Why do you hike?

“I'm curious, what has driven you to backpack? I mean, to do it seriously requires real desire. It either takes an incredible love of granola, and you have more time than you know what to do with, or maybe you are searching for spiritual something. Whatever, I'll go first.

I don't like granola, or gorp. So you can keep your dirt pile that came off of the grocery store's stock room floor. I'll have a Payday, or some crackers and peanut butter.

But seriously...
I decided to start backpacking about 2 years ago. That is about 6 months after my wife left. Is that why? I don't think so. Maybe, but I don't think so. I have always loved the outdoors. Hunting, camping, 4-wheelers, horses, all that stuff. In high-school I worked on neighbors farms, taking care of champion quarter horses, bailing hay, and mending fences, and cutting fire wood. Every weekend was spent in a barn, and then we were off to a tent in some woods behind some field, or pasture. Even in January when the temps are in the negatives, and the wind chill was something we didn't even want to contemplate. We sat so close the fire that the soles of my new Rockie boots melted before my feet were warm (Yes it does get that cold in the Hoosier state) I didn't have what I would call a LOT of friends when I got married, and even fewer as time went on. By the time I got divorced I looked around and realized that I didn't have any left (I later figured out that she had slept with all of them). So I started thinking about what I wanted to do, I wanted to meet new people, get in a little better shape, and get back into the outdoors. Between the ages of 18, and 24 a marriage to a jealous controlling wife and 3 kids had pretty much squashed any adventures I was planning on. Including the Marine Corps, and college. So I am thumbing through a Cabella's catalog one day and it hits me like a freight train. "I'm going to start backpacking! I'm going to buy some gear, and scale the fu*kin Rockies! See the country, maybe the world!" What's stopping me? Not a damn thing, I shout back at myself. (You all know the reality though - plenty was stopping me. Two girls still in diapers, another just starting first grade, a mortgage, and two car payments I can't afford, 50 hr./week job, etc...) So here I am with only a couple overnighters under my belt, and countless day hikes with a pack loaded for a three day trip, so that every person I pass on the trail is looking at me like I'm going to steal their children, and disappear into the woods. Then I found Trail Talk. The first time I ever read the thread titles I thought "what the hell is this?" Thread titles like "proper running temp of a Metro". --Huh? I thought this was a Backpacking page. Then I discovered the Fuego threads. By the time I finally logged in, and posted up I was already an addict. So, why do I hike? Well, I suppose it boils down to an escape from the stresses of my job, and accepting my new status as a single Dad. Along with my genuine love of the woods, and a desire to finally meet some like minded folks. Guess that is a little more than just the bare "why", but that means you have to give the whole story too. I would especially like to hear from some of our MOST experienced hikers, and maybe even our very own web master. And of course those who can relate. That would be cool.
I'll check back about Thursday. Later.”

“My day (and often night) is composed of responding to disaster and crisis scenarios. I watch families lose everything and I see people commit some of the most atrocious acts against others. In the REAL world it seems that the whole goal is to GET what you can by any means. I have seen life come into the world and I have had to silently grieve as it leaves the husk that holds it.

When I am backpacking I find most of the people I meet are willing to work with you if you are trying to help yourself. I have seen people share (and I have shared both as giver and recipient) food, clothing and supplies. Given without thought of return, taken in true feeling of thanks. Sadly the backcountry is the only truly civilized place I can go.

When I am on the trail (with a couple of exceptions) I find much that is good in our species, I see reasons for going back and doing my part to hold back the uncivilized members of the family. I go to recharge, and to reremember the good that is out there.”

“I do it for the money, the cars, the houses, the roar of the crowd, the jet-set lifestyle, the adulation of the press and the groupies throwing themselves all over me.”

“Please pardon HPM. He's delusional.





By the way, he got me into backpacking. My very first backpacking trip? He sent me solo, with a 60 lb. pack, to the southern terminus of the AT. Is that love or what?”

“HPM...my adulation grows by the moment”

“Deluded but happy.

She lived and came back.
Yep, she's a keeper.
last edited: 9/02/06 7:59:57 PM”

“I'm too damn old to play basketball (as it should be) anymore.”

“I spend 40 hours a week with people I have very little in common with. I'm the square peg in the round hole, so to speak.

I long to escape to the outdoors where the senses are always stimulated, where I can be with people who understand why I need to be in the woods.

Sitting around a campfire late at night sharing stories, that's what is real. There is no pretense, no 9-5 impress you with my "fill in the blank" BS.

To hike is to breathe, sweat, make it up the next hill. To be alive and to live. Not to let life pass you by while you're sitting on the couch or shopping.

