Peakbagging, etc.

[SherpaKroto]

(I moved this from another thread)

Post'rBoy: I'm a peakbagger, have called one of my hikes "The Castle Assault", considered a few of my hikes a deathmarch, "need" many peaks, and love to "bag" peaks. Don't get me wrong, I have tremendous respect for the mountains - I remember looking across from Monroe to Jefferson one winter after failing consistently to make its summit saying out loud (while standing alone) "I will hopefully see you soon, my friend".

These are just terms I use. They in no way reflect the deep reverence I have for being fortunate enough to spend some small moments in their company. I do not check off a list for the sake of saying I'm done. I chase lists to go to new places that I might not have thought of. I love to relive each one of the hikes, and hope that I can get back, like returning to see an old friend. Although the terms to you may have negative meanings, your interpretation of each never enters my thought. I have a deep and lasting respect for all of the Mountains that have allowed me to enter their midst. To me, they are the friends that I have been fortunate to get to know a little better.

There are times that a list gives me the motivation that I might not otherwise have.

To me a REAL Peakbagger climbs a mountain with no intention of ever returning to that same peak. I climb because I want to find new places that I want to return to, and for the great memories that I have of doing so.

Note: I should mention that Post'rBoy is a good friend of mine. We met hiking, sharing many, but not nearly enough hikes and brews together. He and many others here help me stay relatively sane. One thing I know about Post'rBoy: no hike with him could EVER be boring (or unpleasant).

 

[Rob S]

These are just terms I use. They in no way reflect the deep reverence I have for being fortunate enough to spend some small moments in their company.

Well put, Sherpa. My thoughts exactly.

I have a deep and lasting respect for all of the Mountains that have allowed me to enter their midst. To me, they are the friends that I have been fortunate to get to know a little better.

Wow, you are a poet! That's beautiful. That quote would be perfect below a framed 8 X 10 picture of your favorite mountain. Can I use it?


Rob

 

[hardrain]

We know what you are saying Sherpa. I sometimes talk in those peakbagging terms myself... but when I think about it, what counts isn't rushing ahead but falling into just the right natural pace that makes my heart beat one with the trail and the cathedral of trees keeping watch, the rising of the wind as I go higher. This is a high like no other. It's why I'm there.

 

[JohnL]

Peakbaggers, list geeks, summit celebrators, hikers, whatever you call us, we're all doing the same thing. Enjoying the mountains in our own way. The others are just labels that people put on us or on themselves. It's only words. What is more important are the actions that you do while in the mountains. I would say that we all respect the mountains and its environs but to try to say I respect them more than you do because I don't call myself a certain label is a false belief. It's like saying I'm more religious because I sing louder in church from the front row. Everyone has their own degree of respect, reverence, fun, whatever while they are in the hills. Forget the labels and the words and dwell on the behavior, the sensations, the feelings, the sights, the smells, the sounds, the memories of the good times you have in the hills. That’s what’s important to me.

JohnL

 

[Mike P.]

Thanks, Sherpa I was going to reply also generally in the same way. It's a term that 10 people will use in 10 different ways. Isn't every mountain & hill with a name on some type of list? I agree with poster boy when you define peakbagging as he did. I don't use the term that way. In fact I have so many list (keeps Excel skills sharp) that it's hard not to do any hike & not be on some list. (2nd time, four seasons, solo, top ten all twelve months, an annual list of new peaks, a list for each northeastern state. Habving all these list make it easy to hike with others as I don't have to hike my list as their hike probably is on my list. (I do have to go back to Owl's Head this Spring though for ....)

Define Peakbagging, Good weather, bad weather, a windy day in the mountains & you will find a lot of different opinions. For weather, try this simply either good or bad - Late November, 10 degrees on Northern Presidentials visibility changes from 100 yards to many miles as clouds whip by on 40 MPH wind. Good or Bad?

 

[stoopid]

Peakbaggers, list geeks, summit celebrators, hikers, whatever you call us, we're all doing the same thing. Enjoying the mountains in our own way. The others are just labels that people put on us or on themselves. It's only words. What is more important are the actions that you do while in the mountains. I would say that we all respect the mountains and its environs but to try to say I respect them more than you do because I don't call myself a certain label is a false belief. It's like saying I'm more religious because I sing louder in church from the front row. Everyone has their own degree of respect, reverence, fun, whatever while they are in the hills. Forget the labels and the words and dwell on the behavior, the sensations, the feelings, the sights, the smells, the sounds, the memories of the good times you have in the hills. That’s what’s important to me.

Thank you thank you thank you... could NOT have said it better myself!

 

[Hunter]

Each time I climb a mountain, my initial motivation for starting up the trail may vary, but the feeling that I have upon reaching the summit is always the same....a deep respect and admiration for creation and the beauty that surrounds me.

 

[peak_bgr]

As everyone has said or agreed to, peakbagging has such a shallow meaning.

For myself, I climb them all, because they are there. From 800' in elevation, to Marcy, being my highest so far. I will honestly say, there are many I don't ever plan to climb again, but quite a few I will. Also I like to see what's up there or what's along the way, you just don't know unless you stray from the beaten path and see.

As of late I have been picking away at the lists. My problem is which list do I hit this week. The NE 100 highest, the NE 111, the catskill 3500, the ADK 100 highest, the fire tower challenge, or in the winter- the ADK winter 46. So many mountains----So little time.........

 

[bushwacker]

and don't forget, there is always a different way to every mt.
so i look forward to climbing most mts. again, but doing it a different way.

 

[peakbagger]

No offense to the previous poster but, now that we have restored respectability to peakbagger how about bringing bushwhacker into legitimacy. Some folks think the term implies heaing out in the woods with machete and ax to cut bootleg trails up unspoiled peaks ( a few folks I have run into have assigned a sexual slant to it!).

I always liked the term as it describes the inevitabilty of getting whipped in the face multiple times by the local underbrush. To me if done properly its the ultimate in low impact hiking as it spreads the impact over the entire mountain rather than one particular trail. Plus whenever you see the herd paths left by the local moose populations on some of the untrailed summits, it obvious that the hikers arent the high impact users!.

 

[sardog1]

Kevin,

If you saw a sunrise on Rainier, then I'm gonna guess that you might have been devil's clubbed on the way? (The only form of vegetation from the Pacific NW that I don't miss. Oh, and the blackberry vines, when not bearing fruit.)

 

[BrentD22]

I like to climb up hills and mountains. If I get to the top great, if not oh well. Hiking and climbing are my route to mental health. They are my prozac. I feel happier when I'm out "there". One of my wishes is that I could get out "there" more often or even move back "there" with my family.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

lists

Well said, SK. I'm almost finished "bagging" all the peaks on one list, and am looking forward to returning to several of them to enjoy them all over again. I simply enjoy being there.

 

[Mad Townie]

"Bushwhack" and other thoughts

I've always felt the word should be "bushwhackee" rather than "bushwhacker."

As for bagging peaks, it's quite possible to have little or no respect for the mountains at the time one bags the first peak. By the tenth or so, the basis for respect is well established, and I can't imagine anyone who doesn't have a true respect for those hills by the 20th or so.

With experience it's harder to AVOID respect than to gain it.

Also, we may express our respect in different ways. Chacun à son goût.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Re: "Bushwhack" and other thoughts

I've always felt the word should be "bushwhackee" rather than "bushwhacker."

Ain't it the truth. I always end up worse for wear and the bush inevitably wins -- which is probably appropriate. Those guys are well grounded and we are on their turf.

Although we may bag peaks, it is the peaks that bag us, and we are their willing captives.