[pct-l] Visual Memory of the Trail

[akamp at qwest.net (Dave F)]

I agree i have probably a thousand slides I have taken while doing the 
triple crown . I love looking at all the videos and pics i have shot , I 
also love seeing the pics the otter's have shot. when I head back to the 
trail I appreciate it more not less. some times I will notice something 
in one of my many pics or some one else that when I took the pic or was 
on the trail and the next time I am on there I take notice of what I 
missed. you can hike the trail a million times and still miss stuff and 
pick up on it the next time between my triple crowns and all the section 
hikes I have done of the pct or the cdt or the at or the many mile of 
Yellowstone every time i notice something different the other day I had 
some one asked me since I have hiked every single trail and hiked into 
area that are off trail in the park there is a back country area i 
haven't been to in Yellowstone but the guy was saying why would you 
bother going back. I was like no mater how many times i have been there 
I still notice somthing different. I mean if your lucky like me to live 
in a national forest on the edge of the worlds first national park 
Yellowstone every time i drive home or to town I notice new stuff.
Ginny & Jim Owen wrote:

> This is a good question. Since we are going back to the CDT next year, 
> it has a lot of relevance for me. After years of looking at my photos 
> (and other people?s photos) and rereading my journal (and other 
> people?s journals) will I be bored or disappointed with what I 
> experience on our next hike? I greatly doubt it. I love looking at our 
> photos and slides and rereading my journal. Each time I do I feel the 
> same pleasure. I enjoy the beauty and the memories that they bring 
> back. And I am never bored by them. But given that there are ?so many 
> trails, so little time? why return to a place already hiked? Why not 
> go to someplace never seen before?
>
> As you say, seeing the same place under different conditions makes for 
> a very different experience. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but 
> different. Those places that were most special the first time around 
> may not be as fantastic the second time around (but Thousand Island 
> Lake is gorgeous no matter how many times I?ve seen it) ? but there 
> will be other places that I barely noticed the first time that will 
> catch my eye and make new memories. We hope to hike the trail in 
> reverse direction ? that will make for very different seasons, and 
> different experiences. More, it will have been seven years since our 
> last hike on the CDT ? the land will have changed, I?ve changed, and 
> my memories have faded. Unlike you, I don?t have a terrific memory, so 
> I don?t do a lot of anticipating what is around the next bend. Some 
> memories, however, are quite vivid. I can?t wait to go back to Glacier 
> and the San Juans and the Gila. Even though the experience will be 
> different. I know they?ll be beautiful.
>
> Bottom line is, I love being in nature ? any place. While I love 
> exploring new places, I have no problem going back to familiar ones, 
> because as long as I am outdoors, I am happy. I have hiked some local 
> trails many times. I never get tired of them. I look forward to 
> certain things and just enjoy the general feeling of walking in the 
> woods, looking for wildlife and flowers and interesting sights and 
> sounds.
>
> When I hiked the AT the second time, I had a feeling of coming home. I 
> enjoyed the places that were very familiar and enjoyed the sections 
> that didn?t feel so familiar as if seeing them for the first time. It 
> was good to know what to expect in upcoming towns and how the parts of 
> the trail blended into the whole. During the bad days, I could remind 
> myself of what beauties lay ahead ? which is easier when you have 
> actual memories to go by instead of just knowledge from a book.
>
> There is a lot of world out there to explore. We have taken advantage 
> of our vacations to explore different areas of the country each year ? 
> the Beartooths, the Canadian Divide, Alaska, Utah. But for our next 
> long hike, we?re going back to our favorite. I love the Rockies best 
> of all ? for the spectacular beauty, the frequent wildlife, and the 
> sense of remoteness. We could hike the North Country Trail, or the Ice 
> Age Trail, or the ADT. I?ve never hiked those. We could join the 
> hordes on the Camino de Santiago, or one of the European Grand 
> Randonees. If we had the money, we could go to Nepal, or South America 
> or New Zealand. It would be fun. Exploring is always fun. But I know 
> that the western mountains have a beauty and remoteness that calls me 
> much more than hiking a trail that, while new to me, does not have 
> that sense of wilderness. I know that within the CDT trails system 
> there are a lot of trails that we haven?t yet explored. And I know 
> that even those places that we will be hiking again, will feel 
> different, because so much time has passed. And those that feel 
> familiar, will feel like home.
>
> So despite my familiarity with the trail and the land, and all my 
> memories and revisited photographs, I don?t worry that I will be bored 
> with the trail when we go back. I know that if we go back to the PCT 
> again, as we are also considering doing in a few years (after the AZT 
> and GDT and CDT), I won't be bored there either. The beauty of the 
> mountains always gives me pleasure. The lifestyle of long distance 
> hiker is a good one for me. Being surrounded by nature, no matter 
> where I am, I feel at home -- and happy.
>
> Ginny
>
>
>
>
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