Not all who wander are lost.”

“I have always done it because it gives me the things I want.

A time to reflect.

A test of strength.

The ability to meet friends.

A certain.....well kind of peace...to see a high mountain meadow, or a stream in the valley.

I don't know I can describe it...I just know it.”

“i hike it because I like pain. muahhhh!!!

na, really I bought a pack about 7 years ago, and just decided to start hiking. back then I didn't even know that there's a difference between hiking and backpacking. [dang germans]

i started about a year later. i love the outdoors, it gives me time to test myself, to reflect, to just get away from all the crap, and all the idiots.”

“Amen, Gem.”

“I just plain love the mountains & in particular, the Catskills. I've lived there most of my life & will continue to hike as long as I can. I do hike the Adirondacks & surrounding states but the Catskills are my home. My wife of 35 years lets me go without rancor whenever I like. I took my daughter hiking & I'll take my grandkids hiking.”

“LOL...the feel of a warm bag around you when your nose is cold from the outside weather. Or the sound of rain hitting the tent/tarp and the knowledge you are dry and warm....something about it.”

“i like fire”

“BEAR...we HAVE to do a trip (LOL).....”

“But Nothing I hate more than a warm body and a frozen face.”

“I just started getting interested and well im from a college town and everyone gets drunk...all the time...freshman year me and two buddies drinking a bottle of macormics (sp?) EVERY night for a month..Im the only one that did not fail out..one of those kinds of drinking schools(Texas Tech) Anywho, its my senior year and i still enjoy partying maybe once or twice a week I want to get out and do more productive things..I was always outside as a kid exploring creeks as far as I could to just see whats behind the next bend ending up a mile from mile house in the middle of the woods..so it all fell into place..No regrets, Except for that big bend trip when someone forgot half the food...dumba**”

“To get away from all the everyday stuff that messes with your head. To see beautiful things. To push myself physically. Alone at times for 5-7 days, don't have to talk, don't really have to think. Closest thing to heaven on earth for me.”

“People ask me this question all the time. Including my husband and children. They think I do it to get away from them. I finally convinced my husband to go on an overnight trip with me this past year. He only carried our sleeping bags and pads. I carried everything else and did all the chores. He came away from it realizing that this is something I have to do. As he mentioned, even when it was hard and he would have quit, I didn't and kept encouraging him along the way, all the while carrying an extremely heavy pack. He gets for me how I feel now.

Why do I hike? To be outside; to feel the air in all of its seasons; to smell dirt and trees on a hot summer day; to be alone with my thoughts even though they may be asking me 'why are you doing this?"

It is not just the physical exertion but also the mental one that goes along with the experience. I can honestly say I haven't done too many 'easy' hikes. In fact, each one has followed a progressively more difficult path. So much so that I found myself roped in right behind the guide climber on Rainier this summer.

So yea, it is to get away from phones, co-workers with agendas, bills, and responsibilities, the real reasons why I backpack are to numerous to list here. I go because I can.”

“I think this is a good question.

I hike for the workouts; the good feeling from the excercise. I do it because I want to get stronger. I hike for the the heights, the wind and weather, for the cold, the snow and ice, for the views, and the sense of 'place-'n-time'. I hike for the 'Zen-out'. I hike for the subtle beauty I find on the trail. I hike for working out my steps, routes, and pace. I hike with hikers and camp with campers because I want to listen, laugh, and learn from their adventures. I like to hike because I'm proud that I can hike, and that I get to the places I go to. I hike for the astonishment of my memory.”

“My reasons---

1) Because I was told I couldn't
2) It gives me hope
3) Face fears
last edited: 9/03/06 12:07:04 PM”

“Backpacking is a physical test and a mental relaxation for me.......I like what Gemini said.

Yeah, escape and play in the dirt for a few days!

I like to get to the mountains all months of the year, but the cool to cold months are the best.

And..............I like fire.

Dirt, Fire, Wind and Water...Mud!
last edited: 9/03/06 12:34:13 PM”

“I hike so I have the right to be on Trail Talk.”

“i like to drink whiskey/ky from a flask in front of a fire.”

“My wife has the car”

“I love these threads. Gives me a chance to repost this :)

Our Mother Calls Me

Hiking can be many things to many people. Some go for the peaks. It is not the journey, but the destination they seek. Another peak bagged and off they go to the next 6000+ footer. Some just like to cover miles - the more the merrier. They push themselves harder and harder on each successive hike. Do they ever slow down to glance at the scenery? I don’t know, but if they do, it must be a very blurry view.

