To walk alone
Does thru hiking the AT trail cure introversion?
the trail doesn't cure anything. if you want to change, you will. don't need to hike anywhere to do that. Sure the people around you will have similar interests on the trail which can making chatting with them easier but that is true if you likewise joined a book club, church, social club, etc.
Introversion isn't something that needs cured.
I sometime worry what my fellow hikers will say during my future thru hike. Oh, he is anti social. He is hard to approach. He is strange. I read so much about the fellowship along the trail which raised my question.
Why do you care? Ignore it and keep hiking.
the fellowship on the trail is wonderful (as you have read). However must aren't worrying about/thinking about what you are or are not doing. If you want to 'plug in", just camp near the shelters and socialize. If you don't want to deal with others, there are many, many campsites along the way where you can tent by yourself. Don't worry about what others are doing or thinking...just hike and enjoy it. There are plenty of folks who would love to have the opportunity to go attempt a thru hike.Originally Posted by skinnbones
Assuming you exhibit the minimum in social interaction, like at least saying hello and such (like you've done here), most people will probably just think you're a quiet, introverted person. Nothing to worry about. I'd rather be around an introverted person that when they do say something it is interesting or meaningful or necessary, than someone who rambles on about the trivial.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Be careful how you label yourself or how others would like to label you! even IF they are so called professionals! Not everyone is an extrovert and that's fine. Not everyone is an introvert and that's fine. And not everyone fits neatly into one category or the other as psychologists would like. That's fine too. In other words, we can be, at different times, in different situations a bit of both - introverted and extroverted. Be aware being introverted sometimes is viewed negatively though by society. It does NOT have to be a bad thing to be introverted though.
Well said Dogwood. I like to get silly in camp and have fun just like anybody, though I think you'd find me quit laid back really. Now, on the computer I am a complete and utter lunatic at times...ok, most times, and I'm ok with that. I'm ok, your ok...okay
I think you would enjoy reading this thread:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...highlight=Intp
Here wis what I contributed:
Some years ago there was a well know study that clasified hikers on the Meyers-Briggs personality test
If found that a very large percentage were introverts. INTP was the most common profile, I think. I expect you will be in good company.
I was reminded of that when I saw the Warren Doyle interview on the ALDHA Youtube Video. One of his comments about his satisfaction seeing introverted people come out of their shells within the hiking community resonated with me.
Bottom line, I think you will be in good company. In fact, I think you might have more to worry about if you start your hike as an extrovert!
Last edited by rickb; 02-23-2014 at 05:24.
Odds are you are a lot less strange and socially awkward than you think. If anxiety comes into it then yes you will experience anxiety about social situations. But it will be easier on the trail. And because you will be working with it, I would expect you to see marked improvement over time.
I read your post as being from an introvert who is also shy (two different things) and a little bit anxious. I post from experience both from being an introvert who was formerly shy and as a long time hiking companion of someone who had social anxiety. My companion worked at it and the trail helped.
Last edited by Meriadoc; 02-23-2014 at 06:14.
First of, you don't cure introversion. It's not a disease. Being an introvert is not wrong. Society has recently started holding up the extrovert as a role model, but that is silly. Read the book "Quiet: The power of Introverts..." by Susan Cain.
I am an introvert. Being an introvert is an asset when backpacking, because we are self-sufficient and self-contained. Sort of like the definition of backpacking, I think.
Forrest
Being an introvert is more than okay....it is normal for many people, both hikers and non hikers. You are in good company on and off the trail. Being painfully shy is another thing, which hiking may help one to overcome. Trail encounters tend to be brief, courteous, and pleasant. Few will think the less of you if you do not want to join a group. Those who do have some growing to do too.
The most introverted person I know, a dear friend, hiked the AT and had a wonderful time and met a few of the best people on the planet along the way. He's still an introvert and still a dear friend and an even better, more loved person for the experience. So I agree with the comments above about not changing.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
This is awesome! ^^
I'm an extrovert. I admire so many things about introverts.
I married an introvert & my daughter is an introvert. They "recharge" by being alone. Extroverts "recharge" by being with people. Their feelings run just as deep as mine do as far as their ability to care about people.
Introverts are NOT anti-social at all. They have a lot to share. As an extrovert, I like meeting introverts so I can discover who they are, they don't just put it out there for all to see, at first. I like that.
No worries skinnbones.
I shift between extrovert and introvert, just depends on my mood. When I hiked I did it (partly) to get away from people for a bit, i.e. to allow myself some introverted time to myself, so even though I was never depressed or anything apparently I came off as a bit shut off and distant, and from that people sometimes assumed depressed or angry. I went into it knowing that some people would be doing it for the same reasons so I never made that assumption. But will it cure it? Absolutely not unless you go into it with that intention. It also depends on when you leave. If you leave before mid-February you'll go through stretches where you won't see anyone for a while so you'll naturally retreat into yourself. If you leave after that you'll be seeing people all the time so you'll be forced into it unless you huddle in the corner of the shelter every night and bury your nose in a book. No one is forcing you to talk to anyone or not to.
There's no reward at the end for the most miserable thru-hiker.
After gear you can do a thru for $2,000.
No training is a substitute for just going and hiking the AT. You'll get in shape.
I was lucky enough to climb to Springer alone and to summit Katahdin alone (in the snow). Something I'll not likely to be able to do again.
Met plenty of folks that I hiked with or grouped with temporarily. Rarely made plans with them for town stops, better when it just happens or my own plans would get screwed up.
You are on this journey for you, and no one else.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
no. it may push you further into introversion. especially if you go NOBO. too many people. go SOBO if you can
There are different forms of introversion, some are result of numerous types of phobias, but others are a result of just not wanting to talk to idiots. The trail is not the place to address phobias, that requires professional psychological attention and there are too many idiots out on the trail.
No, the trail does not cure introversion.
Short answer? H--- no. Unfortunately also seems to attract some obnoxious sorts.
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Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost
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