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  1. #1

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    Default How do you define success?

    although ive always wanted to attempt a complete thru hike, i still havent been able to make the commitment. its not so much that i dont think i could complete it, its that im finding a lot of happiness off trail as well as on, and im happy with the balance ive been able to sutain.
    outside of the young hikers and the retired, i find many thrus are going through some sort of mid life crisis, and head to the trail for some answers.
    my question is this: to those of you that decided to hike because you needed time off from your off trail life to maybe "think things through", to those of you who decided to get off trail before you finished, but found the answers you were looking for, would you still call your thru attempt successful, or a failure?

  2. #2
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    if the goal is a thru-hike and you quit before finishing, you've failed.

  3. #3
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    I don't use that 'F' word, I've succeeded in getting to today, and I'm going to try to make it better than yesterday.

  4. #4
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    Whoever has the most fun wins

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lone Wolf View Post
    if the goal is a thru-hike and you quit before finishing, you've failed.
    im more thinking of those you set a goal of a complete thru hike, because they had been dealing with some sort of personal issues that made them decide a thru hike would be a good idea. if they found these answers and decided it was time to go home. if i dont finish maine this august, barring some injury, i would feel i failed and thats only 297 miles,not even on the same scale.but thats because thats my goal, and when i set a goal, theres very little that can stop me from attaining it.. ive section hiked many times where i just decided to change my plans midstream depending on weather, terrain, and my mood , and had more fun than just sticking to my original plan.but thats just a plan, not a goal.when you have this "burinng desire" to acheive a goal, any goal, anything short of that goal is a failure..but sometimes you learn stuff to make the next attempt a non failure, so maybe no complete failures.

  6. #6

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    do we learn more about ourselves from success or from failure.i bet its different for each person

  7. #7
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    I have removed my hike status from this sites list of 2000 milers, I have removed my aviator that claims anything, I've asked the ATC how to remove me from their list.

    It is now my personal business and not a club I want to or need to claim bragging rights of.
    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.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    I have removed my hike status from this sites list of 2000 milers, I have removed my aviator that claims anything, I've asked the ATC how to remove me from their list.

    It is now my personal business and not a club I want to or need to claim bragging rights of.
    thanks WM, thats kinda what brought this question to mind. are you in it for the "awards" or are you in it for your own personal satisfaction? im almost positive the vast majority of successful thrus never applied for recognition /patch.
    you know in your own mind whether you succeeded or failed. the patch can probably be bought on ebay. doesnt mean you accomplished anything.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    the patch can probably be bought on ebay. doesnt mean you accomplished anything.
    I have three Philmont arrowhead completion patches on Ebay they are just collecting dust.
    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.

  10. #10
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    I have three Philmont arrowhead completion patches on Ebay they are just collecting dust.
    ...but what do they mean to YOU?

  11. #11
    Registered User moocow's Avatar
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    i set out to thu so that i could say that i was a thru-hiker. along the way, i came to believe that hiking the trail is so much more than being on the path for 2000 miles. i think i'm happy with the idea that being successful in anything is when you can walk away with joy in your heart.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    thanks WM, thats kinda what brought this question to mind. are you in it for the "awards" or are you in it for your own personal satisfaction? im almost positive the vast majority of successful thrus never applied for recognition /patch.
    you know in your own mind whether you succeeded or failed. the patch can probably be bought on ebay. doesnt mean you accomplished anything.
    that's where I got mine...kidding Ya Know,I've heard someone say,"if your going on the trail to leave your troubles behind, it wont help. Because no matter where you go, there you are"......lots of truth in that saying.

  13. #13

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    wherever you go there you are. mike brady. but getting out on the trail can sometimes bring clarity as you leave the chatter of d everyday world and your internal dialogue begins to subside. it becomes easier to let go of a problem and once you do that you soon find a solution. congratz on the smoking r s

  14. #14
    Registered User jfarrell04's Avatar
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    A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do - Bob Dylan

  15. #15

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    Depends on your objective.

    If your objective was to hike until you solved your personal problems then you have SUCCESS when that happens no matter how far you hiked.

    If your objective was to do a thru and quit before you have covered all 2,184 miles then you have FAILED.

  16. #16
    Registered User weary's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    thanks WM, thats kinda what brought this question to mind. are you in it for the "awards" or are you in it for your own personal satisfaction? im almost positive the vast majority of successful thrus never applied for recognition /patch.
    you know in your own mind whether you succeeded or failed. the patch can probably be bought on ebay. doesnt mean you accomplished anything.
    Well, I sort of miss not having much surplus money at the end of each month, but otherwise I've gotten my share of "awards." When I celebrated my 80th birthday a few years ago, my kids dug out 15 or 20 "Awards" and posted them on my wall, which reminded me again that I've accomplished a few useful things -- in addition to my kids and wife.

    When I started the AT I really didn't expect to complete an ATC-endorsed thru hilke -- and I didn't. I started on Springer and ended on Katahdin six months and 3 days later. But I skipped miles here and there as I tried to explore all the side trails, and beat the arrival of snow on Katahdin. ATC did make me an honorary life member a decade later, which probably suggests that they think -- or at least thought -- I had been extra useful to the trail.

    Anyway, I greatly enjoyed my long walk, which was the most important award. I suspect I enjoyed the trail even more than all the "purists" that I met, who seemed always to have something to complain about. Not that I'm not a critic. That's where all the awards came from. It's only that I do more than complain, I try to make things better.

    More should try that technique. Because "things" surely need to be "better."

  17. #17

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    weary you are a very special person.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by coach lou View Post
    ...but what do they mean to YOU?
    They remind me of the joke that Philmont is now.
    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.

  19. #19

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    Even the greatest baseball players fail 7 out of every 10 times they bat.

  20. #20
    Registered User kayak karl's Avatar
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    some people have trouble separating failing and being a failure. i know a few that didn't finish and look at the whole trip as a waste. ??
    I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.

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