Previous :: Next Topic |
Author |
Message |
Songs2 Member
Joined: 21 Mar 2016 Posts: 200 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Songs2
Member
|
Sun Aug 04, 2019 8:46 pm
|
|
|
The "what worries you the most" thread has a clear counterpart: what do you enoy most about hiking, or when hiking?
I enjoy reflecting on the history of a place I am traversing. In northern New England, there is a long history of Native American use of the land ("Dawnland," also a book by that name), followed by travelers pushing trails through difficult terrain, early attempts at farming (rocks, mostly), then the clear-cutting devastation that gave us the Wilderness Act. In the NW, I am expanding my small bit of knowledge (Timothy Egan's Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, about Edward Curtis, photographer, was a good introduction), adding Twilight on the Thunderbird (thanks, Anne Elk, for the reference!). Most of these passages have left some sort of imprint on the land, not always immediately visible or recuperable.
A good mountain pool, and time to jump in for a swim.
Passing through various ecotones and biomes, noting subtle changes in vegetation and bird calls.
Getting away from screens and inviting quieter parts of life in. I am trying to get better at sketching as a complement to photography. Enjoying visual richness.
Learning something new.
Crawling into a comfy sleep system with a day behind me and another before me.
|
Back to top |
|
|
BigBrunyon Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2015 Posts: 1458 | TRs | Pics Location: the fitness gyms!! |
I enjoy the opportunity to worry needlessly and uninterrupted for hours on end about the same 4 things I always worry about for no reason on hikes.
|
Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7709 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
Nice counterpoint to the other thread. Lots of things to enjoy about a hike.
ever changing views as the perspective changes
meadows, wildflowers, heather, rock gardens
glacier polished rocks
lakes, melt pools, creeks, tiny little drainages splashing their way downhill
mountains of all shapes and sizes
both the sensation and the concept of moving over a distance thru a beautiful place
|
Back to top |
|
|
cdestroyer Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2015 Posts: 1251 | TRs | Pics Location: montana |
well back when....werent so many people out..I liked the feeling it was me to survive on my own.. the solitude, the clean smells of pine forest.. yall ever take the time to get a close look at that little blue flower growing alongside the trail...get down on your knees and take a real close look? you stand and watch the fish swimming in the creek.. listen to the wind in the trees. hear the birds chirp. hear the sound thats not there.
|
Back to top |
|
|
awilsondc Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2016 Posts: 1324 | TRs | Pics
|
I love a good alpine start. I like hiking in the dark and the subtle increase in ambient light as twilight draws near. I love the first hint of color on the horizon as I'm hiking towards my destination, the burst of color on the clouds that often precedes the sunrise. I like the cool air, and my body heat that keeps me warm as I hike. I love sunrise. The first rays of sun, my face and skin lit up with alpenglow, that special color of light. I love golden hour with the landscape bathed in golden light, and I love how I have the whole rest of the day left after that.
Also, I love solitude and the reward of reaching a place that relatively few have ever been before. Also scrambling, where each movement and hand and foot placement is intentional and well thought out, a kind of moving meditation.
|
Back to top |
|
|
HikerJohn Member
Joined: 01 Sep 2008 Posts: 354 | TRs | Pics Location: Daydreaming |
I love the exploration and joy of seeing new things: coming around a corner to a new view of scenery, a group of animals, a fresh view of Rainier, or a field of flowers I haven't seen before.
I'm not one of those who like to repeat the same hike over and over and over and over (with a very few exceptions: I never get tired of Kelly Butte...
|
Back to top |
|
|
Michael Lewis Taking a nap
Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 629 | TRs | Pics Location: Lynnwood, WA (for now) |
I love waking up in the middle of the night slightly cold to see the stars shimmering above
The thunderous sound of waterfalls and big rivers from high up the hills in the heat of the day
Ice crunching under my boots when on glaciers in the dusk and predawn while stars fade
A good glissade makes the world seem inviting again and I can't help but shout for joy
Freshly melted and unfiltered water is delicious on a hot day
The bees are no longer to be feared but admired as they pollinate the garden of nature
Drying out clothes/socks in the hot alpine sun feels like cheating and I love it.
Picking berries of all kinds from Thimbleberries in June to Bluberries in October. A real treat.
The whistle of a marmot is so fun. I try to copy and sometimes we have conversations.
I feel gratitude for the footsteps that came before me to create trails and roads to these beautiful places and will reflect on this as I hike. This actually stresses me because I'm ashamed I have not given back nearly as much but I'm glad that it may fuel passion to do trail work in the future.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Chief Joseph Member
Joined: 10 Nov 2007 Posts: 7709 | TRs | Pics Location: Verlot-Priest Lake |
I enjoy hiking to a lake to fish. I am a bit of a reluctant hiker and definitely a reluctant backpacker, so I require additional motivation. I think hiking-fishing in the Winds might have ruined me for other destinations. I may just limit my backpacking to a once a year, weeklong adventure there.
Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Kim Brown Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 6899 | TRs | Pics
|
I like just listening. It might be silent, but you might hear all kinds of things: birds, scolding squirrels, waterfall, breeze in the trees, leaves gently hitting each other as they fall to the ground, stones rolling down a coulee wall, the thin layer of ice on a lack cracking the minute the sun hits it, the dull thud of a distant hiker on trail tread, a cone plopping down after a squirrel chews it off a branch, rustling leaves as a bird riffles for food.
Smells of pine and soil, and the musky odor of a swarm of ladybugs in the sun, and rain.
Wispy fog. The raspy patterns of wind as it works its way across a lake. The patterns of raindrops or leaves or bugs on the surface of a tarn.
In one eyeful the other day, I saw 5 different types of fern. In one eyeful last week, I saw the transition between the Snoqualmie Batholith with it's dark, baked rock, and the lighter colored North Cascades. In one eyeful, I have seen brilliant sunshine and a brewing, grumbling storm.
Cool breeze on a warm day.
Warm sun on a cold day.
Thinking about the early days of hiking and what it was like, who sat on the same rock I'm sitting on now. Esp the old Crest trail
When I hit the last leg of a hard trip; the feeder trail where I can relax and say, “I made it!” And further, when I’m home and in bed, pulling the covers over me and re-arranging the cats for a good night’s sleep.
Mexican food or hamburger and fries afterward. Or chicken fried steak, when they have it, at Cascadia Inn.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
|
Back to top |
|
|
CarriesNineFires Member
Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Posts: 134 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
I enjoy innumerable things while hiking, but here's one. I live in the heart of Seattle and that provides me with an endless smorgasbord of reasons to lament the human condition, though I do like it here. When I get out into the mountains I'm always gratified and surprised at how easy it is to leave that all behind.
The re-entry can be harsh but I know that I can always get out again. After-work hikes are an especially stirring experience in considering where I just came from and where I am now.
|
Back to top |
|
|
JonnyQuest Member
Joined: 10 Dec 2013 Posts: 593 | TRs | Pics
|
The smells. And the memories they bring. Olfactory paradise!
|
Back to top |
|
|
Kim Brown Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 6899 | TRs | Pics
|
But wait, there’s more.
I’m always blown away by the delicate balance of Nature. If not for one component in a soil, or one cliff of a particular height and aspect, a particular plant, animal, or fish would not be present. If a certain area didn’t receive a proper amount of snow, a particular species may not be there. Certain beetles can detect a fire killed tree up to 50 miles away, and hone in on it. A road walk can be hot, miserable, and void of vegetation diversity, but 30 seconds after stepping onto the trail, the air is immediately cooler, birds, and forest vegetation are present.
I love old trails; finding puncheon, an old, broken weir, a cabin foundation, an old sign melted into a tree, a campsite that’s been used by sheepherders, USGS Survey crew, USFS staff, hunters, fishermen, and hikers for a hundred years or more.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
|
Back to top |
|
|
jimmymac Zip Lock Bagger
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 3705 | TRs | Pics Location: Lake Wittenmyer, WA |
|
jimmymac
Zip Lock Bagger
|
Fri Aug 09, 2019 3:59 pm
|
|
|
Other than what's already been mentioned? The clunk, clank, and clink of various rock flakes underfoot.
"Profound serenity is the product of unfaltering Trust and heightened vulnerability."
"Profound serenity is the product of unfaltering Trust and heightened vulnerability."
|
Back to top |
|
|
hbb Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2009 Posts: 406 | TRs | Pics
|
|
hbb
Member
|
Fri Aug 09, 2019 7:23 pm
|
|
|
Michael Lewis wrote: | I love waking up in the middle of the night slightly cold to see the stars shimmering above
The thunderous sound of waterfalls and big rivers from high up the hills in the heat of the day
Ice crunching under my boots when on glaciers in the dusk and predawn while stars fade
A good glissade makes the world seem inviting again and I can't help but shout for joy
Freshly melted and unfiltered water is delicious on a hot day
The bees are no longer to be feared but admired as they pollinate the garden of nature
Drying out clothes/socks in the hot alpine sun feels like cheating and I love it.
Picking berries of all kinds from Thimbleberries in June to Bluberries in October. A real treat.
The whistle of a marmot is so fun. I try to copy and sometimes we have conversations.
I feel gratitude for the footsteps that came before me to create trails and roads to these beautiful places and will reflect on this as I hike. This actually stresses me because I'm ashamed I have not given back nearly as much but I'm glad that it may fuel passion to do trail work in the future. |
I have been on this site for years, and this is, hands down, my favorite post yet.
|
Back to top |
|
|
nordique Member
Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 1086 | TRs | Pics
|
|
nordique
Member
|
Sat Aug 10, 2019 4:06 pm
|
|
|
I've had way too much time the past few months to reflect on what I miss by being unable to hike--or walk without crutches: big trees, tall trees, wildflowers, beautiful trails, peace and quiet, great photo ops, big boulders, mountain views and broad vistas; there is just so much I miss on our trails!
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate NWHikers.net earns from qualifying purchases when you use our link(s).
|