[at-l] Future AT hiker...

[DaRedhead@aol.com (DaRedhead@aol.com)]

In a message dated 5/13/02 9:48:27 PM US Eastern Standard Time, 
shane@theplacewithnoname.com writes:


> Anyway, sorry for the rant...  If you want to know, my pack weighs 28-30 
> pounds for summer, and 30-35 for spring/fall, and 30-45 for winter 
> 

As far as I can figure, that's light weight :)

**We all do this for FUN, which is important to remember.**

That is the best summing up statement of all times, although it didn't come 
at the end.  Hanging out at Kincora this weekend, a hiker turned to me, a 
tired, hungry, worn out section hiker and said "Can you believe we do this on 
VACATION?"  A thru hiker said - "Yea, well, can you believe I took a SIX 
MONTH vacation and I'm spending it doing this??"  It's still hilarious to me. 
 Most hobbies/pass times/obsessions are a bit more . . . well . . . immediate 
and short term.  You skydive? Great - you get a huge rush, you go to the 
edge, it's all over in minutes.  You whitewater raft?  Awesome rushes - maybe 
not over in minutes, but it's only one day, a few hours, really.  Climbing 
K2? Well, that is a tad more dangerous, and lasts a tad bit longer . . . but 
if you live, it doesn't last too long, and the pain and agony and exertion 
only last that long, although you probably walk away with memories beyond 
compare.  And once you've conquered K2, you probably won't go back - although 
there are other mountains you will climb.  I think, actually, that we share 
more in common with climbers than most groups.

Backpacking - especially thru hiking - that's insane, when you think about 
it.  It's very similar to childbirth for a section hiker.  You laugh, but I'm 
serious :)  If we ever actually remembered the pain and agony of giving 
birth, no woman would ever do it more than once.  The Trail is like that.  
You go out there, and you're hot, or cold, tired, hungry, in pain from one 
body part or another, or many at once, exhausted when you reach the nights 
destination.  You deal with bugs, and shelter mice, and the occasional bear 
run in.  You know fear, sometimes.  You struggle with getting over the next 
PUD, and you wonder what the hell you were thinking when you decided to take 
that "vacation" to go make yourself miserable, however long it is.  But it's 
like childbirth - we remember the wonder of looking into a small baby's eyes 
for the first time, not the pain that preceded that miracle.  The pain 
suddenly becomes insignificant.  And with hiking, you don't think of the 
obstacles or the PUDS or the pain or the discomfort - you think about waking 
up and looking out over a sunrise that made you cry.  You think about how 
awesome it is to be out there on the Trail, you and nature, and how you feel 
so alive.  You think about the friends you meet who become instand family 
that will be with you in some way the rest of your life.  You remember how 
incredible it was to have no responsibility for that time but to have 
shelter, food and water.  You forget all the bad stuff - just like you do in 
childbirth - or you remember it, vaguely, but realize that what you gain is 
way more important than how hard it was to get there.  You go thru that every 
single day - you hit the shelter or the spot you throw up your tent or tarp 
or hammock, and all of the sudden life is wonderful, you made it there, and 
when you start out the next day, you start remembering why it was so hard 
before you GOT to that resting place - but you still go on, knowing that what 
you end up with is more than worth what you go thru to get there.

I know there is a world apart between section and thru hikers - but I also 
know that we all have the same selective memory that keeps us out there, 
whether for a day, a week or a thru.

Red



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