Your Terminal List

[sapblatt]

Listmania

Six days ago I guess I would have had to of answered "4K." Now that I have done them I am hiking whatever I want...much of which will be NH 4ks (different seasons and different routes) because I love them, and they are the easiest things for me to drive to. I am into redlining, and I like Ivy's comments on bushwhacking...not totally into it, love reading about it and I am sure I will do some sooner or later...
The next new thing I hope to finish (next year maybe) is redlining all of the RMC trails between route 2 and the Presis...

 

[Puma concolor]

But what about the 50 Finest?????

http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/WorldTop50.html

Any takers?

 

[Neil]

All of my list action takes place in the Dacks. (46, 46-W, HH and a list of slides I'm making up as I go) However, being a part of this forum (now that it's closed, I can never leave ) has made me want to see what all the hubbub is about east of NYS. BTW, is there a Vermont HH?

 

[Mike P.]

I'd say focus on 4K because I can climb 2K & 3K peaks much closer to home than ADK's, BSP or Whites. The views from Race, Brace, Monadnock are very nice. If traveling someplace, i'll try & do a hike their, perhaps a highpoint or trip with a good view. (have 6 of the south above 6K done) about 1/3 done with the Catskill list but unlikely I'll do some of those bushwhacks I tried a solo SW Hunter a few years ago without finding the Cannister


That said, outside of the 111 or 115 or whatever, I'm working on NH 4K in 4 seasons, all done in two & 32 done in 3 or more.

Greylock, Monadnock & Bear I'll do in each month (11 months for Greylock done) Racking up Mt. Tom's (all 1,202 feet), Wachusetts & many miles on the local rail trail also.

Maybe I should have answered F^&*# list but I stole ideas from several & created my own....

 

[dms]

Vt HH

You can use the VT 3k list, I think there are 109 peaks on that list.

 

[Peakbagr]

Finish ADK HH next Spring.
Finish ADK46 x 4 seasons
Finish Cat 3500 x 4 seasons
Complete Cat 3500 x 12 months - a "forever" list.
Complete NYS 3500ers
Make progress on bottom Catskill 100
Make progress on bottom Catskill 100W

 

[post'r boy]

hike'n whack till i die!!! that's my list!!

 

[Artex]

I'm stoked that I've done the 48, but.. FOR NOW.. I'm totally content with having done that. It's possible (perhaps inevitable) I'll get the hankering to work on some of the other lists in the future.

I do like setting goals though, and am concentrating on speed hikes, especially for when spring and summer roll around. I'm nowhere in the league of Stinkyfeet, Seaver, Frodo and some of the others, but it's fun for me to at least attempt to get up to that level. The journey in doing so is where the fun is at.

 

[MattC]

I voted for 4ks. I've finished the Catskill 35, working on the ADK 46, would like to finish the Catskill 35W. I also use the Catskill 100 list as a guide for further exploration. Did/does VFTT influence me as to lists? Nah, I don't think so.

My dad told me about the ADK 46ers when he took me up Algonquin about 25 years ago, and I told him "I'm gonna do that some day." I don't know why I said it, but I guess I meant it. I didn't think about it for 20-something years. By the time I finally got really "serious" about hiking, I lived close to the Catskills, so that's where I started hiking a lot. I somehow found about the 35 and thought, "Oh hey, they do that numbers thing w/ mountains besides just the Adirondacks. Wow, interesting." Little did I know how many lists there are out there.

So anyhow, as I got really into the Catskills, I was thinking "I can hike here a lot, and then at some point finally get into the ADK list." That's pretty much what I've done. I want to stress that I did and do adore the Catskills for themselves, not just as a training ground for the ADKs or something. I love it all. In fact I love the Shawangunks as much as either the Catskills or the ADKs, and the Gunks are just some ridges that rise from 1K-2K, not much in the way of summits, certainly no list or anything. Just a whole bunch of beautiful, amazing geology, flora and fauna 15 minutes away. I sort of have my own list of great places/hikes in the Gunks I guess. I'm sure I'll fall in love w/ New England's mountains too once I finally get over there, but I'm not likely to ever do those lists unless I move to Vermont or something. Just too far to drive.

