faith and ribbons... Re: [at-l] "Why" and "Purpose"

[rafeb at speakeasy.net (Raphael Bustin)]

At 03:10 AM 8/20/2005 -0700, Sloe wrote:

>### Well, so far, I have told you that it's about having faith,
>and JimO has told you it's about having attitude, yet you're
>still focused on a "why" or "purpose". Who gives a flop about
>the why? IT DON'T MATTER. IT'S GOING TO CHANGE TOMORROW. IT WAS
>DECIDED IN IGNORANCE. Does that help?


Yes and no.  I still think you're talking semantics here,
though I appreciate you're doing your best to answer a
difficult question that I've posed.  And in posing that
question, I wasn't expecting easy answers.

The point is, to keep going when it's no longer fun, a
sane, rational person has to find -- or invent -- a purpose,
a reason, a rationale for doing so.  I understand that
the reasons will change as you go, and the reasons
"chosen" before the hike are quite likely to be irrelevant
when the going gets rough.

Words like "faith" just don't cut it for this hiker.

Blue Sky walked because "failure is not an option."

But how does that square with freedom?  We all have the
freedom to step off the AT at the nearest trailhead or
logging road - or never step onto it, for that matter.



>### I don't think you DO "love the trail" -- I think you love
>places on the trail. You therefore hike from place to place; you
>don't hike the trail. You mentioned Glastonbury firetower as a
>highlight (which it definitely is), but you mention it while
>comparatively denigrating the unspectacular scenery around it.
>The trail (and the bugs and the sweat and the lack of town
>amenities you mentioned previously) is something to be endured
>by you in order to reach Glastonbury.


Sheesh.  I think you're out of line here, Sloe.
And in any case, telling me that my love ain't
true is hardly a motivator.  Even Jim Owen
knows better than that.  I'm going to try to
erase that comment from my memory.

I'll just say for now that I think of myself in a
category with, say, Saunterer or Chainsaw or
Shane.  Given a choice of where to spend my
free time, I'm most likely to choose a mountain trail,
which (IMO) is infinitely more exciting than, say,
a beach chair in Aruba or a blackjack table in Vegas.

Do I love all woods equally?  Hell no.  I'd much
prefer if the AT was all like Maine, and that's
the truth -- the way I see it, anyway.  I cut my
hiking teeth on Moosilauke, Lafayette, and the
high peaks of the Adirondacks -- so maybe I'm
a little spoiled.

I have certainly considered (as Ginny Owen
suggests) that maybe one of the other two long
trails might be a better fit for my love of scenic
views.

Yes, IMO -- one can have too much of the
long, green tunnel.  And I appreciate that
merely thinking that way may preclude my
ever finishing a thru hike of the AT.


rafe b
aka terrapin


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