[at-l] Rural areas of NY State

[Bror8588 at aol.com (Bror8588@xxxxxxx)]

Cal writes that he lives in a rural area of NY State and that NYC people 
think that the state is all citified.  Well, I live in NYC and we have rural areas 
within the city.  We call them Parks.  In every borough (similar to a county 
in other parts of the country) there are at least two or more parks in which 
to hike and get away from the "mean streets."  

In addition (if one does not have a motorized vehicle) there is a 
transportation system which will bring one to the Appalachian Trail within an hour of 
travel.  The train does it on weekends with a stop right on the AT or during the 
week a train to Cold Spring, or Garrison, NY will enable a hike to the AT via 
connecting trails and roads.  The Port Authority has busses which will take 
people to Bear Mountain State Park through which the AT passes.  Also there are 
buses which will transport people to the AT along Route 17 or Route 210.  No 
problem getting out into the "Country."

As far as Depression is concerned there are many opportunities for getting 
into that state of mind.  Besides the personal problems that people face such as 
financial, family issues, personal achievement issues, inter-personal 
squabbles, vocational disruption, and physical illness/mortality issues, etc., there 
are world issues which may seem insurmountable to some.  

Someone mentioned chemical levels in the brain.  The synapses require a 
certain amount of Seratonin in order to function properly.  For people who lack the 
ability to control the flow naturally there are medications which assist.  If 
medication is discontinued then like a diabetic without insulin the disease 
takes over the system.  Even those who may get an endorphin rush from exercise 
may suffer from the lack of necessary chemical balance in the synapses which 
govern nerve functioning.  This does not come on "all of a sudden" but is 
gradual and may go unrecognized by the individual until that darkness takes over 
and life is seen as too much to bear.  

Someone said that it is the responsibility of the individual to not commit 
suicide or to do themselves in, but would you say the same about someone with 
another systemic disease (diabetic, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, 
etc.)?  If someone is bent on dying thee is nothing to stop that person but 
usually the suicidal ideation expressed and suicidal gestures observed give 
friends and family the ability to intervene with a call to 911 or their local 
hotline.  Intervention is the responsibility of anyone who notices health 
termination issues.  Actually, ideation and gestures are indications of someone in 
trouble and crying for help.  People who notice need to respond to the cry.

I wonder if those who actually commit suicide on a trail or after hiking a 
section, do so because they have come to the realization of failure and cannot 
bear facing those to whom they have announced a goal and yet, have been unable 
to continue as planned. Reading some of the journals of those who had to 
terminate their hike on the AT indicates a very strong sense of shame.  One person 
said that the could not go home and hid out with friends for a week before 
conceding that they had failed.  Another went home and was told that since the 
family had spent money on the gear that they had to get out and finish what they 
had started.  After attempting another start they again decided that they 
could not continue and when asked if they were going home replied, "I am going 
anywhere but home."  

Hiking in the woods for me, is a pleasure.  I can get that pleasure from the 
Parks in NYC or from the trails which lie within an hour's bus ride.  It lifts 
my spirit and gives me strength.  But that is me.  Others may want to 
accomplish their hike and when they think that they have failed they may feel great 
shame.  Still others feel that by going on a trail they will escape their 
illness.  Denial will not help one who has a disease no matter how much they want 
to escape.  Facing the situation and getting the proper medication will go a 
long way toward maintaining health.  It doesn't matter what disease one has.  

Now if it is just a personality disorder then group therapy works best (with 
some individual reflection) and the AT is just the place to go, as long as one 
is open to change.

What do you think?
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