For me, it is the journey. Don’t get me wrong, I love to end up at a cascading waterfall, or to stand on a summit and survey all that is below me. Those things are wonderful perks, but it is the hike that I enjoy most. The moments spent as part of my surroundings, not as an impact upon them. And each moment is different. Not all are glorious. Some are mind-numbing work just to get over that next hump. But then something will surprise me – an opening in the surrounding forest offering a view of green slopes rolling away like ocean waves under a blue sky, a great lumbering bird lifting off the slope above me, or just an oddly shaped mushroom. It is then that the struggle pays off.

When I am walking along a well-maintained trail - where the path is smooth and the walking is easy - my eyes are on the vistas or on the depths of the forest. I relish in the grand landscape around and above me. The colors of the leaves in the canopy, the way they contrast with the dark architecture of the branches. My heart is warmed by sunbeams pushing there way though like fresh shoots rising from the forest loam in the Spring.

But when the trail is rough, when every root reaches for a hiker’s boot, and the rocks await a careless step in hopes of turning an intruders ankle, well, then my friend, then my eyes are on the trail in front of me. Look away for too long and you walk off the edge or hook your toe under a root. Then, down you go in an ungainly mess. That’s when you hop up quickly, looking around, praying that your trail partner hasn't come around the bend. All to often, they are there, stifling a laugh until they know you are ok."

A hike is an ever-changing thing. A single tree, standing alone on a mountainside can be seen differently, not just by different people, but by a single person as well. At first, it is just a goal. Something just to strive towards where I can take a breather. Then, drawing closer, I see it as an individual entity. Something that has stood the test of time, and has grown stronger for its struggle, while everything around it has fallen to the elements.

Soon, individual branches take shape. It forms into a work of art. I admire how that lower branch - the one on the left, with the distinctive knot forming an old man's elbow - twist and turns as it stretches past its siblings towards the glorious Sun. I can just make out the sound of sighing as the wind rustles her leaves.

Then, I am there, resting under its shade. Thankful that it is here, and wondering how many others have rested where I stand. Wondering if they understood all that they were now a part of - the history of this lone sentinel on the mountainside. Rested and watered, I move on. Searching for that next moment when I will be at peace with my Mother, the Mother of us All. Mother Earth."

Later, in the twilight, when the cooking is done and the camp is quiet, the fireflies come to visit. They aren't as numerous as they were when a child, but few things are as big or as many as I remember them from my youth. At first, you only see them in the dark of the forest, beyond the last rays of the dying sun. They float and glow, moving in that lazy, life is good, manner. They blink out, only to glow again, but never where you thought they would be.

But it is after the Sun has given up for the day and the night rules the land when the fireflies really shine. Having filled the low-lying areas where it is damp and cool, they begin moving up the slopes like a glowing, growing fog. You can’t help but lose yourself in the patterns they paint against the velvet backdrop of nightfall.

Catching one in your hand - gently, so as not to harm the delicate creature - you watch as its tail burns fire. Nature is an intricate thing. What process of evolution must have happened to create something as marvelous and intriguing as a firefly? Once again, you realize that you are but one small cog in the greater existence around you.

It is this realization that draws me to the trail. To be one with our Mother, where from all life springs”

“...I am in it for the kicks.”

“It's to simplify life and live for the moment. People have so much stuff going on(job, wife, kids, hobbies, chores, LIFE). I am no exception. But when you backpack, and by that I mean overnight hiking and carrying all your stuff, life boils down to the bare essentials. When am I going to eat? Where am I going to sleep? Where do I get water. That's pretty much it. And be it for 24 hours, 24 days, or 6 months+, that's still pretty much it. All the cool stuff you get to see by getting out there is pure bonus, as is the physical fitness aspect. Here's a metaphor for you: life is like an Etch-a-Sketch full of squiggly lines. For me, two nights in the woods or what have you is like raising that Etch-a-sketch over my head and shaking it clean. How long you go is a direct correlation to how many squiggly gray lines get erased and how long the slate stays clean. All I can do is to try to manage the Etch-a-sketch as best as possible, trying my best not to let it all turn gray or break the knobs until the time comes for my next trip.

Bigben”

“For the physical activity, fresh air, to challenge myself, and of course meeting new people.

I've only just started really backpacking about 6 years ago when I met my husband. I did very little "hiking" with my daughter a little bit before but not like I do now. My daughter and I had done things like Pleasant Mtn(aka, Shawnee Peak, now) a few times when she was in her tweens and some of her teenage years, but nothing like overnighters. We also did some "car camping" and cabin camping with friends and family.

