F:AT Perpetual Hiking and Backpacking

Long shot on a boardgame site. I was reading the end of the year thread, some of you had some awesome boardgaming on New Years. By contrast, my wife and I agreed that we would never go to a lame ass New Years party ever again when we got married, nor worry about finding a cool party or anything like that. Instead, we go hiking every New Years. This year, we went to Guadalupe Mountains and climbed a very, very windy and somewhat snowy Guadalupe Peak. Highest point in Texas. It was great.

Here's a picture of the peak, it's the peak in back of the peak with the light in the front (El Capitan). It's actually higher than El Capitan, though it doesn't necessary look like it from this perspective. www.summitpost.org/el-capitan-and-guadalupe-peak/241742

Hiking was my wife's passion, but we started doing it together when I met her and I've grown to really enjoy it. It's one of these hobbies that is really difficult for periods, but you get paid back in how rewarding it is. I hate to say it, but like Calvin, there's an element of character building involved. But the places you get to make the whole thing worth it, beyond any reward for just the character building part.

So any of you guys do any hiking or backpacking? I'll probably post here whenever we go on a new trip, this year is going to be very hectic so I'm not sure we'll be doing much hiking (I'm going to Seattle, Scotland, and Southern Africa this year for work). We will be returning to the Guadalupe Mountains, however. They're close, like 3 hours.

That's awesome! I really like hiking, and my wife does too, but we haven't found the time since we had kids.

We had a low-key relaxing new years at our house. My wife and I watched some TV and went to bed at a normal hour (before midnight).

Count me in. I was Joe Boy Scout as a kid and still hike on occasion with my own kids now. My last run was the section of the Appalachian Trail adjacent to the original Washington Monument (above Antietam Creek Battlefield).

My Ma used to joke I was the only guy that went on vacation and lost weight.

S.

One of life's little pleasures is finishing a backpack and eating like 1500 calories and knowing that doesn't even come close to covering what you expended.

Yeah, hiking with kids. I admire the people I see on the trails who try it. I can't imagine doing it. My wife and I aren't having kids, so it does free us up for this sort of thing.

Gary Sax wrote: Yeah, hiking with kids. I admire the people I see on the trails who try it. I can't imagine doing it. My wife and I aren't having kids, so it does free us up for this sort of thing.

I can loan you one, please forward your address.

Kids are tougher than they look and do better than you would think. It's as much about setting expectations as anything and I always make it a point to have killer gorp along to keep them happy.

S.

I hiked professionally in the Army. This year, I intend for the wife and I to get gear and hit the Michigan trails. It will be good to do that again.

PASS.


Watching The Price is Right's mountainclimber is exhausting enough for me.

I just started hiking again this past year and plan to continue it for a long time. It's one of my favorite hobbies and I just got some upgraded equipment from my family as well. So far I've just been hitting some of the various trails in northeast Georgia. I've got about 4-5 planned out that I want to see in the first quarter of the year as well.

My wife and I hike an okay amount, though I'd like to do more. Since we're in NH, we usually go up to the White Mountains. We've started to check off the 4000-footers, and did several last year. I work out a bunch, so I'm in better shape than she is, which she finds frustrating, since I'm nowhere near as exhausted as she is while we're climbing. Lately, I've started throwing 4-6 bricks in my ruck, which is good training for me (I do GoRuck Challenges from time to time, and obstacle course races regularly), and it slows me down enough that she feels better.

My next big hiking goal is to climb Mt. Washington. Don't know when that'll happen, because my wife will really need to work up to it.

I like hiking and do it whenever I can. Not much in the winter though without snowshoes. Which reminds me I need to buy some new snowshoes.

I'd much rather take a hiking vacation than go to Vegas or whatever.