What are you're thoughts?

[HikerMom58]

What are my thoughts? My thought is that if everyone paid as much attention to learning proper English as they do to telling other people how to live, then we'd not have a nation of people that don't know the difference between your and you're.

I call foul on this statement, mak1277. He's not telling people how to live, he's questioning their "mindset". There's a huge difference, IMHO. He's trying to understand why they don't want to walk 4 minutes to get something else. I question that myself.

[importman77]

If you haven't taken a trip to Disney lately all I can say is shocking!
Hotel bathroom even had a needle dispenser for used insulin needles for diabetics to dispose of.
Again shocking.
I'm a city slicker so it was a real eye opener for me.
Everyone just needs to get out and hike!

I was at Disney World in 2012. I was amazed at how many of those electric carts there were running around. It seemed like every time we got on/off the monorail we had to wait for the crew to put down the ramps to let people load/unload. It had only been 2-3 years prior that we were there and it was nothing like that. I believe those carts are very important to people who are handicapped or injured but the majority of people I saw riding them didn't appear to fit either category. To put it bluntly, they were fat. I also see it all the time at Walmart. Huge people riding the scooters with 50 lbs of butt meat hanging off each side of the seat. One time I even saw and husband and wife that probably would have a combined weight of 700 or more riding scooters with the man following the woman in and out through the short isles near the pharmacy. It was kind of comical but sad. Meanwhile, my 80 year old mother whose a poster child for someone who should be riding one, refuses to. She's got rhematoid arthritis, emphesema, osteoporosis, heart trouble, a replaced hip with problems and an ankle that was shattered and rebuilt after a serious car accident several years ago. The ankle still gives her a great amount of trouble and will never heal. She has to use a cane to walk with but she won't use the cart. I'd guess that 75% of the people I see riding them are simply overweight and whatever ailments they have are stemming from that. Of course these are just my own observations. YMMV

[daddytwosticks]

I get a kick out of the people at my gym who will battle for a front door parking space, then go into the facility and spend an hour on the treadmill! I think Bill Bryson talked about this subject in A Walk in the Woods.

[Coffee]

Surprisingly, living in an urban area is good preparation for hiking. I have a car but only use it once a week. It is easier to walk everywhere for day to day errands. I hate driving in a dense city, paying for parking, dealing with aggressive drivers, and worrying about speed cameras and other traps. I probably walk a few miles a day most days of the week in addition to my running. I probably would not walk anywhere on a day to day basis if I lived in a suburb or a rural area.

[LIhikers]

No worries!

Hey- have you heard about thru-hikers, themselves, not wanting to walk very far to get to places etc.. off the trail? I have

There's a shelter in CT, that I can't remember the name of, that's in an absolutely beautiful location but most thrus will never see it because it's something like a half mile, and down hill, off the trail.

[slbirdnerd]

I park out in the wide open places of the parking lot, and I take the stairs up 4 office building stories at work, among other thing... But that's the kind of stuff that makes us hikers and others not so much.

[marti038]

We had a traffic nightmare here in Birmingham, AL last week which left thousands of people stranded at either their places of work, school, closest hotels, etc.

Naturally after the thaw everyone is eager to share their dramatic experiences with others. I parked my car and walked about 7.5 miles to my home in about 3 hours, which was about 4-8 hours faster than those who drove. When I tell people that I walked 7.5 miles (with no pack mind you) they look at me like I'm some sort of freek.

Given the amount of stupidity and vehicle carnage I saw along my walk, I've felt really good about the decision I made. Somehow people think it's wiser to play bumper cars in the ice for 6-10 hours than to take a 3 hour walk in light snow with temps in the upper 20s.

It's been pretty revealing and disappointing all at the same time. It's one thing for a city this far south not to invest a lot in snow/ice equipment that would rarely get used, it's quite another for people to feel so incredibly powerless without their automobiles. Just sad.

[Weather-man]

I had a rule that I used with my kids growing up. That was to park, in any parking lot, at the farthest point and walk or jog to the building or store. They learned early that exercise is a gift that should be treasured.

[Odd Man Out]

I was at Disney World in 2012. I was amazed at how many of those electric carts there were running around. It seemed like every time we got on/off the monorail we had to wait for the crew to put down the ramps to let people load/unload. It had only been 2-3 years prior that we were there and it was nothing like that. I believe those carts are very important to people who are handicapped or injured but the majority of people I saw riding them didn't appear to fit either category. To put it bluntly, they were fat....

I went to see the movie WALL-E a few years ago with my daughter (college age). After the show we were at our large local supermarket and saw a couple of very overweight people in these carts. We looked at each other and realized without saying anything that we were both thinking exactly the same thing.

[tiptoe]

Here in the burbs, people fire up their SUVs to drive their kids maybe 50-100 yards down the driveway to the main road to catch the school bus. The vehicle idles while they wait, and when the bus comes, back they go. This happens whatever the weather. Not to mention that the bus stops at every driveway.

[squeezebox]

You need to realize that obesity is an addiction. It's really hard for someone to dig theirself out of it. My sister-in-law is at least 100 lb overweight,has tried lots of dieting and falls back in. Look at alcoholics and potheads. Food can get hooked in the addiction part of your brain. Yes it's sad , and yes we need better food that does not have an addiction hook attached.
Your job is to eat well, exercise, play with your kids outside, get rid of cable. And when others ask why you are healthy and they aren't you calmly tell them why. Invite the fat guy to a 20 min walk, give the person who goes to burgerX every day offer them a bit of your lunch. Stick your nose out there and be a mentor.

