - fill you with wonder and gratitude. It is an intoxicating experience to taste Coca-cola as if for the first time and to be conveyed to the very brink of orgasm by white bread. Makes all the discomfort worthwhile, if you ask me."


- Bill Bryson, describing their arrival at Neel Gap on page 55 of A Walk in the Woods.


We have his answer!

A.T.Lt
11-06-2013, 19:58
I dont drink soda very often, but when Im out there all I crave is a nice Big Gulp of cold icy Dr. Pepper or Coca-Cola from the fountain!! Oh, and a clean bathroom with running water and a warm shower and nice bed and a fridge filled with fresh food and clean clothes and a big cheese burger....

jimmyjam
11-06-2013, 20:03
A big fat cheeseburger and a cold beer, in that order. When I get off the trail I make a beeline for it.

Wise Old Owl
11-06-2013, 20:53
Ponder this.

I enjoy the camaraderie of people... those that hike with me would not guess. I enjoy to hike alone at times and then sit around a campfire with freinds that stand out. What do I miss? nothing...I enjoy being invited and then being a burden to nobody. I am there to supplement the conversation. Its the path that everyone takes and it might not be the same at first, but you will come around in a while......

dink
11-06-2013, 21:09
Fresh fruit and veggies!!!

HikerMom58
11-06-2013, 21:51
Ponder this.

I enjoy the camaraderie of people... those that hike with me would not guess. I enjoy to hike alone at times and then sit around a campfire with freinds that stand out. What do I miss? nothing...I enjoy being invited and then being a burden to nobody. I am there to supplement the conversation. Its the path that everyone takes and it might not be the same at first, but you will come around in a while......

WOO.... I love ur posts!! :p I can't take it all in at first. but then I do. I want to sit around a campfire with you so you can supplement the convo. You might not get a chance if you hike with a chatterbox! ;)

I miss people out on the trail if there isn't any to be found....


Fresh fruit and veggies!!!

+1........

Wise Old Owl
11-06-2013, 22:08
Sometimes a put a little extra into the post.

ChinMusic
11-06-2013, 22:10
Diet Coke

Trail angels, take note :)
I thought I was the only one...........

Teacher & Snacktime
11-06-2013, 22:34
(I remember the step-grandfather I never met, who hiked off in 1940, never to return; the uncle who first took me into the woods half a century ago; the young man in whose company I first hiked above treeline, and who was cut down in a plane crash a few weeks afterward; another young man to whom I taught trail cooking, whose ashes lie amidst the ruins of the Twin Towers; and numerous other companions with whom I lost touch, but who could hardly still be hiking today. Remember to save me a spot, guys!)

You still have us, Kelvin (Snacktime is calling you that now, by the way)....so don't be in any hurry to join those who've gone on....

Gray Blazer
11-06-2013, 22:39
After four days, I miss my bed.

Rasty
11-06-2013, 22:42
Mt. Dew and Fried Chicken Ankles

Train Wreck
11-06-2013, 22:51
I thought I was the only one...........

I saw the little video of the Coke you discovered at Hog Pen Gap. If I'd been around, there would have been a fight!

Astro
11-06-2013, 22:54
My wife, and after that a shower and my children (or at least some of them ;)).

Gray Blazer
11-06-2013, 22:56
After four days, I miss my bed.

... and my wife.

hikerboy57
11-06-2013, 23:00
fox news .

Rasty
11-06-2013, 23:05
fox news .

Really?
..

hikerboy57
11-06-2013, 23:05
Really?
..
i was thinking of hans and franz

Starchild
11-06-2013, 23:56
It's a good question but I'm not sure what the answer is, there is also something at home I feel deprived at and need to visit the woods.

hikerboy57
11-07-2013, 00:01
... and my wife.you remind me of zappa for some reason

MDSection12
11-07-2013, 00:03
A big fat cheeseburger and a cold beer, in that order. When I get off the trail I make a beeline for it.
Reverse the order and that's me. (Burger had better have bacon on it.)

Sarcasm the elf
11-07-2013, 00:04
Of all the things I've lost on the trail, I miss my mind the most.

hikerboy57
11-07-2013, 00:05
Of all the things I've lost on the trail, I miss my mind the most.
the thread says deprived.not depraved.

LIhikers
11-07-2013, 00:09
A good cup of coffee.
I don't like instant coffee and would rather have none than instant, so I don't carry any.

evyck da fleet
11-07-2013, 00:20
1) Warm shower 2) Dr. Pepper and pizza 3) fresh fruit. Based on what I did upon entering a trail town.

Just Bill
11-07-2013, 01:21
When you are out for several days, some level of deprivation,(not depravity), is to be expected. What one thing do you miss the most when you are on the trail for several days? My number one is ice cubes. What's yours?:-?

Scotch to pour over the ice. Showers to recover from the hangover. They started selling dry ice at my local super market- cocktails anyone!

illabelle
11-07-2013, 07:03
I crave a shower so bad! But before that happens, we get back to the car and the wonders begin:
Upholstery! Who knew an ordinary cushioned seat and supported back could be so luxurious?
Air conditioning! Aaaah, there are no words for this.
Transportation! My body and my pack are moving, but my legs are not! I am relaxed, I can even sleep.
Speed! The miles we covered over a week or weekend on foot are NOTHING in an automobile, just a little ways, no consequence at all.

