Is Hiking Pop Culture?

[Jaytrek57]

I don't think hiking is pop culture.

I would say there has been a "boom" in hiking since the advent of great hiking sites like this. You can further speculate that one's perceptions have been expanded and thus the "appearance" of a pop culture might present itself.

Peace.

 

[Stan]

As far as hiking in maine, it is very rare that i see more than 5 people on a trail in a given day. I would guess trail overcrowding is more of a NH "problem".

Shhhhhhh-h-h-h-h

As much as I enjoy the solitude and self reliance of outdoor activities, being it hiking, paddling or sailing, I also appreciate the companionship of others in these activities. I've come to think of the outdoors as a cathedral or a chapel where peace of mind and spiritual grace can be found, individually or collectively.

So, to me the activity of hiking is the opposite of pop culture which I view as the commercial exploitation of the image for materialistic and selfish purposes.

 

[blacknblue]

From what I hear, the outdoor "pop culture" in the east is not nearly as intense as the outdoor pop culture in the west. I guess our terrain just ain't cool enough to support enough pop.

Anyone have first-hand comparisons?

I'll take a stab at this. I grew up in New England and have hiked around quite a bit there. I have lived for almost 4 years in Boulder, Colorado, now, and am typing this from Jackson Hole.

I think you are on to something with your implication above. Similar to whoever said that the IMAGE of hiking has become popular, but not the actual activity. The big difference b/t out West and back East is that most people move to a place like Boulder, CO, or Jackson Hole or Crested Butte precisely b/c of the active lifestyle. So, to say that outdoor recreation is more popular is pretty obvious. Back East, I grew up with people who lived on the same land for generations, and they just live and work and die there, so the comparatively new activities and somewhat unknown to them. (Horrible generalization, I know.) Most of my neighbors growing up (and my family, to a great extent) knew about skiing and mountaineering, but never involved themselves in it. People in Boulder, Jackson, etc come there specifically for that purpose. In fact, there is a LARGE contingent of East Coasters living in Jackson and Boulder.

Still, even in these communitites, there is definitely the IMAGE of outdoor recreation that contrasts with the PRACTICE of outdoor recreation. Think Jackson Hole and you think the Tram and Corbets Couloir. That's not how most people spend their day, though, at Jackson. I've been here 9 days and stood in line for the Tram zero times. There's just so much else to do--most of which I couldn't even tell you the name. In Boulder, outdoor recreation is VERY trendy, but a lot of people do it just for that reason. There really aren't that many folks who would hike/climb/ski something that wasn't known, b/c there's little boast about. Not too many get excited when I talk about about a fabulous, though somewhat non-descript, trail around Boulder.

Obviously, we all have personal reasons for our chosen outdoor activities. Standing on a rain-soaked, foggy, cold, windy, viewless summit will probably never be popular, b/c it's just not marketable. Some of us have realized its value, but in each case we each have something particular to our emotional / spiritual / psychological makeup that makes it rewarding and/or desirable.