Beards anyone?
How many people don't shave at all during their thru hike?
I sectioned Springer to Maryland and I shaved twice.
My beard was sort of like a calendar.
Springer, March 99
Grayson Highlands, VA, May 99
Harper's Ferry, WV, June 99
Stratton Mountain, VT, July 99
North Woodstock, NH, August 99
Mt Katahdin, September 99
Beards are a great part of the trail, so long as you're not Minnesota Smith.
Last edited by Bearpaw; 12-06-2008 at 14:48.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Hmmm...
I like this calendar motif:
I shaved for the first two-three weeks, then I said the hell with it:
BIG BALD
Vernon, NJ
The Big K:
The other trails, I started and ended with a beard.
PCT
CDT
Of course, my stomach is in indicator of time passage, too.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Amen to that. I took some measurements before and after.Originally Posted by Mags
Of course, my stomach is in indicator of time passage, too.
Before: 36 inch waist, 207 pounds, 16.5% body fat. (Just out of the Marine Corps).
After: 31 inch waist, 168 pounds, 9% body fat. I lost over an inch off each thigh, AND an inch off my neck. (Of course the beard covered that up...)
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
A lot more precise than I ever was!
Good excuse for me to take a long hike again..get some good before and after data!
In my non-scientific way:
AT: Overweight (195lbs on my 5'6" frame!) -> Freakin' Skinny! (145 lbs!)
( I really did look ultra gaunt once I shaved the beard. My family wanted to feed me there and then! (and I come from Italian stock to boot..
PCT: More active than before the AT: 183 lbs at the start
168 lbs at the finish
CDT: About the same, if more muscle 179 lbs to start
168 lbs to finish
PANTS: Looser for some reason when I finished...Hmm...
BEARD: Freaking huge every time.
(If I am trapped in a cube today..at least I can TALK about the outdoors...)
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Never thru-hiked (but I wanna) but I got a beard...does that count?
I don't plan on shaving in 09'!
shaving makes it way easier to yogi/hitch
They also make it more obvious that you are a thru-hiker
The one time I tried to hitch south of Pennsylvania (into Franklin, NC), I NEVER got a hitch, and I had almost no beard at all then.
By Pennsylvania, when the beard was kicking, and I started needing to hitch more often, I never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Alas, do to a genetic quirk, I have a very thick and heavy beard.
It is a PITA to shave my beard after 10 days.
So I just let it go for hiking.
Kind of symbolic for me at this point.
In the "real world", I am clean shaven (and, since due to another quirk of genetics mens I have less and less hair, have a shaved head). I look like a nice clean cut young man... I even wear shoes other than outdoor ones.
When hiking? Grow the beard out, wear my hiker clothes and take on my other persona.
On weekends/vacations, it kind of blurs together as I seldom shave on days off.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Haven't shaved since '75, trimmed but not shaved.
Going for the ZZ Top look
I had what I call a "corporate beard" before starting the AT --- short with shaved neck, cheeks, and lower lip. After the AT, I returned to the corporate beard look, but after the PCT, I only shaved a bit of the fuzzy stuff from my cheeks and the sides of my neck. I'm keeping the rest---kind of the ZZ Top look. Waiting to see how long it will get. Maybe I'll wait a couple years until after the CDT to take it back to the corporate look. My daughters day it makes me look old, but I am, my grandsons like to pull on it, and I like the way it keeps my neck warm in the cold weather. Plus I've saved a bundle on shaving cream and razor blades.
Never noticed an issue with hitching due to the beard, but apparently not many hike in a kilt out west (I knew of only two others and we were all AT veterans) and I think that was often an issue in hitching. Would you give this guy a lift?
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos....=389681&back=1
Handlebar
GA-ME 06; PCT 08; CDT 10,11,12; ALT 11; MSPA 12; CT 13; Sheltowee 14; AZT 14, 15; LT 15;FT 16;NCT-NY&PA 16; GET 17-18
I lived in Oregon for 18 years and that's not too uncommon a look around parts of the state. Especially out in the woods!
Alas, do to a genetic quirk, I have a very thick and heavy beard.
It is a PITA to shave my beard after 10 days.
So I just let it go for hiking.
Kind of symbolic for me at this point.
In the "real world", I am clean shaven (and, since due to another quirk of genetics mens I have less and less hair, have a shaved head). I look like a nice clean cut young man... I even wear shoes other than outdoor ones.
When hiking? Grow the beard out, wear my hiker clothes and take on my other persona.
On weekends/vacations, it kind of blurs together as I seldom shave on days off.
real world isnt that a show on mtv, you sound like my parents
my balls dropped at 20. had a beard since. get a set and grow one
got all three. am i in your elitist club
It is in quote. A joke. An observation. A wry comment.
In other others Don't take it so damn seriously.
If you have more than a Chia pet beard, a beard is a PITA to take care of outside of just letting it grow....
Most pseudo bohemians usually have the Chia pet beard. And anon internet posters bragging about their hitching experiences tend to be......
Last edited by Mags; 01-02-2009 at 21:48.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
[quote=Mags;749725]It is in quote. A joke. An observation. A wry comment.
In other others Don't take it so damn seriously.
If you have more than a Chia pet beard, a beard is a PITA to take care of outside of just letting it grow....
Most pseudo bohemians usually have the Chia pet beard. And anon internet posters bragging about their hitching experiences tend to be......
dont take it so damn seriously.
he who leads must follow.
i am far from pseudo or wait i dont know what that means, whats a bohemian. am i not allowed an opinion.
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