[pct-l] What about the tedium and boredom?

["Farler, Tim (tfarler)" <tfarler@harris.com>]

I've never been on the PCT (YET! I will thru-hike the PCT one of these years),
but I've done a thru-hike of the AT and I do a lot of 1 week backpacking trips.
For me, tedium and boredom have never been an issue while hiking.  There is
simply no more pleasant  way to spend time than to hike through the woods and
over the mountains (on the AT, emphasize "through the woods"), no matter  for
how many months.

For the first couple of days of any trip, there is a period where I have yet to
disengage that module of my mind that normally deals with the fast paced world
that I 'usually' (I almost used the word 'normally', but I think that gives the
wrong connotation) live in, and I do sometimes have periods of boredom.  This is
the period where the evil songs invade my brain and won't leave for hours at a
time.  On my thru-hike I popped in and out of this phase for a couple of weeks
or so.  The one song I remember being unable to escape from was Cher's "Gypsies,
Tramps, and Thieves".

But after that, the 'grasping' part of my mind takes a back seat and the
perceptive part of my mind seems to expand out around me, and I enjoy just being
aware of everything going by, and contemplating what exists around me, even for
months at a time.  I don't take a radio or books when I hike, those are some of
the things I like to get away from.

Florida Tim
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