Now I'm hooked, I can't wait each fall season to start hiking, yeah I'd rather hike in the fall than in the summer because of the bugs..... I do like doing some winter hikes as well, one of my most memorable winter hikes will always be my first one in Baxter State Park. There are some hikes that I've done that I've actually surpised myself with. Those would be the ones that challenge me the most, by having to push myself over my comfort zone of being afraid of heights. Sometimes I don't want to do it, but then when I do, I realize, it's not always that bad....there still are limits to that though. But all in all, I love to be on the trail thinking of absolutely nothing and listening to the sounds of the woods and smelling the nice fragrance of the pines, particulary the firs...uuummmmm nice, very nice.”

“Because I can.”

“My two main reasons are because I like to be out in the woods and it's a form of good exercise that I enjoy.”

“drinking whiskey/ky from a flask next to a campfire surrounded by nekkid dancing woodnymph hotties.”

“I wanna go backpacking with Bearmagnet!!

Where is this special place?”

“LMAo.......

BM you just brought back some memories of my days on the northcoast in the dunes around blazing bon fires, with drums, guitars and giant doobies....

always clothing optional.”

“.....and boobies?”

“cuz it gets me away from you clowns”

“It's like banging your head against a wall, it feels good when you stop.

No but seriously, I happened upon it by chance at school and was hooked.

I think for me it is the ramping up of your senses. Everything tastes, smells, feels so much more intense.

Also there is the feeling of self reliance,and being the master of your own situation, even though you are at the mercy of different government bodies regarding certain locations but that aside its just, you know, bloody beaut mate.”

“yeah,what you all have said.”

“im looking for naked hikers”

“note to self*

CB is not invited to my nakid hikers on hikeing meet on the 24th of september”

“sc hikes?”

“OK, so you wanna follow some naked hiker up a "all fours" stretch of trail?

Jingle balls, jingle balls.................jingle all the way”

“Because I can.”

“You can what? Follow naked hikers on all 4's up the trail, singing "jingle bells"? This grieving thing has you doing some crazy #&%!$.”

“He could drink all day instead...oh wait that's me.”

“I've loved to camp since I was a Girl Scout back in the late 70s.... I even convinced my dirt & bug-fearing mom to let our family get a tent. Through the years, my family went on many car-camping trips-- an average of 1 a summer....

When I got married in 1992, my hubby & I decided that camping was a good way to travel around the U.S. without breaking the bank. We could get away and see the Natural beauty of the U.S. away from the big cities... We bought a "National Parks Passport" and started accumulating "passport stamps"--to where we now have hit all of the regions throughout the U.S. including Hawaii and Alaska....

Neither of us had ever backpacked--but after flying to the Grand Canyon in 2001 (and returning to Michigan a few days before 9-11), we realized that our car-camping gear was simply too much to travel with. We started buying lighter weight gear, and thinking about how we might like to try backpacking "someday".

In 2004, I found Trail Talk not even a month before I went to Alaska with my hubby. Within 2 days, I had met Tarabull and she loaded me up with a bunch of books on Alaska! Thinkbubelz & I flew to Alaska with equipment we could use to backpack, but no prior experience. Once we got to Denali National Park, though, it was apparent that we NEEDED to try backcountry backpacking.... We figured--"What the heck?!" We were in a beautifully remote National Park, we would probably not have another chance to visit there for many years, and took the plunge. A 1/2 day's drive to Fairbanks to get some additional supplies and then off we went to the back country....

From those 2 days out in Polychrome Mountains, Thinkbubelz & I got the backpacking bug.... Although we haven't had many chances since then to backpack, we now have the equipment and hope to do it again soon.....

There is nothing like walking into the woods--away from the hustle and bustle of city life... listening to the chirping of the birds and watching the tiny occupants of the wild outdoors--from an ant hill and lizards to deer and bears... It is amazing how much we, as humans, miss when it comes to the sights and sounds of nature.... The babbling of a brook and the quiet drips of a spring-fed cave... taking a quick dip in an icy cold creek... That's all worth the time away....

This summer, we didn't backpack, but did do some car-camping & hiking at Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Parks. The flora and fauna in that part of the country is absolutely breathtaking... Too much to see in a mere 10 days... and almost enough to make me want to quit my job and move there.

I can't wait to go back out on the trail again soon.... Life moves too fast in the city. Give me some fresh air and nature any day....”

“Because of the absolute simplicity of it.
Light is sharper, Sounds are richer, Colors are purer.”

“To get somewhere that I can drop my frikkin pack!”

“i like to poop in the woods...my goal is to poop in every state and national park, forest, and wildlife area”

“Oh crap !!”