This is so much fun......are we done yet?

[dvbl]

I've read lots and lots of trip reports on this site, and it's interesting how often the author seems to appear happy when the hike is over. I'm not quoting directly here, but I've seen numerous variations on the following theme, when a trip report author is describing the last half mile of a hike:
"...and finally we could hear the sound of cars..."
"...and I felt like the trail would never end..."
"...that last mile felt like three..."
"...and the Death March along the Lincoln Woods Trail is even worse on the way back..."
etc...

If hiking/backpacking is something we love so much, then why do we seem so happy and relieved when it's over? BTW, just so no one thinks I'm preaching from above, I'll admit that I've often had this feeling. I can understand that this is how I feel when there's an hour or two left in my work day. But with hiking? Why? After all, shouldn't we want to prolong the experience that we claim to love so much? Many of us think nothing of driving 400 miles round-trip in a day just to hike 12 miles. So why the happiness when it's over?

Is it because we're tired? If that's the case, maybe we should hike more slowly and take more breaks, and try to go to bed earlier the night before.
Is it because we're hungry? Carry more (and better) food.
Is it because we're thirsty? Ditto above.
Is it because we're anticipating the sound, smell, and taste of that first ice cold beer? Well, having gone through the beer-drinking thing, I can now honestly say there are few other things that were more of a colossal waste of my time, money, and happiness.

I think there are things that people truly like doing, and then there are things people like the idea of doing. In this second case, they like talking about it afterward as if it was great, but it was utter misery while they were actually doing it. The best real-life example I can think of is climbing Everest. Ask ten who've made it to the summit about the views and the feeling of standing on top of the world...........then ask them if it was fun. It's natural to see the past through rose-colored glasses. Whenever I find myself happily anticipating the end of a trail I've driven 230 miles to hike, I have to stop and wonder what I'm doing wrong.

 

[cbcbd]

Many of the people on this site, myself included, seem pretty goal oriented. Even though we all enjoy the outdoors for their beauty, splendor, etc., and it's our way of release, seeing the end of a trail is like seeing your finish line, your goal being reached.

If your goal was to hike 10 miles, 20 miles, backpack 5 days, or 100 days, at the end of those you'll be happy to have finished what you sought out to do.

As for why some people don't classify the process as "fun"... well, challenging and pushing beyond your comfortable limits is never easy, and nothing hard feels fun. The joy is from knowing that you just pushed yourself beyond what you had ever done in the past.
The good thing is that now you know you can do it, so next time around then it'll be much more fun - for you, not for your friends that you shlepped along

 

[AMF]

How's that old adage go... without pain there is no pleasure?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Sometimes, I'm elated to be back at the car (like when I did Allen). Other times, I would just as soon stay out on the trail forever. You just never know.

Rain, sun, bugs, snow, wind, mud, etc. can make a hike less pleasant (or more!)

Then there's the mental aspect. Most people would admit that a long day of hiking can become boring, especially if you're just walking down a long, flat stretch of road to get back to your car.

 

[onestep]

I think there are things that people truly like doing, and then there are things people like the idea of doing.

Interesting thread... I know A.T. thru-hikers who don't like to walk, 4K PeakBaggers who don't like to hike, and 3K'ers who don't like to bushwhack!!

Onestep

 

[Neil]

Some hikes are like sandwhiches. The good stuff is in the middle. You don't mind the approach because you're fresh and full of anticipation. The long walk back to the car after the climax (summit usually) may at times be no more than the price of admission. And who likes paying after they've finished playing?

I was sorry to see the car after whizzing down the Whiteface road on skis at 20 mph. Man, was that a blast!

 

[sardog1]

And now for something completely different.

I'm not a peak bagger, and I'm not particularly goal oriented when I go into the woods for recreation. The "doing" is way more important to me than the "got it done." That's why a bird, or an animal track, or a tree might get so much of my attention that I end up not reaching (or caring about) the original objective. And there's no positive correlation between pain and pleasure for me.

I say these things not to cast aspersions on anyone else's motivations, only to offer another "View From The (Sometimes) Top."

 

[dug]

There is no happier feeling then taking my boots off, digging into the cooler, and downing a cold beer.

I agree with Neil's assessment, in that after a while on a long downhill my feet and knees just start to hurt. I do a lot of long mileage flat walks to compensate, but if I'm up on a peak I know eventually I will be in pain at the bottom.

I always say when I pull into camp: "I love my pack and all, but I am sooo glad to get that pig off my back."

 

[Oldsmores]

I liken it to coming home from vacation: The drive/flight to a vacation spot is no problem - you're looking forward to having fun and life is good. The drive/flight back is torture: you're tired and you know that the party's ending and it's back to work. The fact that I don't absolutely love the drive home, or the last 3 miles of "death march" to the car, doesn't mean that I don't love vacations, or hiking.

