Hiking Log – Complaining

Hiking Log – Complaining

This is part 30 of excerpts from the trail log which was located on a New York portion of the Appalachian trail. For the post which explains this series, click here.  You can read all the previous hiking posts by clicking here.

Each new edition includes a quote from a hiker, along with this writer’s insight into what the person might have meant. Your interpretation may be different!

Following is my selection of this week’s thoughts of a hiker(s).

Most of the entries in the log book that I’ve shared have been encouraging, inspirational and upbeat. Even when someone writes a negative, it is almost followed by a positive. For example, they might say “I fell on the rocks but at least my leg isn’t broken.” The hikers who are on the Appalachian Trail are hardy individuals who seem to be extremely grateful and optimistic.

So I thought it would be interesting to see whether any of the hikers had only a negative comment to share. And I found the nine comments above. Hiking the trail, either as a day hiker, or as someone who intends to finish the entire 2000+ miles, is not an easy thing. There are sightings of all sorts of animals including bear, coyote, fox and the like. There are pouring rains, snowstorms, oppressive humidity and mosquitos. Hikers can hurt themselves, be full of aches and pains, and still, they are almost always positive.

So why did I highlight these nine comments above? Because these are the ONLY negative comments in the entire 2018 trail log. There were 625 people who took the time to write a few words in 2018, and of those, only nine could be considered to be complaining. If I did the math correctly, that’s right around 1%.

Once again, I have come to the conclusion that if we spend time outdoors, return to nature and challenge our bodies, we can dramatically improve our outlook and disposition. If you haven’t been in the woods lately, give it a try.

Until next time, happy trails!