[Odd Man Out]

I recall reading a couple of relevant anecdotes. I think they were from Bryson's book.

The people in Hanover NH were complaining that there wasn't enough parking by the town recreation center. It seems that they all needed to drive a few blocks so they could work out.

Also he also wrote about the time he was staying at a hotel during a resupply stop during his hike. He found it was almost impossible to walk to the grocery store (even though it was only a half mile) as Part of the walk took him down a busy highway with no sidewalks or shoulders.

And my own experience: I was checking our of a hotel in Washington DC. The desk clerk asked if I needed him to call for a cab. I said that I would walk (about 1/2 mile) to the subway which would take me to the airport. He asked "Are you sure you are an American?"

[WorldPeaceAndStuff]

Obesity is an addiction same as drugs. The My 600lb Life show really puts it in perspective.

[RangerZ]

If you haven't taken a trip to Disney lately all I can say is shocking!
Hotel bathroom even had a needle dispenser for used insulin needles for diabetics to dispose of.
Again shocking.
I'm a city slicker so it was a real eye opener for me.
Everyone just needs to get out and hike!

What's wrong with providing proper means of disposal? It's better than having syringes, needles or pen needles in the regular trash.

Don't forget that it's not some diabetics 'fault' that they are diabetic, especially Type 1s.

[squeezebox]

what's wrong? Some untrained person could put their finger in the dirty container and get stuck with a dirty needle. do not underestimate stupidity.
Every needle dependent person has been very, very,very trained about how to safely dispose of sharps.and MUST bring their own sharps container.
I would never use a hotel/motel sharps container without knowing their process of disposal. My RN license would be at stake for malpractice.

[magneto]

You need to realize that obesity is an addiction. It's really hard for someone to dig theirself out of it. My sister-in-law is at least 100 lb overweight,has tried lots of dieting and falls back in. Look at alcoholics and potheads. Food can get hooked in the addiction part of your brain. Yes it's sad , and yes we need better food that does not have an addiction hook attached.

Your job is to eat well, exercise, play with your kids outside, get rid of cable. And when others ask why you are healthy and they aren't you calmly tell them why. Invite the fat guy to a 20 min walk, give the person who goes to burgerX every day offer them a bit of your lunch. Stick your nose out there and be a mentor.

What squeezebox said is true - once you are morbidly obese (100+ lbs overweight), getting to - and maintaining - a normal weight might as well be impossible - very few, if any, do it. It takes something drastic and metabolism altering like bariatric surgery, which is what I did as a last-ditch effort to save my life. It worked so well that I lost 50% of my body weight and was able to take up hiking, climbing and now mountaineering.

I am constantly motivated to maintain my new-found fitness by contemplating how cool it is to do extraordinary things involving shoes with spikes, large piles of rock, lengths of rope and various sharp and pointy ice tools. I've always been a boy who likes to play in the mud and snow.

When I was 400+ lbs, I it was painful to walk any more than a few steps. Now I relish walking everywhere - miles upon miles.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I have two female relatives from different sides of my family, the same age, 77 years old.

One always looked for the closest parking spot, never walked for any reason even at work (she literally rolled around through hallways in her office chair), always eats take out and crap food, always looked for the easiest way of doing anything, and thinks that pills and medical "treatment" will solve her health problems. For decades we kept telling her to get out and walk with the local neighbors, park in the furthest spot, etc. She never listened. She now has a cane, a walker, wheelchair, lift chair, handicap bars everywhere, has been rescued by 911 several times because she "has fallen and can't get up". She can now barely go anywhere or do anything and is headed for a miserable time in her waning years.

The other always was out walking when possible, doing yard work, volunteering at her church and the city zoo, bowling, etc. - anything to keep busy and going. She recently complained to me that she just doesn't have the energy she used to - she has had to reduced her volunteer days/hours a bit, is having trouble keeping up with the 3 acre property, had to go to a 14 pound bowling ball as her average dropped to 165, etc. She travels several times a year with her younger sister and is out there really enjoying life to its fullest.

NEVER STOP MOVING AND DOING!

[Son Driven]

Yep, I was at the Mall of America when it first opened, wanting to go to Radio Shack to buy my father a gift, I went to the mall directory. There were two Radio Shacks listed on the directory, at opposite ends of the mall.

[Old Hiker]

Worked for 5 years at the Pentagon. From where a lowly E-5 could park (me) to my office in the basement was 1/3 mile, physically measured. From my office to the computer room: up a flight of stairs, half way around the Pentagon, up 3 more flights of stairs to the main floor and then down one to the computer room. Several times a day. 1/3 of a mile back to the parking space.

It was funny to see people try to justify a closer space.

[Seatbelt]

I have an amazing number of friends my age or younger who have pretty much "given up" on taking care of themselves. As a result, they are having numerous joint replacements, heart attacks, strokes, etc. When discussing one of my backpacking trips, they almost always say to me: How do you do it? I just tell them--Ya got to get started somewhere, sometime--how 'bout today? But there's always an excuse.

I talked to a man the other day who was substantially overweight and he told me that his wife keeps telling him he is digging his grave with his fork. His reply? "If I die because of overeating, at least I'm doing what I love to do" To each his own I guess.