 

[marty]

I find that the trail itself makes a big difference as to whether I feel impatient to get a hike completed. For example, when doing the Tripyramids from Tripoli, returning down Livermore can get a bit tedious. It is a tree lined tote road that has lots of biting insects. It was OK at the start, but not so fun at the end. That being said, I love the rest of this hike and am certainly willling to endure some tedium at the end in order for the overall enjoyment.

Also, doing a full loop trail certainly makes the return ride more fun.

While I love cold beer, pizza, burgers and ice cream after a hike, it is not a driving force to get it over with.

 

[giggy]

IWhile I love cold beer, pizza, burgers and ice cream after a hike, it is not a driving force to get it over with.

the cold beers are!!!!

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Hmmm. Let me see. It's been 3 hours since I've had any views, I'm tired, my feet and knees hurt, it's a lot warmer than when I started the day, and the bugs are looking for supper. What's not to love?

And much as I love my boots, sometimes the best part of the hike is when I get to take them off and stick my feet in a cold stream.

 

[Rik]

Once after a day of bushwhacking in which we finished in the rain another member of this board told this joke:
A man walks into the doctor's office and says "doc, I keep hitting myself in the head with a hammer"
So, of course, the doc said " why do you keep hitting yourself in the head with a hammer?"
To which the man replied, " because it feels so good when I stop".

 

[king tut]

Perhaps we are all driven people with the need for a sense of accomplishment? That's part of it. I also love nature and the feeling of a "God" presence around me. I normally feel high strung with things coming at me 100 mph. I love the feel of physical exertion, and the point where the body feels tired and mentally things start to slow down. Anxieties go away, things are calm. Perfect combination of physical exertion and mental clarity. It's like an organized religion that I cannot achieve from within a church or place of worship.

 

[Paradox]

In the book "Deep Survival" (which has been discussed many times on this board), the author discusses mountaineers (and peakbaggers) as being unique among athletes, in that they celebrate when they are only half way there. The part of the journey with the highest mortality/morbidity rate is still to come. Consider football/hockey or anything else: when the final buzzer goes off, the participants could pick up their golf clubs the next instant rather than celebrate. Not in mountain climbing.

I had a special hip flask made for Chips and me for completing my NH 4000'ers. I hauled it up to the top of Mount Jackson which was my final a few weeks ago. I had finished the book a few days before that climb. At the top I didn't even feel like getting it out because I felt a bit silly knowing I needed to make it back down.

 

[sapblatt]

I like this thread...

Sometimes we are beat - for a variety of reasons. I find the tough parts of a hike to be a cathartic experience - it can be real tough, but I love the process. I generally like the trails that others find boring...I do like a cold beer after a hike...

One of the issues for me is the "I have to get back" thing...I do not think I would be longing to get back to the car if I was going to be away in the woods for more days. My typical day hike puts me on the road at 3-3:30am, at the trailhead at 6-6:30am and I know that no matter what time I finish, I have get back home and drive three hours most of the time - at some point in the day motivates me to want to finish - as does knowing that a cold beer is waiting at the car.

I kewep coming back - it is who I am...

 

[Paradox]

Oh, for the youthful joy of it all!

Many of us are familiar with the loop trail over the summit of Mt. Passaconaway in NH. It is steep, boulder strewn, and coming down it is very tough on your knees if you are older than about twenty years old. Two years ago when my son Adam was only 6 years old, he and I climbed Passaconaway. He was bored to tears on the moderate grades. He wanted to quit, he wanted to know how much further, what's tp eat etc.. Even the summit was not particularly interesting to him. However, coming down that steep section, he kept yelling "This is the greatest day of my life!" as he would leap down from boulder to boulder. At one point he came to a large sloping boulder with a flat top and a six foot slide to the bottom of the boulder. He stopped for a couple seconds, flopped down on his butt and slid down like it was a slide. It took me five minutes to pick my way down that one rock. Oh, for the youthful joy of it all!

 

[timmus]

when a trip report author is describing the last half mile of a hike:
"...and finally we could hear the sound of cars..."
"...and I felt like the trail would never end..."
"...that last mile felt like three..."
"...and the Death March along the Lincoln Woods Trail is even worse on the way back..."
etc...

Oh yeah. That's me talking. But that feeling last as long as it takes to say it. Like those who are cursing mountains when they get a stick in their eye

What is important (and why I go back again) is the souvenir of the ENTIRE hike.

 

[yvon]

Some hikes are like sandwhiches. The good stuff is in the middle. You don't mind the approach because you're fresh and full of anticipation. The long walk back to the car after the climax (summit usually) may at times be no more than the price of admission. And who likes paying after they've finished playing?

You're right Neil.

 

[Artex]

When I was a kid, my friends and I used to blast ourselves with the miserably cold water from a hose and then jump in the warm pool. It just made it feel better. Same thing.