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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 12:05 am 
Whenever somebody hears about a hike, they tell me to have fun, or ask me if I did. (This question always comes from people who don't hike. Hikers instead ask "how was it?" or "did you see any ...?") I never know how to answer. There are a lot of things I go hiking for: stunning natural beauty, amazement that something so incredible exists, a sense that I'm a part of nature when city life feels apart from nature, luckily to be able to enjoy it (by living nearby, and being fit enough to go see it), perspective (most of the time I'm a citizen, consumer, software developer, when I hike I'm a monkey in the woods), and I could go on but most of you enjoy a lot of the same things. Fun is never something I go looking for on the trail as a hiker. It's a joyful experience, but that's different from being fun. As soon as I start scrambling, it immediately becomes fun. You move differently and engage different parts of your brain for navigation and route finding. You start predicting which rocks will hold our won't, and try to move as fluidly as possible across the best "line." This is fun. I wonder if others in here feel the same way?

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cdestroyer
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 6:40 am 
yes

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texasbb
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 7:13 am 
Yes, hiking is fun. The only question is what type: 1, 2, or 3?

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neek
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 7:32 am 
I explained the concept of "Type 2" fun to my kid on a hike that had gone awry, and he said he was having Type 37 fun... But I agree, "fun," defined as "lighthearted pleasure," doesn't go deep enough. Hiking can also be exhilarating, breathtaking, tedious, miserable, painful, and terrifying. It's all part of the experience. Wishing someone a fun time (or a good day or good health) is a social nicety though and it's best just to play along. Also, appreciate that not everyone will find it fun. There are many healthy ways to activate similar states of consciousness.
Cyclopath wrote:
You move differently and engage different parts of your brain for navigation and route finding. You start predicting which rocks will hold our won't, and try to move as fluidly as possible across the best "line." This is fun.
Listen to Kris Holm talk about this effect with repsect to extreme unicycling (but note, I don't recommend picking up this sport until after you have kids).

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Pyrites
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 11:12 am 
Yes. Even stupid route finding or short cut ideas. Can’t say yellowjacket stings are fun. Everything else, yes. Best. Pyrites

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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Randito
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 11:44 am 
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Randito
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 11:58 am 
neek wrote:
Listen to Kris Holm talk about this effect with repsect to extreme unicycling (but note, I don't recommend picking up this sport until after you have kids).
Sounds like the perspective of a non-parent. A good friend of mine that did a lot of class 5+ whitewater before the birth of his son was astonished by how his desire to do "gnarly" stuff evaporated after holding the little mite in his arms. "I don't even miss it! Unbelievable!" Sure bashing the jewels might limit one's fertility, but the space in the heart and mind that little ones occupy once they arrive is considerable and beyond having the time and energy to pursue adrenaline/skill sports while your kids are kids, many people's energy is shifted to enjoying their time with their kiddos. It's even more magical with grandkids.

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texasbb
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 12:09 pm 
RandyHiker wrote:
his desire to do "gnarly" stuff evaporated after holding the little mite in his arms.
I remember the first time I got on a dirt bike after having kids. That responsibility thing completely ruined the thrill of pushing the envelope.

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BigBrunyon
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 12:26 pm 
The most fun part of hiking is boasting big about accomplishments post-hike. Aside from that, I don't see why anyone would even hike.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 2:10 pm 
Pyrites wrote:
Can’t say yellowjacket stings are fun. Everything else, yes.
I would put getting nailed by stinging nettles in the same category as yellow jackets.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 2:12 pm 
BigBrunyon wrote:
The most fun part of hiking is boasting big about accomplishments post-hike.
On instagram of course. It only counts if dozens or hundreds of people are aware of your boasting.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostSun Jul 14, 2019 2:14 pm 
I ask the same question about running. Runners are all crazy to me. I know a few. I don't see the appeal. But to answer the OP, I consider it fun. It's a different type of fun than anything else. A long hike can last 8 or 10 hours. Most fun activities don't have that kind of duration. Not every single moment of it is great, but the overall experience sure is.

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Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostMon Jul 15, 2019 3:22 am 
Cyclopath wrote:
Fun is never something I go looking for on the trail as a hiker. It's a joyful experience, but that's different from being fun.
Neek wrote:
"fun," defined as "lighthearted pleasure," doesn't go deep enough.
^^^ These up.gif up.gif It's hard to explain to those who don't do it why you're willing to knock yourself out to get somewhere so beautiful it can bring tears to the eyes. I like how it was expressed in "The Snow Leopard":
Peter Mathiessen wrote:
I grow into these mountains like a moss. I am bewitched. The blinding snow peaks and the clarion air, the sound of earth and heaven in the silence, the requiem birds, the mythic beasts, the flags, great horns, and old carved stones... the silver ice in the black river, the Crystal Mountain. Also, I love the common miracles - the murmur of my friends at evening, the clay fires of smudgy juniper, the coarse, dull food, the hardship and simplicity, the contentment of doing one thing at a time: when I take my blue tin cup into my hand, that is all I do. ...gradually my mind has cleared itself, and wind and sun pour through my head, as through a bell. Though we talk little here, I am never lonely; I am returned into myself.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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graywolf
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PostMon Jul 15, 2019 5:57 am 
up.gif Anne, you just quoted from my favorite book - thanks!

The only easy day was yesterday...
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Randito
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PostMon Jul 15, 2019 8:24 am 
I've always enjoyed hiking, I started as little kid. To me even when I'm sweating up a steep climb with legs hurting and heart pounding I relish the experience. In recent years I've come to appreciate hiking even more. I have had a number of family members lose the ability to hike, walk or even turn over in bed due various diseases. I feel blessed just to have the ability to move my body and experience the feeling of the earth beneath my feet and sweat on my brow knowing others that cannot.

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