Mark Schaefer's remarks pretty much sum up where I think I'm going. I'm in the stage now where I'd like to finish a few lists, but I don't see them really being the point of why I hike ultimately. I ripped through the Catskills list pretty fast last year, but not too fast to hit great non-list peaks like Ashokan High Point and Overlook on the way. Similarily, I've done Noonmark, and will probably climb other lesser ADK peaks before finishing the 46. Hiking from a list is fun, hiking w/o a list is fun, a lot of things besides hiking are fun...

Matt

 

[HighHorse]

i thought i would probably finish the NEHH but lately it seems like i might move to another part of the country. the NH4K list certainly motivated me for some time, but the allure of lists has faded. in thinking about NEHH, i always thought of those peaks a a :double-bonus" type of situation-- meaning that i would willingly explore new areas but the fact that things were on a list might add an extra bit of utility. i know that i change over time, and i've kicked myself in the past at times when i started to care about lists again after periods of not giving a damn.

i'm surprised that so many think that VFTT has no effect on list behavior. i think that's total BS. there are a lot of funny academic ideas out there about "network theory"; one of its central ideas is that the networks of which we are a part shape the information we receive and thereby influence our decisions and actions. i grew up hiking in NH and knew about the NH4K list but had no idea of even the NE4K list before starting to lurk on this site and the old AMC site a few years back. and i'd say i'm a fair bit more skeptical and cynical than the average VFTTer, and even i admit the site's influence. why is the influence hard to admit? i dunno, perhaps it's the desire of hiking types to maintain a "rugged individualist" mentality.

i'm not knocking anyone else's hustle, just offering my two spitballs from the back corner of the class...

 

[Puma concolor]

i'm surprised that so many think that VFTT has no effect on list behavior. i think that's total BS.

Can't speak for anyone but myself, but I started peakbagging before Al Gore invented the internet and completed a half dozen Northeast lists before I owned a computer or even heard of VFTT.

I love this site but it has no influence whatsoever on my hiking habits. Also, I consider myself "retired" from Northeast lists. Kevin Rooney expressed my thoughts exactly in his first post.

 

[MattC]

i'm surprised that so many think that VFTT has no effect on list behavior. i think that's total BS. there are a lot of funny academic ideas out there about "network theory"; one of its central ideas is that the networks of which we are a part shape the information we receive and thereby influence our decisions and actions. i grew up hiking in NH and knew about the NH4K list but had no idea of even the NE4K list before starting to lurk on this site and the old AMC site a few years back. and i'd say i'm a fair bit more skeptical and cynical than the average VFTTer, and even i admit the site's influence. why is the influence hard to admit? i dunno, perhaps it's the desire of hiking types to maintain a "rugged individualist" mentality.

High Horse, I can only speak for myself, but I'm being honest when I say that I don't think this website has influenced my list behavior. The list seed was planted in me a very long time ago. When I finally decided to pursue that childhood goal a little over a year ago, it definitely wasn't because of a website. Has VFTT influenced me in other ways? Most definitely-one major example would be in making decisions about gear. Have other things influenced my list behavior? Again, definitely-I would point to hikers I met on the trail early on and trail guides as two sources of inspiration to climb list peaks. Perhaps VFTT has influenced my list behavior, but if it has, I'm not sure how. Just to be clear, I'm not in any way offended by your post, BTW. I'm also certainly not into the "rugged individualist" stuff. I think other human beings are actually pretty cool to be around sometimes.

Matt

 

[--M.]

What is the "hiker persona"?

I've been interested to see how my preconceived notion of hiker attitudes plays out in the laboratory of this site.

I always assumed hikers were
==highly varied, eclectic, resistant to categorization; that said...
==somewhat strong of opinion, protective of their freedom of thought
==independent, capable of going it alone, but
==interested in the team concept, with "leaders" and "followers,"
==And... an often somewhat curmudgeonly bunch.

As such, I've wanted to see how the tension between "peak-baggers" and non-"peak-baggers" would play out. I've read accounts from the AT written by people for whom "peak-bagging" as a concept was repugnant. [Why? Because of the stereotype of head-down trail-drivers who can't understand gestalt and smelling roses.]

I've generally been pleasantly surprised to see that balloon popped on these boards.

On the other hand...:

There is a strong peak-bagger mentality here, albeit tempered by the anacronistic "views from the top." See how these two are in tension?

I find myself more of a wanderer who likes peaks for their views, rather than a list-finisher who revels in the achievement. I 'get' and enjoy both points of view, and will probably celebrate when I finish whatever list I get through, but that's not what it's about for me.

