[at-l] Re: Success and Zen and Hiking and blooming lichen was [at-l]Gun story

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

Warning...the following is sooo good that I'm not gonna snip it...
even if that makes Chase miffed <g>.  Calling all newbees.
Read this again!!!!!  Comments on 'successful' hiking follow....


At 12:28 AM 12/18/01 -0600, Dave Hicks wrote:
>Far too many folk equate hunting with shooting and look to technology as the
>ticket to success.  To make this post marginally trail related this is not
>unlike folk who think that selecting the "right" gear will get them from
>Georgia to Maine.  The manta is, "All I need to do is buy the right stuff
>and go into the woods and I will be 'successful'."
>
>In both hunting and hiking, it ain't so -- IMHO.  What is even sadder, is
>that this "buying the right stuff and going into the woods to be successful"
>attitude defines "success" as an end-state -- not a process to be enjoyed
>for itself.  What a waste!  That "end-state" focus not only causes one to
>miss the real pleasures/rewards of the process, that "end-state" focus puts
>pressure on one to "succeed" in a narrow way that can eat away at the very
>effectiveness of the process to achieve the narrow "end-state."
>
>It's the journey in the woods that we should seek to enjoy, not the end of
>the journey.

Now the rest here, is up for grabs <g>


>IMHO -- Toss the compound and get a real bow.

HA!.....I tried getting the "right gear" and swapped in a real
bow for this whiz bang thang and it helped a little but despite
being 1/16th Original People, I still suck!    I burn my forearm,
and one time I "nearly put an eye out" when  the string snagged
my glasses and ripped 'em off my face.   It just not my thing.

Now gun shooting is something else.  It's soooooo........zen.
Controlling your breathing...controlling your body and clearing
your mind.....boom and the can falls down.  I LUV IT!!!!!!

>  learn and prepare to hunt (read
>terrain, read signs, scout in advance, practice concealment and movement,
>etc.)  Enjoy your success in mastering the process and the end-state will
>come -- albeit it will become part of the whole, not just an end in itself.

Heck David, I've been doing this all my life.  Really!  There are two types of
hikers.  Some hike because they love the act of hiking.  Some hike because
they love seeing what can only be seen when you travel afoot.  Guess where
I line up.  That "easily distracted" label I claim is too true.  I've 
tracked bugs
ferpete'ssake.  I spent the better part of two seasons tracking a bear so I 
would get
to know her habits well enough to be able to safely watch her and her cub.
I couldn't hike fast if I wanted to but most of the time, I don't even want 
too,
because I just can't help but look around.  That's my joy!!

Remember a couple of Februarys ago I got sooo excited because the
lichen was blooming?  I don't think there was a person on the list that even
knew what I was taking about.  No one had ever noticed that sometimes,
if the snow melts during a February thaw, the lichen blooms.  Somebody
did look around the next time they went out and saw it, (and was nice enough to
say so on the list so people wouldn't think I was daft), but most of ya'll 
just move
too fast to catch the little things <BG>.


>Maybe the contrast of process vs. end-state would become clear with an
>imaginary picture.  If in the year 2080, one could buy personal anti-gravity
>hover shuttle, which could silently cruse the woods at up to five miles an
>hour.  What would be the reward and value of the "success" of a trip from
>Georgia to Maine following the white blazes in one, or shooting game from
>one?

Uh oh.....if it's quiet I'd be tempted.  It would solve that nasty habit I 
have of
falling down because I'm gawking around and not looking where I put my feet.
If it's quiet, I might be interested, but if it makes more noise than I do, 
it's
a no sale.  My 'process' isn't tied to the walking, but to the seeing and the
being in the woods.  It's like on the river.....I'd rather paddle than hear 
a motor but
I'd also rather float with the current than swim upstream.

Different stokes...but it's alllll good!


>I know the original post had a "ROTFLOL" and a <VBG>.  So, I am not really
>responding to it, as such, or flaming the author, and I apologize in advance
>for any offence.

Dear David, we have met. I know your face.  If you ever decide to
try and offend me, I think you could but ......I doubt you would intentionally
try.  Besides, I'm _really_really_ hard to offend. :*D

>  It is just that I have this unresolved internal conflict
>with the place/impact of technology in outdoor endeavors,

OK...I promise not to use my antigrav unit on the AT ;^)

>as well as a
>concern with what society labels "success."

I used to hunt.  I never actually "took the shot" so some may think I am
a failed hunter.  I don't share that opinion <g>.