I received a tough e-mail from a man recently. He said that I think know so much abut the outdoors, but I’m clearly ignorant. That just because I did two and a half months on the Appalachian Trail doesn’t mean I’m an expert.
Let me be clear: I do not now and have never thought of myself as being an expert. I am one of the least hardcore backpackers I know. In earlier posts, I have actually referred to myself as “badass challenged.” While I was on the Appalachian Trail, a friend of mine said, “Addy, you are so hardcore!” I told her, “Everyday I pick up something very heavy, carry it for a short distance and then put it down again. Kind of like Sisyphus.” I’m not trying to put myself down, I’m just saying that I shoot for being Dora the Explorer more than John Krakauer.
For me, being hardcore isn’t really my objective. The point is to get outside, to bumble around, make mistakes, have fun and learn. Even when I am cold or hungry or surrounded by mosquitoes, I am still intensely grateful for the chance to be outside. Ok, maybe I need to be reminded of that from time to time.
This weekend I am going on a three day solo trip in the Columbia River Gorge. I have a topographical map, an emergency blanket, extra food, and water purification drops. I am fairly certain that I will be safe. I am not certain that I won’t be miserable. It gets pretty cold in the Gorge, and I haven’t done very much backpacking in these conditions. Fortunately, I have been training by living in a freezing, unfinished basement.
I am not going on this trip because I am hardcore, I am going out so that I can be outside and develop my skills. I like to go like this: hike for a couple hours, write for a couple hours, oh, look, isn’t this pretty! I’m going to sit here for a while. Maybe I should get up and walk a while again. Wait, I need to take a picture of this. I like to meander.
So I salute all you other hikers out there whether they be truly hardcore or just badass challenged. We all want the same thing; we just do it different ways. As they say on the Appalachian Trail, “Everyone hikes their own hike.”
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the Columbia River Gorge is pretty hard core. Looking forward to those pictures.
I actually forgot my camera! I can’t believe it. And the weather was amazing so it would have been a great time for pictures. Sadness.