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One sentence piece of advice - and hi!

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    • One sentence piece of advice - and hi!

      TrafficJam told me about this friendly forum. Hey! I'm Ally! I'm a complete hiking noob who's always up for the next challenge in life. Now my challenge is to learn to hike, relish a new challenge/adventure, and live without a rigid schedule at this natural fork in my life. I have every opportunity to do it and nothing holding me back other than the "save for retirement rational side" who sometimes fears failure. I need to do this. I've needed it for a couple of years now, and the Universe is making things fall into place for now.
      I'm full of stupid questions. I am an elementary teacher, so I should say there are no stupid questions. But there are, and I've asked most of them. :)

      So, here's my first question. If you could sum up in one sentence the BEST piece of advice you could offer a noob, what would it be? Include as much info in your sentence as you can! Winner gets a gold star. :P
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.
    • I was only allowed one sentence, so I could not explain it. :) All I am saying is be patient with those that have the answers. It will be worth it. There are a million answers. You will ultimately have to decide what is right for you. But go to experience for those million options.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • twistwrist wrote:


      So, here's my first question. If you could sum up in one sentence the BEST piece of advice you could offer a noob, what would it be? Include as much info in your sentence as you can! Winner gets a gold star. :P


      I will quote another well known hiker ..... "Its just walking"

      Welcome Twistwrist - glad you are here, its not about how many miles, how far you think you can go - just enjoy the trip and understand your limits as I do. 3 years ago I could pound out 30 mile weekends - it wasn't intended - I just wanted too. now 15 is a good day. I might get back to my goals but I am going to enjoy the time in the woods alone & with friends.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • WOO gave me a thumbs down. However, what I say is true. It is not that experienced people are inherently rude or intend to come across that way. It is just that they have answered the question many many times. Eventually they get abrupt. I wish I had grasped that fact when I started asking questions. I was taken back by how the experienced people reacted to the standard questions. You have to ask them. They have the answers. It is a tapdance to be endured. It is fun once you understand the game. As an example ask questions about hanging food or filtering water or sleeping in shelters. The answers might seem combative. They are not. There are differing opinions that are solidified by much experience. Many opposing views have validity. If you can glean the whys behind the one sentence answers, then you can make an informed decision.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • Get out and start day hiking as often as you can. Don't worry about backpacking just yet, make hiking part of your routine and after a bit of time backpacking will seem like the natural next step.
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
    • It is a truth universally acknowledged that... oh hell I forgot.

      Welcome to the forum twistwrist. I'm a stranger here myself. Can't write Austen-style, I'm more Vonnegut-style. Short sentences, subject and verb, skip the frills. Take it slow, be safe, and have fun.
    • First, Welcome twistwrist! Lots of good advice here, along with a lot of fun and not near as much drama as you find other places.

      Now for my one sentence.

      Read what you can (websites, books, journals) and watch movies, but most importantly get out and there and start hiking, and use continuous improvement to refine your gear and approach (I started out at Springer with 35 pounds base weight and now almost 4 years later with 780 AT miles and a few hundred miles on other trails I am down to 14 pounds base weight and still learning, but having fun all the way even if I am doing it all wrong). :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • BirdBrain wrote:

      When seeking answers the best source and often the most rude source is the experienced because they have done it and have already been asked about it a million times.


      Okay... I am going to try one more time. In an attempt to say something profound and useful while containing it to one sentence, I fear I have sent the wrong message. Someone not familiar with the carousel issues and how they are treated might read my statement to say that the more experience you have the more of a jerk you are. That was not my intended message. There is a reality that those who have seen the repeating topics should understand. The best way I can illustrate this is by example.

      One of the first topics I was interested in was how do you store your food at night. This is a question that has been answered and argued about ad nauseum. Many experienced hikers simple state what they do with out explanation. It isn't that they are jerks or want to tease. They are just tired of the debate. They answer the question and move on.

