The Highs and Lows of your hiking

[Gris]

"Good at:
1. remembering everything I need (obsessive check list maker)
2. knowing when to turn around
3. recognizing when I need to eat

Not so good at:
1. Hiking alone--I start to doubt whether I have enough time, enough energy, whether it is safe, etc. to complete the hike
2. Being on time at the trailhead
3. hiking fast--I'm a natural slowpoke, can't seem to help it"

haha-LOL! I am the exact opposite of everything on CrazyMama's list! except i also hike slow (but only because i stop to take lotsa naps in the ferns...)

 

[Jay H]

I'm good at going uphills but then being lightweight myself is an advantage and only 135lbs. I'm good at being on time at the trailhead and early in the morning. I like to think I'm a decent bushwacker/navigator since I do alot of it in the catskills. Survived an 8 day trip bushwacking in Alaska!

Lows: Going fast on the straights is hard, I'm short and don't have a long stride so keeping up with the taller members is hard for me. At least keeping up and remaining aerobic that is. Short spurts is fine.

Remembering to put the crampons/snack food within reachable distance in my pack is always hard, therefore, I'll slog around in bareboots or don't eat/drink enough food/water on my hikes, because of that.

Jay

 

[Kevin Rooney]

High - After successfully climbing a big peak in great weather with good friends I get a huge sense of elation and joy shortly after beginning the descent as I watch and listen to their laughter. That feeling "makes my heart sing" (don't know who coined that term, but it is so accurate).

Low - After misjudging weather/conditions, watching your friends (and yourself) struggle to get off a mountain safely.

 

[SherpaKroto]

High: Rainier
Low: realizing that I need to re-invent myself
High: re-inventing myself

The cycle of life is such that things change. Accepting the changes is tough, but realizing that they do, and using that as the motivation to fuel change for the better is great!

 

[Adk_dib]

I always forget something. I almost drove out of the garage last week without my snow shoes and poles! I forget my goggles one day, food the next. I make list but I forget to check the list. Last weekend I made my thermos of hot tea, set it down to check my pack, and walked out without my thermos

 

[Amicus]

"You make my heart sing".

Partial answer to Kevin Rooney's Q: "Wild Thing" by The Troggs, a '60s rock classic.

Before that, there was a '30s-'40s swing hit called "And My Heart Sings" or something close to that. Benny Goodman Band?

 

[Neil]

Lows:
Post-holing in the rain.
Falling into spruce traps in the rain.
Having scarlet inner thighs that scream with every step and there's 5 miles left.
Fighting sleep on the drive home.
Arriving at the parking area just as it starts to pour.
Hitting a deer.

Highs:
There aren't any.

 

[dr_wu002]

Lows:
Post-holing in the rain.
Falling into spruce traps in the rain.
Having scarlet inner thighs that scream with every step and there's 5 miles left.
Fighting sleep on the drive home.
Arriving at the parking area just as it starts to pour.
Hitting a deer.

Highs:
There aren't any.

To me, this is a difficult topic to quantify. Some days I enjoy the rain, some days I hate it. I was on Garfield once on a gorgeous day, not a soul in sight (saw nobody all day long) and I was bored out of my mind. Other times on Garfield there was only wonder and amazement.

When we ended up in the Beaver Meadow off Franconia Brook Trail after doing Owl's Head, we were confused as to where the trail relocated around the bog (where that kid died some years ago) and Dennis had smashes his head open and was bleeding as if he had a gun-shot wound. That was a low point. But that was a specific occasion... I can't think of a general 'low point' beyond something like falling and dying.

The drive home is usually horrible because I'm tired and miserable. But not always.

-Dr. Wu

PS. One general low must be hiking with Neil.

 

[prino]

-Dr. Wu

PS. One general low must be hiking with Neil.

Only if you are following too closely after a chile supper

 

[woodstrider]

I am good at reading a map- but sometimes I am too impatient to do this.

I am good at estimating how long it will take me to hike something- but, of course, I can not do this for other people.

I am good at route finding- I better be, since I have trouble always staying on the trail.

I am good at finding unmarked water sources, but I don't drink much anyway.

I am bad at hiking in the heat, I love the winter

I love to hike and backpack but I am bad at coming back home.

I am fearless at visiting new places, but I will always return to and love the places where I had my first hiking experiences.

I love the mountains, but I am afraid of heights.

 

[sleeping bear]

To me, this is a difficult topic to quantify.

Agreed. I've never thought about it this way. For me it isn't high or low, it just is.


Driving home by myself might be the toughest part.

 

[timmus]

Since there's two thread in one and that I answered only one of them, here's my take on the other one that I have created because I have difficulties being clear when typing in another language than the one my parents taught me...



Highs : Standing on the summit
Lows : Valleys to get to the summit




I believe this is clear. Is it ?

 

[jmegillon149]

Lows-not the best at getting to the trailhead at the right time to meet others; going down isn't the best on my bad joints, that and being short makes me slow on this half of the trip

Highs-getting out; excercise; enjoying others' company or some alone time(half my hiking is solo); anytime I make progress - traveling farther/faster than last time, checking something else off a list; my short choppy steps, while a hinderance on the way down, help me excell at climbing,

 

[coldmountain]

Lows: When I mistakenly bring the spirit of my valley to the summit.

Highs: When I mistakenly bring the spirit of the summit back to my valley.

Not good at: maintaining a consistent mental pace.

Good at: Um, I almost always clean out my pack and my car directly upon returning. (Unless the Woodstock Station gets involved)

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Highs:

1. Just getting away from the office and my computer to be outside on a trail enjoying nature; especially if I have my son in the Keltie Carrier.

2.The beauty of the Whites if I'm hiking in the WMNF.

Lows:

1. Seeing unprepared "hikers" who don't seem to take hiking seriously or respect the wilderness.

2. Seeing trash on hiking trails. This isn't so much of a problem in the Whites as it is on trails in my home state.

3. Again, seeing people who don't respect the trails is my biggest downer.