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Am I a real Hiker?

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    • Am I a real Hiker?

      Rasty wrote:

      Am I a Real Hiker?


      Serious post alert: It does not happen often with me, but I am being serious for a moment. Becoming a real hiker is like looking for the ultimate beautiful moment. You will never find it until you are done looking for it. At that point you will realize that you were too busy looking to realize you passed over a myriad of beautiful moments. Such artificial standards are only useful to those who think they are better and those who think they are failing. Ergo Cogito Sum
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      hikerboy wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      been fakin it for over 30 yrs


      I would suggest you have been succeeding for that duration. I learned I liked it out there when I was about 4. I had 2 older sisters and grew up in the woods.
      raised by coyotes or porcupines?


      Disparage me all you want, but my parents are out of bounds.
      That was the Scooby Doo answer. Here is the real one.
      Obviously I lived inside, but spent every moment I could outside. I shot my 1st deer at ten. Was trapping at 12. Fishing as long as I can remember. Slept in the woods many times on a wimp with zero supplies or gear. I was a loner that preferred to watch a squirrel for 4 hours over any noise an acquaintance could provide. I fancied myself part of the woods. That fantasy comes out in exaggerated statements like "I grew up in the woods". I never walked any great distance in the woods until I met you guys. I did it all wrong for a very long time.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      Poll answer: Do you hike? You're a hiker.

      Confession time: Hiking isn't my first love. gif.002

      I like to be out in the woods. I like to see places that I haven't seen before, remote lakes and mountaintops that aren't overrun with crowds. Sometimes those places are far enough from a road that I can't walk out and back in a day (at my slow pace). When they are, my backpack comes along for the ride. So, I'm a lallygagger, rubbernecker, photographer, peakbagger, clueless weekender, never a Real Hiker.

      Am I a real hiker? Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination, instead? (Anyone who hallucinates me must be seriously ill.)
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      Poll answer: Do you hike? You're a hiker.

      Confession time: Hiking isn't my first love. gif.002

      I like to be out in the woods. I like to see places that I haven't seen before, remote lakes and mountaintops that aren't overrun with crowds. Sometimes those places are far enough from a road that I can't walk out and back in a day (at my slow pace). When they are, my backpack comes along for the ride. So, I'm a lallygagger, rubbernecker, photographer, peakbagger, clueless weekender, never a Real Hiker.

      Am I a real hiker? Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination, instead? (Anyone who hallucinates me must be seriously ill.)


      Well I believe in you, even if you don't.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      I met a couple in Pa. that were doing it right according to the guy. They both had enormous packs. He was also carrying a folding bed frame. She was carrying an extra 5 gallons of water. He was wearing a safari outfit including hat and had a Glock in a holster on his hip. (I have no problem with guns) So after meeting them I came to a conclusion.

      "I'D RATHER BE DOING IT WRONG" Now where can I get that made into a window sticker. Seems like a good advertisement for the café.

    • Re:Am I a real Hiker?

      Storm wrote:

      I met a couple in Pa. that were doing it right according to the guy. They both had enormous packs. He was also carrying a folding bed frame. She was carrying an extra 5 gallons of water. He was wearing a safari outfit including hat and had a Glock in a holster on his hip. (I have no problem with guns) So after meeting them I came to a conclusion.

      "I'D RATHER BE DOING IT WRONG" Now where can I get that made into a window sticker. Seems like a good advertisement for the café.


      Good one. Any others? This could be fun.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Re:Am I a real Hiker?

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Storm wrote:

      I met a couple in Pa. that were doing it right according to the guy. They both had enormous packs. He was also carrying a folding bed frame. She was carrying an extra 5 gallons of water. He was wearing a safari outfit including hat and had a Glock in a holster on his hip. (I have no problem with guns) So after meeting them I came to a conclusion.

      "I'D RATHER BE DOING IT WRONG" Now where can I get that made into a window sticker. Seems like a good advertisement for the café.


      Good one. Any others? This could be fun.


      Counting grams is for weenies.

      Now where was I? 17.2, 17.3,...
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • Re:Am I a real Hiker?