      I was raised that one should know why they were doing something. When I did something stupid and did not have a explanation my mother would ask me, "If so and so told you to jump off the Verona Bridge, would you?" In other words don't just take the statement as fact. Find out the veracity of the statement. That is how I am wired. I have to know why. I push for the whys.

      Back to the food question. I recall HikerBoy answering that question by simply stating that he slept with his food. I pried for the whys. He did not budge. I became more bold in my statements trying to goad an answer out of him. He did not budge. I viewed that at the time as being rude. I now understand that he has likely answered that question a thousand times and is tired of the debate.

      It took me a long time, but I now understand the reasoning of why he sleeps with his food. It isn't because he is lazy. It isn't because he is a trill seeker that wants to see what it is like to face a bear in his tent. It isn't because he is stupid. I now understand that his method is a viable efficient way of storing his food. I prefer to do it another viable way. It's all good.

      You are going to face this type of conversation while seeking answers. It denies reality to say it won't happen. The intent of my statement was to give you a heads up. The best place to get answers is from those who have done it. I will not answer questions about hiking south of New Hampshire. I have not done it. Some will read blogs and answer questions that they have not experienced. Ignore those people. It is preferable to get your answers from those who have done it. However, it is a reality that those that have the answer might not give you the details you are looking for. Whereas it might be your first consideration of the topic, they might be tiring of answering it over and over.

      So I say again with one small adjustment, having destroyed all chances of a good first impression, "When seeking answers the best source and often what appears to be the most rude source is the experienced because they have done it and have already been asked about it a million times."
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by BirdBrain ().

    • Astro wrote:

      First, Welcome twistwrist! Lots of good advice here, along with a lot of fun and not near as much drama as you find other places.

      Now for my one sentence.

      Read what you can (websites, books, journals) and watch movies, but most importantly get out and there and start hiking, and use continuous improvement to refine your gear and approach (I started out at Springer with 35 pounds base weight and now almost 4 years later with 780 AT miles and a few hundred miles on other trails I am down to 14 pounds base weight and still learning, but having fun all the way even if I am doing it all wrong). :)


      Rasty, is this better?

      Read what you can and watch movies, but most importantly get out and there and start hiking using continuous improvement to refine your gear and approach.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • July wrote:

      Congrats on your new interest/passion for mother nature, don't believe everything you read.


      Nice one! Can you break the one-sentence rule and elaborate?

      BirdBrain wrote:

      WOO gave me a thumbs down. However, what I say is true. It is not that experienced people are inherently rude or intend to come across that way. It is just that they have answered the question many many times. Eventually they get abrupt.


      Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and solid advice AND for rising to the challenge with such complex sentences! ;) I undersatnd what you're saying here. I'm on a moto forum and have been very active there for years. We have noobs ALL THE TIME ask the same tiresome questions, but (I guess it's the teacher in me), I always remember back to when I was a noobie and asked the dumbest questions of all. The "New riders" forum is one of my favorite places to hang out on the forum. I have fun answering the questions I used to ask, thinking they were stupid. Maybe it validates me somewhat, but it always feels good to know my "dumb" questions are others' too. So get ready for 'em. ;)

      milkman wrote:

      Hey twist. Welcome! :thumbsup: Saw you got chomped on TOS. Twice. Nice. Still working on my one sentence.


      Yep. First time ever getting that kind of treatment...then it happened again. lol! There should be a first-timers award for that or something.

      Astro wrote:

      First, Welcome twistwrist! Lots of good advice here, along with a lot of fun and not near as much drama as you find other places.


      I've noticed. I despise drama. I will do most of my posting here. Lucky y'all. ;)

      WiseOldOwl wrote:

      Nope its a really sour Granny Smith.
      Apples do make great cider ,,,


      Granny Smith's are my favorite! And cider, mmmm!

