HikeArizona.COM

Another "if you do not enjoy the wilderness on my terms then you are bad" story.
http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/20 ... 23xml.html

Froma Harrop wrote:Let’s face it. The speed hiker’s feat could have been performed on the side of a highway.

You could walk circles in your backyard with your backpack then camp too.

Get to see more trail the faster I hike it or run it. Someone has too much time on their hands if they are complaining about this. My only complaint is when people are hiking in a designated wilderness area and subjecting me to their music. That's what headphones are for.

its really hard to enjoy the solitude of the wilderness when someone is telling you you're experiencing it incorrectly

Tough_Boots wrote:its really hard to enjoy the solitude of the wilderness when someone is telling you you're experiencing it incorrectly

I just turn up my music louder so I can't hear them....Van Halen, drowns out a lot of complainers......

The Eagle wrote:Van Halen, drowns out a lot of complainers......

man... you really are old.

@Tough_Boots
Sorry Whipper Snapper....
More your Era, something you can relate to... Creed, Higher...

The Eagle wrote:Van Halen, drowns out a lot of complainers......

Agreed and this one will do it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwYN7mTi6HM

Sometimes I hike fast (for me) through familiar territory so I can spend more time in less familiar places ahead.

I must admit my hiking speed is lower due partly to aging (along with the accompanying aches and pains), but the main reason is I've found way more enjoyment by taking it at a slower pace.
Ok, ok, so I may have to drive a little faster to the trailheads to have more time for slower hiking. :whistle:
As far as music goes... while I enjoy a wide variety, I don't care to hear anything but the sounds of Nature when I'm out hiking.
While I'm sure Joe B can attest to my ability for non-stop chatter on the trail, :guilty:
I CAN and sometimes do go miles without saying a word.

Often, the experience of a fifty mile day is an exceptional connection with the surroundings. The level of conditioning, and the lighter loads free you from the distractions of pains and irritations. I've heard backpackers, crawling along at one mile per hour, do nothing but complain about their pack, the heavy load, their sore feet, the too steep grade... how worn out they were. They saw little that surrounded their moments.

Speed, in and of itself is not much of an issue. I go slow. I go faster. I used to go fast(?) I've had exceptional experiences doing each. It has to be for the individual in the moment to decide (judge?) the quality of their own moments. I could venture that folks who fail to log 50 hours hiking weekly are putting the trails to a "less than" use and living a poor quality of life... ( ;) ...and, they are!).. but to each their own...

...fast... it be bast.

The Eagle wrote:

Tough_Boots wrote:its really hard to enjoy the solitude of the wilderness when someone is telling you you're experiencing it incorrectly

I just turn up my music louder so I can't hear them....Van Halen, drowns out a lot of complainers......

Also depends on which version of Van Halen you are talking about. The DLR era or the Van Hagar era, so many variables. The first Van Halen album was the first slab of vinyl I bought when I was in junior high.

CannondaleKid wrote:While I'm sure Joe B can attest to my ability for non-stop chatter on the trail

Tracey has my utmost respect!

In all fairness I enjoy your company.

If I want to zoom up Superstition then I will. If I want to go for a stroll through the Grand Canyon and soak it all in, I will. I honestly don't see how either one impacts anyone else as long as I am not blazing a new trail and destroying things.

"Live and let live" goes over a lot of heads these days.

I do one hike many times a week, Gateway Loop in MSP, so it's a true work-out trail for me. The trail is always super crowded in the mornings, and only about 50% are hikers. The others are trail runners and mountain bikers (and one unicyclist ). And I have no beef with the non-hikers. Even trail runners will give a friendly hello now and then, which I admire because I never would during my running days years ago. We each use the trail the way we want to, and it's great.

I do think it's kind of strange that a PCT thru-hiker would try and intentionally set a speed record. I don't object to it, but it's weird. It reminds me of the time my family and I happened across a "Yoga Championship" once. This is a big deal, apparently. There are yoga regionals and state competitions and nationals, etc. Like hiking, if you understand the true origins of yoga, you will not understand the origins of "competitive yoga."

I don't try and stop people from doing things just because I don't understand them. But there's no guarantee I won't look at them weird when no one's watching.

Unicycling?

Edit: Yep, it's a thing. http://vimeo.com/12110197

neilends wrote:Unicycling?

Edit: Yep, it's a thing. http://vimeo.com/12110197

The first guy is a high school principal.

From the article: "But again, nothing environmentally horrible going on here. So no one is calling for speed limits on hiking wilderness trails. Rather, it’s to reflect on why we passed a law a half-century ago to set them aside."

Those particular laws were set of so we could all have them to use. Not sure where the "columnist" gets the idea that "speed hikers" are using them all wrong.........

skillpore wrote:It shocked me to see people use the trail as a gym. I saw people running full sprint up and down the trail, having headphones blasting and a water bottle in hand.

When I got into trail running years ago, I was determined to never run in a gym on a treadmill if I could help it. Had a much better run outside, out there. Most trail runners I know are just as much intent on leaving as little trace as they can. That is still the only running I do. I run like I hike, out there.....

skillpore wrote: I was waiting for some one to scream in pain as they slipped on some loose rock into some cacti, but they got lucky.

Been there, done that....... In fact, happened twice in same place at YPG!! haha Didn't scream, more of a manly closed mouth errrgggghhhhhh that freakin hurts.......

@neilends I can trump your unicycling ... Penny Farthing! http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1 ... 14244&v=1V (He also has a YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkV2a- ... 4UTQlbnkJA -- to which I am subscribed. )

De Graaf heads a Seattle-based group called Take Back Your Time. It studies the link between overconsumption and Americans’ lack of free time — and seeks to change our harried way of life.

To de Graaf, speed-up, overwork, obsessive competition, inadequate vacation time and letting markets dictate our values all belong in one package. They have led to weaker social connections, impaired health and growing unhappiness amid the material plenty.

From the author's perspective, everything we do fast is bad, and is the root of all societal problems.

While I can't completely discount some of her opinions, my response to her would be that the real problem is when somebody groups a bunch of unrelated stuff "all in one package" and decides that everybody else should think the same way.

Just because you don't understand why somebody else would enjoy something that you wouldn't, doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. People are different. Get over it.

kingsnake wrote:@neilends I can trump your unicycling ... Penny Farthing! http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1 ... 14244&v=1V (He also has a YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkV2a- ... 4UTQlbnkJA -- to which I am subscribed. )

I'll take your pennyfarthing and raise you an Arizona-origin 1970s Davy Crockett trio!

http://vimeo.com/64822369