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How do you hike?

100% grade A woods rambler. I hate hiking with other people (Exception: Jca21, Mukyy88 and other WS&S people + my GF excluded). I like to hike alone, do what i what, go where i want, spend and hour whittling a stick, sleeping against a tree, plinking etc. Ya sometimes i reach the end of the trail too...
 
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SIXFOOTER said:
I am both I recon. I like to get where I am going, but along the way I like to stop and chech stuff out some too. My wife however, I have to drag down the trail, left to her own she might make it 300 yards and fill up a 256 meg memory chip in the camera. Then be all amazed that I am 2 miles up the trail.
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:D my GF is like that, exceot she will fill up a 4GB chip :p:p:p
 
stingray4540 said:
I'd say, I'm both. I'm an A to B, but I like to stop if I see something interesting, and I like to take a lot of pictures. So, while I like to get in more than just a mile all day, I don't push myself to get more than 10 miles a day, I prefer 5-7.
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BOOMSTICK said:
I like to look at everything and take pictures of mushrooms and bugs, birds, rocks ect. I know I hate hiking with people who want to do a 20 mile day everyday. it turns into no time for anything and pain the next day from pushing so hard.
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This is pretty much how I am too, both. Unless the entire route is eye-candy, I'm often hiking with the goal of reaching so-and-so lookout or scenic spot for lunch or whatever. I don't speed through, but like Mentor, I really can't help keeping a slightly faster than normal walking pace.

However, I love to take pics on the trail, so I stop often to take multiple pics of one object or scene until I'm satisfied. Or I'll stop just to listen to the wind and take in my surroundings. Maybe sit and whittle a little, or maybe go off trail a bit to check things out. I'm always taking in things with my eyes and ears, so for me, I guess it's ultimately about being in nature rather than getting somewhere within it. :thumbup:

If I'm hiking with the GF, I definitely find myself strolling more.
 
It depends. I like to stop and look at everything that attracts my attention, but I also like the feeling of hitting a good stride and really covering some ground. I don't like seeing other people on the trail for the most part.
 
I like to move-the self pride of crossing alot of tough terrain at a respectable pace is rewarding. I like to see God's creation and wildlife interacting with their environment. I like to take pictures to help remember where I've been and show others what I do with my life. I hike to stay in shape, so I can drink more beer and eat more food without becoming unhealthy. The biggest reason I hike is to get away from the BS society spoon feeds me. It can't reach me at 9000 feet on a rock face 200 miles from the closest city. If I happen to run into people on the trail that are out for the same reason as I, I will enjoy their company. If I run into a bunch of flighty high school girls that are bitching about self-generated drama, or a couple that can't stop arguing, I pick up the pace by 2 miles an hour til they are out of hearing distance.
 
i am a woods bum to the core. i dont care about getting to a place in a particular time frame, just not my type of hiking. its the journey not the destination that matters.

like bushman i'll sit around and whittle, make some coffee (which people see as a strange thing on day hikes [i notice this from all the weird stares i get when i'm sitting next to a stove with water boiling]). i like to identify plants and make notes of approximately where i found them for future use. i keep notes of where certain species of wood grow and how far along they are so that later i can come back and harvest them.

i would rather hike 3km and sit around and enjoy nature than struggle through 20km and reach somewhere and be dog tired and missed so many of the things on the way.
 
i hike for different reasons....sometimes for fitness, sometimes to mosey around, and sometimes to get from a to b...it all depends...im not too into talking and hiking unless its in bear country....usually ill sing and hike.
 
I would like to think Im a bum, but to be honest, I get bored pretty quick, and without someone to talk to, or, ahm....... bunk next to, like say the GF, its a pretty slow trip.

That said, sometimes, I just like the quite, especially by the river, or something similar, where there is some time of constant noise, back east it was by the ocean.
 
When I was younger it was all about the challenge; there was a certain satisfaction in humping my pack as far and as fast as I could. Once I reached my destination I would spend time wandering around, looking at and collecting things. Lord knows what I missed along the way though: I didn't take the time to look.