      Y'all kick ass (is cussing against the TOS somewhere? I'd prefer not to violate three of them in one week.) ;) Happy almost weekend! I'm riding into Atlanta Sunday to go to REI. I bet I'll come home with fun stuff.
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.
    • twistwrist wrote:

      July wrote:

      Congrats on your new interest/passion for mother nature, don't believe everything you read.


      Nice one! Can you break the one-sentence rule and elaborate?

      BirdBrain wrote:

      WOO gave me a thumbs down. However, what I say is true. It is not that experienced people are inherently rude or intend to come across that way. It is just that they have answered the question many many times. Eventually they get abrupt.


      Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and solid advice AND for rising to the challenge with such complex sentences! ;) I undersatnd what you're saying here. I'm on a moto forum and have been very active there for years. We have noobs ALL THE TIME ask the same tiresome questions, but (I guess it's the teacher in me), I always remember back to when I was a noobie and asked the dumbest questions of all. The "New riders" forum is one of my favorite places to hang out on the forum. I have fun answering the questions I used to ask, thinking they were stupid. Maybe it validates me somewhat, but it always feels good to know my "dumb" questions are others' too. So get ready for 'em. ;)

      milkman wrote:

      Hey twist. Welcome! :thumbsup: Saw you got chomped on TOS. Twice. Nice. Still working on my one sentence.


      Yep. First time ever getting that kind of treatment...then it happened again. lol! There should be a first-timers award for that or something.

      Astro wrote:

      First, Welcome twistwrist! Lots of good advice here, along with a lot of fun and not near as much drama as you find other places.


      I've noticed. I despise drama. I will do most of my posting here. Lucky y'all. ;)

      WiseOldOwl wrote:

      Nope its a really sour Granny Smith.
      Apples do make great cider ,,,


      Granny Smith's are my favorite! And cider, mmmm!

      Y'all kick ass (is cussing against the TOS somewhere? I'd prefer not to violate three of them in one week.) ;) Happy almost weekend! I'm riding into Atlanta Sunday to go to REI. I bet I'll come home with fun stuff.


      Ass is allowed.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123
    • twistwrist wrote:

      TrafficJam told me about this friendly forum. Hey! I'm Ally! I'm a complete hiking noob who's always up for the next challenge in life. Now my challenge is to learn to hike, relish a new challenge/adventure, and live without a rigid schedule at this natural fork in my life. I have every opportunity to do it and nothing holding me back other than the "save for retirement rational side" who sometimes fears failure. I need to do this. I've needed it for a couple of years now, and the Universe is making things fall into place for now.
      I'm full of stupid questions. I am an elementary teacher, so I should say there are no stupid questions. But there are, and I've asked most of them. :)

      So, here's my first question. If you could sum up in one sentence the BEST piece of advice you could offer a noob, what would it be? Include as much info in your sentence as you can! Winner gets a gold star. :P


      Just do it and do not over think it.
      Of course I talk to myself... sometimes I need expert advice.
    • SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      Get out and start day hiking as often as you can. Don't worry about backpacking just yet, make hiking part of your routine and after a bit of time backpacking will seem like the natural next step.


      can't say it any better than that.

      i'll add that you should stop and tend to your feet at the first sign of a hot spot. and when you get your first backpack get it from an outfitter who can fit it to you properly and explain how to make all the various adjustments.
      2,000 miler
    • Ask fewer questions.

      That was my one sentence. Now to explain before I take some heat (which I actually don't mind). Just get out there and do it. You will learn more by doing, and making mistakes, than you will by reading. Pack what you think you will need and go out on an overnight trip. It is as simple as that. Adjust each time you come home.
    • Drybones wrote:

      Drybones wrote:

      twistwrist wrote:

      Good. I kinda cuss a lot.

      Edit: But I can restrain. I'm a teacher. I'd have been fired a LONG time ago if I couldn't. :)


      Kid'll make you do that...especially my oldest son.


      He was 21 before he realized his name was not Damnit.


      But dad, my name is Jesus Christ!
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123