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Storm wrote:

      I met a couple in Pa. that were doing it right according to the guy. They both had enormous packs. He was also carrying a folding bed frame. She was carrying an extra 5 gallons of water. He was wearing a safari outfit including hat and had a Glock in a holster on his hip. (I have no problem with guns) So after meeting them I came to a conclusion.

      "I'D RATHER BE DOING IT WRONG" Now where can I get that made into a window sticker. Seems like a good advertisement for the café.


      Good one. Any others? This could be fun.


      Counting grams is for weenies.

      Now where was I? 17.2, 17.3,...


      LOL!
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      tauwillow wrote:

      ......... It wasn't until two years ago that I really started any kind of hiking though, after a fantastic boundary waters vacation. I'm totally hooked now.


      Did you do that boundary waters vacation in the summer or winter?
      My wife Kathy and I have been there twice in the winter time to experience dog sled camping and thought it would probably make a nice summer spot too.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      LIhikers wrote:

      tauwillow wrote:

      ......... It wasn't until two years ago that I really started any kind of hiking though, after a fantastic boundary waters vacation. I'm totally hooked now.


      Did you do that boundary waters vacation in the summer or winter?
      My wife Kathy and I have been there twice in the winter time to experience dog sled camping and thought it would probably make a nice summer spot too.


      Boundary Waters is a gateway drug that should come with a warning label.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      Theoretically to be a real hiker you must have the best gear and it must be the latest version, as gear constantly comes out other then the miles spend driving to REI to purchase upgrades it is impossible to earn sufficient trail miles as you cannot really hit the trail until you have the right gear. Although the right way to buy gear is of course to drive to the home of a cottage manufaturer and meet them in person and purchase the right gear from the right people and most working people should invest thier vacation time in purchasing the right gear the right way before you hit the trail. There's the right way, and then there's the rightest way.

      With out the right gear you're just fooling around and you are not a real hiker.

      Since you are not a real hiker you cannot earn real trail miles or gain sufficient experience with your real gear your application for real hiker status will likely be rejected and you should probably just quit.

      If you want to walk around the woods at this point that's your problem, but realize that any miles walked or trails traveled will earn you no credit towards being a real hiker and will only be for your personal enjoyment.

    • Am I a real Hiker?

      Just Bill wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      tauwillow wrote:

      ......... It wasn't until two years ago that I really started any kind of hiking though, after a fantastic boundary waters vacation. I'm totally hooked now.


      Did you do that boundary waters vacation in the summer or winter?
      My wife Kathy and I have been there twice in the winter time to experience dog sled camping and thought it would probably make a nice summer spot too.


      Boundary Waters is a gateway drug that should come with a warning label.


      I was lucky enough to spend a week canoeing the boundary waters. We made Iron Lake our base camp. It was a guided adventure that the guy I was working for paid for. The guides carried tents, bags, and cots for us. They even carried a plastic 10 gallon keg of beer and a plastic half gallon of whiskey for us. All we had to do was fish, paddle, drink, fish, drink,fish. What a trip that was.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • Re:Re: Am I a real Hiker?

      Just Bill wrote:

      Theoretically to be a real hiker you must have the best gear and it must be the latest version, as gear constantly comes out other then the miles spend driving to REI to purchase upgrades it is impossible to earn sufficient trail miles as you cannot really hit the trail until you have the right gear. Although the right way to buy gear is of course to drive to the home of a cottage manufaturer and meet them in person and purchase the right gear from the right people and most working people should invest thier vacation time in purchasing the right gear the right way before you hit the trail. There's the right way, and then there's the rightest way.

      With out the right gear you're just fooling around and you are not a real hiker.

      Since you are not a real hiker you cannot earn real trail miles or gain sufficient experience with your real gear your application for real hiker status will likely be rejected and you should probably just quit.

      If you want to walk around the woods at this point that's your problem, but realize that any miles walked or trails traveled will earn you no credit towards being a real hiker and will only be for your personal enjoyment.



      Going to REI more then once per quarter disqualifies you as a real hiker.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Re:Re: Re:Am I a real Hiker?

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      milkman wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:



      Maybe I should be changing my snowman signature soon.

      It's only March. You still got April to go.

      Where BB is, the four seasons are Winter, June, July and August.


      You forgot the first six days of September
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123