[pct-l] Question for thru-hikers: How many are using music to get thru the snow?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I did not have any snow to get through in 2008 and 2009. But I was  
totally alone. I did not hike with anyone. I found that there was  
plenty to think about and look at. It seemed like something was  
happening every second of the day. I was never bored. Meanwhile,  
music was always playing in my head. It often got very annoying. I  
mostly had Dan Fogelberg's Leader of the Band or Pachelbel's Canon  
playing over and over in my head. The latter especially matched the  
limping, lurching walk I eventually developed, and the melody lent  
itself to endless, circular repetitions and variations that I could  
make up myself, not being entirely familiar with the entire piece.  
Leader of the Band, having words, tended to get stuck in a loop of  
the words I could remember. I also would get Irish jigs and reels  
stuck in my head because I had been learning to play the pennywhistle  
before I left on my journeys. With those I could erase them from my  
head by pulling out my whistle and playing them a few times. After a  
while, I didn't like breaking the silence of the woods and Fogelberg  
and Pachelbel filled my head instead when I wasn't listening to my  
little bird friends, the chickadees and some other common bird. I  
would always wish my bird friend was the same bird and would actually  
come and be my friend. There are strange things you think about when  
you are all alone for months on end.

Diane

On Jul 25, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> My birthday is coming up....and long distance hiking continues to  
> be in my future.? I love music but hate putting playlists together  
> (on my laptop) and I don't currently own a music player.? Is it  
> worth the investment for the trail?? Just as another tidbit...I  
> love silence while hiking short sections and usually just shake my  
> head when encountering hikers with earbuds. But longer than 3 weeks  
> might change my mind.? Did it change yours?: