[at-l] Making a hiking contract

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark)]

OK, here's the attorney butting in again . . .

1)  Contracts are all about allocating risk, as well as making
commitments . . . the most difficult risks to deal with in any contract
are those that are not fully known, and in many cases are not really
even knowable . . .

2)  The above advice, which is very useful to remember in the world of
business contract law, also - IMHO - holds a very important lesson for
this thread . . . namely, be careful re drafting yourself too rigid of a
personal contract, for there is much about the world, the Trail,
yourself, and your loved ones that you cannot know now, and will be
learning as you walk . . .

I guess what I am trying to say is that I think it is important to make
your personal contract a living, flexible thing that inspires you,
guides you, and challenges you - but be careful that it does NOT also
become a rigid, confining burden to you . . .

hike on!

thru-thinker

Phil Heffington wrote:

> I appreciate Jim's comments on making a contract with yourself about how =
you will do your hike(s).  I also recommend his website to all who wish to =
benefit from his hiking experience and thoughtful philosophy about the trai=
l.
>
> Of course, a contract will only be as good as the integrity represented b=
y the contracting parties, and that can be a real problem when you are cont=
racting with yourself.  What is it they say about legal advice, "The person=
 who serves as his own attorney has a fool for a client" or something like =
that.
>
> Jim points out the benefits of consciously making a contract with yoursel=
f and/or your hiking partner.  I think this adds to the feeling of honesty =
and integrity a person has to himself in defining how one will live life, a=
s well as hike the trail.  I believe most hikers make a sort of unconscious=
 contract with themselves before starting their hike, but do not verbalize =
it clearly.  They seem to then put the same level of thinking into renegoti=
ating the contract, and may tend to break it or redefine it with the same a=
mount of seriousness that they unconsciously made it in the first place.
>
> Jim has given me something to think about regarding terminology for the t=
rail.  Perhaps in the future when someone asks me if I'm a "thru-hiker" or =
"purist" or whatever, I may simply reply that I'm a "contract hiker".  They=
 will not likely have a preconceived notion about what that means, and I ca=
n then explain my contract with myself to them if they are interested.
>
>
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