Verbal exchange

[Seeker]

Has Dave Metsky replied yet??

 

[DrewKnight]

With my kids, I listen a lot...

As with most others, it depends on who I am with.

I tend to hike a lot with my kids (son 10, daughter 8), and I find one of the tricks to a good day is getting them started on a topic and let them roll. My daughter can hold forth on Fairy Houses in the woods for hours, and I know far more about the strategy for PlayStation games than I ever thought I would from my son.

Hiking with buddies or my wife, it's 50-50, but with long pauses most of the time.

Hiking alone, it's mostly silence until I feel the need to comment on some stupid or ill-advised thing I am about to attempt. This happens more than you might hope.

 

[Seeker]

OK, that was a little mean. But I meant it in a good way.

I talk more with people who talk more, less with people who don't talk that much. With my SO it depends on what either of us have on our minds--sometimes we range all over the place, other times we enjoy the peacefulness of the woods.

Sometimes--but not always--I like to walk a little apart from my cohiker (s) just to get that peaceful feeling.

Most times I don't care either way, and enjoy lots of conversation, although there have been occasions when a little silence wouldn't hurt.

 

[skiguy]

I seem to be with the majority so far voting 50-50. This is an interesting question. For me it depends on alot of different factors. Mainly who I am with will dictate how much talking goes on. I hike solo alot so sometimes a nonstop talker can be irritating just because I have been conditioned to a quieter scenario.So I just speed up but most of the time I'll slow down and let them go ahead.Altough at the same time I can be the blabber or feeding the fire of nonstop talking. Trail Conditions like how steep or flat and if it is a tricky part of the trail like tough footing or being on the edge of a precipice can dictate the level of conversation. A product of the level of conversation for me is how close someone might be to me on the trail. Sometimes because of the above described trail conditions IMO it is just not smart to be right behind or right in front of someone therefore if your old like me and hard of hearing conversation ends quick.

 

[Paradox]

I usually hike alone, which reminds me of an old joke. If a man speaks in the forest and his wife is not there to hear him.... Is he still wrong?

 

[forestgnome]

Ah, peace and quiet!

Yup, I'm interested in seeing wildlife and enjoying nature when I hike. People often ask..."how do you see so much wildlife when you hike?" Truly, the one most important reason why hikers see no wildlife is the noise they make. This is not a knock on anyone who talks while hiking. Hike your own hike and enjoy it, but save the flames. I know most hikers could care less on their way to the peak and back down, but talking is the topic of this thread, and these are my thoughts.

My only hiking partner is my wife, on occasion. Silence is comfortable with us because we've been together for over a decade, counting dating. We both hike simply to be in the forest and she really wants to see wildlife too. So, we occasionally talk softly and just look and listen. It's wonderful. I think silence is uncomfortable with most people.

Once I was in the little col just south of the summit of Mt. Hight around noon on a summer Saturday. As I came through I heard movement then waited as a mama moose and two new calves appeard from the woods and came right onto the trail. I talked to them and took nice pictures and enjoyed them for a while. It was beautiful. Then we all heard voices approaching from the south. Mama got a little jittery as the voices came closer, looking in that direction, despite me being 20' from her with no problems. As the loud talk of movies and tv shows got closer, mama decided to move back into the thick woods and the calves followed. Then the hikers appeared and one asked what I was photographing. I told her a mama moose and calves, and they were all so diappointed that they just missed them. Pretty funny.

Just another perspective...

Happy Trails

 

[Dugan]

I usually hike alone, which reminds me of an old joke. If a man speaks in the forest and his wife is not there to hear him.... Is he still wrong?

Of course!

I think I'm 50-50 - willing to chat if company requires, but just as happy for silence. With that said, I'm sure there are plenty of folks who talk tons who in turn think they're pretty quiet and vice versa.

ps
I can remember a silly occasion in southern VT with a dog since gone. He was an intact male who insisted on peeing with 4 paws on the ground. I would routinely ask him if he, "really had to pee like a girl". One such time, someone came within view, chuckling, clearly having heard us!

 

[Neil]

If a man speaks in the forest and his wife is not there to hear him.... Is he still wrong?

Of course he, is but at least it's not the start of a new argument.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I'm pretty much an introvert. I don't have much of a sense of humor and am not blessed with a good personality. Needless to say I do most of my hiking alone and speak only when spoken to which is the rule I live my life by.