[at-l] Self Doubt (How to help a Newbie: Update 4 - PartII)

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 01:29 PM 4/11/02 -0500, Shane Steinkamp wrote:
>We discussed it, and in the end he said, "If God grants that I should live
>to February 1 next year, I will start, and I will finish."  He shared what
>he thought of as finishing.  He said, "I'm going to hike MY trail, and I
>will know the end of it when I come to it.  What you said before, 'Your
>experience is your success.' (Thanks Orange Bug!) makes perfect sense to
>me."

It all depends on why you are doing it.  If you set out to walk from GA to 
ME with no other objective and don't do that, you are likely to have 
regrets.  If you set out to take a long hike in order to clear your mind 
and think, to experience being totally responsible for yourself in the 
woods for an extended period of time, to see the country at a walking pace, 
or whatever on the AT, when you reach the point of having had enough, of 
being satisfied with the experience, you have completed your hike whether 
or not you are standing on Katadhin at that point.

Perhaps he should read WALKING HOME by Kelly Winters (Amazin' Grace).  She 
didn't complete a thru, but did complete her hike.  That's what HYOH is 
really about, being true to yourself, not being subject to someone else's 
definition of what you should be doing.

sAunTerer