Why Do You Hike?

[dave.m]

I'd be interested to hear what motivates my fellow VFTTers to hike.

 

[percious]

I think George Mallory put it best... "Because its there"

Seriously though. I feel more at home in the woods. I enjoy the peacefulness, and the rewards that you get from hiking. Recently I have been able to share some time with my son in the woods, so that is definately part of it. Hiking makes my body and mind stronger.

-percious

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I'd be interested to hear what motivates my fellow VFTTers to hike.

A simple but very good question. Well for me it's a few things.

First I work in an office all day behind a desk and chained to a computer (I'm a Programmer/Analyst) so going out to hike is like being let out for recess when I was kid.

Second, is my love for the WMNF. I only get up there once a year but I go every year and hike some of the trails on the Kanc as well as Welch-Dickey. There aren't many hiking trails in my state and most are not very challenging so I use them to get in condition for my annual trip to the White's.

Third, by nature I'm a bit of a loner (even though I'm happily married and have a son) and hiking is one hobby that I can do alone and be alone, I find it a very spiritual experience.

Fourth, to sort of negate #3, as my son gets older I plan to make hiking our father/son thing. I've taken him on a few trails and he seems to love it (he's only 18 months old). I cannot think of a better hobby for a father and son to do together.

Last and most important it's a great way to stay in shape.

 

[mavs00]

Ummmm, because it makes me feel happy, and when I'm lucky, it allows me to spend quality time with the people I love most (my family).

Lots of other reasons I could list, but when you get down to it, that sums it up nicely.

 

[Pucknuts61]

I ask myself that same question at every rest stop along steep sections while sucking wind !

While a lot can be said for spirituality, excercise, serenity, and any number of other reasons....I think in the end it's a personal accomplishment to finally make it to a destination all on your own power and to see the world laid out before you in all it's beauty. We go where very few people go, and have an up-close relationship with nature that others only appreciate through pictures.
A lot of our man-made problems seem to disappear when sitting on top of a mountain, or looking up to a waterfall, or just relaxing at the edge of a pond.

 

[Orphic Seth]

I am most at home when in the woods.

 

[sapblatt]

After watching Deliverance this weekend I am asking myself "why do I hike?!"

Seriously...I love the peace and the outdoors...excercise with a point is good as I find it hard to motivate myself to get on a piece of equipment. I love the sense of accomplishment when I reach a peak. Mainly, it is just so damn nice to be out there in the Whites.

 

[Sherpa John]

IN my film I explain we hike for reasons such as "whatever the heck we want it to be about."

Me personally.. Spiritual reasons, exercise, bonding with friends and family, the views. Hiking really created a wonderful place for Sarah and I to become closer and for that i'll forever be greatful.

 

[MtnMagic]

I enjoy the fellowship of the group I hike with, while keeping in shape and always will enjoy the views from the top.

You also meet the most interesting folks on the trails and summits!

 

[MattC]

I like what y'all have said so far. I like sapblatt's "exercise with a point."
In a B.B. King biography I read, B. says something about how he likes things that are both relaxing and stimulating at the same time. He names music and sex as two of those things. I believe hiking is another thing that is both relaxing and stimulating simultaneously. I think hiking is one of those things that helps me blow off the "bad energy" (stress, etc.) and wallow in the good. I like when I'm hiking and I start to focus more on the body's needs and less on the mind's issues. I think it's good to get out of our heads and more into our bodies once in a while.

I'll add that I think I developed very positive associations with hiking as a child because of time spent on the trails w/ my father. Developing positive associations at a young age can go a long way toward making someone happy and comfortable in a situation whether it's music, acting, sports, hiking, whatever. It doesn't guarantee to make a "hiker for life" out of someone, but it makes it very likely that they'll at least be comfortable out there.

Lastly, in the woods, they is no traffic or advertising.

Matt

 

[rongon]

Well, since you asked...

