[at-l] Who cares?

[tacombs99@xxxxxxxxxxx (Tab Combs)]

Rhino,
it shouldn't matter to anyone else why you are contemplating a thru-hike, as
long as it's what you want to do.
Don't worry that your reasons aren't good enough or important enough.  In my
mind, the greater personal accomplishment is not covering all
2000-some-whatever-it-is-today miles, but in actually starting.  Actually
going to Springer Mtn, saying goodbye to my parents, and heading off into
the woods for who-knows-what is one of the accomplishments in my life I'm
proudest of.

-cheeseburger


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ryan Sharp" <rsharp@tgedirect.com>
To: "Phil Heffington" <Phil.Heffington@oc.edu>; "AT- L Mailing List"
<at-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: [at-l] Who cares?


> I may be misled but, the reason I am contemplating a thru-hike are many
but
> mostly that is an accomplishment unmatched by most people.  it is an
> opportunity to meet the people of this great country to see the sunrise
and
> sunset from somewhere else than your backyard of suburbia.  I want to
become
> more akin with my environment, my planet.  I want to be cold and fight
> through it; I want to get hurt and endure the pain, in a nutshell prove my
> worth in a natural sense which is all to hard to do in today's society.
am
> I being to utopian?
>
> Rhino
>
> > From: "Phil Heffington" <Phil.Heffington@oc.edu>
> > Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 11:14:05 -0600
> > To: "AT- L Mailing List" <at-l@backcountry.net>
> > Subject: [at-l] Who cares?
> >
> > T. Fort wrote:
> >
> > "I just find it hard to believe that anyone out there attempting any
"long"
> > distance hike, really gives a flip about the *other* persons' hike."
> >
> > It is a strange phenomenon, for sure.  It somehow develops, however,
during
> > the course of being on the trail for a relatively long period of time
and
> > being pushed into a definition of your own hike by others.  This occurs
when
> > other hikers you meet ask you, almost as the first topic of greeting or
> > conversation, "Are you thru-hiking?"  There is a sort of unspoken bond
among
> > those who are, and they are unconsciously, perhaps, asking if you want
to be,
> > or should be, included in the ingroup.  My experience is that their
definition
> > of thru-hiking, though, is not one of "purity" but, rather, one of group
> > identification.  Since a definition for a thru-hike is only traditional,
and
> > not officially regognized by any authoritative organization, it can be
the
> > topic of many conversations, some of which may become somewhat heated.
I
> > can't say that the discussion is all bad, though, because it gives
hikers a
> > rather natural topic of casual social interaction on the trail when,
> > otherwise, they may have little else in common with those on the trail.
I've
> > often commented that most people on the trail would probably not like to
> > associate with each other in normal life, but find their temporary bond
on the
> > trail as at least satisfying.
> > _______________________________________________
> > From the AT-L mailing list         est. 1995
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> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> From the AT-L mailing list         est. 1995
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> Stay on topic!
>