After a few hours of speedy transportation in air-conditioned upholstered comfort, I get to take a soapy, shampooy, scrubby, shavy, steamy S.H.O.W.E.R and change into C.L.E.A.N D.R.Y C.L.O.T.H.E.S
....bliss.....

Cookerhiker
11-07-2013, 07:33
A good cup of coffee.
I don't like instant coffee and would rather have none than instant, so I don't carry any.

Same here - this ranks pretty high, along with ice cream.

Tuckahoe
11-07-2013, 08:26
Hhhmmm... lets see

First and foremost, like others it is that shower and dry clean clothes. During the summer by the third day I cannot stand the smell of myself. Ugh! Then the damp stinky clothes.

Then either a diet Dr Pepper or diet Mt Dew... mmmmmmmmmmm

And last is the car radio. I dont know what it is, but for me nothing really signals a return to the real world like the car radio.

marti038
11-07-2013, 09:59
Ice cold Mountain Dew and a pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

atmilkman
11-07-2013, 10:10
Ice cold Mountain Dew and a pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Hmmm. Somehow you struck me as a RC Cola and Moon Pie kind a guy with all your Pinhoti posts.

coach lou
11-07-2013, 10:12
on most rides back to the world...I leave it off!

marti038
11-07-2013, 10:18
Hmmm. Somehow you struck me as a RC Cola and Moon Pie kind a guy with all your Pinhoti posts.

If the aforementioned Mtn Dew and PB Cups were not available, I would take just about anything available at your local C-store.

perdidochas
11-07-2013, 11:32
I live with 3 girls and one woman. Endless is not how I would describe the hot water in my home :D I get to take longer showers on the trail than at home. Yay!

I've heard that natural gas tankless water heaters are the way to go to ensure hot water.

aficion
11-07-2013, 12:19
you remind me of zappa for some reason

Just don't eat the yellow snow.

Hill Ape
11-07-2013, 12:38
i've just read that mexican cane sugar coke will no longer use cane, and is joining the american corn syrup bandwagon. i feel extremely deprived. don't they remember new coke?! depravity soon to follow.

Kingbee
11-07-2013, 12:46
A good draft beer. Cans or bottles from trail magic are great, but nothing beats a glass mug of cold brew.

flemdawg1
11-07-2013, 12:55
Hot shower, clean clothes, my wife, my guitar(s).

Life is too short to drink bad coffee, I bring a french press.

tiptoe
11-07-2013, 13:27
My dog, and fresh food from my garden.

FooFighter'12
11-07-2013, 13:33
Sexy time!

aficion
11-07-2013, 13:35
My dog, and fresh food from my garden.

Miss my pets and garden too. Try to make up for it by eating wild greens and enjoying the wildlife.

Drybones
11-07-2013, 13:42
The only thing I really miss is a shower...another question may be what do you miss when you go home.

aficion
11-07-2013, 13:48
The only thing I really miss is a shower...another question may be what do you miss when you go home.

Sleeping out.

fertilizer
11-07-2013, 14:04
Pizza. It never fails, the second day of the hike I start craving pizza.

Another Kevin
11-07-2013, 16:20
A good cup of coffee.
I don't like instant coffee and would rather have none than instant, so I don't carry any.

I carry an old-fashioned pour-over Melitta filter. It's just a couple-three ounces of pack weight. If I can't have real coffee I'm not going.

Kerosene
11-07-2013, 16:52
Funny, but my craving seems to change from section hike to section hike. Over the years, I've periodically craved ice cream (slightly melted Haagen-Dazs Vanilla (http://www.haagendazs.com/Products/Product/2474)), a first-rate IPA (Smuttynose (http://smuttynose.com/beers/seasonal_beers/big_a_ipa.html) to the rescue in September 2006), a butter and sour cream baked potato (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2174/1517866777_1650b0c1ea.jpg), a perfect latte (http://www.sweetwaterscafe.com/menu/) at a small cafe with my daughter, a cold can of Pepsi (http://stickysugar.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/pepsi.jpg), and kettle chips (http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2008/05/12/TU0509_Kettle-Chips-with-Parmesan-and-Herbs_lg.jpg). There are probably other things I crave, but food seems to take center stage after a week or so.

WingedMonkey
11-07-2013, 17:21
OK, I've spent two days trying to think on this.

I can't think of any thing I miss or need that I don't carry or have sent to me (Moon Pies).

I'll eat ice creme and pizza at home, but I never think about it on the trail, didn't even do the half gallon challenge. If I want a hamburger I cook a hamburger, in the woods I fell no guilt on a 6 ounce patty, oops got to use that raw meat up, make it two 8 ounce patties with one for breakfast.

I am an iced tea addict, so I miss the ice but still make the tea.

I'm more likely to sit and look at my dehydrated garden produce and get anxious for when I can test the new stuff in the woods, it just ain't the same as testing at home (although serious mistakes do happen if not tested before hand, so what?)