Now that I am older, I tend to take my time. I like to stop along the way to appreciate the things around me. I tend to look at all the rocks, plants, birds and whatever else tickles my fancy as I go along. Nowadays I plan on much shorter distances than I used to, just to allow myself the time to look around. So I don't make it to the campsite X number of miles away — so what? I can always make a cold camp somewhere along the trail — and that can be an adventure, too. I'll make it to my destination tomorrow ... or have I made it already? Along the way I've seen, I've learned, and maybe that is the real destination. There are advantages to being retired and having a lot of time on your hands.
 
I've come to realize the lack of people is a big part of my enjoyment when hiking. And that includes friends. I'd rather walk at my own pace, stop where I want, hear only myself and nature, smell nature, etc.
I do like to have a destination and I want to be tired when I get there. Ideally I'd also like to have some time to relax. I don't want to struggle to find a place to camp as it's getting dark.
 
Not so much an "A", but I am concerned with pace and time and structure. I do like to stop and look at things, and explore; but, then I'm back to the pace.
 
To my mind, the hikes the thing.

I don't go out in the wilderness becuase I enjoy sleeping on the cold ground, and if I'm interested in traveling as far as possible I'd take a vehicle. I hike at a speed that allows me to look around and see were I am, and if I come across a cool photo op or just a great view, I'll stop and enjoy it! :thumbup:

My best friend and frequent hiking buddy, on the other hand, is a power hiker. He is obsessed (IMO at least) with milage, he rushes from camp site to camp site, bitches if I stop for too long to take pictures and I end up spending most of the day alone becuase he is so far ahead of me, that I can't even see him. He's a great guy and its fun at night sitting around camp with him, but I'd honestly rather hike alone than listen to him whine during the day. :rolleyes:
 
I like to keep a pace avg about 3mph up hill down hill or flat country. But i do stop often as i like to look behind me. I love to take photos and been knows to get lost all of a sudden following an animal trail. I like to go on long trails/hikes. 4-5 mile hike is just too short for me. Rather go on a 9-15mile hike but take the all day for it. A good hike is when you get home you lost about 3-4lb. I like to feel that i got the pics of the hike i seen places and things i didnt see before. I also want to get a good work out where you can feel tired at the end of the hike. Mostly hike alone as i can stop for 20min to take a few pics and then walk like a mad man till the next intresting sight. When i walk in groups i slow down and i find i dont take as many pics. Yes i do weight my self often before the hike, then when i get back home. Yes i know i know im a wierd one.

sasha
 
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Hike like I hunt - observant of my steps and surroundings as best I can. Helps my hunting skills and helps prevent injury.

B
 
I mostly hike when I'm after birds with my dog. I ramble on the way out, and sometimes on the way back to the truck. Usually, we're going to a specific end-time -- whether that's sundown, or noon, or whatever. So I track how long we take on the way out, and then plan how long it will take to get back.

Sometimes, I hike with my kids, or scouts, or hunting with a buddy w/o the dog. Then we might go a little bit more linearly.
 
I find that I am an A to B hiker. Maybe I lack the skills to be a bonefide woods bum. My hikes usually are planned; everything from rest stops, to interesting sights, to camp sites. I find that I have a hard time acurately keeping track of where I am on a map with-out pace counting on trails that are not very well marked. I even find that I tend to hike the same on well maintained trails out of habit.
 
I'm the kind of hiker that likes to do distance. On the other hand, once I get to a point where it's beautiful and sunny and I take a sit... well I could sit and enjoy the surroundings for hours.
 
I guess I'm more of the mosier, most of the time.. I only do the "A to B", if I've been there before and want to get to a certain area(usually on a lakeshore fishing:D)..
 
my wife and i hike,geocache,adventure hike.
we do alot of the less traveled trails here in ga,nc,sc,and tenn.
we try and stay away from the a.t. interstate unless a geocache beckons our call.
we are into the extreeme stuff and pretty much hike anywhere anytime sometimes when there is not trail,topo maps and compass suffice.
box
 
This was a complaint of mine early on -- back in college, most of my friends walked through the woods whereas I wanted to walk in the woods.

These days, most of the woods-walking I do is with like-minded people (usually while tracking and taking data) and so I cover a lot less ground, but have a much more enjoyable experience.

This is not a value judgment -- the guys I used to go with, that wanted to "do" this peak or that ridge, were sometimes a little put out with my interest in what they saw as irrelevant minutia. They were out there to see the view from the top, and I must say, some views really are worth walking through the woods for.
 
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