I've always been a bit hyper, and find that I spend a lot of time running around in circles in my day to day life - both mentally and physically. I care about my work, and so I create a lot of stress for myself. I also find that it's stressful protecting my and my company's interests from those who would like to transfer whatever we've got to their own bank accounts!

So... When I'm hiking, life gets simple. It takes all I've got to make it up that slope, or make sure I'm not going to fall off that ledge, or slip on that wet log. If a big critter crosses my path, I don't have room in my brain to think about products and profit margins...! The sense of wonder inspired by a great view of a mountain pass, or of a heron in a swamp, or of a magnificent grove of old trees makes all the man-made problems I face seem so trivial.

I find that when I come back from a good hike, I'm much more centered and easy-going. I also look a heckuvalot better than I did before I started hiking!

 

[sierra]

MY shrink told me too years ago, IM waiting for him to tell me to stop.

 

[arghman]

Why? To keep sane; because I can (after recovering from foot/ankle/knee problems from 1995-2000); to see and celebrate the harsh beauty of nature.

 

[snowshoe]

I would say I hike to get away from work but since I get paid to hike, snowshoe, XC ski and climbing I can not use that. I hike for many reasons, it is a great way to get exercise and have fun at the same time. I also like to hike because of the rewards you get when you climb a summit or just hiking along a creek on a hot summer morning. Viewing the mountains during the fall season and after a fresh coating of snow. It is great way to spend time with my wife and daughter. I also love the challenges the outdoors bring, from weather extremes to getting around cliffs and bushwhacking. There is no better way to spend my days.

 

[chinooktrail]

I love to hike bacause it is something I can do under my own power, with no other equipment that needs coordination or years of use to master. I love that feeling of being at the trailhead, or on a point of the trail where you can see the summit and think 'man, I will NEVER make it up there', and then when you are on the summit, wow, what a feeling of accomplishment. I think hiking in bad weather makes for fonder memories as well, I mean who among us does not have hundreds of photos of the places we go that are fairly interchangeable... But when you are nearly blown off the summit of North Twin in a driving freezing rain and you can't even see where the trail is, well, it just makes you want to get right back out there!

 

[Rivet]

I hike because I'm too uncoordinated to play any sports.

It's good exercise... nice being outdoors... can do it alone ... sense of accomplishment ... sense of adventure ... yada yada

 

[Ridgerunner]

Easy

by putting one foot in front of the other.
Oups. Sorry. Wrong question.

 

[Darwin]

I guess I like to hike because it grounds me, ya know like an electrical circuit. I love to hike for mental, physical and SPIRITUAL reasons. I don't become one with nature when I hike, I don't find god, but I do feel like I belong. I feel comfortable so I guess thats spiritual (l know, another thread). The feeling of being on a summit of a mountain you've just hiked to for three or four hours is a great sense of accomplishment. The smell of the clean mountain air and the views, well I don't think I need to tell any of you how special a summit or a ravine or a snow field is because I think you all know in one way or another. I think everyone hikes for a different reason , I hike because it's pure and it makes me feel good--really good!


--Shawn

 

[coldmountain]

To freak out the squares

So when I slump into a barstool or booth the guy next to me rumbles to his buddies about the homeless man who smells like returned SPAM.......
I also have a goal of a tollbooth attendant or drivethru clerk having their knees buckle when I roll down the window after week of deet/mountain house/smoke/smartwool stank/busted blister/petrified calf mud/sour polypro
stank spree.
Oh and the views, I like the views.

 

[vtlukekultv]

i hike because it's a good reason to drink cheap beer. not really, but it sounds like that's why a lot of you guys enjoy hiking. i like to hike because it forces me to develop my thoughts about the environment and human ecology. by working toward a better understanding of our natural worlds, i believe we will get to know ourselves in a new and profound manner. there are so many ways that hiking, or just sitting on a rock outside, will make us explore ourselves. by understanding ourselves, it will be more possible to help others change their potentially self-destructive ways (and by this i mean continuing to destroy the natural environment).

luke