Are you a peakbagger?

[Peakbagr]

See my screen name and license plate (25 yrs).

 

[Trudy]

I have never list hiked and never will.

 

[Rols]

My first peak list was to get the 48 solo (if I hiked a trail with someone, it would be repeated hiking alone). This was followed by getting the 48 in one year. Of late my only peak list is the Winter 48 which I hope to complete this year. Outside of Winter my focus is now on trails not peaks. I have been working on hiking trails that interest me that I haven't done. This Summer my interest turned to the the trails of the Great Gulf Wilderness. When I'm done with that area, I'll focus on some other area. My peak list has been replaced by hiking objectives. Both provide a certain amount of satisfaction as one works toward a goal.

 

[Klutz]

Never thought I'd be a peakbagger, but, still don't consider myself totally dedicated to a list. We are currently working on the 48 list, but do other hikes as they come, such as hiking in Baxter State Park, Acadia, or the Evans Notch area. Whatever strikes our fancy at the time.

 

[Roxi]

We hike for the challenge, we hike for the views....

Way cool, JohnL!

I fell in love with hiking when I was 23, long before I knew there were lists. I hiked lots of peaks, not logging any of them, before discovering the NH48 list when I was 42. I love exploring new places and truly enjoyed hiking each of those peaks. I probably wouldn't have hiked some of them if it weren't for the list making me aware of them. This weekend I hiked my fifth of the VT 4Ks and it felt just as wonderful completing those as it did completing the NH48 this summer. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get every time I achieve a personal goal, no matter what the goal is.

I am many things, peakbagger included, but at the root of my NEED to be on a trail, is the fact that I am a hiker, an explorer, and a lover of Nature. It's about the journey, visting new places and old favorites, and observing nature on the way. My goal is to see as many places as I can where I can admire and appreciate the beauty that Nature creates. My "list" is much larger than any official peakbagging list I have found. I doubt that I'll complete it in my lifetime, mostly because I keep adding to it , but I will have a lot of fun trying!

 

[pedxing]

I haven't cared much about the lists. The main times I've been motivated by lists was in choosing which peak to take for Flags on the 48. Without the five peaks I completed only on FOT48 hikes, I would probably never have completed my 48that list.

 

[Adk_dib]

I sometimes hike for "list". I started the 46 and I am 7 shy, so I think I will finish it. But after that I am going to stop the catskill list. there are several hikes I would never do if they wern't on a list and I want to do only trailed hikes from now on.

 

[cooperhill]

I would say most of my hiking has been non-list. I've completed 47 of the 48 NH 4Kers confused: ) but a lot of my hiking has been repeat hikes on my favorite White Mountain peaks (maybe a bit of redlining) and hikes in Southern NH, VT, and Western Mass. Lately, I've been hiking a local mountain several times a week (usually at night) just to keep in shape.

 

[McRat]

Whenever I go to a new brewpub, I always like it when they have a sampler. 6-10 tiny little glasses of beer to help me better understand and enjoy what the pub has to offer.

Lists are that way for me - with so many mountains (and lists) to choose from, they lend some impetus to my hiking and have brought me to some neat places that I would never have otherwise gone.

I hike off list too. My local woods have felt more of my footsteps than the Whites, but I love the pursuit of new places, views, and experiences.

I will keep quaffing from the sampler the lists provide until I am drunk with beauty... then I will have another few rounds of my favorites.

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Afterthought -

If there is enough anti-list sentiment, I will be tempted to make a list of all named peaks that aren't on any of the other lists. That way, if someone derides my peakbagging by claiming they are off on their 6th trip to Obscure Mountain, I can nod and say, "Ah, you must be doing the Unlisted Peaks List by 12. Good luck with that."

 

[pilgrim]

Winter 48. At the rate I'm going, I should be able to finish on my 100th birthday. Good incentive.

 

[Stan]

I've stopped hiking lists ever since we finished the NE 100 Highest. However, every time I hike I either redline it or look it up to see if it is on some list or in some book (including ponds, firetowers etc.) ... if so, I check it off. Does that make me a list hiker, obsessive compulsive or just another ne'er-do-well with too much time?

 

[jmegillon149]

you need a box that states: I keep track of the lists, but am not "working on it"

I personally check off something whenever I happen to do a new peak that is in fact on a list I care about.

I do not, however, use the lists to dominate my hiking decisions.