[at-l] Boredom (was Bryson's bookl)

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark)]

Ok, I gotta stir the pot on this from a slightly different perspective.
  I firmly believe in the old truism that actions speak louder than
words; with that truism in mind, when you hear someone who has hiked the
entire AT talk about how much they were into the plants, animals,
scenery, etc., and how much that kept them going, ask yourself this,
simple question:  If a person's PRIMARY goal was to experience the most
one could experience in terms of plantlife, animal life, beautiful
scenery, etc., wouldn't it be irrational to do a thru-hike?  Wouldn't
one be able to experience dramatically greater plant, animal and
sceneery diversity and richness of experience by doing much shorter
hikes all over the country, world, state, region?  On the other hand, if
the PRIMARY goal was to get to the other end of that path come heck or
high water, then a thru-hike makes sense, and all the talk about
experiencing nature along the way is just a secondary "cover-up" story -
perhaps to both mask the competitive drive in the person, and/or to
assist in making the journey as enjoyable as possible [a very noble
goal, mind you - BUT, not the PRIMARY goal in that circumstance, by very
definition!]

Anyhow, food for thought!

thru-thinker
  [who loves thinking, whether in the woods or the office, and based on
the past few months of no hiking, I must love the office too much these
days! :)]

Raphael Bustin wrote:

> --
> At 10:38 AM 9/13/2002 -0500, kahley wrote:
>
>
>
>> I realized that if i was bored looking out, I could always look in......
>>
>
> Quiet reflection and introspection is a wonderful thing -- in moderation.
> Still, you can have too much of a good thing.
>
>
>
>>Prolly the best pre thru training I've every had.
>>
>
>
> No offense, but -- how do you know till you've been there?
>
>
>
>>BTW...what Ginny said about arguing is a great way to pass
>>an hour or so.  Betcha didn't know I sometimes argue with
>>you while I'm hiking...<SEG>
>>
>
>
> I'd be flattered, except that I've been there myself <g>.
>
>
> rafe b.
> aka terrapin
> --
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