[at-l] 2005 thru-hike soapbox...

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

In a message dated 2/10/2005 8:59:52 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
yugrekih@yahoo.com writes:

Please  hike-your-own-hike, even if you don't know 
what that is.  I recommend  purposely avoiding becoming a member of a 
group.  There are hundreds  of hikers out there, and saying hello to 
them all as they hike past you  would be a great idea...

Down from the  soapbox...



Getting down from the soapbox may seem prudent but the information that you  
have shared is valuable.  It is especially relevant for new hikers but  anyone 
that has experience can also benefit from the reminders that you  preach.  
Friends are valuable and when one is included in a group that  "jells" it can be 
a wonderful thing; however, as you point out, others will come  along and 
they will also become friends as they become known.
 
It is good to remember that people are very similar in their psychological  
makeup and are not that dissimilar from ourselves.  What I want is what  others 
want.  What I enjoy others also enjoy.  What is distasteful to  me is 
distasteful to others. Of course, having said that it also can be annoying  to be 
with people who approach life from a different path; who have different  values, 
and different "rules" for living.  
 
So, being a part of a group that is compatible can be very valuable and  
comforting.  When one is found it becomes difficult to part ways, and while  other 
people will come along there is trepidation that they might not be exactly  
the same.  Well, they won't be exactly the same.  Some people have  attributes 
that others do not have.  Over time it is possible to see the  qualities that 
may lie deep within.  Others may have shallow qualities --  on the surface of 
their lives -- that are evident immediately, Then there are  those who have 
qualities deep within that come to the fore over time; something  like what is 
experienced in a marriage as time allows knowledge of each other to  surface as 
the inner person becomes known through the effervescence of natural  
carbonation.  
 
If I have come full circle in my response or perhaps full spiral or if  
switchback mentality has become evident then I confess that these thoughts are  
mere ramblings of a would be hiker who misses the wood trail.
 
Skylander