I've taken so many baths and craps in the woods I find them more pleasant than most I'm forced to take in outhouses OR public restrooms.

Some people can't wait to get home, it's the last thing on my mind.

:sun

Tipi Walter
11-07-2013, 17:48
Some people can't wait to get home, it's the last thing on my mind.

:sun

Amen brother, pass the beans and rice. I often crave scrambled eggs on the trail but heck I just carry a fresh 18 of them and eat them while I'm out.

Another Kevin
11-07-2013, 17:49
My wife isn't a hiker. When I'm out in the woods, I miss her. (That's what I miss most often, I think.)

WingedMonkey
11-07-2013, 17:52
Amen brother, pass the beans and rice.

Add the pan fried corn bread and I'm a happy camper.

Rolls Kanardly
11-07-2013, 18:31
My refrigerator will be missed the most. It is always a surprise. I open it about every twenty minutes and go hmmmm what is in here? I can open it up 2 or 3 times and still hope to see something that was not in there the last time I looked.
Rolls

Rolls Kanardly
11-07-2013, 18:34
Amen brother, pass the beans and rice. I often crave scrambled eggs on the trail but heck I just carry a fresh 18 of them and eat them while I'm out.
The only way I could carry fresh eggs on the trail would be to carry a live chicken.

Rolls

jefals
11-07-2013, 20:25
Well, I didn't see this one mentioned, but I bet a "porcelain cruise" might be high on a lotta folks' lists. :)

750ml
11-10-2013, 16:25
For several days? nothing.....

Tipi Walter
11-10-2013, 16:47
Well, I didn't see this one mentioned, but I bet a "porcelain cruise" might be high on a lotta folks' lists. :)

I've written long essays on this subject; Squatting vs the American Toilet---and have come to the conclusion that for your average American the advantages of porcelain dumpage outweighs any desire to squat in the woods. Ergo more camping sites for me.

Grampie
11-11-2013, 09:25
What I missed the most on my thre- hike: #1 My wife, #2 My family, #3 A hot shower, #4 clean underwear, #5 Reading the morning paper while on the crapper.

Monkeywrench
11-12-2013, 08:28
There is no deprivation on the trail. Life on the trail is living large!

hikerboy57
11-12-2013, 09:10
There is no deprivation on the trail. Life on the trail is living large! when I'm on the trail I'm deprived of stress and worry

Traffic Jam
11-12-2013, 10:47
knowing my family is safe

Gray Blazer
11-15-2013, 00:19
you remind me of zappa for some reason

How about Youngman Grand?

Don't download Ringo's pic. It gave my computer a virus that took me over a week to get rid of.

squeezebox
11-15-2013, 11:11
Somebody mentioned running out of hot water, another about gas tankless. Recently I put in a 40 gal tank, live by myself, temp set very low. could have done a 30 but only $20 diff. with 5 people you deserve a bigger tank, 60-70gal. or a 30 set in a series with your 40. turned low used more as a preheat for faster recovery
tankless has some problems. Inconsistant temp and flow. way more expensive to buy and to install, 180,000 BTU pretty much needs a 1" gasline , the gas company said even with a 1 " line I probably wouldn't enough pressure. Add the possibility of a larger gas meter.

BobTheBuilder
11-15-2013, 11:43
Shrimp po-boy, dressed. First thing I have when I get back, every time.

aficion
11-15-2013, 13:04
Shrimp po-boy, dressed. First thing I have when I get back, every time.

What do them po-boys wear down yonder?

BobTheBuilder
11-15-2013, 18:49
What do them po-boys wear down yonder?

The properly dressed po-boy wears lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo.

aficion
11-15-2013, 21:03
The properly dressed po-boy wears lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo.

Sounds like THE answer to deprivation. Believe I'll make some Sunday. Fried shrimp right?

HighLiner
11-15-2013, 21:39
Sweet tea and a shower. I actually look at this a little differently; When on the trail I get away from work, cars, bills, wife/kid issues, and the endless array of useless news. Deprivation is NOT being on the trail. When on the trail I'm at my best.

Knocky
11-16-2013, 11:54
After a few days, I sure miss having a Cold Beer at the end of the day.

RED-DOG
11-16-2013, 12:58
My biggest deprivation on all three of my thru-hikes was Music. and my Girlfriend.

lush242000
11-16-2013, 13:09
Beer.


Sent from somewhere.

Turk6177
11-16-2013, 13:51
I miss a chair with a back on it and eating on a table.

Prime Time
11-17-2013, 11:58
Fresh foods like salads, veggies, ripe fruit.

flemdawg1
11-19-2013, 18:22
The properly dressed po-boy wears lettuce, tomato, pickles, and Remoulade Sauce.

Fixed it for you. Mayo? smh :eek:

geomaniac
11-19-2013, 18:45
You guys forgot the louisiana hot sauce..It just aint a po-boy without that! :dance

flemdawg1
11-19-2013, 18:47
You guys forgot the louisiana hot sauce..It just aint a po-boy without that! :dance

A proper Remoulade has horseradish and cayenne, no hot sauce required.

keepinitsimple
11-26-2013, 07:58
My kids and wife. A bit of guilt comes over me after having so much fun without them