Re[2]: [at-l] Self Doubt (How to help a Newbie: Update 4 - Part II)

[Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net (Bob C.)]

"... And it occurred to me that I had set out to have fun, that fun was a pretty
high  priority. After all, if I'd wanted a job, I wouldn't have quit a perfectly
good one in order to do my hike. "

 I've  said this on this list and others -- and to anyone who asks-- but I think
 it  is  an  impossible  thing for people to understand -- until they experience
 it.

 I  don't  care  how  much you have read, how many lists you participate in, how
 many  miles  you  have hiked on how many trails. For most starting thru hikers,
 the trail is a surprise.

 All  of  us  who  are into hiking have experienced cold, wind, snow, blistering
 heat, and chilly rains. Most serious hikers exult in the challenge.

 But  on  a  thru hike, these are not a short term experience, to be over in few
 days  or  a  week or two. About Neels Gap, one begins to realize that the pain,
 the  wind,  the  rain,  the  snow  is likely to continue for weeks -- and to be
 followed  by the bugs, the heat and the pain of summer. It gradually dawns that
 this  is  not  a  short  term  "fun" challenge but a hardship that is likely to
 continue  all  the way to Katahdin.

 Yes.  The  trail is a job. Every job is a challenge -- especially every new job
 --  but most of us soon settle into a routine. On the trail nature keeps giving
 us  surprises.  The  biggest  surprise is simply the sheer number of challenges
 nature can throw at us.

 Some with extraordinary will power and perserverence will end on Katahdin after
 having followed every white blaze. Others will end on Katahdin after seen other
 things.  These are themes with a thousand variations, which I lack the time and
 R probably lacks the space, for me to spell out.

Regardless  of  how  they hiked, a few will end on Katahdin after having had the
most enjoyable six months in their lives. I place myself among those lucky few.

  I  had  had  more  experience then most, read more than most, talked with more
 thru  hikers than most. But I was totally surprised by the reality of the trail
 and  the commitment it requires. But overriding the hardship for me was the joy
 of  the  woods  and  the  mountains,  the endless parade of fascinating people,
 plants  and  creatures, the continuing curiosity about what was around the next
 bend  or  down  that  next  side trail to something some maintainer had thought
 important for me to see.

 Weary