[at-l] Reasons for Quitting (was a lot of other s**t)

["Lucian Hicks" <lucian@sierranv.net>]

Well, ol' pals, since my name has come up here, I thought I'd throw a few
pennies around.  Tom McGinnis doth quote as follows:

>>Our very own Bristlecone
>>peeled off a unreasonably smooth and successful trip, right up til he
jumped
>>off. I recall writing (maybe just to Twilight, maybe to the whole list) a
>>warning that I hoped he kept the challenge in the hike, or he may be bored
by
>>the time he hits Pennsylvania, and quit. He quit at Port Clinton. He may
have
>>actually said as much, but I read into his note that he was bored by the
lack of
>>challenge. And here's the important difference: He didn't fail the Trail
or the
>>Hike, he failed to continue to see a challenge worth his time. He couldn't
do 30
>>mile days to creat a challenge -- he'd already beat that challenge wayyyyy
down
>>south. Night hikes? Did it. Maybe he could have read some books. Played
the
>>baroque recorder. Memorized Frost, or recited Shakespeare to frightened
>>weekenders. Any of those MIGHT have kept him headed north till New England
>>(whence, as Sly noted earlier, certain trail challenges, ah, return), but
for
>>whatever reason, he decided he didn't WANT to head north any longer, but
to head
>>west instead -- to take those other challenging horizons off of the
AT...."Where
>>do you find your challenge?"

It probably goes without saying that I gave this whole subject a lot of
thought both before I jumped off at Port Clinton and since.  It wasn't
"indifference" (as Sly suggested) or a lack of challenge (as Tom hints) that
led me to drop out.  It was boredom and (dare I say it?) disillusionment
with the trail itself.  That's no slam on the AT or the AT community, but
rather a reflection of my unrealistic preconceptions.  It really is a
marvelous structure, and I deeply and repeatedly appreciated all the work
put into it by the various clubs.  And I still have a sort of awe for the
community it engenders.  But, I have to say that, in comparison to other
trails I'd been accustomed to, it just wasn't that interesting to me.  It is
geologically, botanically, and culturally relatively uniform.  I realize
that some people find a lot of "subtlety" in the small differences from
place to place, and there certainly are some wonderfully spectacular spots.
But there's a thin line between "subtle" and "boring", and where on that
spectrum an activity falls is quite a personal matter (I, for example, love
baseball for its subtlety; many find it boring).  I gave the trail 3 months
and 1200 miles to catch my attention, and it didn't.  No hard feelings; no
aspersions cast; no bereavement.  I tried to make it more interesting to me
by hiking 40 miles in a day into Damascus, then 35 into Catawba, then 51
(midnight to 8:30 p.m.) into the Shenandoahs (not recommended).  I tried
reading; I tried night hiking; I tried lower mileage; I tried more time in
towns; I tried less time in towns.  I never was injured or blistered. And in
the end I was still bored, wishing I were above tree line in Utah somewhere,
especially when I was slogging through yet more deep deciduous forests with
the roar of traffic as my companion.  It's not necessarily a reflection on
the trail, but a statement of incompatibility.  This trail isn't the trail
for everyone, even those who are avid and strong backpackers.

I think an interesting subject of inquiry would be the relative reactions to
the AT thru-hike of (a) people from the West whose backpacking experiences
are mostly there; and (b) people from the midwest and east whose backpacking
experiences are mostly there.  Toss out the injury cases and ask the rest of
those who quit why they did.  My suspicion is that my reaction to the AT may
find some resonance among the former group, speaking of course in broad
generalities.

So in the end, we come back again to the aphorism "Hike your own hike."  Or
not.  It's a very individual thing.

Bristlecone (who still loves the AT)

* From the Appalachian Trail Mailing List |  http://www.backcountry.net  *

==============================================================================