But mostly, I'm a small-y yankee New Englander who enjoys your independence of thought, even if it's not my personal cup of tea.

How's that for two cents?

--M.

 

[Woody]

I started to get into hiking and found the NH 4K list pretty quick in the back of the White Mountain Guide and thought it would be fun to hike all of those mountains, but never thought that I would actually be able to get it done. Well, I have only Carrigain to hike to finish the NH 4K list and I'll get that as soon as we get some good weather. I want a nice day with a view for #48. VFTT has exposed me to the other possible lists like the Hundred Highest. Now when I get a chance to get a Hundred Highest peak on the same hike as a NH 4K I try to get to it. My next goal will be the NE 4K's and then I would like to work on the ADK46. At the same time I will continue to go back to the White Mountains and the hills of Massachusetts and Southern NH to expolore other trails and areas I haven't seen yet. The lists are a guide, but not the total focus.

 

[forestgnome]

i dunno, perhaps it's the desire of hiking types to maintain a "rugged individualist" mentality.

'Rugged individualism' is a good thing. It just means taking care of yourself, and limiting your dependence on others, being a giver and not a taker. When hiking in the mountains, this is extremely important. I think you're confusing self-sufficiency with something else, maybe bragging? I don't really get your point.

I've never bothered with lists, but I don't knock the idea. I "don't get it", I know. I just love to be in the forest.

 

[Neil]

Hey! I only read Playboy for the articles. and I only do lists in order to fully comprehend the paleobotany of the Couchie swamp. LOL. Keep it coming folks, and remember: we can never leave.

 

[HighHorse]

'Rugged individualism' is a good thing. It just means taking care of yourself, and limiting your dependence on others, being a giver and not a taker. When hiking in the mountains, this is extremely important. I think you're confusing self-sufficiency with something else, maybe bragging? I don't really get your point.

I'm not knocking rugged individualism, and I'm not confusing self-sufficiency with anything, thank you. My point is that admitting that one's thinking is influenced by networks of information provided by a set of strangers on the internet would be seemingly inconsistent for one who subscribes to the principles of rugged individualism and self-sufficiency gleaned from years of experience.

Mark S.- I don't have any empirical data, but I'd wager that you are the exception rather than the rule.

mcorsar- I hear you man. I just think behavior is influenced, even in subtle ways. Just the knowledge that there are other lists out there may change the way we go about things in some cases. I think in the case of gear, routes, and other things such as "mountain curiosities," VFTT probably has a pretty big effect on a fair number of people. Holla.

 

[Neil]

My point is that admitting that one's thinking is influenced by networks of information provided by a set of strangers on the internet would be seemingly inconsistent for one who subscribes to the principles of rugged individualism and self-sufficiency gleaned from years of experience.

I am most definitely a rugged individualist. My wilderness thinking and my hiking have been influenced by fellow rugged individualists who hang out in these here parts and, I hope, vice versa. Lucky us, huh?

 

[Double Bow]

hike'n whack till i die!!! that's my list!!

I ruggedly and independantly agree with post'r boy!

I also think that certain people are inclined to "collect" things, hence they peakbag. I know I'm like that but, peakbagging, for me, has never been a head down drone activity. It's always a very special journey into the woods, regardless of the height of the destination. The peakbagging or "collecting" aspect is just gravy.

 

[dug]

"i'm surprised that so many think that VFTT has no effect on list behavior"

If anything, I think I have been DISCOURAGED from pursuing lists. So, I guess you could say it has had an effect, but not the way you may be intending. After completing one, something that I worked on off and on for 25 years, the more I hear about lists the less I personally like them. It seems like it's turned into a scoresheet. Everytime someone hikes a peak that is NOT your standard 4K peak, you'll hear "Oh, you must be doing the XYZ list". Or, "I'm the expert because I've completed the ABC, the 123, the AB100HH list". Sometimes, people just want to hike for the exercise and the views. My only completed list was completed a few years before Darrin started this site. The only reason why I'm working on redlining is that there are lots of hikes that don't pursue peaks, and frankly sometimes I'm just too damn lazy to hike uphill for hours on end. So, I get to visit a pond, waterfall, or just walk the dog for a few hours on a logging road.

Now, that is just me, and I certainly respect anyone's hike what they wish. As someone's signature on here says, "Hike your own hike". If bagging all those peaks is what you want to do, by all means, have at it. Keep sending pictures for us to see!