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[at-l] Boredom (was Bryson's bookl)
WOorthy points all, Bob; I just hope you can differentiate between food
for thought and cynicism when it comes to me personally . . . I enjoy
testing my mind with various ideas, and the mere fact that I throw one
out there and ask others to give it some thought is certainly not an
endorsement from me as to the idea being my personal opinion or
conclusion . . . as for that, I continue to search for bits and pieces
of the answer in my own experiences, and those of the good folk on this
list [and elsehwere], with whom I have the priviledge of communicating
and exchanging ideas . . . I loved so very much of my AT experience in
the summer of 2001 - I cannot imagine a more awesome experience, in
terms of physical challenge, exploring the wonders of nature [check out
my 600+ pictures on backcountry.net, about 80% of which do not have
people in them to get an idea of what turns me on . . .] and in terms of
the people I met, many of whom I believe will remain lifelong friends
where we stay in touch, and get back together when possible . . . I got
off the Trail for one simple reason - my wife and I conceived a child
right before I left, and she wanted me back home, so I made a very
difficult, but correct choice to put our growing family ahead of Lady K,
who will still be there when I summit her some day in the not too
distant future! :)
Hiking [and thinking with an open mind] on!
Thru-Thinker [who loves his very apt for him trail name!]
Bob C. wrote:
> "...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 ...." says cynic Clark.
>
> Hmmm. I find it most fascinating that hikers who enjoy the trail are considered
> fibbers or worse.
>
> DEspite all the talk on this list about loving the outdoors and hiking, I
> suspect the criticism confirms my suspicion that most do the trail for the
> purpose of conquering the trail -- of achieving a challenge. It may also be the
> reason why only a handful participate in the advocacy list. If the trail is only
> a challenge to be achieved, aside from complaints about PUDS, there is no reason
> to worry about preserving wildness or trail buffers.
>
> I was surprised in '93 about the great number of hikers who hated their daily
> regime -- who just wanted to get to Katahdin -- or Springer -- so the agony
> would end.
>
> FWIW, I went south because most of my hiking had been in northern New England
> and I wanted to see what things looked like in the south -- and because I was
> curious at the age of 64, after a 40 years in mostly sedentary jobs, how far I
> would get. I enjoyed the trail. I enjoyed the incredible array of plants and
> wildlife. And yes, I enjoyed the physical challenge. I especially enjoyed
> meeting other hikers. It was fascinating, especially in Georgia and North
> Carolina, to suddenly be a compatriot of 20 year olds again.
>
> No, I didn't hike every inch of the trail. I was several hundred miles into my
> walk before it dawned on me that some hikers considered white blazes -- those
> things I had spent a lifetime locating, painting and relocating -- had some
> special mystique about them.
>
> A sciatica nerve that forced numerous visits to emergency rooms kept me off the
> trail for 10 days and resulted in bypassing a bit of New York, Connecticut and
> Massachusetts (I went back a couple of years later to explore the missed
> sections)
>
> Could I have found more enjoyment hiking elsewhere, as Clark suggests? I have
> hiked elsewhere and enjoyed those walks also. But the six months I spent on the
> AT was just an incredible fun experience, one I never for a moment regretted
> attempting.
>
> Weary
>
>
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